Oregon City High School
Performing Arts
Department
Upcoming Events:
Band Concert
March 3, 2016
Choir Concert
March 17, 2016
The Giver
By Lois Lowry &
Adapted by Eric Coble
May 18, 19, 20 & 21,
2016
The Newberry award-winning book
by Lois Lowry about a future world
drained of color, emotion and
memory. One boy fights to bring
love back into his life and to
remember what everyone wants
him to forget.
Directed by Karlyn Love and
presented in our Main Stage
Theatre.
Audience
Information
No food or drink allowed in the
theater - we want to keep our
theater looking beautiful.
Please do not talk during the
performance
we
want
everyone in the audience to hear
every word spoken on stage.
Please turn off all pagers and
cellular phones before the
performance begins.
Please do not take flash
photographs
during
the
performance - it is distracting
(and sometimes dangerous) for
the actors on stage.
No video tripods or power
cords - it is unsafe to block any
aisle. Also please do not use
camera lights or LCD screens
when taping.
Please remove noisy children
from the theater - we want
everyone in the audience to be
able to enjoy the show.
Please keep the aisles clear
during the performance for
actor entrances and exits.
Please notify the house
manager or an usher
immediately if you have a
problem.
Letter from the Producer
It is my honor to welcome you to Word Play 5! The
advanced drama class has worked very hard to bring you
these five original plays. The students have written,
directed and designed tonight’s show and I hope you’ll be
as impressed as I am with their dedication, talent and
creativity.
I know the students join me in thanking a couple of
people for mentoring their work tonight. First of all, thanks
to Conner Kerns for leading the class in his unique
playwriting workshop where all the students get to write,
direct and act in original plays. That workshop really got
the ball rolling on this whole production. Secondly, the
students and I want to thank Mark Schwahn for providing
the technical support we desperately require to bring these
original plays to life. He has helped shape the scripts, the
poster, set, lights and he created the program you are
reading right now. He is invaluable to our department and
we couldn’t do the shows without him. Third, we need to
thank Rocky Smith for the spooky, fun and educational
“Ghost Tour” of Oregon City. It was just the inspiration we
needed to get started on Fright Night!
Finally, I want to thank each and every student who
is involved in Word Play 5 -- the writers, the directors, the
actors, the rehearsal assistant and the wonderful students
from my classes on the crew. I am blessed to have such
enthusiastic, supportive, respectful and hard working
students. They are proud to share Word Play 5 with you
and I am proud of them!
Enjoy the show!
Karlyn Love
(503)785-8980
[email protected]
Coming up next:
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control and
safe. There is no war or fear or pain. There are also no
choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community.
But when Jonas comes of age, he is chosen for special
training from The Giver—to receive and keep the memories
of the community. The Giver is the only person who holds
the memories of real pain and real joy. Now Jonas will learn
the truth about life—and the hypocrisy of his utopian world.
Through this astonishing and moving adaptation, discover
what it means to grow up, to grow wise, and to take control
of your own destiny. Adapted by Eric Coble from the
Newbery Award-winning book by Lois Lowry. Directed by
Karlyn Love and presented in our Main Stage Theatre on
May 18, 19, 20 & 21, 2016 at 7:30pm.
Production Crew
Design Team
Stage Manager .............................................................Shailyn Jones
Producer.......................................Karlyn Love
Assistant Stage Manager ..............................................Stefan Previs
Scenic Designer ......................Mark Schwahn
Running Crew.........................................................Michaela Brattin
Dillin Eikmeier
Rayanna Lamarr
Adam Marl
Taryn McGhee
Austin Pearson
Matthew Ramage
Nina Vargas
Costume Crew ....................................................... Cindra McQueen
Mady Nelson
Light Board Operator..................................................... Jenna Smith
Sound Board Operator ............................................... Van McQueen
Videographer ............................................................... Nicole Nixon
Lighting Assistants ...................................................... Adam Brown
Van McQueen
Scenery Construction & Painting ............................. Mark Schwahn
& Technical Theater Class
Poster & Tee-shirt Design .......................... Technical Theater Class
Lighting Designer ....................Mark Schwahn
Sound Designers...........The student directors
Costume Designers.......The student directors
Props Designers............The student directors
Production Photographer ...Karmin Tomlinson
Acknowledgements
Rocky Smith for taking the class on a “Ghost Tour” of Oregon
City to inspire the student writers.
