16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 13, 2015
Polk County Education
An Englishman in the South
SCHOOL NOTES
Central’s drama department presents comical play “The Foreigner”
Dallas native to study in Nicaragua
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
When Charlie Baker takes
his quest to be left alone to
the extreme — by pretend-
ing he doesn’t understand or
speak English — he is privy
to a lot of private conversa-
tions.
Played by Max Lydum,
Charlie is an anxious, nerv-
ous British man who is tak-
ing a holiday at a hunting
lodge in the South.
He encounters good and
bad in his escape from his
real life, a dead-end job and
a wife who doesn’t love him.
The result is hilarious in
“The Foreigner,” presented
by Central High School’s
performing arts department
tonight through Saturday.
Curtain is at 7 p.m. each
night.
“ The Foreigner” is
Lydum’s first time in a play
at Central, and he said the
character Charlie proved
challenging for a number of
reasons.
“I had to go out of my nat-
ural tendency to be confi-
dent,” he said. “(Charlie is)
anxious, nervous. I had to
find empathy for those emo-
tions.”
On top of that, Charlie is
British and pretending to
not speak any English, so
Lydum has to be able to
maintain two accents —
British and a vague, sort of
Russian or Eastern Euro-
pean accent.
“Holding up those two ac-
cents at the same time is
tough,” Lydum said. “If I re-
veal my Britishness, it ruins
the whole thing.”
The play holds challenges
for everyone in the cast and
on the crew.
Taylor Ashton is used to
playing the head-strong, go-
getter role, but is double cast
as Betty, the old woman who
owns the hunting lodge.
“Having to walk around
slowly, wear glasses on my
GOSHEN, Ind. — David Pauls of Dallas will participate in the
Goshen (Ind.) College Study-Service Term in Nicaragua during
the summer semester.
Pauls, a junior art major at Goshen College, will spend 13
weeks studying, serving and living with host families in
Nicaragua.
During the first half of the journey, Pauls will dive into the
local culture. The second part will involve work on volunteer
service projects.
Students raise money for victims
MONMOUTH — International students from Nepal at West-
ern Oregon University are raising money for victims of the 8.1
magnitude earthquake on April 25 in Nepal.
Western’s International Club is holding fundraisers from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. through Saturday at the Werner University Center
in front of the bookstore. All proceeds benefit victims in Nepal.
For more information: www.wou.edu/give, or mail donations
to the WOU Foundation office, 345 Monmouth Ave. N., Mon-
mouth OR 97361.
Nominate a teacher of the year
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Charlie Baker, played by Max Lydum, finds out from his friend Froggy, played by
Dylan Lewis, that he will be staying in the hunting lodge without his friend.
nose,” said Ashton, who has
a bounce and energy inher-
ent to a Central cheerleader,
which she is offstage.
The bad guy, Owen Muss-
er, is played by a normally
sweet, smiling Lucas Cas-
tanon.
“It’s a little out of my com-
fort zone,” he said about
playing a villain. “I have a
hard time not smiling or
laughing at the lines.”
To find inspiration for the
dark side of the play, Cas-
tanon watched films and
combined aspects from
other villains into his char-
acter.
“It was a big challenge,
but I’ve enjoyed it,” Cas-
tanon said, smiling.
The play is the work of
students in a drama class,
and student involvement
spans beyond the stage.
Many students have big-
ger roles offstage, learning
the ropes of lighting, sound,
set design and building, and
Off to the Theater
What: Central High School’s production of “The Foreign-
er,” by Larry Shue.
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday (today) through Saturday.
Where: Central High School auditorium, 1530 Mon-
mouth St., Independence.
Admission: $8 for adults, $5 for students with ID.
Of note: The play’s female roles are double cast, which
means different actors will be playing the two female roles.
Wednesday and Friday will feature different stars than
Thursday and Saturday.
stage management.
Phoenix Chambers has
been in the spotlight, but for
“The Foreigner,” she’s the
person most of the cast likes
the least: the dramaturge.
“I write down every line
they got wrong,” she said.
“Make sure people are on
book.”
Her role goes further, as
she is in charge of educating
the actors about the history
surrounding the play, which
takes place in the 1980s in
Georgia.
The play has some lan-
guage — two curse words, to
be precise — and potentially
sensitive material — Cas-
tanon’s character Owen is
leader of the local Klu Klux
Klan.
Drama teacher and play
producer Jeff Witt said it
may not be suitable for all
children.
But the play has merits.
Lydum said he likes that the
show expresses ideologies of
togetherness, inclusiveness
and antidiscrimination.
SALEM – The Department of Education’s annual Teacher of
the Year award gives Oregonians a chance to recognize teach-
ers who are making a positive impact in students’ lives.
Nominations for the 2015-16 Oregon Teacher of the Year are
now being accepted.
To nominate a candidate for the award: www.surveymon-
key.com/s/GV3X3XZ. Nominations are due by May 31.
A panel of legislators, former teachers of the year, communi-
ty leaders and education stakeholders select three finalists,
who are then interviewed by the deputy superintendent’s of-
fice. The deputy superintendent makes the final selection.
Retirement celebration Thursday
INDEPENDENCE — A retirement celebration for three educa-
tors with a combined 90 years of service is scheduled for Thurs-
day at the Independence Event Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., In-
dependence.
The event will recognize the careers of Wendy Bemrose,
Linda Tonagel, Teresa Whitehall from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Students receive WV scholarships
POLK COUNTY — The West Valley Hospital Foundation an-
nounced 23 students in medically related fields will receive
scholarships for the 2015 to 2016 school year. A total of $20,000
in scholarships was awarded to students pursuing degrees in a
variety of programs. Scholarship recipients:
• Dallas: Mitchell Bollman; Hayden Broadus; Leslie Classen;
Amanda Dankenbring; Christina Feil; Brenda Hess; Shaymarie
Parker; Danielle Remington; Isaak Tichenor; Kristi Tichenor and
Savannah Williams.
• Monmouth: Ty Whittemore and Ashley Wiens.
This is the eighth year that the West Valley Hospital Founda-
tion has awarded scholarships. This year’s scholarship awards
were funded by the proceeds from the foundation’s 2014
Moonlight and Vines Gala. The 2015 Moonlight and Vines Gala
will be held Friday, Aug. 21, at the Nesmith Readiness Center in
Dallas. For ticket information: West Valley Hospital Foundation
office at 503-831-3456.
Visit us online at: www.polkio.com
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