Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2011)
Artfyfulture The Clackamas P r i n t f Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011 aced@clackamas.edu ‘Our Town brings story of youth and simplicity B y M andie Gavitt Arts & Culture Editor Shannon O'Shaughnessy an d M ichael Lissman perform in “Our Town” in the Clackamas Community College theater. “O ur Town” is a play that thrives on its simplicity and gen uine relationship with the audi ence in attendance. Set in the early 20th Century, “O ur Town” tells the story o f a small town as it begins to adapt to a changing world. The story focuses mosdy on the relationships of the people who reside in the small town of Grovers Comers, N .H ., in par ticular the relationship between Emily Webb and George Gibbs, the two m ain characters o f the play, written by T hornton Wilcfer. The story is narrated by a character entitled simply Stage Manager, who is able to break the fourth wall and speak direcdy to the audience. T he Stage Manager not only plays several roles in the show, ne also helps to inform the audience o f what is happen ing in the play. T he scenery is entirely minimal, with only a few tables, ladders and benches.' Instead of using props, the actors pantomime the objects they are interacting with. Because the play was so sim ple, it was easy to focus on the excellent acting instead. T he actors are solely what made the play. As always the Clackamas theater department has an excel lent cast. “They are the bright shiniest thing in the galaxy,” said Director David Smith-English. T he “Stage Manager” played by Amanda Sutton, did an excel lent job o f engaging the audience and telling the story in a way that made the play feel relevant and Athena Folk, who played Mrs. Soames provided m uch comedy relief. Emily Webb, played by Shannon (TShaughnessy, was the sweetest character o f the whole play. I found her innocence and naivety to be very refreshing and heart-warming. O ’Shaughnessy seemed to approach the character with a childdike innocence that steals the show away. T he play follows Emily Webb and George Gibbs as . they go from high school sweethearts to husband and wife. The audience got to be in on the intimate details o f how the pair progresses from being two kids growing up in die same small town to lovers. The story begins with them as students at night talking from their adjacent second story bed room window. This is done with eàch standing on ladders to rep resent the houses locations to each other. In a later scene, a fetv years later in the story, the lovers are having a date at the small ice cream shop, where Stage Manager takes on the role o f the owner of the shop. W hile helping them selves to milkshakes, the two discuss the possibility o f - liking each other enough to get married in the future. This preludes the w edding. scene where both are shown to have doubts but with help they manage to keep their cold feet under control and wed by the preacher who is played once again by the Stage Manager. T he wedding scene is quite adorable. Those in attendance for the wedding are not neces sarily the most respectful and make the scene humorous. Mrs. Soames loudly tells anyone, who will listen about how she thinks the wedding is one o f the nicest she has seen. Though the first two acts are a whimsical form o f happy with a child-like innocence the happy quickly faded in the final act with the untimely death o f Emily Webb. W ith superb acting and a genuine spirit; this play will break your heart. As is to be expected, the Clackamas Com munity College theater once again put on a must see show. - “Fall Run” shares labor of love from mother-son pair at Alexander Gallery B y Robert M orrison The Clackamas Print Another art show has come to Alexander Gallery at Clackamas Community College. O n Nov. 10, mother and son team Rod and Donna Pike brought the newest exhibit, “Fall Run” to the college. “Fall Run,” show ing unique folk art, can be seen until Dec 22. The Pikes, hailing from Molalla, obtained their wood backgrounds working in lumber mills. Antique collec tors and garage sale enthusi asts, this mother-son combo collects items such as clap ping monkeys and bean pots. Rod Pike carves fish out of soft wood, while his mother paints them with an acrylicpaint. They add a unique flair to the fish by affixing strange items on some fish, such, a real cat teeth. “Fall Run” is made up of approximately 20 suspended wooden fish. Each o f these fish was handcarved and painted, taking approximately 20 years to make. Some o f the fish have unique qualities such as a humanlike head, but others sim ply resemble salmon or trout. “I like the unique fish the most,” said Charles Wilson, C C C student. “It shows a cre ative ability and imagination. It was m y first time fve been in the gallery and it was a new experience. I liked it; the art- You like us! Tweaks o f the week Things to do if college life is tweaking you out: P rint Student directed one- act plays, stand-up com edy. Performances are from noon to 1 p.m . in S tu d e n t, S pecial ID Get FREE soda v w ith lu n c h o r d in n e r H appxj 1 finalized the surface treatment.” “T he artists sound like they are happy doing what they love,” said Trisha Scotts. “It shows in the details in their work. It’s amazing.” Scotts was taken to the gallery by one of her friends and plans to enroll in C C C next year. According to Scotts it was worth the visit to the C C C Oregon City Campus. Playing on the term “fall run,” which is when fish swim up river to spawn, the art shows the theme well with its fish carvings. The gallery is open Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Fall Run” is open to the public and free to attend to all of those who would like to visit. Like our face- book: WWW. facebook.com/' TheClackamas- Pine* G a rd e n 1 ists did a great job.” Wilson is a sophomore, planning on majoring in art as he works his way toward university. “O ne of the things I like most about our current exhibi tion is that it is a labor o f love. - These pieces were not made with the intent to exhibit. They were also not made with the intention to sell or make profit from. They were made because o f an interest in nature and a need to explore and manipulate materials,” said Kate Simmons o f the C C C art department. “I am also drawn to the fact that these works as a whole display a kind o f visual dialog between a son and his mother as he has formed them and she has Fall Term Student Performance Showcase (Nov. 29 - Dec. 1) the Osterm an Theatre. 12/5: CCC Chamber Ensemble Fall Concert Concert begins at 7 m. on Dec. 5 in the iemeyer Center. Have a gig or event coming up? Email aced@clackamas.edu. rails End Saloon t 1320 Main St- Oregon Ci(y 503-656-3031 W ednesdays^ Thursdays & Saturdays Blues Bar and Grill 14360 IHolalla Ave. Oregon Q ttj, OR ** wujw.PineGârcienrxet, csoGso-ane ’s Besf Blues Venue Cascade Blues Association A wooden fish hangs suspended in the Niemeyer gallery. This is one o f the many artistic fish made over the last 2 0 years by mother an d son D onna and R od Pike.
