Hand2Mouth

New work! New perspectives! New2You!

Hand2Mouth is thrilled to announce that we are currently accepting proposals for participation in our spring 2027 New2You Festival! For this edition we will be commissioning a small number of works from local artists to be performed over a 9-day festival in early March.

For 2027 we are exploring VERSUS as a theme. Artists are open to interpret this theme as they wish. We look forward to seeing how our collective investigation into this theme will uncover untold stories, new ideas, and offer a reflection of human nature, our allegiances and loyalties, and the ways in which we address differences in our communities.

The festival will not only present original works by local generative artists but will also include a devising workshop and panel discussions.

For more information or to apply, visit https://www.hand2mouththeatre.org/new2you-festival-2027

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU FOR OUR 2026/27 SEASON WHEN WE EXPLORE THE THEME "VERSUS!"

Our VERSUS season is prompted by the time we are living in where party over country has become the rule in politics, where media pits the conservative right against the liberal left and everyone in the middle is lost. Working in collaboration with our company of artists, we began thinking about the ideas that shape us and guide us through life and how much of that is based on a tribal mentality. Our parents, friends, and culture all contribute to who we are as people and at the same time often leads us to a similar mindset. This tribalism feels good. We are in it together. We are working towards a common goal because our ideas are aligned. It would be easy to spend your life following these beliefs, but what happens when you are exposed to the rest of the world? What happens when you are challenged by new ideas?

VERSUS will explore what it means in American society when the world is not a black and white binary but a grey spectrum of nuance. The season will explore MAN-made dichotomous structures and binaries that currently constrict us, blind us, and often turn people against each other rather than championing the nuances and commonality of being human. Why is it always ‘us and them’ instead of ‘we’, left vs right, right vs wrong, east coast vs west coast, conservative vs liberal?

Might we be losing the nuance of human feelings, the exceptions to the rule, the things that lie in the grey rather than the black and white? We will explore human nature and the how and why of the divides that both make us part of a greater cause and also bring us at odds with our neighbors.

New2You Festival Returns in Spring 2027
We are delighted to announce that our New2You Festival will return in Spring 2027. We will be calling for proposals in mid-September with the deadline being October 14th to apply. Mark your calendars! The call will ask for proposals on our season theme.

Thank you to all who made it out to see HOME/LAND over the last two weeks. This project is truly a labor of love that highlights our Oregon history. It was a very special production this year because we were selected to be a part of the Oregon Contemporary 2026 Artists' Biennial: The Price of the Ticket. We are so thankful for the honor of being included amongst so many diverse Oregon artists. Thank you to the team at Oregon Contemporary and to TK Smith, the curator of the biennial.

Many wonderful people contributed to the creation of this work and we cannot thank them enough for sharing their stories and for allowing us to interview them.

We would especially like to thank our cast who, through rain or the heat of summer, worked tirelessly to bring this work to life. Thank you to Alyssa Marie Mathews, Natty Arroyave, Dylan Hankins, Danny Walker, Maia McCarthy, Nurys Herrera, Pedro Adan Dominguez, Gabriel Reyes, Orion Ellis, Jenni GreenMiller, Claude Anne Morgan, Karin Holmstrom, Jonathan Walters, and Molly May. And a big shout out to our Technical Director, Abby Jacquin and her crew, for building our set! Thank you also to our host site Zidell Yards and the Zidell family.

To see the full listing of our voice over actors, interviewees and contributing artists, please visit the HOME/LAND program at the https://www.hand2mouththeatre.org/homeland-2026-program .

Photos by Roy Arauz Photography.

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HOME/LAND closes this weekend!

Join us for the final weekend of HOME/LAND, June 25-28! Just four more shows left! It has been a great honor to be included in this year's Oregon Contemporary Artists' Biennial: The Price of the Ticket. We are delighted by the feedback for this show and hope you'll catch it before it is gone!

Remaining Performances: June 25-28, Thursdays - Sundays; 7-10pm (Last entry at 9pm)

40 tickets a night, 1 person enters every 3 minutes, each ticket will be for an exact entry time. Show lasts approximately 1 hour.

Please note this show will include interaction with performers. Audiences will also be given a headset that will lead them through the installation and guide them to a final destination. Audience members will travel through the installation, approx ¾ of a mile, during the performance. Comfortable shoes recommended.

Location: 3121 South Moody Ave, Portland, OR 97239; PARKING ON SITE

Tickets: www.hand2mouththeatre.org - $40 Super Supporter, $25 General Admission, $15 Students & Seniors, $5 Arts for All

Co-Creators: HOME/LAND is a collaboration between Hand2Mouth, WaxFactory, and Begat Theater.

Cast: Pedro Dominguez, Nurys Herrera, Maia McCarthy, Dylan Hankins, Danny Walker, Jenni GreenMiller, Jonathan Walters, Alyssa Matthews, Natalia Arroyave, Orion Ellis, and Gabriel Reyes

Director: Michael Cavazos

Meet the cast of HOME/LAND! This is Natty!

Natty Arroyave is a Colombian performing artist and company member with Hand2Mouth Theatre. She recently performed in Theatre in the Grove’s Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles and at the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre in Egypt in Y Recuerda Tichangoshaina… An Encounter of Cultures, a co-creation with Zimbabwean artist Lonesome Tapiwa, produced by Hand2Mouth Theatre. Follow Natty on instagram at .arroyave.

Natty will be welcoming you to your temporary shelter. Please check in with her when you arrive! See you at Lot 6B! Tickets available at www.hand2mouththeatre.org .

Meet the cast of HOME/LAND! This is Orion!

Orion Ellis (they/he) is a hodge-podge sort of artist, born and raised in Portland, OR. He has been published in Hope is a Stem: 2023 WITS Anthology and has had work performed in the Portland Center Stage's Youth Play-writing Showcase. In terms of theatre, they have been involved in Roosevelt High School Drama Club, as well as a member (both ensemble and director) of Hand2Mouth's Youth Devising Residency, for the past four years. They will be going to Oberlin College in August, but his favorite bridge will always be the Steel. Going from an audience member to part of the run crew, Orion is so excited to be a part of HOME/LAND!

Orion is doing double duty alternating as part of our running crew and part of Unit 7. Come see them at Lot 6B! Tickets available at www.hand2mouththeatre.org .

Meet the cast of HOME/LAND! This is Nurys!

Nurys Herrera is a Peruvian-born actress, performer, and a writer based in Portland, Oregon. She has performed on stages across the Portland area for more than 20 years. Nurys was recently seen in Hand2Mouth's Body & Technology Festival with her solo show System Check. She also appeared in Memento Mori and Home/Land (2024). 'Even after leaving home, part of us is always searching for the place where our story began.'

Nurys worked our outtake area over opening weekend but will return to the Drowned Woman role June 25-28. Don't miss her at Lot 6B. Tickets available at www.hand2mouththeatre.org .