(Theatre, CoHo Theatre, 2016) Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story follows Charlotte, a woman writer who is confined to a single bedroom with a bolted-down bed for three months in 1890 by her husband who is also her doctor as a “rest cure” for her postpartum depression and anxiety. Isolated and under-stimulated, Charlotte turns to an interior world of imagination, obsessing on the room’s ghastly wallpaper until a trapped figure appears to her in the pattern. Is it a hallucination, ghost or animus – a personification of her own trapped psyche? Be immersed in Charlotte’s inner landscape to follow her journey through constraint to creativity and transformation.
Conceptual Design, Production and Performance: Grace Carter
Stageplay Adaptation: Sue Mach
Director: Philip Cuomo
Movement Direction: Paige McKinney
Sound Compositions: Ron Mason Gassaway
Cast: Christy Bigelow, Grace Carter, Chris Harder and Diana Schultz
Promotional Photography: Holly Andres
(Performance, Site Specific, 2018) Seven artists. Five rooms. Lasers, sand, rope, the street, and boxes of Alphabits. DISTANCES is a sequence of experiences in space, light, sound, movement, performed text, and cereal that seamlessly blend elements of theater, dance, and environmental art within the confines of a humble former auto parts store in southeast Portland.
Drawing on texts by Richard Foreman and Rebecca Solnit, and the artists own improvisations, the sequence of performances charts a parallel path of the curiosity, pathos, uncertainty, and humor that shape our relationships in confusing times.
Martha Almy: performer + installation design
Jenny Ampersand: wardrobe consultant
Grace Carter: performer + conceptual design
Ron Mason Gassaway: performer + sound design
Paige McKinney: performer + conceptual design
Daniel Meyers: installation + conceptual design
Traci Sym: performer + conceptual design
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(Performance, Risk/Reward Festival, 2014) explores the work and process of visual artist Cindy Sherman from a performative perspective. What are the moments in between images? How does disguise reveal vulnerabilities, iconic personas and the “real self?” Through physical language, Untitled # ______ illuminates these themes using posture, gaze, and… wigs! Of course.
Untitled # ______ is created in collaboration with theater artists Grace Carter, Camille Cettina and Anne Sorce, with composer Ron Mason Gassaway.
(Short Film, HD Video, 2023) A mother grieving the disappearance of her daughter is compounded by her daughter's belongings finding their way home by way of a river.
Based on the short story "The Pond" by Kirstin Valdez Quade
Executive Producer: Matt Factor, Skunk Films
Holly Andres + Grace Carter: Conceptual Design and Screen Adaptation
Holly Andres: Director
Grace Carter + Raya Vinar: Performance
Alisa Geiser: Director of Photography
Laurel Metzler: Editor
Samuel Barden: Editorial Assistant
Jenny Montgomery of Company 3: Colorist
Nicola Householder: Graphics
Sloan Alexander of Post Human: Mix
(Short Film, 8mm Film, 2005). A young woman is tempted by the empty calories of what is displayed as a "smorgasbord" of options for female identity.
Made by: Holly Andres + Grace Carter
Performance: Grace Carter
(Short Film, 8mm Film 2005) Holly Andres and Grace Carter chronicle the experiences of losing their mothers, in a shifting tribute to mothers and daughters told through image and memory.
Made by: Holly Andres + Grace Carter
Performers: Holly Andres and Grace Carter
(Photo Series, 2019)
Performers/Character Design: Grace Carter and Emilie Sabath
(Theatre, defunkt theatre, 2010) Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis immerses the audience in the chaotic thoughts of a protagonist struggling with profound depression. Through fragmented, often jarring monologues and intense conversations, Kane offers a stark portrayal of a mind struggling with existence. The title, 4:48 AM, symbolizes a brief, painful moment of sharp clarity in the midst of overwhelming mental turmoil.
Kane breaks from traditional theater forms, blending poetic fragments with brutal admissions and moments of bleak humor.
Playwright: Sarah Kane
Director: Grace Carter (Drammy for Best Direction, 2010)
Producer: defunkt theatre
Cast: Christy Bigelow, Joel Harmon and Matthew Kern
(Theatre, Defunkt Theatre, 2012). Glengarry Glen Ross centers on a cutthroat group of Chicago real estate agents locked in fierce competition to sell undesirable properties. The group of men scramble to outdo one another for the most sales, their desperation leading them to embrace unethical and illegal tactics. Their actions soon spiral out of control, and the arrival of a detective signals the unraveling of their schemes. This gripping production delves into the ruthless nature of this male dominated real estate industry, combining sharp dialogue with fast-paced drama. In a bold casting choice, two key roles—Roma and Levine—are portrayed by women in this production, adding fresh layers to the gendered power dynamics and tension on stage.
Playwright: David Mamet
Director: Tamara Carroll
Producer: Defunkt Theatre
Pictured: Grace Carter (as Roma)
Photography: Holly Andres
(Music Video, HD Video, 2008) music video for Portland artist Mattress, with gold plated possessions and lost love.
Artist: Mattress
Director: Grace Carter
Cinematographer: Holly Andres
Assistant Editor: Karl Lind
Costume Designer: Lori Sue Hoffman
Camera Assistant: Melanie Brown
(Theatre, defunkt theatre, 2012) Set in a North London house occupied by an all-male family, the oppressive patriarch Max rules alongside his gentle brother Sam. The volatile household includes Max’s two sons, Lenny and Joey, each vying for dominance. The dynamic shifts with the arrival of Teddy, Max's eldest son, who brings his wife, Ruth, home for their first family visit since their marriage.
Ruth quickly perceives the competitive tension between Max and his sons, provoking them as they engage in taunts about their sexual exploits. Soon, Max and Lenny devise a scheme to keep Ruth in London, suggesting she earn her keep as a prostitute. In a desperate move, Teddy decides to return to America, leaving Ruth behind. The play concludes with Ruth gaining the upper hand, as she stands over her subdued in-laws.
Playwright: Harold Pinter
Director: Paul Angelo
Producer: defunkt theatre
Pictured: Grace Carter, Blaine Palmer, David Bellis-Squires, and William Wilson
Photography: Holly Andres (poster) and Stephen Miller (stage photos)
(Radio Play, Fertile Ground Festival, 2021) in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (1610), King Leontes of Sicilia puts his wife Hermione on public trial because he believes she’s having an affair with his best friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia. His accusation is baseless, and by the time the trial is over, Leontes is responsible for the death of his son Mamillius, the banishment of his infant daughter Perdita (left unattended to perish in the wilderness), Hermione’s presumed demise, and the death by bear mauling of his friend Antigonus. Unbeknownst to Leontes, Hermione and Perdita live. Perdita is found and raised by shepherds in Bohemia, and Hermione’s friend Paulina sequesters her for 16 years until Perdita can safely return to Sicily. Madonna of the Cat is an audio version of a workshop reading that imagines what happens during those 16 years.
Stageplay: Sue Mach
Direction: Jane Unger
Performers: Grace Carter, Jacklyn Maddux, Luisa Sermol, Agatha Olson, Bruce Burkhartsmeier, and Brian Meyers.
Sound Design: Jim Brunberg
