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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2015
Fools Haven show to premiere in Florence July 17
www.shoppelocal.biz
Fools Haven is a Eugene-
based, nonprofit touring com-
pany that aims to “expand the
boundaries of theater.”
The Florence Playhouse will
play host to Fools Haven for
six performances: three in mid-
July, and three in mid-August.
Performances of Fools
Haven’s “Bits and Pieces and
Raw Canvas” are Friday, July
17, and Saturday, July 18, at 7
p.m., and a Sunday matinee on
July 19, at 2 p.m.
In August, performances will
be Friday, Aug. 14 and
Saturday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m.,
with a Sunday matinee Aug. 16
at 2 p.m.
The performance is recom-
mended for mature audiences.
The show opens with Joe
Cronin and Judith Roberts in
“Bits and Pieces: Theater of the
Absurd,” a 20-minute sequence
of monologues and scenes.
The
segment
includes
Roberts’ mini-play, “The
Walk,” inspired by a man and
dog strolling casually in pour-
ing rain on the forest road
between
Mapleton
and
Deadwood.
The show’s main feature is
next: “Raw Canvas,” a one-
hour, one-woman play written
by Diane-Barratt Walton for
actress Nancy Hopps to per-
form.
Raw Canvas was inspired by
the playwright’s own mother-
in-law, an adventurous, Irish-
Australian painter.
Hopps plays “Rosalyn,” an
aspiring artist in 1952, who
must defy prevailing social
norms if she chooses to pursue
her passion for painting. Her
dilemma is whether to adopt a
life as a struggling artist in
Paris, or return to the comforts
of home.
The Bohemian option is to
stay in Europe, where she has
acquired a younger lover. A
more conventional future
awaits her back in Canada with
her husband and daughter.
While Rosalyn grapples with
an irrevocable decision, the
audience is privy to her vivid
memories, filled with poignan-
cy, angst and elation.
Playwright Walton and her
husband moved from the
Willamette Valley to Paris 15
years ago.
Besides maintaining her pro-
fession as a writer of law
books, Walton says, “I always
have several plays bubbling in
the cauldron.”
Director Roberts, Walton
and Hopps have been creative
collaborators for many years.
“Raw Canvas” is Roberts’
fourth play by Walton; the oth-
ers have been staged both
locally and abroad.
Hopps has played lead roles
in Eugene theater (“The
Taming of the Shrew” and
“Sylvia”) and many roles with
Radio Redux (as Ilse in
“Casablanca” and Mary in “It’s
a Wonderful Life”).
“What a delight to be doing
this beautiful story, to work
with such a gifted playwright
and an insightful director,” says
Hopps of her role in Raw
Canvas. “Rosalyn’s words help
me to remember that every
moment is a moment of
choice.”
“Nancy could certainly
relate to the subject: the diffi-
cult balancing act of being a
mother, wife and creative
artist,” said Walton. “In many
ways, she was a natural for the
role. I tailored the role to her
special talents.”
Roberts, a life-long theater
artist, was a faculty member at
Lane Community College for
three decades.
Joe Cronin is co-founder and
co-director of Fools Haven. He
has acted with the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival, Utah
COURTESY PHOTO
Nancy Hopps as Rosalyn in the one-act, one-woman play
“Raw Canvas” written by Diane-Barratt Walton.
Shakespeare Festival and other
theaters around the country. He
was a founding member of
Artists Repertory Theater in
Portland, and he twice received
the Portland Drama Critics
Best Actor of the Year award.
The Florence Playhouse
is at 208 Laurel St. in Old
Town Florence.
Tickets are $13, and can be
purchased at On Your Feet with
a Splash or Best For Hearing.
Tickets are also available at
the door 30 minutes prior to
showtime.
For more information, visit
www.florenceplayhouse.com.
Food, cookbooks featured at library The Grill & Lounge
On Thursday, July 23, the
Friends of the Siuslaw
Library (FOL) will sponsor a
summer food event as part
of the Adult Summer Reading
Program,
“Escape
the
Ordinary.”
The library’s collection of
cookbooks will be highlight-
ed.
An unusual finger-food
recipe
from
each
of
nine cookbooks will be pre-
pared by FOL members
for the event attendees to
taste.
The library has more than
1,000 cookbooks covering a
gamut of traditional, regional,
vegetarian and ethnic recipes,
as well as most specialized
diets.
The cookbooks can be
found in section 641 in the
nonfiction section.
Prizes and demonstrations
will take place during the
afternoon tasting.
DISTRACTED
DRIVING
| SAFETY ON
THE
DISTRACTED
DRIVING
| USING TECHNOLOGY
SAFELY
The participants in the
Adult Summer Reading
Program, along with the pub-
lic, are invited to attend this
summer food event on
Thursday, July 23, from 2 to 4
p.m., in the library’s Bromley
Room.
Come and enjoy out-of-
the-ordinary treats.
at Sandpines
A FOUR COURSE SPECIAL DINNER
Featuring Del Rio Winery and Vineyards
SATURDAY AUGUST 1, 2015
Beginning at 5:30pm
$40 per person $75 per couple
Gratuity not included-Reservations required
541-997-1940 Ex. 106
Limited to fi rst 50 Reservations
Voice Your Opinion!
1201 35th Street at Kingwood, Florence
Highway 101 & 35 St.
541-997-4623
EDITOR@
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
ROADS
COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY JULY 15: THE HISTORY | THE TIMELINE
The Impact
D
istracted driving is near the top of the list of safety issues on our
roadways today. Texts, phone calls, emails, music, food and drinks —
the list of distractions hampering American drivers goes on and on.
Defined as any activity that
affects you visually, manually
or cognitively while behind
the wheel, distracted driving
can lead to dangerous and
deadly consequences.
That’s because driving
requires our full attention, not
only for routine travel but also
for those situations that
require rapid, sudden maneu-
vers. Using our cell phones,
reading a map, applying
makeup, writing or adjusting
the radio are just a few more
common distractions that can
lead to unintended and
avoidable accidents.
ARE WE SAFE
ON THE ROADS?
More than 80 percent of
drivers cite distraction as a
serious problem and a behav-
ior that makes them feel less
safe on the road, according to
the annual AAA Foundation
Traffic Safety Culture Index.
The AAA (formerly the
American Automobile
Association) also reports that
half of all respondents say the
feel less safe than they did
five years ago.
A REAL ISSUE
These fears of more dan-
gerous roadways are not
unfounded. Federals esti-
mates report that distraction
© FOTOLIA
contributes to 16 percent of
all fatal crashes, says the AAA.
This leads to 5,000 deaths per
year.
Teenagers are particularly
at risk. A recent AAA
Foundation in-car study
showed that teen drivers were
distracted about 25 percent of
the time. Of this group, a
large portion of the distrac-
tions were attributed to elec-
tronic devices. Behaviors like
texting, emails and down-
loading music fit in this cate-
gory.
THE IMPACT
More wrecks and more
deaths are at the root of what
transportation professionals,
community groups and law-
makers are focused on curb-
ing with new distracted driv-
ing legislation.
The impact on our econo-
my also is great, as reported
by a Virginia Tech study. The
research estimates that cell
phone-related crashes in the
United States cause about $43
billion in damages each year.
THIS MESSAGE SPONSORED BY:
Community Public Education:
• CPR/AED
• Fall Prevention
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• SAFE Kids
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The Only Emergency Medical Service &
Critical Care Transport Service in Western Lane County.
Proud to serve the residents of Western Lane Ambulance District,
those visiting the District and any others in need of medical attention.
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for more information