The print., October 05, 1983, Page 4, Image 4

Arts
Comedian Russell
‘plays9 the College
“My favorite comedians ... are Woody
Allen, Robin Williams, Jonathon Winters and
Lilly Tomlin.”
In the royal tradition of a
Renaissance traveling player,
comedian/magician Steve
Russell brought his one-man
show to the College last Fri­
day.
Russell, 25, is a Seattle-
base, self-taught performer
who takes his roadshow, via a
dilapidated van, around
Oregon, Washington and
Idaho, for junior highs, high
schools and colleges.
“I look at this as building
a background,” Russell said.
“It’s training for the ‘big
time’.”
The ‘big timé’ may by a
ways off yet. Russell says he
enjoys what he’s doing now
and doesn’t plan to leave the
Northwest for some time.
Also, “The demand for
originality is incredibly high,”
in places such as Los Angeles,
New York and San Francisco.
“The competition is extraor­
dinary,” Russell said, adding
that he doesn’t feel ready for
the big step yet.
Russell is a come­
dian/magician, not a magi-
cian/comedian. “The com­
edy’s the focal point. That’s
what sells the thing,” he said.
The magic is simply a tool to
produce the laughs. “It’s a
good way to hang your per-j
sonality on something. It’s a ;
way to showcase myself.”
His act involves gags,
stage magic and balloon
sculptures, which is similar to
a routine made famous by ac­
tor Steve Martin. “I get asked
about that a lot,” Russell said.
“Actually, I was doing this act
before Steve Martin got big, so
I wasn’t influenced by him.”
What did influence
Russell’s career was his
mother Rosemary, a legal
secretary in Seattle. “Mom’s
always been funny,” Russell
said. She was also cooperative
and supportive of her sons’
need to perform. Consequent­
ly, Steve takes his act on the
road while his younger brother
dances with the San Francisco
ballet.
Russell is currently mov­
ing away from the magic, try­
ing to “purify” the comedy.
His focus has changed toward
“acting in the act,” he said. In
his show at the College, he
“I look at this as building a background ...
portrayed the balloon-man, a
totally different character than It’s training for the big time.”
“Steve Russell.”
of Crime uncovered in movie class
By Kristen Tonole
Of The Print
“The Godfather,” “The
Maltese Falcon,” “China­
town,” “Dial M for Murder.”
All these film classics have two
important things in common.
They deal with crime and they
are featured in the film class,
“The World of Crime.”
The above mentioned are
only a handful of the thrillers
which will be presented every
Tuesday at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
for 3 credits of History 199 at
the College this term.
Instructor Fred DeWolfe
has been teaching the class for
eight years now, in the past
focusing on such topics as
science fiction, horror,
politics, and colonialism. This
term’s “World of Crime”
allows the students to study
the different aspects of crime
from the 1930’s to the present
day and to examine the dif­
ferent detectives and police­
or else.
Page 4
Students who enroll in the
class will be expected to view
the films. Then they have a
choice of either preparing two
in-depth reviews on the films
of their choice, or reading the
book version of one of the
movies and writing a report on
it. If no books on the movie
are available a student may do
a report on any book which
deals with crime.
Besides watching films,
the students will also be able to
hear several guest speakers,
such as Ted Mahar, senior film
critic for The Oregonian.
DeWolfe feels that one of the
best ways to teach is through
the medium of film because
“people get a certain image of
our American hero through
cinema,” he said.
One of the disappoint­
ments in this particular class is
the low number of students
enrolled. While in the past the
number of students has ranked
in the seventies, this term has
brought in less than 20. The
low numbers are due in part to
a typo in the cla^s schedule
which has the class listed as
History 199: Historical
Themes. “It killed me,” was
DeWolfe’s reaction to the
schedule misprint, “If I was
looking for a class and saw
that, I’d run.”
The low turnout hasn’t
discouraged DeWolfe, how­
ever, as he already has-
plans underway for his “Films
of (director) John Huston”
class which he plans to offer
Winter term, and come Spring
term students can look forward
to “The Depression: The
1930’s.”
Required is a pad of pap­
er, a good note-taking pen . . .
and, by all means, don’t forget
the popcorn!
Cast, crew selected for ‘‘The Hollow”
the print needs writers,
photographers and illustrators,
interested?
contact us in trailer b.,
ext. 309, 310.
men who have made cinematic
history.
■
;
:
;
;
•
;
!
■
:
■
;
Agatha Christie’s play,
“The Hollow,” has been
selected as the Fall theater pro-
duction at Clackamas Com-
munity College. Director Jack
Shields chose the cast last
weekend.
The cast includes: Jeanine
Kryza as Henrietta, David
Harvey as Sir Henry, Maggie
Bragg as Lady Lucy, Vonnie
Davis as Midge, Neil Hass as
Gudgeon, Patrick Sterling as
Edward, Cindy Brown as
Doris, Lynn Myers as Gerda,
Joel Hladacek as John, Julia
Troyer as Veronica, J. Dana
{Haynes as Inspector Col-
quhound and Chris Parrish as
Sgt. Penny.
Behind the scenes will be:
Joe Schenck, stage manager;
Loren Wilson, assistant stage
manager; Lynn Myers, cos­
tumer; Charisse Smith and
Dianna Hardy, costume as­
sistants; Donald Williams,
properties; Roberta Ellsworth,
Lisa Ensworth, and Gordon
Tallman, properties assistants;
John Kevin Bradford, sound
and make-up; Jeannie
Kalmbach, make-up assistant;
Roger Nuffer, lights; and Lin­
da Kuntz, publicity.
Clackamas Community College