How’s your spring shaking out? This week, Do This, Do That unfurls with events like sooo many cherry blossoms, tulips, and daffodils. John Waters cruises into town to celebrate eight decades of debauchery, Making Earth Cool screens a verdant array of 16mm nature films, and did you know you can learn Latin dance for free at White Owl Social Club? All that and a case for Dancing with the Stars below!
MONDAY, APRIL 13
An Evening with Mary Bronstein
New York City-based filmmaker Mary Bronstein joins Hollywood Theatre audiences in person for screenings of her complete works. First up is hour-long comedy Yeast (2008) starring Bronstein alongside Greta Gerwig—it’s a low-budget, low-res “mumblecore” film shot on a MinIDV camcorder—followed by the 10-minute short film Round Town Girls (2009). If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (2025), which landed Rose Byrne a Best Leading Actress Oscar nom, is a dark yet funny look into parenthood at its worst, apparently inspired by Bronstein’s real-life experience caring for her child with chronic illness. The screening will be followed by a 30-minute conversation with Bronstein. (Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7 pm, $20, more info, rated R) KATHERINE CHEW HAMILTON
Going to Extremes: A John Waters’ 80th Birthday Celebration
The celebrated “Pope of Trash,” John Waters, returns to Portland with an on-brand, absolutely raunchy evening of memories, jaw-dropping jokes, and a birthday celebration for himself to honor turning 80 years old and remaining undeniably awesome. The director of cult classics Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom, Hairspray, and more, Waters simply cannot help but educate and offend—and if you have a sense of humor about yourself and others, this spoken word performance (in which he’ll also field questions from the audience) could be the party you’ve been waiting for all year. (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $74.93, more info, unbelievably all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Also worth it:
Animation April, Clinton Street Theater, more info
Clinton Street’s recurring Animation April series includes the gothic tale of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the 16th century Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer who bathed in blood. Indie experimenter claire rousay scored the new restoration of Slovak cartoonist Viktor Kubal’s The Bloody Lady (1981).
TUESDAY, APRIL 14
Rainbow Rowell
A well-known name in the world of young adult fiction, Rainbow Rowell received acclaim for her portrayal of both the dread of abuse and the spark of hope found in her 2012 book Eleanor & Park. She followed that with 2013’s Fangirl and 2015’s Carry On—which was a continuation of the fan-fiction from Fangirl. Whaaaa? Every adult who had been sneakily reading Rowell’s work lost their minds at the cleverness of it all. Cherry Baby is the second in Rowell’s four adult novel deal with publishers William Morrow and offers an interesting take on what it’s like to be the real person a fictional character is based upon. While it’s sold as scintillating romance, critics have noted the book says more about internalized fatphobia than steamy adult self-discovery. That happens! (Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7 pm, $42.99 ticket includes a copy of Cherry Baby, more info, all ages) SUZETTE SMITH
Planet Money Live
NPR economics podcast Planet Money launched in 2008—as the world reeled from the housing bubble/subprime mortgage crisis—with a mission to explain the economy. The show’s first-ever book Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life remains devoted to that goal, even as the show’s hosts are upfront that the idea came from a literary agent trying to brainstorm books based on NPR content. The timing here isn’t a coincidence either, as public radio seeks out new revenue streams to compensate for the Republican-controlled Congress rescinding public media funds and the subsequent dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The book’s main author, Alex Mayyasi, isn’t just a Planet Money contributor—he’s also the former editor of Gastro Obscura. So there’s a good chance he’s written something pretty readable and fun. At this special event, Mayyasi appears with show host Kenny Malone and the owners of Hollywood district restaurant Xiao Ye for what sounds like a fascinating explainer of small business/intimate relationship economics. (The Reser, 12625 SW Crescent, Beaverton, 7:30 pm, $44.50-$94.50, more info, all ages) SS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15
Queer Baile: Bachata
Whether you’re a Latin dance pro or don’t know bachata from salsa, Queer Baile is a non-gendered, beginner-friendly, and LGBTQ-centered way to get your feet moving in community. Held once a month at White Owl Social Club with a focus on a different Latin dance style each month, the free lesson during the first hour will take you from basic steps to a short combo of moves—no partner needed. Show off your moves the rest of the night as DJ Mala spins tunes for social dancing. (White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th, 7-8 pm lesson, 8-10 pm social dancing, FREE, more info, 21+) KCH
