Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People- a study in dichotomy

Last night at the Winningstad Theatre marked the world premiere of Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People's Last Meadow. Some parts were rich with energy and subtext, others were downright atrocious. The best was about three-quarters of the way through when the three main players disrobe and break out into dance moves only seen in the most homosexual and best techno clubs, with a little ballet mixed it.

With trite statements from a mike/amp combination on stage such as "America is a disaster" and a break midway through, literally, the three performers stopped, commented that a moth was disrupting their stage presence during the performance, drinking water, and talking about pooping, it was mostly a discombobulated mess.

Some statements, such as "I wish my parents loved me the way I want to be loved"

(or something along those lines, and we can all relate, right?) showed hints of accessibility. Most did not. But I would be lying if the crazy dance moves to Madonna didn't make me smile.

TBA:09 is among us

Yes, it is that time of year again. Time for T:BA 09, with its experimental and questionable art and performance, it has become a premier art festival in the Northwest, harnessing talent from all over the world.

Tonight's docket includes Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People's world premiere of Last Meadow. Here is what PICA has to say about it:

Last Meadow is set to an original score created by first-time composer Neal Medlyn and lighting by longtime collaborator Lenore Doxsee. Mining movement and text from James Dean’s East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant, Last Meadow creates a non-narrative collage of sensorial confusion, aka an America where the jig is up and the dream has died. Last Meadow is about the space of waiting, when things don’t move forward, don’t happen as they should, and mixed messages are the only ones we get.

I won't be able to give you my thoughts on it until tomorrow morning, cause I am going to what will probably be one of the highlights of the festival, the Explode into Colors performance with Janet Pants & Chris Hackett later tonight after Last Meadow.

Here are the deets if you want to come join in on the arty fun.

Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People

Fri. Sept. 4th 6:30-8pm

Sat. Sept 5th 6:30-8pm

Sun. Sept. 6th 6:30-8pm

Mon. Sept. 7th 8:30-10pm

$15-20

Buy tix at the door.

Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA)

Winningstad Theatre

111 SW Broadway

Explode into Colors with Janet Pants & Chris Hackett

TONIGHT! 10:30pm at THE WORKS- Washington High School

531 SE 14th Ave. Portland, OR 97214

All Ages, $8-10

Pod cast of Big Sky Conference football coaches conference call, Wednesday, Sept. 2

Listen to the pod cast of today's conference call with Big Sky football coaches:

• Sacramento State's Marshall Sperbeck
• Northern Arizona's Jerome Souers
• Weber State's Ron McBride
• Idaho State's John Zamberlin
• Portland State's Jerry Glanville
• Northern Colorado's Scott Downing
• Montana's Bobby Hauck
• Eastern Washington's Beau Baldwin
• Montana State's Rob Ash

PSU NEWS: Disability Resource Center is finally moving!

The DRC is delighted to announce that we will be moving to the first floor of the Smith Memorial Student Union this month! We will be located in the Northeast corner of the building, just down the hall from ASPSU in room 116.



The new location will be more accessible for students and will allow us to share our work space with the Assistive Technology Center.



Moving all the DRC offices and staff will take a few days, so the DRC will be closed September 10-15. We'll do our best to check e-mail during this time, but may lose access to voice mail on Friday, September 11.



If you visit the DRC before September 10, you will probably see us packing and sorting through things. We hope you'll pardon our mess!

Rola Khouri

Receptionist

Disability Resource Center

TwitterTracker: PSU-related tweets

On this edition of TwitterTracker, take an inside look at the new rec center from @psucampusrec.

Today via @psucampusrec: Truly the front welcome is just about done.


Today via @psucampusrec: Main lobby is 99% done!

Follow the Daily Vanguard on Twitter.

PSU/PORTLAND NEWS: Mayor Adams and PSU President Wiewel to officially open Cycle Track downtown today, 2-3 p.m.

The official opening of a Cycle Track on SW Broadway marks a new phase in Portland's development as a world-class bicycling city and reaffirms Portland State's commitment to sustainability. A Cycle Track protects bike riders from downtown traffic by placing them in a buffered bike lane between the curb and on-street parking. This event will be celebrated with a press conference for the demonstration project.

