rhythm and autism highlight reels (sensory friendly video on right)

Rhythm and Autism on solo arts heal (the marshstream)

Begins with the first 11 minutes of RHYTHM AND AUTISM, from my set at From the Ground UP's FAQ Festival on June 10, 2023, followed by a great interview with host Gail Schickele and live on-air performances of “Try a Little Tenderness” (done sensory friendly here!), “How Are You,” and “Going to the Dance Alone.” Originally streamed live on July 12, 2023.

clappy monsters, super freaks: rhythm and autism breaks out!

The year 2024 is shaping up to be EEEEEEEE (or, for those who are sensory sensitive to that letter, eeeeeeee) for RHYTHM AND AUTISM! 

After working on this show since October 2021, doing multiple workshops, readings, revisions, etc., I am getting ready to unleash the full, polished RAA on the world (or at least, the state of Oregon). I cannot wait!

I didn't "overcome" my autism to do this -- I used it, But it wasn't until the pandemic, where I was "visited" by an entity I call the Clappy Monster, that I learned how. RAA tells that story. And here's where I'll be telling it next.

On February 25-26, 2024 (a Sunday and a Monday), at 7:30 PM, I will be doing the full one-act RAA (approximately 85 minutes long) for From the Ground UP PDX at the Historic Alberta House in Portland, OR. I performed a 23-minute excerpt at FTGU's spring shows in June 2023, and I am thrilled to get to do the full show for them! There will be an Arts for All ticket option for those who need it. This show is made possible by an Arts 3C grant from the Portland Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). 

I will then be taking RAA to Salem, OR for a show at the Salem Public Library Loucks Auditorium on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at 2:00 PM, with a 75-minute one-act. Free admission, of course! 

On Friday, April 19, 2024, I will be doing a two-act sensory friendly RAA program at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, OR! This features a first act which avoids common sensory triggers for people with high sensory sensitivity (e.g. flapplause instead of clapping, muted sounds and colors, soft lighting), and everyone will receive a program that details which sensory elements the audience can expect from each scene. Yes, I can do a sensory friendly show about my obsession with clapping and noisy percussion! In the video above right, I map out how I navigate that. Access is extremely important to me, and I want people with high sensory sensitivity to have a chance to see a show, especially one put on by someone who lives what they are living.

And I have been accepted into Oregon Fringe, which happens in Ashland, OR from April 24-28, 2024. Watch this space for updates as I receive them!

For those who cannot get to one of my shows, I have you covered, too. My Solo Arts Heal livestream from July 2023 is above, and has plenty of RAA material in it. Also, in December 2023, I was featured on Tony Mantor's autism-focused podcast, Why Not Me the World. Scroll down to find your podcast source of choice, or just listen online. Tony did a great interview with me and there are some snippets of me performing live. But don't be surprised if I do a show in your neck of the woods sometime (ya gotta believe)…

I also have created some exciting and fun community outreach programs, including one about creating sensory friendly shows and environments. Click the drop-down menu above or just click here for a downloadable PDF.

Click here for videos of full songs that appear in RHYTHM AND AUTISM! Calendar of upcoming shows is below.

If you want to know more about RHYTHM AND AUTISM, sign up for updates below, or write me at andee@normalfaunamusic.com!

Previous events

Feb26

This will be the second night of two putting on my full show with this great organization whose residency and group shows I was part of in 2023! This show is made possible by an Arts 3C grant from the Portland Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC).

All tickets general admission. $25 regular price, pay what you can option starting at $5.

Feb25

This will be the first night of two putting on my full show with this great organization whose residency and group shows I was part of in 2023! This show is made possible by an Arts 3C grant from the Portland Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC).

All tickets general admission. $25 regular price, pay what you can option from $5.

Dec30

This will be where we plan to do the whole ball of wax -- new background video, looping, everything except stage lighting, in preparation for the January shows! Expect a little roughness around the edges because it's a reading and final cuts haven't been made yet, but it's free, and your feedback will be welcome! Estimated run time is 75 minutes.

Jul16

La Strada Dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival, Main Stage

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Hillsboro Civic Center Plaza, 150 E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR

This is an amazing FREE event, where four blocks of downtown Hillsboro are blocked off so that these fantastic chalk artists can do their thing on the streets the weekend of July 15-16! Added bonus: there will be great music and other performing arts to gawk at as you make your way around. In July 2022, I premiered RHYTHM AND AUTISM in a staged reading here, on a side stage; this time, I will be on the main stage (yay!) doing RAA excerpts.

Jun17

Influence Music Hall Presents Songwriters in the Round

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Beaverton Round Amphitheater, 12600 SW Crescent St., Beaverton, OR

I will be joining my IMH friends Bill Hernandez, Rob Cork, Henry Kaiser, Christine Navarro, Rodney Stubbs, and Evan Acey for a songwriters-in-the-round outdoor event! Admission is free, and the nearby Cartel has all kinds of drool-worthy foods to purchase while you watch us.

