*
** Play Review
‘Children of a Lesser God’ breathes second life
D. Dietrich
Of The Print
A new home has been found for the locally
produced performances of Mark Medoff’s
Tony Award-winning play “Children of a
Lesser God.’’The production was moved from
the needed space of the Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center to the rustic upstairs of the
Sumus Theater in Portland, in an attempt to
satiate the appetites of theater-goers who
created sell-out crowds during the first running
of the play.
The story is a compassionate yet harsh
comedy-drama which details the stormy rela
tionship between a highly spirited deaf woman
and the devoted, if not idealistic, teacher whom
she meets at a school for the deaf. The relation
ship goes from one of mutual resentment to
understanding and eventually love and mar
riage, even though their surroundings offer lit
tle support for them. There is a strong conflict
between the hearing world and the deaf world
and what role the ability of speech plays in the
integration of the two.
The cast for the second run is the same as the
original and is comprised of a unique collabora
tion of Portland area theater artists. Director
Rollie Wulff worked in consultation with
Henry Stack of Vancouver’s Northwest Theater
of the Deaf and Mark Azure of Deaf Arts
Council of Oregon.
Sam Mowry plays the inspiring role of the
speech therapist who displays biting intolerance
and sensitivety to the other characters. Mowry
has a firm hold on his character and doesn’t slip
for a moment with the addition of sign
language, even when the pace quickens. .
.Mowry’s character has a wit that plays off of
the tragic situations but doesn’t hide behind it.
In fact it is this comic flair which enables him to
cross into the silent and unfeeling world of
Jamie, played by Georgi Randall. In an award
deserving performance, Randall brings out all
the emotion one could hope for without using
the luxury of speech. Randall is a deaf actress
with the Northwest Theater of the Deaf and has
a flair for the dramatic. She seems to feel at
home in this role as she effortlessly brings the
audience completely into her world. Her
character has shut out the hearing world and
prefers to not make any effort to communicate
through reading lips or a handicapped speech.
For this she is considered uncooperative and a
problem student.
Among the collection of unique qualities
about the play is the striking feature of the use
of signing interpreters for the spoken roles as
well as voices added to the signed conversa
tions. The remarkable fluency and unob
trusiveness of the technique is not to be
understated. When the New York company of
“Children of a Lesser God” came through
Portland it played at the Civic Auditorium.
Those jn the back rows or off to the sides had
difficulty hearing the spoken language and see
ing the signed language. The need for intimacy
is vital to the success and effectiveness of the
play. Fortunately (for once), the Sumus
Theater is quite limited in seating capacity.
Performance dates and times vary during the
play’s second running, so contact the Interstate
Firehouse Cultural Center (where the play was
originally performed) or the Sumus Theater at
1313 N. W. Burnside for specific information.
Tickets are $8 general admission, $6 students.
Free parking is available.
Speech competitors receive awards at national meet
i
Heidi Mosier and Marty
Yost each won third-place
honors at the National Jr. Col
lege Speech Tournament held
earlier this month in Stockton,
Calif., marking an important
accomplishment > in their
educational careers as well as
giving Clackamas Community
College a star on its record.
Accompanied by qualifying
team members Jennifer Hanel
and Linda Kuntz, as well as
coach Frank Harlow, the team
spent the week of competition
at the Stockton Hilton Hotel
with more than 600 speech
students from 70 junior col
leges in the nation.
“The competition was
tough,” Mosier said, who cap
tured her trophy with a per
suasive speech on the dangers
of cholesterol. She added she
was surprised at how suppor
tive the competitors were. She
recalled one round during the
five-day event when the au
dience would clap for the
speaker before they started
just to give them a boost.
“Because it was so intense,
you needed it,” she said.
Yost carried a double load
with his winning prose inter-
pretation of a humorous piece
titled J‘The Sensuous Angler”
as well as competing with
Kuntz in a dramatic duo inter
pretation. Yost agreed the
competition was rough. “Peo
ple would try to psych you
out,” he said.
The team killed a lot of
spare time in 85-degree
weather by taking advantage
of the pool and health spa
made available to them.
Coach Harlow is proud of
the success of his team at the
national event, as he said, “It
means much more than it did
three or four years ago.” Due
to the increasing budget cuts,
Harlow said, “You have to
really justify sending so
meone.” That meant the skill
level had to be higher than in
the past.
The ability to qualify for the
tournament is in itself a reason
to celebrate, but placing third
out of the best of those in the
country is a memory definitely
worth holding on to. Neither
Mosier or Yost appear to have
let it inflate their egos. As
Mosier humbly said, “It was a
good experience.”
Registration opens for art fair
Professional and non
professional artists and craft
speople are invited to register
for the 22nd Annual Lake
Oswego Festival of the Arts.
The festival consists of three
major divisions, the main art
show, one-man exhibits in of
fices and stores and an arts
and crafts fair.
The festival will be held
June 21, 22, and 23 at the
Lakewood Center for the
Arts, 368 S. State Street in
Lake Oswego.
For more information and
registration forms, call Dee
Denton, Lake Oswego
Chamber of Commerce,
636-3634.
Speech team members Heidi Mosier and Marty contributing factor in competitions is the in-,
Yost agreed that the competitive level was high dividual preferences of judges.
at the national tournament but noted that a
c.c.c
Wed., April 17
CAFETERIA DAILY
SPECIALS
Mexican Casserole With Refried Beans
$1.50
Thurs., April 18
Pork Chow Mein
$1.50
Fri., April 19
Polish Sausage With Kraut
$1.50
Mon., April 22
Hot Beef Sandwich With Whip Potatoes
$1.50
Tues., April 23
Link Sausage With Scalloped Potatoes
$1.50
Page 5
Wednesday, April 17, 1985
Colors by Munsell Color Servit»«