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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
September 13, 2017 Page 15 Awakening a Sense of What You’ve Been Missing C ontinued From P age 4 poignant and ripe for exploitation in the way Shakespeare’s plot demands. At other times, however, the connection to “Mea- sure for Measure” seems to constrain the more significant stories that beg to be told; I wanted to see, for example, more explo- ration of the Indian schools than this treat- ment allows. What this play lacks in clarity of vision the production makes up for in the beauty and joy of watching seven Native Amer- ican actors generously lay their hearts out on the stage. They occupy several different intersections that will feel familiar to many mixed and marginalized people: What does cultural loyalty require? What are the rea- sons to compromise? How, if at all, should one accommodate the culture of white su- premacy? Which reasons for doing so are justified? I was moved to watch these Na- tive actors hold these questions with such love and grace, particularly in combination with Momaday’s Irish love and two African American characters who convey similar lived wisdom. One challenge of this production for me is that it locates virtually all white evil per- petrated against indigenous peoples in one character, even inviting the audience to boo him. OSF audiences are still mostly white, Photo by J enny g raham , o regon s hakesPeare F estivaL Placed in an Indian school where his culture is erased, a 19th Century Native Amer- ican (Shaun Taylor-Corbett) is visited by the spirit of his Native American grand- father (Brent Florendo) in ‘Off the Rails,’ now playing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. and that device lets them off far too easily, especially since oppression of indigenous people is hardly over. Indeed, the problem- atic choices of two other white characters are brushed off and even played for humor. I suspect that too few audience members will notice how problematic such choices are. Still, the challenges of absorbing this production, like the challenges I imagine may exist for those playing in it, strike me as resonant with the experiences of indige- nous and other oppressed peoples. How do we seize the spaces we can for our truth, and find our authentic voices, even when all the spaces we are allowed to enter involve some degree of accommodating the comfort of those with more power? The work of strug- gling with such questions, beautifully em- bodied here, may well account for the sort of evolved consciousness one often sees in indigenous leaders, and in many artists. Three wonderful outdoor shows beauti- fully round out the season’s offerings, all making use of deliciously diverse casts to enliven old stories. My favorite, “The Mer- ry Wives of Windsor,” sets Shakespeare’s rather messy comedy in a fantasy world that melds Elizabethan and 1980s sensibilities (complete with hilarious use of ‘80s music, dance moves, and costume touches), and the result evokes nonstop delight. I found it surprisingly moving to watch a produc- tion of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” in which the princess and her evolving prince are played by two brilliant African Ameri- can actors, assisted by a talented cast of en- chanted servants. And a gorgeous produc- tion of “The Odyssey” offers a visual feast of movement and imagery; watch especially for what, for me, is now the definitive de- piction of the sirens. The outdoor shows play until mid-Oc- tober, and “UniSon” and “Off the Rails” play until the season ends the final weekend of October. The journeys are well worth the journey to Ashland. Darleen Ortega, a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the first woman of color to serve in that capacity, serves on the board of the Oregon Shakespeare Festi- val. Her movie review column Opinionated Judge appears regularly in The Portland Observer. Find her movie blog at opinion- atedjudge.blogspot.com. It Does Good Things TM This page is sponsored by Oregon Lottery September 2017 C alendar MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 11 Make Your Bed Day World Trade Cen- ter attack in 2001 12 National Choco- late Milk Shake Day 18 19 The New York Times was first published in 1851 International Talk Like a Pirate Day Poet John Keats Wrote ‘To Au- tumn’ in 1819 25 26 Mary Poppins De- buted in 1964 Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513 Johnny Appleseed born John Chap- man, in 1774 13 National Peanut Day Positive Thinking Day 20 First Railroad Station Opened Magellan started search for Spice Islands, 1519 27 Crush A Can Day First Steam Locomotive Run (1825) 14 Francis Scott Key wrote the ‘Star Spangled Ban- ner’, 1814 21 Miniature Golf Day World Gratitude Day International Peace Day H.G. Wells born, 1866 28 First Airport Opened (1909) William the Con- queror Invaded England, 1066 R FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY 15 16 17 Make A Hat Day National Hispanic Heritage Month Begins Sept. 15, ends Oct. 15 Collect Rocks Day Mayflower Day Mexican Inde- pendence Day Stepfamily Day 22 23 24 Nintendo founded in 1889 - made playing cards Good Neighbor Day National Bluebird of Happiness Day Supreme Court est. in 1789 First Day of Autumn California Native American Day Dear Diary Day 29 Stanley Berenstain The U.S. Army was est. in 1789 30 Alvin Tresselt born, 1916 Safety Pin Invent- ed (1849) Citizenship Day National Apple Dumpling Day Constitution Day