Performed May 11, 1994 at the outdoor amphitheater at Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR.
This was a collection of monologues, scenes, and poetry written by junior high students on the themes of prejudice and tolerance. Starring...
Ryan Hull
Ivy Waller
Merrilee Gilley
Michael O'Connor
Sara Rudolph
Patrick Lairson
Directed by Barbara Bragg and Matt Russell
Costumes and props by Maggie Bragg
Graphic Illustrator -- Jeff Woods
PRODUCTION NOTES. This was not only my directing debut, but was also, essentially, my theatre debut. I knew nothing, and so I embarrassed the hell out of myself in front of the actors, all of whom knew what they were doing. Oh well. It was a really goofy show written by and performed for kids, but it was a satisfying feeling to see, for the first time, my work on display.
To see pictures from this prduction, click here.
I'm Not Stupid by David E. Rodriguez
December 8, 1994 at McLoughlin Hall Theatre at Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR.
ROGER -- name withheld to protect his identity.
DR. GREEN -- name withheld...
MOTHER -- name withheld...
CREW -- Franklin Kline and Howard Smith
PLOT. A husband's death leaves a mother alone to care for her mentally challenged son. The only problem is, she has no love for Roger. She only wants to get in the pants of Roger's therapist, Dr. Green. So she brains Roger with a hammer, hoping to run off to some tropical island with the doctor. But the doctor is outraged by what Mother has done, and vows that she will pay for murdering a helpless child. This is supposed to be a psychological drama, but it didn't come out that way.
PRODUCTION NOTES. A pure disaster. Again, I did not know what I was doing, but this time, neither did the actors. They were self-centered, irresponsible people who did not give a shit about whether the production succeeded or failed. They would not take direction. This really discouraged me for awhile, but on the flip side, I actually learned a lot about directing so that by my next effort, I really wasn't too bad at it.
No pictures from this production. Too bad, so sad.
Minority Status Quo by Matt Russell
May 31 and June 1, 1995 at McLoughlin Hall Theatre at Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR.
ZEKE -- Craig McCarty
WENDY -- Jen Johnson
MARTIN -- Jeff Woods
Assistant Director -- Heather Rowley
Lighting Designer and Operator -- Chris Steffen
Sound Operator -- Karen Champ
Props -- Melanie Dane
Set Construction -- Chris Steffen, Matt Russell, Karen Champ, Stacy Waples
Animal Dance Noise written and performed by Various Artists
PLOT. Martin, a gay high school student, was just "outed" by some of his classmates. Feeling ahamed and vulnerable, he seeks refuge at the home of Zeke, another high school outcast. Zeke is a musician and takes pleasure from writing songs about other people's problems. Zeke is just about ready to play a song for Martin when a surprise guest arrives--the high school Bible study leader.
PRODUCTION NOTES. My best and most successful production, which is ironic considering that my previous two were so unimpressive. One of the things I'm most proud of is the set design by Chris Steffen. The mainstage production at the time was a play called Betty the Yeti, which took place in a forest. So the CCC stage was covered in bark dust and fake trees. We had to make a bedroom. Chris thought of using two-foot high "knee walls" and hanging posters from the ceiling to create the effect of actual walls. June 1, 1995 was actually the best night of my life, partly because of this production and for other reasons as well. I got rave reviews from students in play appreciation classes, people who had seen close to thirty plays for class, but said this was the best one of the year. People I didn't even know were saying these things. They actually loved watching a play that dealt with these issues of religion versus sexuality. The fact that this was the first play I had written and that it came from such a deep place in my heart made this success sweet beyond words. I haven't been able to top or even match this experience since.
To see pictures from this production, click here.
You Can't Trust the Male by Randy Noojin
December 5, 6, and 7, 1995 at McLoughlin Hall Theater at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, OR.
HARVEY -- Michael O'Connor
LAURA -- Jessi Bassett
CREW -- Sigfried Seeliger and Daniel Cook
PLOT. Harvey the mailman is in love with Laura whose mail he faithfully delevers every day, though sometimes after reading it first. He finds out that she is enrolled in a nighttime Spanish class, so he arranges it so that she thinks the class is on the wrong night. That puts him and her alone together in a class room, giving them a chance to get to know each other. At first, Laura is angry when she finds out his scheme, but then she warms up to him, as they always do in these light romantic comedies.
PRODUCTION NOTES. This turned out OK, but it was nothing real special. I was in the middle of my life's worst emotional crisis at the time, so I wasn't really concentrating. I was doing it so that I had something to do to occupy my mind. The only problem is, it didn't really work. I was distracted, and if it wasn't for the exceptional talent and motivation of Mike O'Connor, this would have bombed big time. Most everything funny in the production was a result of his ideas.
For some reason, I didn't take pictures of this show. I wish I had.
