Newsflash: Election years are not fun. Now more than ever, big election cycles—like the one we’re currently enduring—are stressful, anxiety-inducing, and for some, soul crushing. Worse still, we as a nation don’t seem to have a constructive way of processing our feelings or even productively discussing it. However, one way of coming to terms with fear and anxiety is through the shared experience of art.

And that’s the idea behind Risk/Reward’s latest theatrical production, the Election Anti-Party, which you’ll find at Portland Center Stage, September 26-28, just over a month before the dreaded election day.

Risk/Reward has been around since 2008, serving up morsels of new, often experimental, art from every possible discipline—including theater, dance, music, film, and stuff that’s largely undefinable, but always thought-provoking and adventurous. Every year Risk/Reward produces a festival of new works where each performance is 20 minutes or less. The organization also stages new, full-length performances around the city, and programs community dialogues between artists and audiences with the goal of encouraging appreciation for more adventurous performance. 

But as for the Election Anti-Party? That’s new. While this “micro-festival,” created by interim festival director James Mapes, is similar to the annual Risk/Reward fest in its adventurous nature and packed weekend format, the programming feels like an assortment of what Risk/Reward delivers in total, but with an overarching theme: the 2024 election and how we’re going to stay mentally healthy and engaged as the clusterfuck continues to unfold.

“For me, this festival is particularly important right now because of the way our political discourse is moving,” said Mapes. “It’s happening so fast, and there’s so little opportunity to think critically about the things we’re putting into our brains. So being able to sit in a room with other living human beings to watch and then talk about things? I’m going to find a lot of comfort in that, and I think other people will too.”

As is often the case, there will be post-performance discussions designed to give the audience a chance to question the performers—but this time, the purpose goes much deeper.

“We’ll go beyond the usual Q & A sort of thing,” Mapes said, “and I really hope we can take on weightier topics… such as ‘what do we want out of politics?’ ‘What do we want out of discourse?’ And, like, ‘are we actually polarized in the way the media often says we’re so polarized?’” 

And it sounds like there will be a lot to talk about. The opening night of the festival, presents the Fig Tree Committee’s An Iliad—based on the epic Greek poem by Homer—performed by Paul Susi, with live accompaniment by cellist Anna Fritz. The duo have toured this show to 13 Oregon prisons, and played it for more than 3,000 people. According to Mapes, there’s a direct correlation between Homer’s vision of those who chase the violent glory of war only to be devoured by it, and the take-no-prisoners machinations of political life and the candidates and voters who are swept into the melee.

“[An Iliad] is about how these cycles of violence and rage continue, influencing war, politics, and people throughout the ages,” Mapes said. “So not only is it appropriate, it’ll be something interesting to discuss through the lens of the upcoming election, and modern United States politics.”

On the second night, the Anti-Party features a double-header event, starting with the Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater who’ll perform a selection from their show Afrolitical called “Uprising” about the history of Black protest (casting a particular eye on the racial justice marches of 2020). Discussion on the intersection of activism and contemporary politics follows the performance. There’s also a screening of Tipping Point, the recent documentary that dives into Portland’s Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, interviewing participants, police, and activists, while providing a far more nuanced lens designed to counter the often hysteric reaction of local politicians and national media.

The fest reaches its conclusion with a Saturday-evening showcase of 20 very-short, original performances—most staged for the first time. It’s a dynamic bill, boasting drag artists Carla Rossi and Pepper Pepper, an allegedly “very angry” piece from Tracy Cameron Francis of Boom Arts, first time voters from PSU and Hand2Mouth theater, and lots more (including a mysterious and intriguing appearance from “a sentient karaoke machine.”) 

“There’s poetry, drag, comedy, music, theater, film, performance art, sculpture… lots of fun things,” according to Mapes. “I’m calling it the best open mic that you’ll ever see… it’s gonna have that vibe.”

When asked what inspired this new festival and why we need it, Mapes responded, “Art does things for us. It gives us new perspectives. It has value in our society—especially when we’re all in the same room, perceiving something and then getting a chance to talk about it.”

“But more importantly, this audience will be getting what they need: an exciting, weird, thrilling night of variety. You can trust all these artists to give you something amazing. And in the end, that’s what we at Risk/Reward are all about—we want to support artists and give them the opportunity to perform something that’s new, original, and truly great.”

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Risk/Reward presents the Election Anti-Party at Ellyn Bye Studio at Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th, Thurs Sept 26-Sat 28, 7:30 pm, pay-what-you-will, starting at $5, schedule and tickets at risk-reward.org, 13 & up