Page 2C
East Oregonian
HAPPY CANYON
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pace Raymond, 10, of Helix waits backstage during a rehearsal for the Happy
Canyon Night Show on Friday in Pendleton.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Native American riders stage outside of the arena during a rehearsal for the
Happy Canyon Night Show on Friday in Pendleton.
BEHIND
‘THE SHOW’
The oxen team moves into position during a dress rehearsal for the Happy Canyon Night Show on Friday in Pendleton.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Happy Canyon Night Show
a Round-Up tradition from
generation to generation
By JONATHAN BACH
East Oregonian
K
eith Towne is decked
out with stage makeup,
cartoonish fake breasts and
a big, blue dress.
On this evening, Towne, 28,
is on his second night playing
the part of a wife who discovers
her diminutive husband has been
canoodling with a can-can girl
and chases him into a pool of
water. The scene plays out in the
second part of the two-act Happy
Canyon Night Show that runs
Wednesday-Saturday of Round-Up
week.
Off-stage, friends trample the
dirt and come up to query Towne
if he’s been hit on tonight — to
which he jokingly responds both
sexes have made passes at him.
As with most theater, all on
stage is relatively controlled
at Happy Canyon. But behind
the scenes, the picture under
the grandstands changes: an
all-volunteer crew numbering in
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of stomping horses, stagecoaches,
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quips exchanged between old
acquaintances.
Some thespians are new
to Happy Canyon. Take Nick
Leonard, 30, who has only been
a Happy Canyon actor for two
years. He sings in the Pendleton
Men’s Chorus and was asked to be
part of a frontiersmen choir. Blue
Mountain Community College
student Christian Quinlin is on
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Towne’s philandering husband.
He enjoys that the role is a crowd
pleaser, since he gets chased into
the pool.
“It’s basically an honor to be
accepted here,” he said.
Kids scramble around in
costume overalls or are carried by
their parents. Young ones are part
of the memorable trunk act, a side
show during which a whole family
is pulled from a small steamer
trunk — with the help of a trap
door, of course.
“Most people here were raised
into (the show),” said Quinlin.
Like Towne, who has been a
Happy Canyon helper since age
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Toilet paper goes flying after a stick of dynamite tossed into the
outhouse explodes and interrupts actor Corey Neistadt during Fri-
day’s performance of the Happy Canyon Night Show.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Johnny Pimentel emerges from a trap door in the Happy Canyon Arena as Corey Neistadt, Jim Naugh-
ton and Tim Hileman look on Friday during preparations for the Happy Canyon Night Show.
“Most people here
were raised into
(the show).”
— Christian Quinlin,
BMCC student
10, many have been playing a role
in “The Show” for decades. Towne
used to play the role of undertaker
in the Wild West portion of the
program but was approached this
year about changing roles. And
then there’s the trio that makes up
the makeup crew backstage.
Karen Ashbeck, Chris Ferguson
and Ingrid Thamebert have each
been working the maquillage room
for more than 25 years. Their boxy
room with cracked walls is a hub
and sanctuary of sorts. People will
come in just to say “Hi” and hang
out. But the room gets tiny quickly
as people cram in.
“It was like a sauna in here
before,” said Ferguson, referring to
the addition of an air conditioning
unit in the corner. In the course of
two hours, the women estimate
they see upwards of 150 actors.
Here, a youngster plops down
on a chair to have a beard painted
onto his face. Another comes in
later to have makeup wiped off.
The child leaves with his dad, but
not before giving one of the three
makeup artists a big hug. All three
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Keith Towne, dressed as a woman, beats up on her unfaithful
husband during Friday’s performance of the Happy Canyon Night
Show.
have experience working with
children, and have seen many
kids with whom they’ve worked
grow up at Happy Canyon, rising
through roles over the years.
One of the greatest parts of the
job “is watching the generations go
from one generation to the next,”
said Ashbeck.
Cyrus Conner, 22, plays the part
of an American Indian who hangs
upside down by his legs after
being shot by white settlers while
standing on a high level of the
stage. The part of the “fall-over,”
as it’s called, was his uncle’s
before his. “I remember all these
ladies from when I was a kid,”
he said of the trio. Ashbeck said
she has known some of the actors
since they were babies.
She said, “It’s almost like
family, really — even if it’s once
a year.”