Remedial English by Evan Smith
May 30, 1996 at McLoughlin Hall Theater at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, OR.
VINCENT -- Daniel Cook
SISTER BEATRICE -- Karen Champ
ROB ANDREWS -- Ed Asquith
COACH -- Larry Vanzandt
CHRIS -- Jason Norton
DAVID -- Sigfried Seeliger
Assistant Director / Stage Manager -- Jim Nicodemus
Lights -- Kari Bryant
Sound and costumes -- Erin Covington
Makeup and spotlight -- Angela Dunn
Props and stage crew -- Vanessa Medlicott
PLOT. Vincent, a gay student at a Catholic high school, is in love with a jock named Rob. One day Sister Beatrice presents him with the responsibility of tutoring Rob in English. Of course, Vincent thinks he's died and gone to heaven. But when Rob arrives at his house that night, an hour late, he gets to know who Rob really is.
PRODUCTION NOTES. My last show at CCC, I think I ended on a positive note. It was long for a one-act and had many scene and set changes which we did not have enough time to rehearse. But the performances were good, especially Larry Vanzandt as the loud-mouth coach. This is a very funny and very touching play about false perceptions, loneliness, and unrequited love. I was first acquainted with it when I performed a monologue from it in my high school drama class, four years prior. I would like to direct this one again someday.
To see pictures from this show, click here.
The Patient by Agatha Christie
August 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1996 at Rural Dell Grade School in Molalla, OR, a presentation of the Molalla Community Theater Group.
LANSEN -- Jeff Mills
NURSE -- Rise Estergreen
DR. GINSBERG -- Kin Glahn
INSPECTOR CRAY -- Tom Dencoff
BRYAN WINGFIELD -- Michael Jackson
EMMELINE ROSS -- Desiree LeFever
WILLIAM ROSS -- Ron K. Palmblad
BRENDA JACKSON -- Sandy Storey
THE PATIENT -- Dee Wittke
Assistant Director -- Danielle Turley
Stage Manager -- Christie Livingston
Lights and Sound -- Brian Storey
Costumes -- Susan Paseman, Kim Glahn
Props -- Gary and Kim Glahn, and Pat Larimer
PLOT. Very typical Agatha Christie story involving a woman who had an "accident", falling out of a second story window. Enter the psychologist and inspector, along with a room full of suspects and you've got your mystery. The woman who has had the accident is paralyzed and conveniently mute, but the mad scientist Lansen has developed an electrical "apparatus" that allows her to communicate with the group of people by answering simple "yes or no" questions.
PRODUCTION NOTES. I was sort of brought into this production at the last minute when the play had already been selected and cast. I never would have chosen an Agatha Christie mystery, and the casting was...well, let's say it presented some interesting challenges. We had a 16-year-old boy playing the husband of a woman in her 60's, which is fine if there's a reason for it, but there wasn't. Also, I found the script itself to be very funny, although I don't think it was supposed to be. So I decided to do the show as a sort of parody of itself. I used every mystery genre cliche that I could think of, added the most outlandish costumes, and brought in this big, bulky contraption (I still don't know what it was exactly) for the "apparatus", painting it space-age silver. The deliberate overacting combined with some heart-wrenching music at just the right moments made this show work pretty well as a comedy. Unfortunately, the small conservative community of Molalla--whose notion of theatre and what it should be is vastly different from mine--was not an atmosphere that nurtured creative thought. I always had to worry about offending someone, which restricted everything I did from the music I chose to how I dressed. And in the end, though the acting was quite good and hilarious (especially Ron Palmblad as a flamboyant drunk and Sandy Storey as Bryan's flamboyant mistress), few understood the humor of my show. I don't think anyone in the audience realized it was a comedy.
To see pictures from this show, click here.
Pioneer Spirit by Matt Russell
August 2, 1997 at the historic Tauchman house in Wilsonville, OR. A presentation of the Wilsonville Theater Company.
