Hot, Hip and on the Verge

A dozen young American companies you need to know

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DEFUNKT

No Curtain Calls, Please
by Steffen Silvis

Among impromptu art shows, underground film collectives and a thousand garage bands, defunkt theatre stands out in Portland as the epitome of the city's renowned do-it-yourself aesthetic.

Founded in 2000 by playwright James Moore, conceptual artist damali ayo, filmmaker Grace Carter and actor Tom Galup, defunkt quickly built a tight, consensus-driven ensemble, complete with a manifesto touting its commitment to analyzing issues relating to race, gender and class. This young group of serious artists have abandoned the curtain call, as they prefer to leave the audience with reactions to a play and its language rather than to the personalities involved. "Too much in Portland's theatre is product-oriented and ego-driven," ayo says, signing herself and the company in lower case to emphasize the point. "Our interest is in how we can achieve a vision for the play."

Defunkt is a playwright's theatre—the first in Portland to fully produce work by Charles L. Mee, Sarah Kane and Mac Wellman. In fact, Wellman has become a patron saint of the company. "He puts me in hero-worship mode," Moore says. "He's cut us some nice deals for the rights to his plays. It's not every famous playwright who's that interested in a Podunk theatre that seats-on a good night-40 people." The company has also produced Moore's own work, including his wonderfully surreal comedy cart, and his one-woman show for ayo, American/Girl.

For a tiny company, defunkt has held its own even against the city's major Equity houses, Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre, with the young group garnering local awards each year since its founding. "So many other theatre people want to work with us," ayo says, noting that PCS dramaturg Kristan Seemel just directed Wellman's A Murder of Crows for the company.

Defunkt's enthusiasm for its work is infectious. There's something refreshing about a group that technically depends upon the kindness of clip lights, builds sets from scrap chicken wire, wood pallets and tin cans, and costumes itself from the odd togs fished from the bins at Goodwill. The average budget for a production is just under $700, and opening nights are always free with the hope that those first audiences will advertise the play to others.

By marrying its assertive DIY philosophy, polygamously, with political commitment and intellectual rigorousness, defunkt has achieved a high reputation for interpretive savvy—whether in peopling the skewed, fruited plains of Wellman's America or uncovering the bleak beauty in Sarah Kane's Jacobean landscapes. The group's integrity continually impresses. "The day we discuss remounting one of our successes is the day I lock the door for good," Moore promises.

Steffen Silvis is the assistant arts and culture editor for the Willamette Weekly.

Next: The Dirigo Group, Austin, Texas

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