PETE PRESENTS: CLOSE IN ★ FAR OUT FESTIVAL To Take Place Across Portland
The devised theatre festival features performances by PETE's ICP cohort in Portland.
PETE PRESENTS: CLOSE IN ★ FAR OUT, created by PETE’s Institute for Contemporary Performance, will run May 7–10, 2026 across multiple locations in Portland. The four-day festival will feature experimental performances devised and performed by the 2025–26 ICP cohort, with all tickets offered on a pay-what-you-will basis.
The festival will take place at venues throughout the Portland metro area, including Leach Botanical Garden, PICA, private residences, and the PETE studio. The programming explores themes of connection, intimacy, endurance, and transformation through a mix of performance styles and settings.
About the Shows
On Your Mark is an endurance-based performance examining masculinity, suicide, and isolation, and how shared suffering can create connection. Performances will take place Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 5 p.m. at PICA, presented as a double feature with Enchanter.
Bloom Ball will be presented Saturday, May 9 at 12 p.m. at Leach Botanical Garden. The performance is set as a garden gathering, blending coming-of-age storytelling with immersive elements.
Enchanter, created by Chloe Caldwell and Roco DeLuca, will make its theatrical debut with performances Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 5 p.m. at PICA, paired with On Your Mark. The work incorporates elements of horror and includes a post-show discussion.
Rituals For Remembering will be presented Sunday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at the PETE Studio. The performance combines narrative and visual elements to explore memory, grief, and renewal.
About PETE’S Institute for Contemporary Performance
The Institute for Contemporary Performance is a year-long training program based in Portland, Oregon. Participants train in techniques including Suzuki, Viewpoints, clown, Alexander Technique, voice, and devised performance, culminating in a public festival of new works each spring.
About Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble
Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (PETE) has created original devised works and productions since 2011. The company’s work has been presented at venues including On the Boards, CoHo Theatre, Risk/Reward, Caldera, and PCS’s JAW Festival, and has been supported by regional and national arts organizations.
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Hands on a Hardbody Lakewood Theatre Company (7/10-8/16) |
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Into the Woods Mt Hood Repertory Theatre (8/07-8/23) |
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THE BIG ONE-OH! Bridgetown Musical Theatre (8/01-8/02) |
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Smote This, A Comedy About God... and Other Serious $H*T Oregon Shakespeare Festival (8/27-10/24) |
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SIX (Boleyn Tour) Hult Center (4/30-5/02) |
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The Cover of Life Mask & Mirror Community Theatre (7/10-8/01) |
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream Oregon Shakespeare Festival (3/13-10/25) |
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Billy Strings Matthew Knight Arena (10/06-10/06) |
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MrBallen: Lights out Live Chevalier Theatre (10/10-10/10) |
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& Juliet Hult Center (10/06-10/11) |