Technical crews of ‘Androcles
The playwright comes up
with the ideas, the director
molds them into reality, and
the actors express the con
cepts.
But all of this is for naught
without the technical assistance ,
of the crew.
In theater parlance, the
“crew” is the back-stage per
sonnel. They are the ones who
build thé sets, paint the “flats,”
run the electrical boards and
help mold the audiences “will
ing suspension of disbelief,” all
without the applause or, most
often, the recognition they
deserve.
The crew for Clackamas
Community College’s Winter
term production of George
Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles
and the Lion” include
costumers Lynn Myers, Dianna
Hardy and Charisse Smith,
properties people Donald
Williams and Roger Nuffer,
sound technician Jody Sherrill
and the lighting crew of Neil
Hass and Ed DeGrauw.
Co-Stage Manager David Harvey
Rounding out the crew are
David Harvey and Roberta
Ellsworth, the co-stage
managers.
“The stage manager is,
like the title suggests, one who
manages the stage,” Harvey
explained- “The acting area,
the off-stage ‘wings,’ tbe case
and crew . . . everything.”
Most shows do not need
co-managers, but “Androcles,”
by virtue of its large cast and
crew (which, when combined,
are called the “company,” and
which number 26 people in this
show) needs both Harvey and
Ellsworth.
“We’ve got more than 25
people working on this show,
and it gets a little crazy back-
stage,” Ellsworth said.
Harvey has stage manag
ed before. He worked on
several shows while attending
Molalla High School, and
managed last year’s College
production of “Monique.”
However, stage managing
is not an end-goal for Harvey,
20. He is an actor, singer,
author and wishes to eventual
ly try his hand at play-wright.
“The trouble is, I hate doing
dialogue,” Harvey admits. For
the present, he is working on a
fantasy novel.
His first love is directing.
He was the assistant director
under Jack Shields for “M
que.” Sheilds is the Colle
chairperson for theater
communications arts, and,
the in-house director, is di
ting “Androcles.”
. Ellsworth has less
perience in the theater dep
ment. This is her first yea
the College.
“I guess a good desc
tion for my job is goph
Ellsworth,. 18, said. “My jc
to keep track of people,
make sure they’re here. A
to just help out everyone
much, as I can.”
Unlike Harvey, who
acted extensively at the I
lege, Ellsworth is m
fascinated in the technical
of theater. “The ‘techie’ par
terests me more and mo
she said. “And so far, this s!
is going great.”
When asked if she w<
rather be on stage, recei
the applause, Ellsworth
no. “I have some small intc
in acting, but I’m scarec
death of being on stage.”
However, the size of “
drocles” has forced Ellswori
swallow her fear. She plai
Christian in the show, as c
Myers delves into Androcles’ history
By Barbara Bragg
For The Print
What is theater? A group of people
who put on odd clothes and face-goop and
cavort in front of hot lights and strangers,
all the while spouting memorized words
written by another stranger?
For Lynn Myers its been an almost
obsessive learning experience. Sure, she
gets to cavort and wear the goop and garb
in the College’s upcoming “Androcles and
the Lion,” but as costumer she first had to
deal with her curiosity: Did Androcles real
ly exist? When? Where?
Lynn’s curiosity was satisfied by more
than 20 books addressing early Roman
history in the College’s library. In Homan
Life and Manners Under the Early Empire
by Ludwig Friedlander she found that one
Apio of Alexandria had testified of, and
Claudius had recorded the story of, “An-
droclus.” The Greek slave had once
removed a thorn from a lion’s paw in
Africa and, when he was thrown to the
beasts later as punishment for being a
runaway slave, the same now-captured
lion recognized him and refused to eat
him. In “Androcles and the Lion” Shaw
has Androcles facing Christian martyrdom-
-a Joan of Arc rather than a Dred Scott.
Shaw has included two gladiators in
his script, named Retiarius (played by Ed
DeGrauw) and Secutor (played by Joseph
Schenck). During Myer’s search to find
descriptions of gladiator costuming she
found that secutor and retiarius were two
out of 14 classifications of gladiators. The
retiarius’ weapons were always net and tri
dent; the secutor was armed with the tradi
tional short sword and shield. DeGrauw
has already started practicing his net-
throwing technique.
Although Lynn Miller (Please see
story, this page) has brilliantly designed the
costumes to be made of foam rubber rather
than bronze and carpeting in place of
leather, they are historically based. As
Myers said, “Once you get the correct
historical reference, you take as much
license as you want.”
By letting the cast in on her finding
Myers has progressed from learner to
teacher. She doesn’t want to be the only
one to know that Retiarius’ trident is
historically correct.
Miller designs Rorr
By T. Jeffries
Of The Print
“I can’t think of one aspect of
theater that I haven’t done,” said Lynn
Miller, set designer for KATU TV and
costume designer for the .Clackamas
Community College theater presenta
tion of Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles and
the Lion.”
The play, directed by Communica
tion and Theater Arts Chairperson Jack
Shields, is set in ancient Rome. “Jack
and I are old friends. We were in many
a show together. ‘Androclesxtakes a lot
of armor and he knew I knew how to
make it,” Miller said.
The armor, for soldiers and
gladiators, is being constructed of light
weight foam rubber. The polyfoam is
cut and the pieces formed with contact
cement.
“I don’t know of anyone else who
uses polyfoam for armor,” Miller, 48,
said. “A lot of these techniques I’ve in
vented. I developed them during my
years in puppetry.”
Miller taught puppetry classes at
the College in 1976. A graduate of
Portland State University, Miller worked
as the technical director for the Universi
ty of Utah through the early 60’s. After
wards he used his puppetry skills at the
Ladybug Theater in the Washington
Park Zoo for eight years, before coming
to the College and then moving on to
KATU.
Researchist Lynn Myers
Page 4
“I’ve worked at KATU for six years
now,” Miller said. “I used to do ‘Sinister
Cinema’ and for a short time I appeared
on the old ‘Kidwitness News’ show.”
As well as set design, Miller has
also designed and built specialty
costumes for commercials and
demonstrations including giant
bananas, giant telephones and ventril-
quist dummy heads.
Clackamas Community College