Carol Hansen for painting the portrait in Bloodlust.
Jaden Cloyes for coming to class via an iPad and contributing
to the directors with feedback and line notes.
Program Design ........................................................ Mark Schwahn
House Manager.............................................................Rocky Smith
Karmin Tomlinson for her donation of $1500.
Assistant House Manager .................................... Darya Wasserman
Bob’s Red Mill for their donation of $600.
Ushers ........................................................................Camryn Plucar
Brooks Rounsavell
Oregon City Optimists Club for their donation of $500.
Word Play 5
First Night Frights
Written & Directed by Nina Vargas
Sink or Swim
Written by Sydney Ogle
Directed by Shailyn Jones
Bloodlust
Written & Directed by Michaela Brattin
Best Friends for Life…and Death!
Written by Sam Black
Directed by Stefan Previs
334 Point Word for Your Soul
Written by Haley Phillips
Directed by Matthew Ramage
The performance will be presented
without an intermission.
The Directors
Nina Vargas (First Night Frights) This is Nina’s first time directing. Nina’s
acting roles at OCHS include Aunt March in Little Women, Woman/
Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web and Sub in Subtext from Love is in the Air.
She also played the Blue Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland at Gardiner
Middle School. She has Assistant Stage Managed both A Christmas
Carol and To Kill a Mockingbird, was on running crew for Word Play 4 and
ran spotlight for 1941 Christmas From Home. Nina is a senior in her
fourth year of the Drama class sequence and is in our Technical Theater
class.
Shailyn Jones (Sink or Swim) This is Shailyn’s first time directing.
Shailyn’s acting roles at OCHS include Second Fairgoer/ Ensemble in
Charlotte’s Web – the Musical, Girl in Subtext from Love is in the Air,
Debtor’s wife/Ensemble in A Christmas Carol and Usher in 1941
Christmas From Home. She also ushered for To Kill a Mockingbird and
is in our Technical Theater class. Shailyn is a senior in her fourth year of
the Drama class sequence and enjoys photography, baking and writing.
Michaela Brattin (Bloodlust) This is Michaela’s first time directing. Her
acting roles at OCHS include Jo March in Little Women, Fifth Fairgoer/
Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web, Tardy Woman in Fancy Meeting You Here
from Love is in the Air and Mrs. Warren in 1941 Christmas From Home.
Michaela was on costume crew for A Christmas Carol and videographer
for To Kill a Mockingbird. She is a senior who is in her fourth year of the
Drama class sequence and is in our Technical Theater class. Michaela
enjoys singing, writing, learning guitar & youth group.
Stefan Previs (Best Friends for Life…and Death!) This is Stefan’s
first time directing. His acting roles at OCHS were Professor Fritz
Bhaer in Little Women, Templeton in Charlotte’s Web, Text in Subtext
from Love is in the Air, Narrator/ Ghost of Christmas Present in A
Christmas Carol, Juror/ Ensemble in To Kill a Mockingbird and Jasper
Jones in 1941 Christmas From Home. He has appeared in several
productions with Krayon Kids Musical Theatre. He was an usher for
Stuart Little, is a senior in his fourth year of the Drama class sequence
and is in our Technical Theater class. Stefan is a member of National
Honor Society and Link Crew who enjoys music and volunteers as a
small group leader at his church.
Matthew Ramage (334 Point Word for Your Soul) This is Matthew’s first
time directing. His acting roles at OCHS were Theodore “Laurie”
Laurence in Little Women, Gander in Charlotte’s Web, Boy in Subtext
from Love is in the Air, Narrator/ Fred in A Christmas Carol, Link Deas in
To Kill a Mockingbird and Nicky Cooper in 1941 Christmas From Home.
He was in the Ensemble in both How to Succeed in Business Without
Really Trying and Carousel at Clackamas Repertory Theatre and TwoBit in The Outsiders, Greaser in Grease, John in Peter Pan, Skater in
High School Musical and Rooster in Honk with the Oregon City
Children’s Theatre. Matthew is a senior who is in his fourth year of the Drama class sequence.