Oklou
French vocalist, producer, and composer Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, burst onto the experimental pop scene in 2020 with her debut mixtape Galore. After five years of anticipation, she released her debut album, Choke Enough, to critical acclaim, with Pitchfork writing that “the French electronic pop darling presents a twilit fusion of Y2K worship, Baroque polyphony, and elegant, opaque ambiance.” It’s an album I’ve been turning to often lately—the mellow beats bubble under the surface of Oklou’s soothing vocals, providing a pocket of calmness I can retreat into when the world gets overstimulating. With recent collaborations with boundary breakers FKA twigs and PinkPantheress under her belt, I’m excited to see what she does next. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, 8:30 pm, $43.50, more info, all ages) JANEY WONG
Also worth it:
The Cat, Cinemagic, more info
Undersung filmmaker Lam Ngai Kai directed a slate of ’80s Hong Kong genre flicks that Cinemagic describes as “maximalist worlds.” The theater’s screening series finishes out with The Cat, in which a space kitty throws paws with an alien fungus.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
Dancing with the Stars
For a solid two decades, I felt like Dancing with the Stars wasn’t my type of reality TV. Alas, I was sucked in last year through my avid following of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, tuning in to see if any tea hopped from one show to another from the two participating MomTokers. From there, I quickly learned DWTS lore like a fish in water: the dancing pros’ intertwined romances (fun fact: the cast is also predominantly Mormon), TikTok’s thirst for Val Chmerkovskiy, and everyone’s exasperation at Carrie Ann Inaba’s seemingly unwarranted scores. Thirty-four seasons in, the show saw a ratings resurgence, and if you still can’t get enough DWTS, you can catch the live show with special guests Andy Richter and Dylan Efron. I mean, seeing Dani “the Ferrari” Karagach in action is worth the ticket price alone. (Moda Center, 1 N Center Ct, 7:30 pm, $73.85+, more info, all ages) JW
Also worth it:
The Cinema of Jafar Panahi, Hollywood Theatre, more info
Panahi, the Iranian neorealist behind last year’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident, has navigated censorship and imprisonment in pursuit of his politically charged, critical point of view. This series screens seven of his films.
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
Films from Earth: A 16mm Showcase from Making Earth Cool and the Nyback Archive
Since his death in 2022, Portland’s “P.T. Barnum of cinema” Dennis Nyback has been seriously missed. Nyback’s screenings were rightfully storied over the course of his career; he screened crate-dug film programs worldwide and owned the Clinton Street Theater back in the ’90s. We were lucky to have him, and now, we’re lucky to have the reigning nature-lovers at Making Earth Cool inhabiting our little corner of the planet. Ahead of their puppet-laden Earth Day celebration on April 25, they’ll pull from Nyback’s world-famous 16mm film archive, curating a screening of “rare nature films.”(Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 7 pm, $15, more info) LC
Also worth it:
Close-Up, Academy Theater, more info
Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up (1990) follows working-class cinephile Hossein Sabzian’s real-life trial for impersonating the filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Kiarostami stages reenactments of the preceding events with the actual people impacted. The documentary’s plot revolves around the role of cinema in our lives, yet it also wonders how each person involved—judge, plaintiffs, defendant—might have reacted if a camera had never entered the room.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
Scientific Bird Illustration Basics: Line & Color
For those who fall into both the bird lover and artsy type categories, try your hand at beginner-friendly scientific bird illustrations at this Bird Alliance Oregon workshop. Taught by wildlife artist Tora Benzeyen, participants will learn to understand how to draw feather groups and patterns, as well as shading techniques like stippling, hatching, and even scumbling with a pencil and simple BIC pen. Use colored pencils to bring your bird illustrations to life. (Bird Alliance Oregon, 5151 NW Cornell, 11 am-3 pm, SOLD OUT, more info, all ages) KCH
The Glass Menagerie