Jun16

From the Ground UP Residents' Show with mini-RAA (indoor show)

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New Expressive Works, 810 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THIS SHOW. I and my fabulous fellow residents will each do 20 minutes from our solo theater pieces. This is an indoor show in a small theater. Base ticket price is $20, but a number of Arts4All tickets are available, see link below.

Base price $20, Rise Up patron seating $20 and up, Arts for All $5 and up

Jun10

From the Ground UP Residents' Show with mini-RAA (outdoor show)

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Ramona Street Art Farm, 12946 SE Ramona Street, Portland, OR

This is the first of two group shows I will be doing with From the Ground UP in June! I and four fantastic fellow residents (Rachael Himsel, Kate Perri, Jen Wyant, and Suzanne LaGrande) will each do 20 minutes from our solo theater pieces. This is an outdoor show, intimate environment, very low tech. Base ticket price is $20, but a number of Arts4All tickets are available; see link below.

Regular price $20, Rise Up patron seating $20 and up, Arts for All Seating $5 and up

May2

Andee with Bill Hernandez and Rob Cork at Crystal Heart!

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Crystal Heart Boutique, 269 E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR

Not just another First Tuesday gig, although it coincides with that! Rob and Bill and I are going to spend the three hours swapping songs (covers and originals), and playing and singing on each other's stuff. We had a show like this booked three years ago and it got wiped, so it will be great to finally have this experience!

Apr15

This will be the first public reading of the one-hour one-act edition of RAA! There will be new material. There will be flubs. There will be flapping. There will be clapping. There will be two dynamite opening acts delivering their amazing combinations of music and spoken word for 30 minutes each: my esteemed hostess, Jessie Starr, followed by the fantastic allistic/autistic duo Weirdos Unite (aka Vahan and Rachael). I will go on at 8 PM. You may bring in whatever food or beverage you wish (they don't sell any). You can also bring a favorite chair or pad, there will be space for it! And not only that, but Jessie and Dave will have their light painting rig up, bringing gorgeous color into the proceedings -- and if you ask nicely they might let you try it for yourself.

$15 in advance/$20 at the door

Jan27

Local Singer-Songwriter Night at Walters Cultural Arts Center

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Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E. Main Street, Hillsboro, OR

I, my prodigiously talented friend Bill Hernandez, and two other locals TBA are each doing 30-minute sets, and I will be doing a preview of RHYTHM AND AUTISM, including some special material written just for this show! If you want to buy advance tickets, you can do that here:. https://cityofhillsboro.ticketspice.com/local-singer-songwriter-22

Dec3

Dropped Notes is Curious Comedy's musical improv show, and I will be the guest performer! I will not be doing improv but a 20 minute opening mini-set of RHYTHM AND AUTISM. Note that although it's an all-ages venue, it's not a family friendly event so discretion is advised.

Nov20

Influence Music Hall does it again! This will be a free, all sensory friendly show, 60 minutes long. That means very little amplification, no sudden or loud or high-pitched noises, no singing along or clattery percussion, low lighting, and flapplause and flap-alongs in place of clapping. There will also be space for a silent dance floor, in case people want to express themselves without making voluntary noise. I'll even avoid wearing loud colors! If you have any questions about how this works, don't hesitate to ask me before coming down.

Nov19

Thanks to my friends at Influence Music Hall and Tualatin Valley Arts, I get to put on RAA in a fabulous theater that can accommodate up to 200 people, with free admission! (Don't be scared by the location; this theater puts on secular programming all the time, and nobody will try to convert you.) Note that this is not the sensory friendly show; that show will be the next day at the Brookwood Library (see separate listing).

Nov6

Rhythm and Autism Full Show, East Side

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Good Medicine Theater at Uplifted Boutique, 5404 SE 72nd Ave., Portland, OR 97206

This is a very small, intimate theater on the east side, capacity is about 20 people. But here you will get the full theatrical version of RAA, performed on the east side of PDX for the very first time! Admission is free thanks to a grant from the Autism Society of Oregon.

Jul16

Rhythm and Autism Preview at La Strada Chalk Art Festival Side Street!

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Puppernickel Bakery, 133 SE 3rd Ave., Hillsboro, OR

The La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival is a huge event in which East Main Street in downtown Hillsboro is closed off for 4 blocks so that brilliant chalk artists can create gorgeous art right there on the spot, before your very eyes! There will be also crafts and live performances at the Plaza and also on the side streets, and the latter is where I will be, in front of Puppernickel Bakery. I will be preceded there by Henry Kaiser and his 12-string beast (from 12-2 PM), Rob Cork and his fantastic tie-dyed cinematic tuneage (from 2-4 PM), and then me. No props or scenery or AV stuff here, just me with my backing tracks, guitar, and live percussion loops, mixing spoken word/comedy and singing my piece about growing up autistic amid the pop culture cheese of the 1960s and 1970s and how it made me who I am today. Eeeeeee!

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