frl., June 7, 1963 The News-Review, Rotebwrf, Ore. 5
ir i
Mr
5
. vV'
4M kit
UMPQUA WEST THEATER is the name given the barn the Merely Players of Roseburg
have taken os their new home. It is located about two miles west of Roseburg on the Mel
rose road. The group has completely remodeled the inside with a raised stage and the
oddition of regular theater seats. (News-Review photos by Andy Fautheree)
111 vaFTi
,M iM) A ...
5'
EVERYONE PITCHES IN in a little theater group when it comes to construction. Judy
Knight orvd Connie Bakke, both east members of the group's first play "Bus Stop," now
in production, take time out from rehearsals to work on the stage, which had to be com
pleted before work on the sets could begin.
V34IX- . - rj- ciiw lL.
'!, fcj
... n iM i,V - .j 4 I J i iw J
Jf
AFTER AN ESTIMATED 500 to 600 man hours, the inside of the Umpqua West Theater
is reody for on oudience. Seating capacity in the first permanent home of the Merely
Players is 168. The stoge meosures 35-by-20 feet and plans are to extend the side areos
out forther for the up-coming summer musicol, "Flower Drum Song."
Clayton Buys Forest Tracts
Two tracts of Umpqua National
Forest timber on the Little RanKcr
District were sold by the Rose
burg supervisor's office Thursday.
Both sold to 0. E. Clayton of
Roseburg.
The first was the Panther Creek
Salvage Sale No. 2 47 miles south
east of Roseburg on 450 acres.
This was a 100 per cent Frieda
blowdown tract with a total vol
ume of 1,300.000 board feet ap
praised at $25,439.
The tract contains 1.100.000 board
feet of Douglas fir and pine ap-
Neuberger Asks Control
On Highway Billboards
WASHINGTON (L'Pl) Sen.
Maurine B. Neuberger. D Ore.,
called Wednesday for extension
of legislation to keep billboards
off the interstate highway
Mrs. 'Neuberger Joined Sen.
John Sherman Cooper. R Ky., in
sponsoring bill to eitend bill
board control two years beyond
June 30.
In remarks prepared for de
livery in the Senate. Mrs. Neu
berger said 1? states already had
entered into asreemenU with the
federal government for billboard
controls.
praised at $20.60 and 200.000 feet
of western hemlock and other spe
cies appraised at $9 30 per thou
sand. The high bidder was Clayton
with a bid of $36,934. His bid was
$31.05 on the Douglas fir and pine
and the appraised price on the
other species group.
Other bidders were the Paul B.
Hult Lumber Co. of Dillard. and
Douglas County Lumber Co. of
i Roseburg.
I The second sale was the Plus
four thinning No. 2 tract 25 miles
'northeast of Myrtle Creek. It is
located on 22 acres
Douglas fir poles and pilings ap
praised at 17 cents per foot, 20,
000 feet of Douglas fir sawlogs ap
praised at $26.45 per thousand and
10,000 board feet of western hem
lock and other species of logs ap
praised at $10.45. Total appraised
value was $30,893.50.
The only bidder was 0. E. Clay
ton. His bid was the appraised
price on all species groups.
The next sales are scheduled
next Monday.
Involved it 178,000 lineal feet of
Firm Gets Edison Award
DENVER (UPI)-Portland Gen
eral Electric Co. received the
! highest award the electric utilities j
! industry can bestow Wednesday i
! when it won the Edison Award i
' from the Edison Electric Insli-;
tute. !
PC.E was cited for "leadership 1
in creating a model water resour-1
ces development program for the I
i state of Oregon." The company!
I was credited for combining its '
i hydroelectric power production
with creation of public recreation
al facilities, preservation of nat
ural beauty and protection of fish
' and other wildlife.
Canyonville Family
Is Host To Visitors
Mrs. Jim Sproul and children
of John Day and Mrs. Ron War
ren and children of Columbia City
were guests of the Oscar Hover
sons in Canyonville recently.
