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
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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.