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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2019)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JANUARY 30, 2019 • Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Q&A with ‘Romeo and Juliet’ director Tony Rust By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove Sentinel: Cot- tage Th eatre (CT) develops its seasons but having directors pitch shows they would like to put on. What was your pitch for “Romeo and Juliet?” Tony Rust: CT was looking for a season of well known plays as we are only doing four this year because of our reno- vation project ACT III. “Ro- meo and Juliet” is certainly well known and has room for a variety of age ranges from high school students to the more mature. I really wanted to approach this play knowing I could cast everyone close to the ages as written (I've direct- ed this play at colleges and high schools several times). CGS What is your history with CT? Rust: I’ve been around for about 15 years, designing sets, directing and acting. My fi rst show as a director was “Work- ing,” and my last show before this one was “Noises Off .” On- stage I’ve played roles as vari- ous as Scapino in “Scapino,” Che in “Evita” and the Clowne in “12th Night.” CGS: You’ve been in shows on stage and directed shows as well, which do you prefer and how do they lend themselves, separately, to your creative process? Rust: Th e two sides are com- scended its original platform and become part of our every- day pop culture. How do you go about staging it in Cottage Grove? Rust: As a change up of how I usually approach Shakespeare, “I really wanted to approach this play knowing I could cast everyone close to the ages as written.” — Tony Rust, director Romeo & Juiet runs Feb. 1 - 17 at the Cottage Th eater pletely diff erent and tap diff er- ent parts of me. As a director, however, I try and build a vi- sual story and guide the actors to fi nd their way through the characters rather than pro- scribing what they should do. CGS: Even people who wouldn’t consider themselves interested in the arts are famil- iar with “Romeo and Juliet.” It’s arguably the play that's tran- I decided to really go as “tradi- tional” with this production as possible. I’ve always used the fi rst folio as my starting point (the book put together by the actors of Shakespeare’s troupe right aft er he died) but this time we are not cutting many lines at all and really seeing what the play that he wrote plays like. CGS: Th ere is a lot of staging and blocking that takes place in this play, particularly in the fi ght scenes. How did you ap- proach that in CT where rows on either side of the stage can’t necessarily see the entire stage? Rust: Actually, that’s a pret- ty normal thing for me, as my stage at Marist High School where I teach theatre is set up pretty much the same. It’s mostly a matter of accepting that diagonals are the way to go and if you have lines, you go upstage. Th e fi ght scenes being right in front are exciting and scary. CGS: Are there any stand- out performances the audience should watch for? Rust: Other than Romeo and Juliet and my whole cast, I’d like to point out the stel- lar work from my supporting leads like Kory Weimer as Ty- balt and Joel Ibanez as Mercu- tio. Without them, the heart of the play would just be mush, but they really make it crackle, both with comedy and fi re. 5A By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” Saving Jimmy F our years ago, we published Nan’s article “Cans for Cats. Bottles for Dogs” about her neighbors and friends donat- ing a ton of recyclables. Nan then donates the deposit fees to animal welfare groups. Her life illustrates what one person can do for others. One tin can isn’t worth much, but this “garbage” has generated $137,000 in 12 years — amazing for this kind-hearted woman in her 80s! Nan’s latest “one person can change the world” adventure in- volves a senior dog. “I am an old woman and that’s why I adopted an old dog, Jimmy,” said Nan. “I always adopt according to my age and en- ergy. A senior dog walks my speed and needs my companion- ship as much as I do his.” Adopting Jimmy was like buying a new car without any ac- “Romeo and Juliet” is playing at Cottage Th eatre from Feb. 1 through Feb. 17. For more infor- mation or to purchase tickets, visit cottagetheatre.org. New app makes parking easier in county parks Passport Lane County Parks is introducing Passport, a mo- bile app that will allow park visitors to quickly purchase a day pass to any of Lane Coun- ty’s 68 parks. “It is really important that we continue to look for ways to make it easier and more conve- nient to purchase the required passes,” said Park Manager Brett Henry. “Passport will al- low visitors to quickly purchase a day pass using their phones — and if they know they’ll be out of service at the park itself they can take a few minutes to do it before they leave home. No more hunting for the kiosk or digging through car cup holders to fi nd enough change.” Th e app itself is free for us- ers. Users create a profi le that includes the vehicle license plate and payment information in order to pay on the go. Once purchased, a day pass is valid across all Lane County parks. “Th e app will also help us gather better information about which parks receive the most visitors and use that data to make decisions about park improvements,” added Henry. “Overall, we’re hoping to see less vandalism and theft of the fee tubes at several of our parks if most visitors move to using the mobile app.” Lane County parks receive no support from property tax- es. Th e day use and camping fees collected from park visi- tors make up the majority of the funding available to main- tain and improve Lane Coun- ty’s parks and open spaces. Visitors can also purchase daily or annual parks passes online at www.lanecounty.org/ parks. Local retailers, includ- ing REI, Cabela’s and Bi-Mart, sell annual passes. Daily pass- es will continue to be available using cash where that option already exists in the parks. Signs are currently in place at Armitage Park, Heceta Beach Park, Howard Buford Recreation Area (Mt. Pisgah), and Westlake Park. Lane County Parks is the fi rst park service in our area to off er a parking app option. Very Little Theater continues 90th season with ‘Blithe Spirit’ Th e Very Little Th eatre con- tinues to celebrate its 90th sea- son in 2019 with “Blithe Spirit” by Noel Coward, directed by Karen Scheeland. Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit is an audacious comedy about marriage, love and death, in which the memory of a lost love becomes material for a punch line. At his best, Noel Coward’s work is able to weave little symphonies out of bursts of jaded lust or malicious wit. Blithe Spirit is a very British 6 drawing room play, encourag- ing resistance to encroaching catastrophe by blithely ignor- ing it. Set in England in 1941, we meet Charles Condomine, a well to do novelist, who has invited guests to be a part of a séance in order to get materi- al for his next book. He invites Madame Arcati, a medium, to lead the séance. Unfortunately an unforeseen materialization occurs which leads to com- ic misunderstandings, other séances and an unexpected ending. Th e VLT cast features: Daniel Squire as Charles; Janna Slack as Ruth; Aimee Hamilton as Elvira; Kali Kar- das as Edith; Bill Siedler as Dr. Bradman; Lisa Roth as Mrs. Bradman; and Kathy LaMon- tagne as Madame Arcati. Th e show opened Friday, Jan. 25, with additional shows on the following nights: Th urs- day through Sunday, Jan. 31 through Feb. 3; and Th ursday through Saturday, Feb. 7-9. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. (except for the 2 p.m. Sunday matinées). Adult tickets are $21; seniors and students are $17; Th ursday performances are $17 for ev- eryone. Tickets are available by phone through the Box Of- fi ce from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Call 541-344-7751 or get tickets online at Th eVLT.com. Transmissions Plus & -day weather forecast THURSDAY FRIDAY 57° | 44° 49° | 42° Sunny Rain SATURDAY SUNDAY 47° | 38° 44° | 34° Rain Rain MONDAY TUESDAY 45° | 34° 46° | 33° AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALTIES PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SERVICE SINCE 1991 Manual & Automatic Transmission Repair Tune ups 30-60-90K Services Brakes, belts, hoses and cooling system services Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust All makes and models. MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN “WE MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN!” Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Flood policies must be in place at least 6 weeks prior to a claim. This coverage can be tricky. Call your local agent today (541) 942-0555. PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove www.automotivespecialties.biz DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS 541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE HIT THAT LIKE BUTTON! F ACEBOOK . COM /CGS ENTINEL Nan saved Jimmy from a life of cruelty and is teaching him about love and joy. (photo by Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe”) cessories. His previous life is under investigation as cruelty case from a breeder who imprisoned him in a crate. He has a lot of changes to adjust to at 11 years of age. One is that he did not know how to “go” outside. “My other senior dog, Molly, gets all the credit for toilet training Jimmy in a week,” said Nan. “He’s also learned how to go up stairs and down again.” Jimmy’s life-long isolation may explain why he is petrifi ed of car rides. He is learning to become excited for them, though. When they drive for Nan’s coff ee, Jimmy gets pats and treats. Even with his crate-induced contracted muscles and stiff -ar- thritic legs, he now jumps out of the car but is unable to jump up into the car. Th is special, gentle and good-natured dog has made great progress. When he fi rst arrived, on three occasions, he charged Nan’s cat, Frankie. However, he soon realized that Frankie was family. “Th is aft ernoon while Jimmy and I were napping, Frank- ie jumped up and lay down beside Jimmy and they both fell asleep. Th at’s progress!” said Nan. Each morning, Jimmy greets her with his soft kisses, then grabs his favorite stuff y and runs around the house. Th en at 6:30 a.m., they go for a walk, where Jimmy sits outside the cof- fee shop on the chair next to Nan while other customers give him a “Hello” pat. Jimmy also enjoys meeting customers’ dogs who come for their morning treats. “I thought I was adopting an older dog; but much to my surprise, he’s turned into a puppy,” Nan said. “He is a happy little guy and a quick learner, proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Whatever torture his previous life was, he is now loving life. I can’t believe anyone would neglect such a special-hearted animal! He is aff ectionate, loves to cuddle and sleep on my bed with me, Molly, Frankie and his stuff ed toy. He looks so cute (not sure Frankie thinks so). “His happy gestures feel like he's thanking me for adopting him. He has brought so much joy to my life, that if I had a tail, I would be happily wagging it like he does his!” TIPS: When Nan emailed Jimmy's good-news update to his shelter, the staff crowded around the computer to read his progress. Shelter staff have kind hearts and oft en fall in love with the animals in their care. Th e staff returned an email to Nan: “It fi lls our hearts to hear that this sweet old boy got a second chance — he deserves it. He is lucky to have found you. People don’t realize that our animals are not broken or problematic. Th ey were let down by humans, or their parent died. We want to express how thankful we are that people like you see the val- ue in adopting older animals. Th ank you for taking this sweet- heart home and giving him love. It means so much to him and to all of us!” Note: During cold weather, stray cats may seek heat/shelter next to your vehicle’s engine. Make it a practice to bang the hood as you approach your vehicle giving strays a chance to safely jump away. Share your fun, amazing or crazing pet tips and tales at angelscribe@msn.com or Follow Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales. Adopt loving pets online at www.PetFinder.com. For spay or neutering, call the Humane Society at 541-942-2789.