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bennett vis
ited with friends and relatives in
Coos County during the past week.
Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Gill and
daughter, Andrea, spent the week
end at their cabin in Scottsburg
They entertained Mr. and Mrs. Nat
Coleman of Eugene and Mr. and
Mrs. Oscar Hoverson while there.
Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett of Eu
gene was a recent visitor of the
Norman Chappell's, correspondent
Beth Chappell reports.
Roseburg Merely Players Open In New Home
By ANDY FAUTHEREI
News-Review Staff Writer
The Merely Players, Roseburg's
little theater group, gave its first
play Thursday night in its new
home, the Umpqua West Theater.
"Bus Stop" is the climax of
some four months ot laoor in get
ting the theater ready and re
hearsing the play.
A theater of its own is probably
the fondest dream of all little
theater groups. The Merely Play
ers are no longer among the
"have nots they have a home
now.
That "home" Is a barn, former
ly identified as the Preschern
Barn, which was formerly occu
pied by a square dance group. It
is located about two miles west
of Roseburg on the Melrose Road.
After searching throughout the
greater Roseburg area for a suit
able building that could fit within
the group's pocketbook, it settled
on a bam, which in the back of
the minds of many, is almost
traditionally the home for little
theater groups.
Barn Converted
Long before a play could be pre
sented before an audience, the
barn had to be converted from a
dance hall to a theater. This of
course has meant the installation
of special lighting, seating and the
all-important stage.
'Baby Boom' Youngsters
Now Flood Labor Force
WASHINGTON (UPI) Teen
agers born during the post-World
War II "baby boom" flooded the
nation's labor force last month to
push the unemployment rate to
5.9 per cent, the government re
ports.
The lob picture was darkened
by the problem of tecn aged job
lessness, which Labor Department
otticials said soared to 18 per cent
in May. This was more than triple
the rate lor adults and caused the
over-all seasonally adjusted job
less rate to rise from 5.7 per cent
in April and from 5.5 per cent
in May, 1902.
Labor Secretary W. Willard
Wirtz said in a statement issued
with the job report that teen-aged
unemployment could become "one
of the most explosive social prob
lems in the nation s History.
Luckily, the barn had a h a r d
finished floor when the Merely
Players took it over but that
was practically all that could be
put into use. Everything else has
been done by the members them
selves, using materials begged,
borrowed and donated from local
merchants.
The stage rises about two feet
from the floor. It measures 25 feet
by 35 feet and is located at one
end of the rectangular theater
area.
The rest of the area is taken
up mostly by seats, 168 in all,
which were obtained from an old
theater in Grants Pass. They are
of the regular theater type, being
cushioned on the seat and back,
with arm rests between them. The
group feels the added work and
expense of installing these seats
were worth the effort and will be
a big improvement over the usual
metal folding chairs used.
Roots Stt
Although the players have had
their tips and downs since they
first organized in 1959 and present
ed "Solid Gold Cadillac" in the
spring of I960, they feel they final
ly have their roots deeply set.
Several plays, dramas, comedies
and musicals, have been tentative
ly lined up to follow "Bus Stop,"
which will run again tonight and
Saturday at 8:20.
The next play will be the famous
Rodgers and Uammerstcin music
al "Flower Drum Song" to be giv
en the latter part of July or the
first of August. In the first part
of the fall the players will present
the "Rainmaker." followed by
"Desire Under The Elms" and a
comedy, that hasn't been decided)
upon yei.
Reaching into the future, spokes
man and president of the group
Don Bade, says it is the aim of
the Merely Players eventually to
set up a cultural center. It could
start sometime this summer, he
said.
Baile, who is an announcer for
a Roseburg radio station and
conies to Roseburg from Holly-
wuuu wnere ne nas laKcn pari in
a number of movies and television
R reductions, said it is the group's
ope to hold classes in such fields
as dramatics, dancing, art and
music, stressing mainly drama
tics.