Rehearsal Assistant
Our rehearsal assistant helps all five of our directors during rehearsals by
holding the script to make sure the actors are saying their lines correctly and
by standing in for an actor who is absent among other duties. Without our
assistant the rehearsals would take much longer and be much less
productive.
The Writers
Nina Vargas – First Night Frights
Sydney Ogle – Sink or Swim
Sam Black – Best Friends for Life… and Death!
Jaden Cloyes (Rehearsal Assistant) Jaden’s previous
role at OCHS was Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird.
She has acted in many shows at St. John the Apostle.
Jaden is a senior who is in her fourth year of the Drama
class sequence. She enjoys singing and doing CrossFit.
Michaela Brattin – Bloodlust
Haley Phillips – 334 Point Word for Your Soul
All five of our writers have gone through a long process to get their
short plays to where you will see them tonight.
First, the entire Drama 3-4 class participated in a month long
workshop with professional playwright Connor Kerns. They learned
all the basics of writing a scene for the stage and finished the
workshop by creating a short play for at least three characters. All of
these plays were then read aloud in class and commented on by Ms.
Love and the class as to how they could be made better.
www.facebook.com/OCHSDramaDepartment
Check out
the Drama Department’s
web site:
www.ochspioneers.org/drama
Everyone in class then had to do a rewrite that incorporated the
feedback they had received. Once this version of the play was
finished, the class did staged readings of each play. The class voted
on which plays they thought deserved to be in Word Play 5 and those
are the five plays you will see tonight.
The writers weren’t done yet. After the five plays were chosen, each
writer’s play was assigned to a director for casting and rehearsal and
the writer had to make changes and incorporate suggestions from the
director and Ms. Love. This process continued all through our six
weeks of rehearsals – right up until we began technical rehearsals.
By the time you see the plays tonight our writers will have written
anywhere from three to six different versions of their plays, each
version just a little better than the last. So you can see that even
though we call it Word Play there is a lot of Word Work that goes into
our evening of original short plays! We hope you enjoy them.
First Night Frights
Written & Directed by..................................Nina Vargas
TAYLOR .................................................... Sydney Ogle
BECK........................................................Haley Phillips
PAT......................................................... Rudy Bearden
First Night Frights takes place in an art museum where Pat is
working his first night shift. Taylor and Beck are art thieves
trying to steal a painting… or could they be ghosts?
Sydney Ogle (Taylor) Sydney’s previous role at OCHS
was Ensemble in Little Women. She is a junior who is in
her third year of the Drama class sequence and a
member of the National Honor Society. Sydney dances
with the Grande Finale Dance Studio and volunteers as a
4-H counselor.
Haley Phillips (Beck) Haley’s previous roles at OCHS
were Fred’s Wife in A Christmas Carol and Usher in 1941
Christmas From Home. Haley also played a Lost Boy in
Peter Pan at W.F. West High School and Voice of the
Box in 45 Minutes From Broadway at Evergreen
Playhouse. She was on running crew for Word Play 4
and costume crew for Little Women, Charlotte’s Web,
Love is in the Air and To Kill a Mockingbird and is in our
Technical Theater class. Haley is a junior in her third year of the Drama
class sequence and enjoys reading and listening to music.
Rudy Bearden (Pat) Rudy’s previous roles at OCHS
were
Ensemble
in
Charlotte’s
Web
and
Fezziwig/Ensemble in A Christmas Carol.
He has
appeared with Oregon City Children’s Theater as the
King in Alice in Wonderland, the Mirror in Snow White,
Shaggy in Scooby Doo, Fyedka in Fiddler on the Roof
and George in Stuart Little. Rudy was on running crew
for Love is in the Air, and ran spotlight for 1941
Christmas From Home. He is a senior in his third year of the Drama class
sequence, and volunteers with the youth ministry at his church.
Behind the Scenes
We would like to introduce you to just a few of the people who work behind the
scenes of our Drama Program. These people work very hard to help us put on the
outstanding productions you’ve come to expect from us, but often go unnoticed and
unthanked -- we’d like to change that.
