Song of the Dodo staggers drunkenly into the issue of extinction and ends up making a fool of herself. And isn’t this how most of us react to tragedy? Drawing on the writings of Euripides and Anne Carson and interviews with actors Nicol Williamson and Katherine Hepburn, Dodo sits inside the gap between how we talk about death and how we feel about it. We find grief disguised as rage, pathos diluted to politeness. Dodo is a shriek of lamentation tucked inside a clown show, a traditional Greek tragedy devoured by a contemporary hunger. It uses dance, extended voice, lamentation, contemporary design techniques, and original music to examine the many little (and big) extinctions, personal and global, that we ignore every day. uses dance, extended voice, lamentation, contemporary design techniques and original music to create a melody of mystery and contradiction intended to move emotion and make space for understanding.

PETE are one of my great hopes for the future of the Portland theater scene. Their work is unapologetically experimental, technically sophisticated, and engaged with questions about what role theater can play in contemporary culture. 

-Portland Mercury on PETE’s Song of the Dodo

Alternately silly, contemplative and bleak... one of the most disgusting and arresting things I’ve seen onstage.

-Willamette Week on PETE’s Song of the Dodo

A big measure of the success of a non-narrative show... is how effectively the show engages my curiosity. Do I want to understand this cryptic piece of theater? Is there humor and rigor? Am I motivated to understand how the pieces fit together? In the case of Song of the Dodo, the answer is yes.

-Portland Mercury on PETE’s Song of the Dodo

Production History:

Workshop showing

On The Boards/NWNW Festival

June 2012

Studio Theater

Workshop showing

Portland Centerstage/ JAW Festival

July 28, 2012

Workshop showing

The Headwaters Theatre

August 18, 2012

Full production

November 9-24, 2013

Venue: Studio 2

Director: Jacob Coleman

Performers:

Rebecca Lingafelter*

Paige McKinney

Cristi Miles*

Judson Williams

Amber Whitehall

*Member, Actors' Equity Association

Music: Mark Valadez

Light and set design:Miranda K. Hardy

Costume design: Jenny Ampersand

Stage Manager: Sophie Eisenstat

Assistant Directors: Amy Wolfberg (2012), Ruxy Cantir (2013)

Photography: Gary Norman (Portland production) & Tim Summers (Seattle production)

Made possible with support from Ronni LaCroute.