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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2000)
Pocket PlqlMise: a well-kept ■ With only 72 seats, the theater is small, but the creative setting and witty scripts make up for its size By Mason West Oregon Daily Emerald Hiding somewhere within Vil lard Hall is an entity known as the Pocket Playhouse. Some people have ventured there to behold its mysteries, but to those who have not it lies veiled in secrecy. Well, no more! The Pocket Playhouse is a 100 percent student-run theater. It hosts as many as eight shows each term, which usually run Thurs days through Saturdays begin ning at 5 p.m. The mission statement of the Pocket is to provide an arena for students to get involved in all as pects of theater, regardless of prior experience. This means that any body at the University can be in volved in the Pocket, as long as they have paid their incidental fees. The Pocket presents a unique opportunity to University students. “It’s a very rare operation to have a student-run theater on campus,” said Pocket board co chair Rowan Morrison. Perhaps even rarer is the fact that Pocket shows cost only $1 to enjoy. There is a suggested dona tion of a buck at the door, which is humorously tossed into a bed pan. This makes the Pocket not only a performing venue for the ater students, but a financially feasible option for arts lovers. John Sharpy, a Pocket board re porter/web coordinator, said jok ingly, “It’s the best theater in town...” “...for a buck,” finished Bruce Ramseyer, Pocket board director’s liaison. The Pocket was started in 1991 after the theater program be came its own department. Before that, the theater program was combined with the speech pro gram at the University. One might ask, why call it the Pocket? The name comes from the the ater’s small size, Sharpy said. “It’s about the size of a pocket,” he said. “And it’s all dark and lin ty,” added Holly Johnson, Pocket board faculty liaison. Though they were joking about the lint, the Pocket is fairly small, with only 72 seats. But hey, size doesn’t matter. Also, people going to the Pocket should not expect elaborate sets or complex py rotechnics. While there is a $75 stipend to cover expenses, many items, from props to costumes to technical equipment, are borrowed from the Pocket’s own supply or the University theater department. The Pocket is funded entirely by the ASUO and money raised from fundraising activities organ ized by the Pocket board. Despite its size and financial limitations, the Pocket is still a credible theater. “We do everything a normal theater company would except plan a season, because of the lot tery,” said Pocket board co-chair Rhaetia Hanscun. The “lottery” is the method which the students use to choose the plays that will run and the or der they will run in. Students who wish to direct a show submit a proposal sheet along with a Dork: Is this raver girl I slept with playing me? Hey Harlan, ° I met this girl at a rave a while back and we had sex. Since then it has gone from a strictly physi cal relationship to pretty serious. She told me she was initially playing me, but since she has made a connection with me she isn’t comfort able about me seeing other girls. I told her I was cool with that, but if she was getting extra play, I wanted to be able to have the same priv ilege. Well, I get back from a concert and she doesn’t call me. It takes three days to get a hold of her. We hook up and she tells me about how awesome her last rave was and how many drugs she did and about all the cool guys she met. This has kind of put me in a dilemma becausel don’t want to be a whiner and sound all jealous because I actually like her. Am I the one now being played? -Dork Dear Dork, You’re being played like an or gan at a hockey game during a shoot-out. If she had sex with you at some rave she’s probably going to have sex with some other guy at some other rave. There is virtually no trust with this relationship. She gets wasted, doesn’t call you, and then tells you she’s rooming with some other guys or something like that. Whatever! You need to talk to her without whining. If she cares about you she’ll tell you what’s going through her mind. But really k man, if you’re looking for a girl you can trust, having sex with her wasted after some rave is a terrible way to start. Dear Harlan, I am a 19-year-old female col lege student who is dating a 20 year-old male college student. Our relationship is great, but here’s the catch: we met each oth er over the Internet. We talked for over a year before we got the nerve to meet each oth er. I met his parents this past win ter and they seem to like me. 008411, Now, it is his turn to meet my folks. I haven’t told my parents much about my relationship as of yet because I’m afraid they’ll to tally freak. How do I convince them he’s not some Internet psycho? - Lost in Cyberspace Dear Lost, While some people pretend to be things they are not online, there are a lot of good people with good intentions. If you don’t think your parents can handle the truth you can always be vague. As far as they’re concerned, you met him through a friend. No one needs to know that you met him online. If he’s so wonderfrd they’ll see it for themselves. The most important thing is that you’re safe and happy. Any loving parent only wants that. How you find your happiness is your business. “Ask Harlan” is a syndicated column. Harlan is not a licensed psychologist, therapist or physician, but he is a li censed driver. You can write to Harlan at www.helpmeharlan.com. 0007307 Get To The Roost Sports Bar! • Sports all the time . • Great deals from 5-7pm & 10-12am. Induding^G^appetizers. Breakfast 7a.m. a little money. 1769 Franklin Blvd. • 683-0780 • Eugene & Florence _BREAKFAST ♦ LUNCH ♦ DINNER_ Tanya Finley and Conner Dudley perform during last week's Pocket show “The Nature and Purpose of the Universe." “Platypus” This week’s Pocket performance will run at 5 p. m. today through Saturday. "Platypus” is a show about five actors who are struggling with the conflict be tween their urge to reject the script they are performing and the need to maintain their role as actors while performing on stage. A critique of post modern theater, “Platypus” shows the audience every scriptwriter arid direc tor’s worst nightmare. Written and directed by Erik Grove. Starring Erik Grove, Steve Haskell, Phil Meyer, Micah Kiatt and Valerie Crosby. copy of the script they would like to produce by a certain due date determined each term. The due date for submissions for the fall term 2000 season is May 16. Proposals can be picked up in the Green Room or at the web site, http://gladstone.uore gon.edu/~pocket. All submissions will be put in a lottery to make the selections. The Pocket board does not judge scripts based on content, only on time constraints and the physical plausibility of making the show work in the space available. Pocket shows are not limited to published shows. Many students write the scripts that are per formed. This creates an opportunity for aspiring writers as well as student actors and directors to gain experi ence. Last term, six of the eight shows were authored by students. This term, four of the eight scripts were student-written. Every term the theater hosts four to eight shows, depending on how many feasible script submissions are received by the board. The board is the group of 12 individuals behind the scenes that make everything in the Pocket work. They get the rights for shows, make posters, help with sets, etc. But aside from that, the board is also responsible for other events in the community such as the Shakespeare’s birthday celebration on May 1 and the “Shankies” awards held June 4. “We really try our best to represent theater students as a whole,” said Ramseyer. Nominations for next year’s Pocket board elections are due May 2. Voting is open to all stu dents and takes place in the Green Room of Villard Hall on May 5. The room on the bottom floor,is a little hard to find, but anyone in the building can point you to it. It’s where auditions and play promo tions as well as other information will be posted.