ALPHONSO BOONE -- Kenneth Potts
MARY MURPHY -- Jasmine Smith
JESSE BOONE -- Daniel Cook
CHLOE BOONE -- Courtney Meadows-West
VOICE OF GOD -- Glenn Russell
Assistant to director -- Glenn Russell
Makeup -- Jan and Chrissey Baley
Set design and construction -- Lindsay Alexanderson
Costumes -- Alice Norris
Sound operator -- Matt Russell
PLOT. 10-year-old Alphonso Boone was forced to move to Oregon with his father and siblings in 1846 after his mother died. Along the way, the Boones traveled with the Donner party until their paths separated and the Donners went south. Once in Oregon, Alphonso had a very hard time adjusting to his new pioneer lifestyle. Then one night he gets a visit from the ghost of Mary Murphy, someone from the Donner party that he had befriended on their journey months before. (Originally, it was Lemuel Murphy, who was a real actual 13-year-old who died in the Donner Party, but I had a hell of a time finding boys to be in this show.) She scolds him for complaining about not liking his life, because, unlike her, he still has a life. Thus Alphonso learns a valuable lesson of survival. This is the only play of mine that was "written for hire". Hence, it is unlike all my other works in almost every way. (Just visit PsychoSemantics, and you will see what I mean. The people hiring me were the Wilsonville Arts and Cultural Council, and it was for Wilsonville's annual Boones Ferry Days celebration, but this year was special because it was the sesquisentenial of the year when the Boones came to Oregon and founded the town. (If you're laughing right now and thinking of the film Waiting for Guffman, you're pretty close.) But it was a chance to direct my own work--if I could think of something to write, that is--and get paid for it, so I took it. My problem was that there was nothing interesting to say about this particular Boone family. They were the descendants of Daniel Boone, and they came to Oregon and built a ferry. So what? Who gives a shit, right? But when I discovered that they did indeed travel with the Donner Party for awhile, then my warped and depraved imagination started to kick in.
PRODUCTION NOTES. This was a pretty fun play to do. I mean, it was dorky, but it was fun. I enjoyed laughing at my own hokey script along with all the cast members. It was rehearsed and performed on the back porch of an old historic house right next to the shore of the Willamette River where the Boones Ferry used to be. The show itself was a success, which is surprising since the last few rehearsals had me not in the audience watching the actors, but backstage operating sound because I could find no one else to do it. Everybody enjoyed the show, and I got great compliments for writing and directing it, although nowhere close to the response I got for Minority Status Quo. I did get some flak about the subject matter. One woman who I had cast as the Voice of God character dropped out of the play after I had given her an article to read about the Donner Party. It freaked her out in a major way, and for awhile I felt like I must be some kind of demented sicko for writing the play, but I got over that quickly. The greatest strength of this production was Ken Potts, who played the little Boone brat. I actually got him from a professional theatre company (Northwest Children's Theatre) at the last minute, when I was frantically searching for ANYONE who could play the part, as I only had about three weeks to rehearse it. He stepped in and impressed the hell out of me, nailing down the role from about the first day.
To see pictures from this show, click here.
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge
January 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, and February 1, 1998 at Wilsonville High School in Wilsonville, OR, a presentation of the Wilsonville Theater Company.
CORA FLOOD -- Jacki Mangan
RUBIN FLOOD -- Josh Alsberg
SONNY FLOOD -- Eric Loitz
REENIE FLOOD -- Melissa Marselle
FLIRT CONROY -- Courtney Buckner
LOTTIE LACEY -- Debby McKnight
MORRIS LACEY -- Glenn Russell
SAMMY GOLDENBAUM -- David Loitz
PUNKY GIVENS -- Matt Danly
NEIGHBORHOOD BULLIES -- Jordan and Christina Mangan, Cody and Alyssa Gerber
Set Design and construction -- Chuck Mangan and Robert Yow
Lighting Design and operation -- Chris Baker
Sound Design -- Matt and Glenn Russell
Sound Operators -- Cory Fribley and Dave Owen
Stage Manager -- Linda Gill
Costumes -- Alva Bradford, Judee Russell, Nanette Sutherland, Diane Gauthier, Glenn and Matt Russell
Producer -- Richard White
PLOT. Rural Oklahoma in the mid-1920's, a wife who thinks her traveling salesman husband is having an affair, when what he's really doing is losing his job. Two kids who are afraid of their own shadow. To make a long story short, it is about how the family struggles to fight their fears. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose, and in one particular case involving the teenage daughter's blind date with a lonely Jewish boy, the results are catastrophic.
PRODUCTION NOTES. My first shot at directing a full length play. It was a bit of a disaster in many ways. The small scale production of Pioneer Spirit that I had done months earlier had a budget because it was a town celebration; but there was no money in the budget to spend on this show. The money spent for the set, and programs, etc. was basically money lost. The person in charge of publicity did absolutely nothing. Nobody knew about the show, so nobody saw it. Not only were there no financial resources, but there were very few human resources as well. The show cast itself because--for the most part--there was only about one good person who auditioned for each role. Our technical rehearsals at the actual performance space were cut way short because of an administrative misunderstanding and because of an ice storm. The set design was wonderful, but when it came time to paint it, what was thrown together at the last minute looked like someone took a shit on the walls and smeared it all over. The acting turned out good, for the most part; I sure enjoyed directing my dad in the role of Morris. But the lights and sound suffered, due to the extra amount of time I had to spend with a few of the actors, some of whom were very inexperienced. So there were a lot of things I wasn't happy about, and I learned some tough--but valuable--lessons from this show.
To see pictures from this prduction, click here.
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