Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1996)
The Clackamas Print Wednesday, February 7,1996 Feature Instructor gives regards to Broadway Laney Fouse Staff Writer Susan Mach, instructor and playwright, finishes up her last class for the week. It’s Friday, late afternoon and like everyone else, she’s ready to go home. It’s no wonder. Mach starts her week early Monday morning at Linfield Col lege in McMinnville, teaching a three hour, intensive play wrighting course. From there she heads to CCC where she teaches English Composition in the afternoon, three days a week. Then, on Monday nights she can be found teaching another playwrighting class at Portland State University. Besides all this, Mach finds time to do her own playwrighting. Although this is Mach’s first year as an instructor at Clackamas, she’s conducted sev eral workshops on the poet, Hazel Hall (1886-1924). Her in terest in the Portland poet served as the underlying motivation to write her play “Monograms.” The title comes from a Hazel Hall poem of the same name. The play, according to Mach, is not about the poet’s biographical back ground, but instead strives to. . . “re-capture the lyrical spirit of Hazel Hall and to imagine what her creative life might have been like,” she said. “Having to deal with someone’s history and biography is really difficult,” acknowledges Mach. Apparently, the where abouts of Hall’s journals, as well as the letters she received from other people, is unknown. There were only four sets of letters avail able in private collections that Mach was able to access. Mach recalls, “I had all these holes in my research. . . [but] I read in a letter she wrote to Walter Evans Kidd that she wanted to be known only as a poet and not as a person. Her story is in her poetry. It was while reading “Mono grams” (the poem) that it hit me. The whole first scene is about that poem and drawing from it, I went from there.” Hazel Hall, who was con fined to a wheelchair, lived her life mostly through her imagina tion. The play entails Hazel’s journey of discovery, acceptance of herself as a poet, her relation ship with her sister, and her in fatuation with poet, Vachel Lindsey (1879-1931), who visits her “but only in her imagination,” according to Mach. The playwright completed “Monograms” in 1991, after which, she did several stage read ings. “Whenever you try to get a play produced, you take it around to various theatres. If they are in terested, they will ask you to do a stage reading. A stage reading is when you get a group of actors together and just read the play for the producers. They then decide whether or not they want to pro duce it.” In 1993, the play was per formed on Portland Repertory Theatre’s Stage Two. At the end of 1994, the play was moved to Portland Rep’s Main Stage. But, the success didn’t stop there. “Monograms” is scheduled to open in New York City, this April at an off-off Broadway house called Theater For The New City. Mach professes, “It was kind Drive This Vehicle To College. This is an Ml Tank, 50+ tons of armor, guns and advanced electronics. You just might need this vehicle to get to college. That’s where we come in. The Oregon Army National Guard is looking for motivated individuals to accept the challenge of their life. Earn up to $6,000 in college assistance with the Montgomery GI Bill, plus a salary for part-time employment All it takes is about two days a month and two weeks a year and the desire for adventure. Call your local recruiter today. the Clackamas Recruiting Office 557-5320 OREGON Photo by LoraWahrgren English Instructor Sue Mach’s play “Monograms” will open off-Broadway in New York City this April. of weird the way. [this] hap pened.” When the script was first submitted to the producer, Mach had no means to help with pro duction costs. In the meantime, she had sent another script to the same producer, who chose to pro duce “Monograms” based on the fact she liked Mach’s work so much. The playwright’s only dis appointment—she’s flying to New York to meet with the director of her play and will miss seeing Ed ward Albee. What’s next? Mach is work ing on a play called “Angle of View.” The story is “about a woman who goes to work for one of those TV series like Cops. It’s really about how this woman be trays her subject.” A stage reading has been ten tatively scheduled for Feb. 26 at Portland Rep. but due to a com mitment by one of the actors, the reading may take place earlier or the role may be recast. “Angle of View” is going through the same process that “Monograms” went through a few years ago. Accord ing to Mach, “Angle” is sched uled for a reading in Boston as well. Stage readings play an inte gral part by providing the play wright with feedback from col leagues and producers. The read ing also gives the writer a chance to hear how the play sounds or is received by an audience. “You can feel the energy of how people are reacting to your work,” Mach said. “If you work with actors and without an audi ence, it’s just not the same because you become enmeshed in what’s happening on stage. When you have an audience, you can feel the ‘dead spots’.. . you can feel it in your gut. It’s not like you can just stop the play and say, could you please say this instead of that.” As most writers will admit, criticism plays a significant part in successful writing. But Mach concedes, “There are sometimes when I do a stage reading when I’ve worked particularly hard on a script and I just want to get through it. I’m just not ready nor in a state to hear the [criticism] yet. I’ve learned that it’s okay... You don’t have to be tough all the time. Your ego gets to be fragile after a while, and when stuff doesn’t work, you need to back off and get yourself centered, and then go back in again.” Mach attended Pacific Uni versity in Forest Grove, where she majored in English and Theatre. She earned a Graduate Degree from Boston University, and has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. She wants to teach writ ing full-time and continue playwrighting. “You really have to make a commitment to do the creative things because they are the easiest to let go.” United ‘ParcelService cldhere eise can you put in part-time hours (no weekends'.) to earn the cash for tuition dr living expenses, while also getting your wor/^ out done for the day receiving full Benefits, paid holidays, dr vacations? VlMt IM 1 11 Cal! the UPS JOBLINE 800-382-0945 A b Equal Opportunity Employer Bassett: nominee for USA Today Scholarship Laney Fouse Staff Writer Shane Bassett, a 21 year old student, has been nomi nated as CCC’s representative in the annual competition for the All USA Academic Team Scholarship. , To be eligible for nomina tion, a student must possess a cumulative grade point average of no less than 3.25. The nomi nees must all be in pursuit of an Associate Art, Associate of Science or Associate of Ap plied Science Degree. Unlike other scholarships that can be applied for, students must be nominated by an instructor. Bassett was chosen from a field of five nominees who were se lected by CCC instructors for their outstanding academic achievement. Reacting to the nomina tion, Bassett declared, “It was pretty much unexpected.” Pur suing a degree in the field of Elementary Education, he credits his faith as the under lying factor for wanting to teach. He quotes from the Bah Writings, “Each human being is a mind rich in gems of ines timable.” His goal is “to un cover [those] gems and polish them.” When asked what he thought made him academi cally successful, Bassett re plied, “I study not for a grade or honors, but because I enjoy the learning and knowledge.” He feels that being married to his wife, Crystal, helps him take life more seriously which in turn keeps him focused. Team placement will be announced on Feb. 23, 1996. If Bassett is selected for the 20 member First Team he will re ceive a $2500 cash award. Two other teams comprised of 20 members each will also be cho sen. These members will re ceive certificates. Being nomi nated for the competition is an honor itself. Only 150 nomi nees are chosen each year from two-year colleges across the country. The awards will be pre sented during the annual con vention of the American Asso ciation of Community Colleges on April 15 in Atlanta, GA. The event takes place during the Phi Theta Kappa President’s breakfast and will be presented by the President of USA Today. Bassett, a former Massa chusetts resident, works as an Assistant Teacher at Child’s View Montessori School in Portland. His propensity for teaching children extends across the globe. He spent a year working on a children’s education project in Trinidad in the West Indies prior to mov ing to Oregon. If he should place on the First Team, Bassett would like to spend one semester overseas, preferably in a Spanish-speaking country.