Tom Lovell & Larry Didway (High School Principal & District Superintendant) Tom
& Larry are both big supporters of the Fine & Performing Arts departments here at
the high school and it is because of their continued support that we still have a
Drama program, unlike many high schools in our area. We sincerely appreciate Tom
& Larry’s belief that the arts are an essential part of a good education.
Rocky Smith (House Manager) Rocky teaches Art here at OCHS and has been our
House Manager since 2000. He oversees all of our ushers and makes sure that
everyone in the audience is behaving properly so that everyone else in the audience
can enjoy the performance. This includes everything from asking crying babies to
step outside, to making sure people eat their Taco Bell food outside the theater.
Without Rocky, our performances wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable.
Karmin Tomlinson (Production Photographer) Karmin recently retired as the head
of our Social Studies department here at OCHS. She has appeared in several shows
for us and, since 2006, has donated her time and talents as our Production
Photographer. Karmin takes hundreds of photos for each of our shows, which are
used for publicity, on our web site and on our new Facebook page that she runs.
Without Karmin we wouldn’t have nearly as wonderful a record of all the work that
goes into putting on our shows.
Jenny Fagan (Head Secretary) Jenny was recently promoted to Head Secretary,
though she’s worked at OCHS for years. In addition to assisting our principal, Mr.
Tom Lovell, in running the high school, Jenny helps us with our District Accounting -processing all of our purchase orders and check requests and ordering special
supplies for us. We’d never be able to keep to our budget without Jenny’s help.
Joan Ferguson (Athletics Department Secretary) Joan is the Head Secretary for the
Athletics Department and is responsible for scheduling all of our Ticket Sellers and
coordinating their cash boxes with our Administration as well as handling all of our
box office tallies and reports. Because of Joan’s work each of your ticket dollars is
accurately counted and comes back to us to fund our next years shows.
Lynn Dickson (Accounting Secretary) Lynn keeps the accounts for our student body
fund here at the high school. She deals with all our student receipts for tee shirts &
show tickets and processes purchase orders and check requests for anything we
buy directly for the students, such as the cake and goodies we serve at our closing
night reception.
Thank you Tom, Larry, Rocky, Karmin,
Jenny, Joan & Lynn for all that you do for us!
334 Point Word for Your Soul
Sink or Swim
Written by .................................................Haley Phillips
Directed by ........................................ Matthew Ramage
Written by ................................................. Sydney Ogle
Directed by ............................................. Shailyn Jones
MAX........................................................... Faith Mumm
ZETHROS ...................................................Jazz Hilbert
DAD ................................................... Malcolm Johnson
CHARLEY ...............................................Jacinda Baerg
BOSS ..................................................... Almond Dodge
MADI ................................................. Jamie Scherschel
334 Point Word for Your Soul takes place in the game room
of Max’s home. Max is so desperate to beat her Dad at
Scrabble that she’s willing to trade her soul for a 334 point
word!
Sink or Swim is set in Charley’s work office where she’s
researching a history article for her boss, which brings up old
memories of her childhood friend Madi. . . or is Madi imaginary?
Faith Mumm (Max) This is Faith’s first show at OCHS
and her first show ever. She is a junior who is in her
third year of the Drama class sequence and was an
usher for Little Women. Faith enjoys hiking and taking
Road Trips.
Jazz Hilbert (Zethros) This is Jazz’s first show at OCHS
and her first show ever. She was on costume crew for
Little Women and ushered for Charlotte’s Web. Jazz is a
junior in her third year of the Drama class sequence and
in our Technical Theater class. She is a member of the
OCHS Literary Magazine. Jazz enjoys bow hunting,
singing, reading and writing.
Malcolm Johnson (Dad) Malcolm’s previous roles at
OCHS were Third Fairgoer/ Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web
and Business Man #2/ Ensemble in A Christmas Carol. He
also ushered for Little Women. Malcolm is a senior in his
third year of the Drama class sequence, a member of the
Art Club and enjoys making movies, drawing, writing and
collecting old video game consoles.