Summer Stock Eyed
"We hope the acting classes will
develop a group that could event
ually form into a repertory com
pany, that Is, a summer stock ler is gratifying, rewarding ant
theater. This would mean that big I fun," he said.
INGENUITY plays a major role when it comes to construc
ting and equipping a theater with limited funds. Allen
Nash is shown here fitting tin cans as reflectors and covers
for special lights.
name leads could be brought to
Roseburg sunoorted hv casts of
local people," Baile said.
"This has been done in a num
ber of places around the country,
both in big and small communi
ties, with great success," he said.
"Any place the size of Roseburg
needs a good solid theater. Mov
ies, television and other forms of
entertainment are all unique in
their own ways, and each has
something to offer.
"For a theater to be successful,
it must put on a good show, and
there's no feeling in the world like
that of accomplishing this feat. It
takes a lot of work.
"We want to instill in people
what theater is really like, enough
at least to have them coma out
and see it. If a person can afford
just a little time and effort, he
can find a whole new world in
theater. We're here to welcome
any and everyone into the group
and say 'let's work together',
Baile said.
"All the world loves a clown,
whether its the clown of comedy
or the clown of tracedv. The thea-
All Welcomed
Membership in the organization
is a simple matter. Whether a per
son has had any experience or
not, he is welcome to join. Mem
bership entitles a person to see
all plays and attend meetings of
the group, social functions and
other activities. It also includes
the right to vote at all general
meetings on whatever business
may come before the group.
Of great importance is the fact
that it allows the person to work
closely with other members of the
group in all phases of the theater.
Baile points out there is much
more to the theater than just get
ting up in front of the lights on
stage. There are the persons be
hind the lights, set designers and
a host of other jobs.
Membership is not required to
take part in any of the Players'
productions. All readings are open
to the public.
With a new theater and a new
play to their credit, the Merely
Players are looking forward to a
bright future.
NOT THE HANDIEST, PERHAPS, but this floor-level sink
was the result when the stage was built two feet above the '.
old floor. However, it still serves its purpose and was a'
real boon to the group as a source of water for hot coffee
during the long hours spent in readying the theater for a
play, as demonstrated here by Patsy Barker.
wtsSBTiim'-, '. IS " am-& lists?
' 11 , I
1 ..r-.-" T" : V- r'T'll fiCiCtSiIi e zsmji
Aft II I OOll WW
Mora Spyder Convirtible
Come hill...
Monza Spydsr Club Coup
or high water
Vacations go smoother in a Chevrolet Corvair
Bring on those mountains! They're not so high and mighty any mora
when you've got Corvair' gutty six and rear-engine traction work
ing on them.
You scurry up the meanest grades. You move
with sure-footed agility on wet pavement, muddy
lanes, gravel and other would-be miseries.
And with most of Corvair's weight bearing down
on the rear wheels, you have an easy time steering,
too. Fact is, the handling's so light we don't even
offer power steering for the car.
And there's more to feel good about. No prob
lems with your radiator boiling over or going dry,
(MEVROLJET J
UUM?
ATYOUR CHEVROLET DEALER S
because there's no radiator. Corvair's engine is air cooled. No concern
about brake adjustment, either, because the brakes adjust them
selves. Nothing much to think about at all except
the good time you're having (and maybe the next
mountain you're going to flatten).
Like to do that in a sporty bucket-sealed Monza
Club Coupe or Convertible? Like to spring into
summer with a 4-speed stick shift and Spyder
package with iU 150-hp Turbocharged engine,
special instrumentation and insignia? Your dealer's
got just the Corvair and the Trade 'N' Travel
deal on it to put you in a holiday mood.
'Optional at aim cort
CHECK HIS TNT DEALS ON CHEVROLET, CHEVY II, CORVAIR AND CORVETTE
HANSEN MOTOR CO,
OAK snd STEPHENS
ROSEBURG, OREGON
ORchard 3-4446
t