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.