Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2008)
rts Culture Clackamas Print Wednesday, Nov 5, 2008 3 hostly cast invades latest show atthew Ostergren nas Print . layi’iv loves a good ghost .! I” said Jake Whitten, who plays feus in the upcoming play at l Innas, “Fortinbras”. I I I |bras” picks up its story at st scene of Shakespeare’s ¡But, while “Hamlei” was (“Fortinbras” is a comical Most of the characters from turn in this show, but since m were dead at the end of ey return as ghosts, I haringhousen, the college’s idence, takes on the main nbras. [hen ¡asked about the role, mgftusen explained that t inbras has a childlike nature. He ■ignoimii and innocent approach But he lias class,” he said, and the Bsooieiliing of a growing expe- e for him. In the end, Fortinbras I out a little wiser in his ways. he ■rector, theater instructor ifcmitli-f.nglish, is very excited ihAfoduction. he play explains what would happen after Hamlet if you sense of humor. It goes from «id’s most famous tragedy to a "saidlSmith-English. nith-Englisli explained that a is a sty le of comedy that is fast- , absurd and usually has some | Aorate chase scene. Farces adiflicult style to perform well. ' take a lot of work, and if not ^^Borrectly they can turn into or a soap opera. ortinbi features a fairly uni set Because of the many loca- during the show, the set is intended to be malleable. According to the set designer, Chris Whitten, the scenery changes primarily by moving around furniture and lights. The set is intended to be noninvasi ve in order to leave things up to audience’s imagination. One of Whitten and Smith- English’s favorite parts of the set is used in a few scenes where Hamlet has a out-of-body experience. In the scenes, Hamlet, who is dis played on a television, has a conver sation with other characters from the play. The television even has a skirt around it that is made from the same fabric as Hamlet’s costume in the rest of the play. Alva Bradford, who has been the costume designer at Clackamas for 16 years, displayed a lot of attention to detail in the play’s costumes. Because many c haracters appear both alive and as ghosts in this play, costumes had to be designed that matched each other while still providing a visual queue that the player is a ghost-A living character’s costume use normal colors, while a ghost’s costume uses whites, grays and blacks. Gender roles are also mixed in this production with the role of Horatio being played by Madelyn Marcotte. “I get to know how a man thinks. I like getting to fight and be aggres sive,” said Marcotte of playing a male character. “Fortinbras” features a wide vari ety of laughs, yet it is also meant to teach a lesson. “Even though it’s having a hilari ous old-time, it’s still meaningfill,” said Smith-English. Fortinbras runs Nov. 13 through 23. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m. ifish author tells a history of war and death among animals Jess Sheppard The Clackamas Print We all grew up on animal fiction, thanks to Walt Disney. For those of us who still enjoy personified critters, there are Robin Jarvis’ novels. Jarvis is best known for his Deptford Mice Trilogy: “The Dark Portal,” “The Crystal Prison” and “The Final Reckoning.” Now the British writer has followed up his tril ogy with a history. “The Oaken Throne” takes the readers back hundreds of years before the Deptford trilogy to tell the story of the ancient war between the squirrel kingdom and the eclectic bat Jess Sheppard Clackamas Print Fortinbras, center, played by James Sharinghousen, colonies. awakens after an amorous night with Ophelia’s ghost, played by Annie lead right, by the played Starwife, Scharich, to find the specters of Claudius, left, played The by nature-worshipping Jake Whitten, and squirrels, Gertrude, by Kelly Miller, praying accused of casting a horrible curse on the bats, robbing over him. His courtiers, Tanya Stiglbauer, back left, are and Corrine Stone, back right, look on. them of their powers of foresight. The bats, who revere the lady of the moon, launch a brutal and devastating attack on Greenreach, the seat of the squirrels’ power. With the help of a traitor, the old Starwife is murdered and her symbol of office, the Silver Acorn, is lost. Into this sudden frenzy of bloodshed two characters are thrust - Ysabelle, a squirrel princess destined to be the next Starwife, and Vespertill io, a young bat aspiring to become one of the feared Knights of the Moon. Forced together by honor and obligation, the two are charged with uncovering the plot that has set their two species against each other, while avoiding the murderous forces of a ferocious cult. They are joined in their quest by a pair of pilgrims, Giraldus the leprous mole, and his aid, Tysle the lame shrew, as well as a stoat jester named Wendel and a mouse warrior named Fenny. The group is beset constantly by wary forest dwellers, evil spirits and bloodthirsty cultists. “The Oaken Throne” is riddled with life lessons and dark humor, and the story is continuously twisting over on itself. Warned in a vision against betrayal, Ysabelle struggles to trust her companions, while Vespertillio wrestles with every thing he has been*taught in order to find the ultimate truth. Even though it’s a genre usually reserved for children, “The Oaken Throne” - and Jarvis’ books in general - are great reads for older audiences. Literally, the books are ani mal fiction for adults.
