Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2016)
MARCH 18, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 Latest Celt play radiates and resonates mother, Beatrice (played by senior Morgan Hoag). Purkey read the script be- fore trying out for a role in the play, but it hadn’t prepared her for what happened during the audition. “It felt so different and I realized how wonderful the character is and how there is so much inside of her,” Pur- key said. “Even in the hard- est and darkest situations, she has this hope that she holds onto for the entire show. She chooses to see life so differ- ently compared to how her sister and mother view it.” Beatrice is constantly try- ing to sabotage Tillie’s at- tempts to see beyond the confi nes of their desperate existence caring for an elderly woman. Ruth, who has been By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Family dyfunction crescen- does over a science project in the latest stage production at McNary High School. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Mari- golds by Paul Zindel runs Fri- day, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, at the Celtic’s Ken Collins Theatre. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for both shows. Tickets are $5 and available online at mcnarytheatre.wee- bly.com or at the door. The play has three leads and two smaller roles. Annie Purkey plays Tillie Hunsdor- fer, the second of two daugh- ters, who is struggling to break free of the traps laid around her by her sister, Ruth (played by senior Jaida Watson), and WALK IN, SIT DOWN, & ENJOY 2ND LOCATION Just South of Keizer 6 Micro-Brews On Tap & Bottled Beers Growlers & Bottles To-Go! N. Salem (by Applebees) 2505 Liberty St NE 503.689.1082 Downtown Salem 1210 State St 503.632.2194 FOR CATERING INFO www.Adams-Rib-Smoke-House.com diagnosed with epilepsy and suffers seizures, plays her own part in the turmoil. Like Purkey, Watson found passion for her character through the auditioning pro- cess. “She acts like she doesn’t care what people think about her, but she cares so much. She wants her mother to ac- cept her and people at school to not think she’s crazy be- cause she’s epileptic,” Watson said. Ruth’s true feelings about Tillie emerge slowly over the course of the play. Beatrice is a nasty piece of work, but Hoag has found motivation in everything she does and says. “She lives in the past and chooses to see the past differ- ently than what was actually happening at the time,” Hoag said. “She got married too young, her father died and she ended up alone with two daughters taking care of an old lady she doesn’t know in a beat-up house. She takes all of it out on everyone.” At times, fi nding ways to react to Beatrice as instructed by the script has been a strug- gle for Watson. “She’s so harsh. There are times when I think she’s just being fl at out mean and my normal reaction would be to call her on it. It leaves you feeling a little glum after we do a run through and I have to fi nd a place to just be quiet for a while,” Watson said. The play is far from light- hearted, but Purkey, Watson and Hoag were so dedicated to the script that all three had their lines memorized on the fi rst day of rehearsals. It left them time to develop even greater insight into their re- spective characters. “People, when they fi rst see the show, are going to think Beatrice is a horrible mother and Tillie is a perfect girl and everything around her is hor- rible. But you have to think about what led up to it all the way back to when Beatrice was born and Ruth fi rst had KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald McNary junior Annie Purkey stars as Tillie Hunsdorfer in the Celtic production of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in- the-Moon Marigolds. her seizures,” Hoag said. Seeing past the tribulation, diffi cult as it might be, has its own rewards. “It’s a good show if you’re looking for a something that can connect you to the deeper part of yourself. It will mean a lot of heartbreak along the way, but the characters are so beautiful,” Purkey said. Boy killed while crossing River Road An 8-year-old Salem boy was killed last Friday evening while attempting to cross Riv- er Road North on the 3900 block. Just past 7 p.m. March 11, Keizer Police Department of- fi cers responded to a 9-1-1 re- port of an automobile versus pedestrian crash in the north- bound lanes of River Road North. When offi cers arrived on scene, they confi rmed Jaren James Nash, 8, had been struck by a northbound 2006 Ford Explorer driven by 31-year- old William Andrew Wetzler of Salem. Paramedics responded to the scene and took Nash to Salem Hospital with life- threatening injuries. Nash was then fl own by Life Flight the Oregon Health and Sci- ence University in Portland, where he was pronounced as deceased shortly after arriving. According to police, the preliminary investigation showed Nash was accompa- nied by his mother, Devon Rutherford of Keizer, while attempting to cross from west to east when he was hit in the northbound lanes. It was dark and the road was wet at the time of the incident. Wetzler stayed on scene and cooper- ated with authorities. Deputy chief Jeff Kuhns with the KPD said Ruth- erford was not hit. Kuhns couldn’t confi rm what color clothing the mother and son were wearing. The portion of the road where the mother and son were crossing does not have a crosswalk. The Oregon State Police assisted the KPD with the crash scene reconstruction. The incident remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact KPD Sergeant Dan Kelley at 503-390-3713 ext. 3479. Nash attended Schirle El- ementary in Salem. Offi cials with the Salem-Keizer School District were notifi ed. We are Everything Except Overpriced Simple Cremation $795 Inexpensive Burial and Funeral Options Pre-Planning Available On-Site Crematory 4365 RIVER RD N, KEIZER 503.393.7037 Sam Goesch Ins Agcy Inc Sam Goesch CLU, Agent 3975 River Road North Keizer, OR 97303 Bus: 503-393-6252 State Farm , Bloomington, IL 1211999
