Sojourn Theatre actors Rebecca Martinez and James Hart play the parts of the bride and groom at a preview performance of the play, “On the Table” during Act III in Oregon City.
This column appeared in the July 21, 2010 issue of the Molalla Pioneer.
I have a good job being the publisher of a small-town community newspaper. There is a lot of stress and hard work, but there are many rewards as well. Knowing that I can make a difference for people is worth more than any monetary compensation.
One of the most significant rewards of working at a small newspaper is that I get to do a lot of different things every day. Of course, as a publisher I have to concern myself with the traditional duties of a publisher. That means I have to make sure the readers are getting the best journalism possible and are getting their papers delivered in a reasonable way for a reasonable cost.
At the same time I have to be attentive to the needs of our advertisers and help them get their message to potential customers, again, for a good price.
And I have to run the newspaper as a business, making sure the bills and the employees get paid and that we are making enough money to cover those costs and make a profit for the owners. I essentially have to manage a business from the top to the bottom. There’s a lot of math involved too. Math doesn’t like me.
Of course one person can’t do all of those things alone, so delegation is part of the process. But once you delegate, you have to manage a staff and not only make sure they are striving towards the newspaper’s goals but also are getting the most out of their jobs. A good boss has to support people as they grow in their jobs.
All that said, because of our paper’s small size, I get to do a lot of other things that publishers at bigger papers don’t get to do. One day I could be selling an ad or taking a news photo, the next day I could be delivering a paper to someone, the next I could be writing a feature story about an exciting event or penning a column about an interesting person or subject. I am privileged to meet many remarkable people in my daily job duties. Sometimes it’s good to be small.
Most days are not alike and since I’m a quick study, I tend to get bored easily. This is the perfect job for me. I’m sure that’s part of why I got into journalism in the first place. I live for busyness.
This past week was even more fun than usual. I was the photographer for Editor Bethany Monroe’s story about the traveling play, “On the Table.” You can read the story and see the photos on Page One of this week’s paper. And though it was a technically challenging assignment because it was outside at night and pretty dark, it was quite a bit of fun.
I only got to see the third act. I enjoyed that part so much that I’m now going to buy some tickets and take my girlfriend to the entire show next week.
The unusual play was written and performed by a Portland acting company called Sojourn Theatre. For almost 10 years this group of actors, directors and stage professionals has been doing unconventional theater work in Oregon.
This time was no different. The play was based in large part on interviews with community members from Portland and Molalla.
The story is about two Oregon families: one from urban Oregon and one from rural Oregon. A marriage brings these two families together and through audience participation, an examination is made of what separates rural and urban and what brings the two together.
Act I is performed in two places with two separate groups of actors and audience members in each location. When you order your tickets, you get to choose which Act I you want to see.
The “urban” place is a Northeast Portland Church and the “rural” place is a barn near Molalla. Act II is a bus ride from each location to a central, common location in Oregon City.
In the third and final act, the only one I’ve seen so far, the two groups of actors and audience members are united for a wedding reception.
That’s where the spectators have a chance to discuss the topic at hand, bridging the rural/urban divide in Oregon. It’s a clever idea that is skillfully executed.
Director Michael Rohd was quite welcoming to the Molalla Pioneer staff and his stage manager Liam Kaas-Lentz was very helpful to me as I tried to figure out what would make a good photo for Bethany’s story.
I must give credit to Sadie Cramer, Molalla’s city recorder, who just last year persuaded the city council to create an arts commission here in Molalla. Without Sadie’s hard work and the work of the arts commission, Molalla would never have been part of this inspiring project.
The play officially opened last Saturday, July 17 and will continue through Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays.
The church location is the Portland Playhouse at 602 N.E. Prescott in Portland and the Molalla barn is at Rosse Posse Acres, 32690 S. Mathias Road near Molalla.
Tickets are $12-$25. And I’ve been told that no one under 8 years old will be admitted.
Now that I’m done writing this column, I’m going to buy some tickets. I’m either going to buy my tickets at their website, http://www.sojourntheatre.org or at Key Carpets here in Molalla, 123 Engle Ave.
Maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be with the Molalla side of the family.
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