Well, if it’s going to be a Tennessee Williams play, it’s going to be about declining Southern gentility splattering extravagantly into full-blown decay. And if it’s going to be produced at Shaking the Tree and directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, we’re more than likely going to see visuals we’d never expect. Williams coined the term “memory play” to describe The Glass Menagerie, as he felt his central character’s recollection of his mother and sister should be understood as subjective and non-realistic. This all leaves so much interesting space for Van Der Merwe to move in what she calls “one of my most beloved plays.” (Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant, showtimes vary through May 16, $12-48, more info) SS
Margaret Cho: Choligarchy
Vogue magazine named Margaret Cho one of the nine best female comedians of all time—a designation that’s difficult to argue with. So after four decades of entertaining crowds worldwide, what’s her secret? Barely restrained CHAOS. Hopping with chaotic ease between such varied topics as cruel American politics and the bizarre vagaries of capitalism, as well as intimate personal stories and true, insane tales from her lengthy comedy career, Cho proves once again that her incisive, take-no-prisoners brand of comedy is what America needs right now. (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 9:30 pm late show, $43.88-$90.84, more info, all ages, mature content) WSH
Also worth it:
Record Store Day, various locations, more info
Store participation varies, but Record Store Day is worth the crate dig–RSD releases range from Charli XCX to HAIM to Deafheaven, and locations around town will keep the lights on late with sales and additional merch.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
Playtime
Sometimes a metaphor hits you just so; the story of Tativille, created by director Jacques Tati for his 1967 magnum opus Playtime, is one such metaphor. In order to make the film the way he wanted, Tati built a small city in a wasteland to the southeast of Paris. The 15,000 square meter set contained full-scale buildings and infrastructure; the process became so extravagant that the elevators actually worked! Tati said he would leave his Tativille to be used by future French filmmaking generations, but it was torn down just months after Playtime‘s release. To this day, Playtime is a movie best viewed large—on the cinema screen—so you can appreciate the grandeur, spectacle, and pantomime of Tati himself as bumbling businessman Monsieur Hulot. (PAM CUT at the Whitsell, 1219 SW Park, 2 pm, $15, more info, all ages) SS
Moment: Regional Woodwind Conference
Moment’s musical curations skew inventive and contemporary, so it’s cool to see the group pay homage to the kind of event you would’ve seen advertised on a co-op’s cork board in the ’90s. This woodwind conference is inspired by the bygone regional noise conferences of that era. The rules are fairly simple, but lend themselves to a bright, reedy range of sound and spirit: 15-minute blocks of music will be filled by 14 acts, including Visible Cloaks’ Ryan Carlile, Maxx Katz, Golden Retriever’s Jonathan Sielaff, and Cosmic Tones Research Trio’s Harlan Silverman. Woodwind instructors, sound bath healers, and a professional horticulturist will also take to the stage, rounding out 3.5 hours of auditory massage. (Leaven Community Center, 5431 NE 20th, 4 pm, $10, more info, all ages) LC
Nicole J. Georges with Lisa Congdon
Emotional Support Animals collects Georges’ Anonymous Fuzzball series and provides workbook centering exercises that are both solid and sweet. The painstakingly detailed animal drawings often show her subjects sitting in chairs and clutching a beverage, as if they’re in a support group. A pug stirs a mug and imparts: “It’s not cruel or unloving to say no or hold a boundary.” A lemur perches in a yellow event chair and offers: “When I stop focusing on other people, I’m left with my own fear and grief.” Georges’ work may already be known to you from her graphic novels, like Calling Dr. Laura (2013) and Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home (2017) or her popular zine series Invincible Summer. Emotional Support Animals is a self-care workbook and inspirational phrase collection giving no guff, promising no miracles. It’s doing its best, just like you are. (Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7 pm, FREE, more info, all ages) SS
Waiting for Guffman
Catherine O’Hara’s recent death is a monumental loss, as evidenced in no small part by everyone’s obsession with her song “God Loves a Terrier” in Christopher Guest’s faultless mockumentary Best in Show (2000). But we know this. I’m here on important business: to make sure that you’ve also seen O’Hara’s performance in Guest’s 1996 mocku-musical Waiting for Guffman. The film follows Corky St. Clair, a theatre director who’s busy staging his masterpiece–a musical on the history of Blaine, Missouri, the “stool capital” of the United States. A gang of locals who can only be described as ragtag—including our Best in Show friends/freaks Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, and Bob Balaban—join in, as does O’Hara. Read more in Second Run. (Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 7 pm, $15, more info, R) LC
Looking for even more events happening this week? Head on over to EverOut!
