eliot feenstra

eliot.feenstra@gmail.com

+1 (412) 608 6904 (USA)

I am interested in theatre as a civic practice, rural-ness, rural migration and demographic change, how places shape culture, the intersection of dance and agriculture, and wonder. I make performances but I also sometimes make dialogues, rituals, workshops, books, exhibitions, events, and walks.

Since 2011, I have been based in rural southern Oregon, where I have been collaboratively devising community-based intergenerational performances in the Illinois Valley with RiverStars Performing Arts, the Illinois Valley Whirlwind Play Festival, and Beyond Boom & Bust.

I have a BA from the University of Chicago in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on linguistic anthropology and performativity; and recently completed an MA in Theatre & Performance Studies at York University in Toronto, Ontario, including graduate coursework in social practice at Portland State University. My studies have included work in political ecology, community economic development, and human geography.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; my father’s parents immigrated from Friesland to Canada after World War II and my mother’s family is from the South; they were early (1600s) immigrants from Ireland and England. These lineages, as well as my queer and artistic ancestors, influence and shape my practice and my sense of responsibility and accountability to history and the present.