Jacinda Baerg (Charley) This is Jacinda’s first show at OCHS
and her first show ever. She is a junior in her third year of the
Drama class sequence. Jacinda enjoys singing, dancing,
drawing, reading, hiking, video games and baking.
Almond Dodge (Boss) Almond’s previous role at OCHS
was Gosling/Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web. Almond has
played the Gate Keeper in The Wizard of Oz at Oregon City
Children’s Theatre. Almond is a senior in the third year of
the Drama class sequence and enjoys art, hiking,
photography and music.
Jamie Scherschel (Madi) Jamie’s previous roles at OCHS
were Amy March in Little Women, First Spectator/ Gosling/
Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web, Lauren in Young Love from
Love is in the Air and Usher in 1941 Christmas From Home.
Jamie was the Child Wrangler for A Christmas Carol and
ushered for To Kill a Mockingbird. She is a senior who is in
her fourth year of the Drama class sequence and is a
member of the Learn to Dance Club as well as a
photographer for the High School’s website and Flickr page.
Jamie enjoys volunteering at Oregon City Christian Church.
Bloodlust
Best Friends for Life … and Death!
Written & Directed by............................Michaela Brattin
Written by ..................................................... Sam Black
Directed by ............................................... Stefan Previs
DELILAH................................................. Monica Kaster
WALTER....................................................... Sam Black
MASON .....................................................Gavin Seifert
Bloodlust takes place in the living room of Delilah’s home.
She’s brought a nice boy home to meet her father, but can’t tell
him that her father’s a vampire who wants to drink his blood!
Monica Kaster (Delilah) This is Monica’s first show at
OCHS and her first show ever. She was on the costume
crew for Little Women and an usher for 1941 Christmas
From Home and is in our Technical Theater class.
Monica is a junior in her third year of the Drama class
sequence and enjoys volunteering at the Oregon Zoo,
painting and dogsitting.
Sam Black (Walter) Sam’s previous roles at OCHS were
John Brooke in Little Women, Lurvy in Charlotte’s Web,
Chris in Fancy Meeting You Here from Love is in the Air,
Business Man #3/Ensemble in A Christmas Carol and Dr.
Reynolds in To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a senior in his
fourth year of the Drama class sequence and is in our
Technical Theater class. Sam volunteers as a roleplayer at Camp Rilea and enjoys white water rafting.
Gavin Seifert (Mason) Gavin’s previous roles at OCHS
were Dr. Bangs in Little Women and Boy/ Ensemble in A
Christmas Carol. He is a junior in his third year of the
Drama class sequence. Gavin enjoys baseball and
snowboarding.
SARAH ...............................................Megan Blackman
DEBBIE .................................................... Audrey Houtz
SCOTT ...................................................... Adam Brown
Best Friends for Life. . . and Death! Is set in Sarah’s living
room. Her best friend Debbie has some problems; she has
trouble talking, trouble walking, and trouble forgetting she’s a
zombie.
Megan Blackman (Sarah) This is Megan’s first show at
OCHS and her first show ever. She is a junior in her third
year of the Drama class sequence and a member of the
OCHS Softball team. Megan plays on a competitive
softball team in the summer and enjoys camping and
being outdoors.
Audrey Houtz (Debbie) Audrey’s previous roles at OCHS
were Meg March in Little Women, Martha Arable in
Charlotte’s Web and Fan/ Ensemble in A Christmas
Carol. She was on the running crew for Love is in the Air,
ran Sound Board for To Kill a Mockingbird, was
videographer for Word Play 4 and Sound Assistant for
1941 Christmas From Home and is in Technical Theater
class. Audrey is a senior in her third year of the Drama
class sequence and enjoys hiking.
Adam Brown (Scott) Adam’s previous roles at OCHS
were Reporter/Ensemble in Charlotte’s Web, Tardy Man in
Fancy Meeting You Here from Love is in the Air. He was
the Light Board Operator for A Christmas Carol, To Kill a
Mockingbird, Word Play 4 and 1941 Christmas From
Home. Adam is a senior who is in his fourth year of the
Drama Class sequence, is in our Technical Theater class
and is a video game enthusiast.