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http://depts.clackamas.cc.or.us/print
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
Clackamas Community'College
Oregon City, Oregon
Volume XXXV, Issue ; 16
Come to a Wilde pun-filled night
ERINN LERTEN
Staff Writer
Oscar Wilde’s “The Impor
tance of Being Earnest," cur
rently running in the
McLoughlin Hall Theater, is
a masterpiece of modern
comedy. Wilde’s final and
most lasting play strikes a
balance between respected
and studied piece of litera
ture and a favorite with au
diences.
Filled with quick wit and
wisdom, “Earnest” tells the
story of Jack Worthing
(Travis Nodurft) and
Algernon Moncrieff (Jayson
Shanafelt). Both have taken
to bending the truth in order
to add a dash of excitement
to their lives. Jack has in
vented an imaginary brother,
Ernest, whom he uses as an
excuse to escape from his
dull home in the country and
frolic in town. Algernon
uses a similar technique,
only in reverse: His imagi
nary friend, Bunbury, pro
vides a convenient and fre
quent method of taking ad
ventures in the country.
Their deceptions eventu
ally cross paths, resulting in
a series of crises that
threaten to spoil their roman
tic pursuits: Jack of his love,
Gwendolen Fairfax (Desirae
Carver), and Algernon of
Cecily Cardew (Jayne
Stevens.)
Wilde is a well of educa
tion; puns and one-liners
breed incessantly.
Lady Bracknell (Christine
Quinlan) and Algernon are
very particularly amusing.
Probably the most important
theme of the play is the du
ality all the characters dis
play in some measure—ev
erything from Jack’s two
identities, country Jack and
town Ernest, to Cecily’s
witchily “innocent” remarks.
The contrast and layers of
identity
lead
to
a
rewardingly comedic ending.
The relationship between
Jack and Algernon is espe
cially well portrayed by
Nodurft and Shanafelt in the
first scene when they ban
ter about the joys and woes
of love and marriage:
Jack: “I am in love with
Gwendolen. I have come up
to town expressly to propose
to her.”
Algernon: “I thought you
had come up for pleasure?...
I call that business.”
Jack: “How utterly unro
mantic you are!”
Algernon: “I really don’t
see anything romantic in
proposing. It is very roman
tic to be in love. But there is
nothing romantic about a
definite proposal. Why, one
may be accepted. One usu
ally is, I believe. Then the ex
citement is all over. The very
essence of romance is uncer
tainty. If ever I get married,
I’ll certainly try to forget the
fact.”
Audience participation
creates a sense of intimacy
and makes the audience feel
connected to the action on
stage. The characters often
gesture and speak to the au
dience and occasionally get
more up-close and personal.
"The Importance of Being
Earnest" will run March 7-9
at 8 p.m. and March 19 at 2:30
p.m. in the McLoughlin Hall
Theater.
MAGGIE JIRASEK / Clackamas Print
Above: Jack Worthing
(Travis Nodurft) proposes
to Gwendolen Fairfax
(Desirae Carver). Troubles
arise when she finds out
his name is not Ernest.
Right: Algernon Moncrieff
(Jayson Shanafelt)
entertains his aunt, Lady
Bracknell (Christine
Quinlan) during one other
visits, to give Jack a
chance to propose to
Gwendolen.
David Smith-English
directs this version of an
1890's classic.
Upcoming Events:
Student-directed one act
plays March 12, 13 and 14 at
noon and March 14 at 8 p.m.
A Duet for Bear and Dog
by Sybil Rosen, directed by
Jason Morrill.
The Hanging of Uncle
Dilby by Donald Payton, di
rected by Kira Whiting.
Sure Thing by Travis Ives,
directed by Kristi McKenzie.
Open auditions for “Much
Ado About Nothing” will be
held March 11,2002 at 3 p.m.
in the McLoughlin Hall The
ater. Please prepare a brief
monologue.
To reach Erinn Lerten email
gowayrocks@hotmail.com
Peace Corps volunteers share experience
ELISABETH MEYER
Staff Writer
Five speakers told a small
audience of Clackamas stu
dents and faculty about their
experiences in the Peace
Corps last week. Instructors
Glen Ferris and David
Campbell, librarian Karen
Halliday, architect Robert
Bjerre and student David
Demsky hosted the presenta
tion.
Although each volunteer
had been to a different re
gion, they had strikingly
similar appreciations of their
experiences. Each talked
about reasons for choosing to
volunteer, adjustments to the
society he or she lived in and math and science to children
the shift in perspective on in Nepal after just three
American culture.
months of intensive language
David Campbell, who vol- training. She commented that
unteered
her white
from 1964 to
skin caused
1966 said, “I
quite a sen
was running
sation.
"You just get the
away to Viet
“Ihave
nam, and I feeling that the
never been
ran all the
that enter-
world is a bigger
way to Ven
t a i n i n g
place."
ezuela.”
since.
Robert Bjerre
He held
Women
Architect
various jobs
would come
there, includ
from other
ing working
villages just
with parole
to look at
officers and in an outpatient me, but they didn’t want to
leprosy clinic.
talk.
They would just
Karen Halliday taught stare."
But that was expected,
she said. The change in
coming to the United States
for a home visit was differ
ent. “The very first thing
I saw was a commercial for
diet dog food. I ran to my
room to make sure I still
had my ticket back to
Nepal.”
Robert Bjerre (Spanish
instructor Irma Cristina
Bjerre’s husband) worked in
Tanzania building roads. He
said he volunteered because
the Peace Corps was seen as
a better way to encourage
change.
“If the worst dictator
ship was anticommunist,”
he said, “(the U.S. govern
ment) would help them.
And that money just ended
up in the dictator’s pock
ets.”
Bjerre’s college back
ground in sociology was more
valuable to him in Tanzania
than his surveying skills, he
said. He explained that in the
native language, there is no
possessive form, which reflects
extreme generosity of the
people.
“You wouldn’t
say, ‘my knife,’ you would
say, ‘me with knife,’ or ‘you
with book.’ You and the ob
ject just happen to be occu
pying the same place.”
Glen Ferris also noticed the
See Peace Corps,
page 3