The daily Astorian., July 13, 2017, Page 9, Image 19

JULY 13, 2017 // 9
Joseph Oyala performs a monologue during
a dress rehearsal of ‘Doubt’ in Nehalem at the
North County Recreation District Performing
Arts Center.
IF YOU GO
PHOTOS BY COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Director George Dzundza and the cast of ‘Doubt’ discuss the production after a recent dress rehearsal of the play in Nehalem.
Continued from Page 8
of the play is to allow the audience to — in
exploring their own prejudices — to see
what they feel is true, whether he’s inno-
cent, or whether she’s correct.”
And there’s another wrinkle: The alleged
victim, Donald Muller, is the school’s
first and only black student, a boy beat-
en at home and alienated from his white
classmates. Father Flynn has taken him
under his protection. If Sister Aloysius’s
suspicions are wrong, she not only destroys
Flynn’s reputation, she takes away the
boy’s only ally.
“The one thing that every character in
this play has in common is, we are out to
protect the child,” said Margaret Page, who
plays Sister Aloysius.
‘Something special’
“Doubt,” which began rehearsals last
fall, is Rising Tide’s second production. In
2016, the theater company staged “I Am
My Own Wife,” another play that explores
the humanity of individuals and challenges
the moral sensibilities of viewers.
The company has chosen to put on one
carefully selected production each year and
fine-tune it over many months.
“We dedicate ourselves to try to make
it an event, to make it something special,”
Dzundza said. “It does my heart really good
to see how hard everybody works, and how
committed they are to the process.”
Assistant Director Scott Campbell said
community theater is a “really rewarding
experience,” but participants “have to real-
ize it’s work.”
“You know, a lot of people do commu-
nity theater as a romp sort of thing. It’s a
bucket list deal or whatever,” he said. But
Rising Tide Productions is “for people who
want to be a little bit more serious about
developing a character and learning what
it’s like to try to do that process.”
Doubts
The play is shot through with doubts.
In the foreground is the uncertainty sur-
rounding what happened in the rectory, and
how the opposing sides — the implacable
nun and the accused priest — can make the
truth known.
“Father Flynn has a lot of doubt in
simply how to address the issue and not
just have it explode,” said Joseph Oyala, of
Cannon Beach, who plays the priest.
Meanwhile, the characters suspect each
others’ motives, even raise the issue of
questioning faith in God.
Finally, the audience is asked to ques-
tion their reaction to the drama, whether
they can be counted on to be fair-minded
in a situation where the stakes are high but
proof doesn’t point either way.
“I was trying very hard to make some-
body who hadn’t seen it before be unsure
of his own footing,” said Dzundza, who
added that much of the play’s value is in
the discussion it provokes.
Ben Ruderman, a stage technician, said,
What: “Doubt, A Parable” by John Pat-
rick Shanley (contains adult content)
When: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays,
July 14 and 15, 21 and 22, 28 and 29; 2
p.m. Sundays, July 16, 23 and 30.
Where: North County Recreation Dis-
trict Performing Arts Center, 36155 9th
St., Nehalem
Who: Directed by George Dzundza.
Starring Margaret Page, Joseph Oyala,
Brenna Sage and Sue Meyers Neuer
Tickets $20, available at the door; cash
and checks only
“At one point in the rehearsal process, I
was like, ‘This person’s right.’ And then
I’m like, ‘Oh, no, maybe I’m rooting for
the other one.’ And now I’m like: ‘I’m in
doubt,’” he said.
The beauty of theater
By not giving any more information
than what is exchanged between the charac-
ters — by not making the truth clear, or the
heroes and villains readily obvious — the
play allows the audience to examine their
own state of doubt.
“The theater’s a remarkable tool for
that, because it allows you to sit and have
private, personal thoughts about a situa-
tion,” Dzundza said. “And the beauty of
it is that every person is seeing a different
play; every person is seeing the play in the
privacy of their eyes and ears.”
The experience of attending live theater
is “extremely personal,” Dzundza said.
“And I think it’s the way that we grow as a
culture.” CW