Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2022)
6 7 ARTS & CULTURE Count your lucky stars Student production reflects the bravery of children during the Holocaust STORY BY HAILEY REEVES WEB EDITOR Above: Matt Mazza, who plays Papa Johansen, speaks on the telephone. Photo Credit: Joseph Lohmolder T he C la c k a m a s P rin t Clackamas Community College’s theater department staged Lois) demonstrating not only the bravery of our protagonist Annemarie Lowry’s “Number the Stars.” Thirteen performers told the story of Johansen, but also how a community can band together to combat Annemarie and Kristi Johansen, two young girls seeking refuge foil hate.” their Jewish friends and family during the Nazi occupation of Denmark Weeks before opening night, tickets for some shows had completely in World War II. sold out. Because of the education requirement, middle' schools and Matt Mazza, a CCC student,, portrayed the role of Papa Johanseni ; high schools in the Clackamas área brought students to watch the' Annemarie and Kristi’s father. He also played the role of an unnamed show. The theater department stated that the Holocaust plays added German SS officer. Papa Johansen’s clear goal is to protect his family, an additional three matinee'performances for the schools. and to keep the devastating knowledge of what’s actually happening at “Number the Stars” was overall easy to understand, heartwarming the time from his two young daughters. Of course, the SS officers goal , and educational. If you missed out on this year’s-show, be sure to buy is much the opposite - to scare and frighten the family. tickets well in advance next year, as it seems this new educational Mazza said it can be challenging swapping between such polar requirement wifi quickly fill the house. opposite characters, but there are tricks he utilized to stay in character. “Number the Stars” ran May 18 - May 29 at Niemeyer Osterman “I try to think of how I need to impact the person I’m in the scene Theatre on the Oregon City campus. with,” Mazza said. “I’m trying to think of what I hope their reaction is going to be.” In 2019, Oregon passed a new law that requires schools to teach about the Holocaust. Mazza found this law significant, as he thinks we are slowly forgetting about what truly happened back then. “Sadly, I think we are seeing the rise of things that we haven’t seen since the 1940s,” he said. “As these [events] are being forgotten, ifj seems like they are rising up again, so I think it’s important to keep people aware of what happened.” Hannah Jacobs played the role of the main character, Annemarie Johansçn. “Number the Stars” originally debuted as a bobk, which Jacobs read as a kid. “I really loved the book. I’ve always loved it,” Jacobs said. “[It’s told] through a child’s eyes, so when you’re reading it, you can really connect to it. Jacobs tried to integrate her real life into playing the role, as to feel more connected to the character. Playing an older sister, Jacobs reflects on her relationship with her little sister in real life. “When I’m bickering with my little sister, [in the play] I think of how I bicker with my little sister in real life...” she said. “After the lines are memorized, the acting really puts it all together.” Jim Eikrem, CCC*s theater director, said the choice of “Number the Stars” was also due to the success of the 2019 spring term play, “And Then They Came for Me” a play also educating about the Holocaust. Eikrem said that, “[Number the Stars] is a great choice ini t h e c la c k a m a s p r in t .c o m Left: Hannah Jacobs plays Annemarie alongside Greta Van Eck as Ellen. Top: Hannah Jacobs discusses the safety of her fam ily w ith Jared Atkinson. j Bottom: Luna Rengert, from left, Valentina Pelaez Lacaden, Greta Van Eck and Hannah Jacobs help th e ir neighbors free the N azis! J u n e 20 2 2
