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.
