May 4. 2011
Roosevelt Theatre Sails Ahead
State, National
awards fall on
school’s success
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
Donations are needed to help
your local school drama group.
Roosevelt Theatre Troupe is
elated about a state championship
win and a national selection that
grants their production of "the Yel­
low Boat,” a spot on the main stage
of the International Thespian Festi­
val June 19-26, however trip ex­
penses place them in a financial
bind.
R o o sevelt stu d e n t actors Pablo Saldana (from left) Jonhnathan K eom oungtai and Brittany Lernerd
E arly in the sch o o l y ear, perform in the true story o f The Yellow Boat, b a s e d on a Scandinavian folksong th a t affirm s a
Roosevelt High School’s advanced ch ild 's life, a n d th e stren g th and courage o f all children.
acting class wanted a challenge, into the air.
for airfare, $12,000 for registration, the troupe is requesting your dona-
and after sifting through countless
Now how ever, though still $800 for shuttle service, and at least tion in the form of frequent flyer
plays, their teacher and theatre di­ stunned by the victory, the troupe $3,000 for hotel, food, stage recon- miles, gas cards, or Visa gift cards,
rector, Jo Lane, finally presented a faces the reality of a huge financial struction, and miscellaneous trav-
Fundraising for the trip is well
script that moved the entire group roadblock, with nearly $30,000 eling expenses.
underway, and the theatre troupe
to tears.
needed for the entire trip expendi-
“No one could have budgeted plans to perform excerpts of their
Chosen for production was David
f°r
expense, although as a vil- play for those willing to provide
Saar’s play “The Yellow Boat,”
The most cost-efficient route lage we are proud and honored to financial support
based on a true story of the author’s would fly the cast and crew from support our award winning youth,”
In the meantime, the cast and
son and uniquely gifted visual art­ Portland to Omaha, where a shuttle said Lane.
Crew, all seniors except foronejun-
ist, Benjamin Saar; bom with con­ bus would take them to Lincoln. The
To help send the cast and crew ior, are focused on graduation
genital hemophilia, he lived until the total breakdown includes $12,000 over the rolling hills to Nebraska, Shortly after the thespian seniors
age of 8 while suffering AIDS re­
lated complications.
Since auditions for the play, the
troupe has performed one success­
ful show after another, bringing
home a state championship at the
Oregon Thespian State Conference
in April and winning Portland’s first-
ever chance to perform on the main
stage of the International Thespian
Festival this summer in Lincoln, Neb.
“We are thrilled and honored to
be the first PPS School to represent
on the main stage,” said Lane, who
has worked with most of the senior '
by
drama students for about four years
now.
The success is a significant leap
for Roosevelt; bearing in mind that
prior to Lane’s arrival in the fall of
2007, no theatre program existed for
10 years at the north Portland school.
As freshman, many of Lane’s first­
time theatre students were clueless
as to how to even sign up for a play,
and in what usually takes six to eight
years to build a program. Lane’s
drama group accomplished in less
than four.
When the cast and crew heard
that Yellow Boat was picked to com­
pete against other schools from the
United States, Canada, and around
the world, they screamed and jumped
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throw graduation caps up in the air.
they will begin fine-tuning the play
that has been on and off, the center
of their young lives for almost a year
now.
"Every day— morning, noon, and
night - we will have practice re­
hearsals,” said Lane, who gradu­
ated from Central Washington with
a Masters in Theatre Production
and has been teaching theatre for
over 15 years in Oregon.
If and when the Roosevelt The­
atre Troupe arrives to the festival in
Lincoln, they will only have 90 min­
utes to unload props and re- con­
struct the stage set up before cur­
tains go up, but in viewing the tal­
en ted g ro u p ’s w in n in g -strea k
record, there is little doubt that Yel­
low Boat will suffer anything short
of success.
The community is invited to a
fundraising encore performance set
for Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m. at
the Roosevelt High School audito­
rium. Tickets can be purchased
online at roosevelttheatre.org.
To request a donation form and
for further information, contact Jo
Lane at Roosevelt High School, 503-
916-5260extension 71424or viaemail
at jolane@pps.k 12.or.us.
Mothers Day Showcase May 8th
Live at The Conga Club
4923 NE Martin L. King Jr. BIvd suite 102
(Parking in Rear)
Players from Left to Right Lester Parker percussions An 'dre
Buillingsley Drums percussions, Kim Given {female ) Vocalist,
Elliott Young Lead male vocalist- keyboards Randy Starr, Valene
Thompson Lead female vocalist, Terrence Wooden Lead Guitar
vocalist Lawrence D. Bostic Keyboards vocalist Call Randy Starr
@ 503-312-4814
Available for corporate functions, private parties and
special events. Show Hours availability 7 days a week
9:30pm-10:20pm • 10:40pm-11:45pm
11:55pm- 12:45am • 1:05am-1:55am
Contact Randy Starr@ 503-312-4814