Viking_Yearbook_54

THE PORTLAND STATE DRAMA DEPARTMENT Presents The program in drama at Portland State has taken a remarkable upswing. Under the aegis of Dr. Charles Gaupp, Portland State Theatre started off the 1953-1954 season with a mad·cap production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, October 23 and 24, complete with ballet, enchanted forests, and two sell-out audiences. A feature of the opening night was the coronation of the Homecoming Queen prior to the play, the show being presented as a "command perfonn­ ance" for Her Majesty. So successful was the presentation, audience-wj.se, that over 300 townspeople attended the two­ night run. On December 4 and 5 the Portland State Theatre presented the first production of a new play, The First Stone, by Mar­ jorie Whitehead of Vancouver, Washington. An experimental production, this performance was marked by the unusual set designed by student Lynn Miller. In this production Dr. Gaupp introduced members of his night class in the older roles. Easily the outstanding production of the year was the Northwest premiere of Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning, presented January 29 and 30 to two sold-out audio ences. The production was marked by a pageantry in costumes and set that made vivid the early Gothic period of the play_ The Lady's Not for Burning proved to be a convulsively funny play with stand·out performances by Bruce Emmons, Gordon Bussey and Phyllis Graham. A note of "professionalism" crept in when illness in the cast made it necessary for Dr. Gaupp to step in at the last moment and play the mayor. That these productions are making a name and a mark for themselves as a cultural part of the community is indicated by the numlier of townspeople who attended. A Sleep of Prisoners, a community cooperative venture, was presented March 31, April I, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at SI. Mark's Episcopal Church. This play, written to be presented in a sanctuary, was produced by the Portland State Theatre at SI. Mark's by invitation of the vestry. The cast was recruited from the church membership and from Portland State. This was the first of what is hoped will be an annual church and school community production. The final production of the year, scheduled for May 7 and 8 was a jazz version of Once in a Lifetime, complete with Charles· tons, Dixie Land and hit songs of 1929. The satire of sound coming to Hollywood is particularly pertinent this year with the hysteria ·of dimensions hitting the films . At press time plans were already being formed for a six weeks' summer theatre at Portland State. Curtain going up!