Clackamas Print
> Culture
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
bring comedy hour brings laughs
ig Stoltz
time, revisiting and continu
ing each of the scenes they did
before.
The student-directed plays
■ spring-term Student consist of a one-act and two
■nance Showcase starts short scenes. Artist in resi
■y, June 1, packing you dence James Sharinghousen,
■lunch-hour full of noth- who directs all three, said he
■ humor.
selected the plays because he
■d every term as part of wanted something that would
B with the same name, be entertaining for the audi
■Student
Performance ence, and fun to work on.
■ase is all about fun this
The first scene, “One Minute
■Whether you like your Play,” is a brief glimpse into
■light and silly, dark and the life of Dave, certainly one
B or maybe a little bit of the glummest fellows you’re
■naughty side, you’ll get likely to meet. Sharinghousen
B this show.
describes the scene-as funny,
■re are three parts to the because it’s so dark.
Bse: stand-up comedy,
“Women in a Playground,”
B improv and student- the second scene, is very sar
■d plays.
castic, said Sharinghousen. He
■ comic format is a no said it has the really bright,
Broposition. The com- optimistic person and the real
Be about three minutes ly dark, not-so-social person.
■o if you like them, they
“It’s great to play with those
Kelp but leave you want- characters,” Sharinghousen
Bre. If you don’t, well, said, “because you see those
B be gone before you kinds of people everywhere.”
■t.
The play portion of the
B improv is fast-paced, show finishes with a farce
Band full of opportuni- called “The Hardy Boys and
■r audience participation. the Mystery of Where Babies
Bnedy improv is made up Come From.”
■vidual games, or “forms”
Derek Sweet, who plays
B are known in improv Frank Hardy, said in this play,
■Theatre Instructor David brothers Frank and Joe Hardy
■English said it’s essen- are 21-year-olds with the
Bke the television show maturity of 12-year-olds.
B Line is it Anyway?”
Director
Sharinghousen
B during practice, the said, “I could make the boys
Bved at lightning speed either look really smart, but
B a whole bunch of they’re really stupid, or I could
■ The best of the day make them look really stu
■here and Back Again” pid but they’re really smart.”
Buesiions.” Of course, Sharinghousen did not,* how
Bnes are different every ever, reveal which option he
Bo your results may chose.
Asked about the play, Nick
■Questions,” the cast Jones, who plays Joe Hardy,
■into two lines and the said, “I’d say it’s something
Kat the front of each line that everyone can enjoy -
Bestions at each other, maybe riot like really small
■someone accidentally children.”
B a question, makes a
The primary reason to keep
■nt or freezes up, they the small children at home
Be back of their line and is Nurse Ratched, played
Bt person steps up.
by Madelynn Marcotte.’ As
■here and Back Again,” Sharinghousen put it, “A nurse
Be cast member starts is normally pretty straightfor
B until a referee yells ward and nice, but our Nurse
B” At each freeze, a new Ratched is [a] very elderly,
I comes in and starts ¡sexual woman.”.
■ scene with the person
The plays and improv are
■pie already there. This part of every performance, but
Kes until everyone is in. because there are a dozen or so
Beople go out one at a stand-up comics this term, only
Mamas Print
four will appear during each
noon show. The Thursday eve
ning show will feature the full
complement of comics as well
as all the rest of the pieces.
The Spring Term Student
Performance
Showcase
runs Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday, June 1, 2 and 4,
from noon - 1 p.m., plus a
longer show, Thursday, June 4,
■at 7:30 p.m. All shows are in
Niemeyer Center and admis
sion is free.
Michelle Newby Clackamas Print
Stefon Smith practices his comedy act for his upcoming performance. The student showcase,
June 1, 2 and 4, offers a chance to watch comedy in many forms, and in some cases get
involved with the acts themselves.
otic fiction pays off for Clackamas English teacher
Abigail Neat
The Clackamas Print
Jessica Foster. Clackamas Print
Ras English Instructor Paul Crumrine answers ques-
|n his English Composition coursé he is teaching this
er.
Clackamas English teacher Paul
Crumrine has been writing fiction
stories for years, but it wasn’t until
he began writing gay erotica that he
got paid for his work
It started in the mid 90s with a
story about Leonardo DaVinci.
“I actually made money from it,”
Crumrine explained.
He had written science fiction
and mystery but had never made any
money from his stories. It was not
until he read gay erotica and knew
he could do better than that things
changed for him.
Crumrine’s most recent work
will be featured in “Best Gay Love
Stories 2010” and is available at
amazon.com.
“It’s really fun. You get to do all
sorts of stories,” he said.
“He writes very, very well,” his
office mate of several years and
fellow English department member
Leslie Ormandy said.
English department chair Kate
Gray is ecstatic that he is getting
published.
“When instructors succeed in
their areas of expertise, the success
can only benefit our students,” Gray
said.
All of his stories are completely
fictional. In one story the main char
acter is killed in the second para
graph and ends up in gay heaven.
One reviewer called one of his sto
ries the most subversive one in the
book.
Crumrine has only been pub
lished in compilations, so far, but has
written 10 novels in his lifetime and
is negotiating with a publisher about
writing a book of only short stories.
The stories would have horror, sci
ence fiction and fantastical bizarre
themes.
Another thing Crumrine likes to
include in his writing is humor; he
does not take himself too seriously
and believes in keeping things light
hearted.
“Even if someone gets killed it’s
fun,” Crumrine described. “They are
essentially happy stories,”
Crumrine got into the erotica
genre by seeing calls for submis
sions describing the criteria and just
began writing to fit
His obvious passion for fiction
writing was described as something
he falls into, unaware of the passage
of time, with words coming out of
his fingers without being conscious
of typing.
He can get a trigger from any-,
thing, a leaf felling, which needs a
person and it goes on and on.
Crumrine, who part-time teaches
writing composition classes, joked
that he spends his spare time grad
ing student papers. That is not all
he does. When not creating fantasy
worlds he is politically active and is
a fair-weather bicycler. He also has a
little Paul. Little Paul is his cat, who
in feet, is not very little at 23 pounds.
The name came from a friend of his
who named him after him.