4 The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
aced@clackamas.edu
Arts§¿ulture
Comedy on campus
By Mandie Gavitt
Associate Arts & Culture Editor
Clackamas Community College’s theater department
never fails to offer up a good time. This term’s Student
Performance Showcase was no exception.
The showcase, featuring student directed one-act
plays, comedy improvisation and stand-up comedy, is an
event that takes place every term. This spring’s event was
held May 24 through May 26 in the Osterman Theatre
located in the Niemeyer Center and showcased two skits
along with a number of other comedic offerings.
The first of the two skits was “The Prince and The
Dragon,” written and directed by student Dylan Marchek.
Tn this skit, a prince with no arms by the name of
Tommy (Michael Lissman) must save his one true love,
Princess Femypoo (Justin McDaniels). To save the prin
cess, Prince Tommy must somehow find himself a pair of
arms. He is approached by a sorceress (Heather Ovalle)
who tells him if he finds her sexy rocket boots she will
give him robotic arms.
Prince Tommy, unsure of how to find the boots, sits
to watch some television and think While watching TV
he spots Lady Gaga wearing the very boots he seeks.
Hilarity ensues as he sets off on a wacky quest to save
his love.
McDaniels never failed to get laughs from the
crowd as the princess. The queen, played by Jennifer
Schwartzman, brought an equal number of laughs.
Overall this skit was my favorite of the two; I appreciated
foe light-hearted humor and foe acting was superb.
The second one-act was a little more serious in nature
as students performed the play “Loyalties,” written by
actor/author Murphy Guyer. The skit was co-directed by
Emily Robison and David Burke.
In foe play, two sisters, Katrin (Ovalle) and Monika
(Kiah Hart), and their husbands, Jacob (Lissman) and
Rudy (Branden McFarland), are sitting down to dinner
when an argument breaks out between the men. Jacob is
a poet while Rudy is a patriotic soldier, and foe two argue
over foe war and whether or not fighting in a war makes
someone brave and noble.
Student Donovan Eilest performed a piece during foe
stand-up part of the show, which came after the skits.
Some of foe comedy bits were hilarious while others were
j ust so-so. Two of the most amusing sets were performed
by Eilest, who explained why abandoned shopping carts
in grocery stores make him question alien abduction, and
Michelle Nguyen, who made firn of her Asian culture and
taught the audience proper nail salon etiquette.
The show saved the absolute best for last: a section
devoted entirely to improvisational skits. The improv
team asked for suggestions from the audience for details
to put in games they were going to play, including
“Questions” and “Complaint Department” The games
were played in a similar style of foe show “Whose Line
is it Anyway?” and involved a happy cow being returned
to a store, three ducks in a human suit and a carpet that
cleans itself, amongst other amusingly random things.
All in all, the Student Performance Showcase is a
worthwhile endeavor, especially for a free show, and I
look forward to seeing what foe students do fall term.
Make sure you look out for shows taking place during the
upcoming terms and if you are interested in participating
in the future, look into course listing TA-295.
Brad Heineke Clackamas Print
Actors Michelle Nguyen and Colton Hartill invoke laughter on and off stage during the improv
game ‘freeze.’ Both students gave stellar stand-up comedy routines at the student showcase.
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