Opening remarks will be given by Portland Mayor Sam Adams followed by Portland State President Wim Wiewel. Also in attendance will be Scott Bricker, executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

When:
Today, Monday, August 31, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where:
Portland State University between Neuberger Hall and Smith Memorial Student Union

Scott Gallagher
Office of University Communications
503-725-8789
503-957-7545

Football practice: parting shots

This post was written by Vanguard writer Allison Whited.

I have enjoyed my time at practice the past three weeks immensely. I watch so much professional football that it's easy to forget how important raw talent is and how some play the game just to play the game. I have been reminded how camaraderie can exist between two people striving for the same thing and how much we can learn from those teaching us if only we listen.

I'm very shy, so it takes a lot for me to get comfortable enough to talk to someone, but I would like to say that every time I have had contact with someone associated with PSU Athletics, it has been a very positive experience. I even met the athletic director one day and he was so genial that I instantly felt comfortable. I just want to say thank you to those few people I worked up the nerve to talk to between the beginning of spring ball and now. I have utmost respect for the coaching and training staff, the players themselves who work so hard and the folks who work in the athletics department.

Now just a few parting thoughts on what I've noticed in practice the past three weeks:
I love the secondary. The starters seem set to be Tracy Ford and DeShawn Shead at cornerback and Cody Worthen and Jordan Brown at safety. They are good, intelligent athletes and they create a stifling backfield for anyone under the gun. Even the players behind them in depth chart, guys like Mshaka Mitchell and Michael Williams and Denzel Davis, have shown plenty of skill, speed and intelligence. I like the way secondary coach Brandon Shelby coaches. He doesn't appear to be anyone's friend, but he's a great mentor. I really think this group will anchor the defense.

I think the quarterback position is solid in Drew Hubel's hands. His height is a great advantage over everyone else on the depth chart at that position. On some plays, and this happens more and more frequently, he has great—which is a word I try not to use frequently—touch on the ball. He puts it where it should be, softly, without letting it float dangerously. He will be called on a lot this year, but he seems confident enough to handle it. I also think Connor Kavanaugh is a good backup. He gives the offense an extra dimension with his scrambling ability and he seems to be settling into his internal game clock.

The freshman fullbacks have been such a pleasant surprise. We will have to wait for the season to begin to get a taste of offensive coordinator Jim Craft's play calling, but with backs like these as well as incumbent backs like Bobby McClintock and Nick Kalpin, it can't hurt to throw some more runs into the mix. Evans Okotcha and Ben Bowen have lit it up at times. The speed on both of them is great and they are good in pass protection. They are going to prove to be good investments in the future.

The linebacker group is solid. With senior linebackers Erik Pedersen and Ryan Pedersen returning as starters, it's a unit that gets things done. They have each spent at last a year under Glanville and know where they are supposed to be and what they need to do. There are rarely mental lapses and they really are too much fun to watch.

I still think the receiving corps needs another leader besides Aaron Woods. Woods is great to watch at practice. He is so aggressive and finds a way to the ball. I have the feeling he's going to get quite a bit of coverage this season and someone will need to show up to draw heat off of him. From all that I've seen at practice, I think Lavonte Kirven is the most likely. He has good hands and good field awareness.

The offensive and defensive lines have improved so much over just the past three weeks. It's difficult to tell what everyone playing those key positions is doing on every play and I know that I did not give those guys as much credit as they deserve. They work together well and the offensive line has gotten stiffer while the defensive line has gotten more punishing.

My final thought is one of thanks. I'm thankful I got to spend time watching such a talented group of athletes. I'm thankful no one trashed me for any negative comment I may have made. And I'm most thankful that anyone even read my drivel. I have to admit that I thought I was only writing for myself, but as time has worn on I have realized that more people read it than just me. Someone actually warned me that other teams could read this junk to scout out the team (do people really do that?). All I wanted to do was show my commitment to covering the team and give people an idea of what the team was doing. I hope that at the lowest level I have achieved that.