THEATER
BY ALEX NOTMAN
NO HORSING AROUND
With the help of the community, South Eugene takes a production
of Carousel to new heights
N
ear Amazon and 19th is a theater that seats 1,000
people — it is the second largest theater in
Eugene. Its cavernous room glows warmly from
the theater lights hitting the sea of red velvet
seats. The elegant curve of the stage leads the
eye to a custom-welded circular light piece, twinkling as it
hangs above four candy-colored carousel horses — the
quartet is hand-carved and painted, and worth $60,000.
The theater director and his leading cast gather in the aisle,
chattering about the opening night of their production,
Carousel, on Feb. 21. This is South Eugene High School
(SEHS) and this is what a high school musical looks like.
“Of all Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals, it’s my
favorite,” says Pat Avery, director and head of SEHS’s
robust theater program that includes over 160 students
working in stagecraft, lighting, sound management and
design and, of course, acting. Six of Carousel’s lead cast
gathers around Avery and Paige Clark, a parent volunteer.
Avery explains that Carousel is a difficult production
because of the domestic abuse between the lead characters.
“It was challenging to talk about in the middle of the
20th century,” Avery says. “They were ahead of their
time.”
“They didn’t even call it domestic abuse yet,” Clark
says. The actors nod. They have been in rehearsal for more
than seven weeks, clocking in three hours a day.
“You have these characters and there’s a lot about them
not to like,” Avery says.
“I say that when he hit me, it didn’t hurt,” Liza Clark
says of the rationalizations of her lead character, Julie
Jordan, who is physically abused by Julie’s love interest,
carousel barker Billy Bigelow. “Of course I don’t agree
with it. We don’t agree.” Spencer Hansen, who plays Billy
Bigelow, adds that as a cast, they’ve been discussing
characters’ motivations and justifications for months. “It’s
been a journey getting to that point,” he says.
Another part of the journey was acquiring the equine
stars of the show, the four carousel horses loaned from
Salem’s Riverfront Carousel project, where the horses are
crafted by volunteers and funded by donors. Paige Clark,
who had been visiting the Riverfront Carousel project for
years with her family, made the request, and to her
surprise, they said yes. One of the project’s master carvers,
Bill Mills, got involved and came to SEHS on Feb. 13 to
teach art classes about the carousel craft.
“We like to reach out to anyone who is interested,” says
Mills, who has been carving for 54 years. He says that one
to 12 artisans create each horse over a span of 1,200 to
1,400 hours, and no two horses are alike. On Sunday, Feb.
24, Mills will return to SEHS for a presentation of the
carousel horses — an event that is free and open to the
public. ■
Carousel shows at 7:30 pm Feb. 21-23 and March 1-2, and 2:30 pm Feb. 24
and March 3, at South Eugene High School; $8-$12, call 790-8070 for more
information. Master carver Bill Mills will present 12:30 to 1:30 pm Feb. 24
at SEHS.
SPENCER HANSON AS ‘BILLY BIGELOW’ AND
LIZA CLARK AS ‘JULIE JORDAN’ IN CAROUSEL
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PRISM QUARTET
7:30 p.m. • Beall Hall
ESTELÍ GOMEZ
8 p.m. • Beall Hall
Music Today celebrates contemporary and future
stars. The 2013 festival will spotlight more than
forty premiers by student composers!
Visit our website for a listing of all ticketed and non-
ticketed events, including a free master class with the
PRISM Quartet.
Tickets are available at the door or in
advance from the UO Ticket Office,
541.346.4363
EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity.
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE
SOPHIE KREIT ZGERG
Oregon String Quartet
Experience the power of
Beethoven’s string quartets.
Beall Concert Hall, 961 E. 18th Avenue
February 24, 3:00 p.m.
May 9, 7:30 p.m.
Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95
Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130
Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6
Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131
Full concert schedule at music.uoregon.edu/osq
Purchase tickets: 541-346-4363
EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity
eugeneweekly.com • February 21, 2013
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