SHS actors triumphant in courtroom

The jury's in: The Outlaw Players have scored another win - this time mastering the sophisticated courtroom drama "Twelve Angry Jurors," which closed Friday night at Sisters High School.

Staging "in the round" allowed audience members to sense that they, too, were cloistered in a humid jury room, amid the flaring tempers and exposed prejudices of 12 jurors arguing the fate of a young Hispanic murder suspect.

Anchoring the strong cast was senior Bryant Lasken as the lone divisive juror, honor-bound to reexamine each piece of evidence. Junior Adam Cash, as Juror No. 3, remained convincingly contentious to the end, as one by-one the others reluctantly reconsidered their guilty votes.

Cash says, "This time I spent a lot of time thinking about my character from the start."

Vigorous pacing required intricate line cues, adding a level of difficulty to this play even for the most seasoned performers.

"What's challenging is that with so many on stage saying different things you have to be really solid on those cues," said Cash.

Lasken agreed: "All the actors are on stage at all times. If someone drops a line you'll have a massive train wreck."

Director Gary Bowne required his cast to know every line and cue of the entire play. Add to that lots of practice, and the result on Friday night was sharply timed.

Said Cash, "After awhile it has a rhythmic quality that makes it easier. And once you get there, it's magical."

The theater arts program at Sisters High School appears to be flourishing.

And if all the world's a stage, a growing number of Sisters students will be well-prepared to occupy it when they graduate.

Many of these actors got a running start by participating in children's theater and Carolyn Platt's drama class at Sisters Middle School.

High school productions staged over the last few years include Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and "Much Ado About Nothing," the technically challenging "Rhinoceros," and the widely attended musicals "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Grease."

Lasken especially enjoyed developing his comedic timing as Feste in "Twelfth Night" and the villainous Don John in "Much Ado About Nothing." He can't imagine a high school experience without theater.

"Drama has given me something to look forward to for the past three years. I've been able to focus my creative energy," said Lasken.

He also credits drama with giving him a skill he believes will always be to his advantage - the ability to think on his feet.

"Improv teaches you how to react in any situation," he said.

It's by no coincidence he's chosen to go to college in Ashland, home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Lasken hopes to major in dramatic arts at Southern Oregon University this fall.

"I like storytelling in general whether as an author, writing storyboards, anything that uses my creativity ... but acting the most," he said.

Adam Cash dreams of doing improv comedy in a major theater market some day. His first choice when he graduates next year will be Northwestern College in Chicago, a neighbor to Second City Comedy Club.

Bowne feels privileged to have a hand in the process that he believes will benefit these kids exponentially.

As artistic director for Bend Theater for Young People (BTYP) since 2000, he's been "hammering these kids on the fundamentals: voice diction, animated facial expressions, stage movement, pantomime, improv," since many of them were in elementary school. BTYP has offered satellite classes in Sisters over the years.

Students including Lasken, Scout and Mackenzie Ehr, and Seth Flanders and Mackenzie Legg (who led the cast of "Much Ado") have had a long relationship with Bowne.

"To see them grow in the art and craft of theater is a particular joy in my avocation," he said. "Those who go on to have TV and stage careers, those success stories are few and far between. Real success is measured by their level of confidence in front of an audience. It allows them to sell themselves when they apply to college and in a highly competitive job market."

Bowne has watched many young actors become adults with "good solid communication skills that transfer to their academic performance and ultimately to their professional success."

He plans to expand the list of drama classes offered to elementary and middle school students this summer, through Sisters Park & Recreation District, "in keeping with my desire and aspiration to grow the program at the high school."