Mt. Hood Community College Theatre Department Announces Exciting Play Season

Mt. Hood Community College Theatre Department Announces Exciting Play Season

This play season, experience the gentle sea breezes and lush mountains of Hiroshima in “A Thousand Cranes”; watch a beautiful community blossom in gritty Cleveland, OH in “Seedfolks”; and walk through the turbulent halls of high school again in “Be More Chill.”

The Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) theatre department is gearing up for an exciting 2023-2024 play season. Filled with diverse genres, thought-provoking themes, and gripping performances. There will be something for everyone, from heartwarming dramas to lively musicals, with stories that will make you think and gripping performances.

“A Thousand Cranes,” is a perfect play for young audiences. It tells the story of a young girl named Sadako who gets cancer as a result of the Hiroshima bombing, and her goal to fold a thousand origami cranes in the hopes of healing and peace. Through her journey, the play explores themes of resilience, the enduring power of hope, and the devastating impact of war.

“Seedfolks” revolves around a diverse group of struggling neighbors who work with each other to transform an empty lot into a thriving garden. Through their shared passion for gardening, they learn about the healing power of nature, the importance of community, and the potential for positive change.

“Be More Chill” is a modern musical that follows Jeremy, an awkward high school student who gets hold of a pill-sized supercomputer that promises to transform him into the coolest guy in school. As he deals with popularity and other teenage troubles, he learns useful lessons about the true meaning of friendship, self-acceptance, and staying true to himself. When selecting the plays for the season, the full-time theatre faculty work with part-time faculty and students to come up with the final lineup. They aim to choose plays that local high schools may not perform, allowing the community to experience fresh and distinct shows. Inclusivity plays a large role in their choices, opening the door for students of different backgrounds and abilities to take part.

The theatre department at MHCC offers many ways for people to get involved, including acting, backstage work, and technical classes. Auditions for these productions are open to MHCC students as well as community members. While students can enroll in theatre classes to secure a role, community members have the option to get involved through community education classes at MHCC.

“For the students… I’m hoping that it gives them a sense of community around the college,” Daryl Harrison Carson, the theatre technical director and instructor at MHCC said, “Working toward a shared goal and learning something along the way in the process. Aside from the hard work it takes to put on a play, it’s fun and usually a good time. I know my theatre friends from college are my lifelong friends so that’s what I hope for the students to gain. For the community, the shows will make them think about things in a way they hadn’t thought of before. The goal is always to put on a good show and to do a little bit of teaching since we are a college.” This season has not been without its issues including the delayed hiring of a full-time theatre faculty member and the impact of COVID-19 on the preparedness of students.

“We’ve been having more trainings for the musical this year,” Harrison Carson said, “This past year the director did a pre-audition workshop which helped the students [feel] more prepared. As soon as we get our new full-time staff on board we’ll try to get some of that going for the performance part*. Over the summer we’ve been working with some of our tech students to get them a little more training so that they can be up to speed on tools and processes.”

The theatre department plans to connect with other MHCC departments such as the Japanese Culture Club to help inform the production of “A Thousand Cranes,” the Associated Students of Mt. Hood Community College (ASMHCC) to facilitate the proceeds from “Seedfolks” going to the MHCC community garden, and MHCC’s graphic arts program who have designed posters for plays in the past.

If you or someone you know is a budding thespian who is thinking about the best place to become involved in theatre, may we suggest MHCC? In addition to the fact that the MHCC theatre department produces a winter musical every year, the program is better able to offer more leading roles to first and second-year students than may be open to the same students at four-year colleges.

“Students in their freshman and sophomore years can get meaningful roles on stage,” Harrison Carson said, “Then we have students who as soon as they’re ready, they’ll design, they’ll stage manage, they’ll have high-responsibility roles backstage with the production. We try to do that so they feel like they have ownership in the plays that they’re working on. Not just a little paint here and there but they’re creating the whole production.”

People who would like to audition for these plays should check out the community education classes online at https://learn.mhcc.edu/modules/.

People who want to see these plays should visit the online theatre box office at https://mhcc.edu/theatreboxoffice/.

*Since this article was written, the theatre department has hired Zach Hartley to fill the full-time role.