Play in a Day for Student Theatre Clubs with Linn-Benton Community College and Oregon State University

Photo courtesy of natashaelkhoury10dramadw-home

A full house packed the Lab Theater at OSU’s Withycombe Hall Saturday night. Actors. directors, and playwrights sat to one side talking and laughing as audience members filed in. The house lights dimmed.

The annual Play in a Day performances were about to begin.

Play in a Day is an annual collaborative event with students of LBCC’s Black Curtain Society Theatre club and OSU’s Masque and Dagger Theatre club. Ten-minute original one-act plays are written, directed, rehearsed and performed by 25 students all within a 24-hour period. Performances took place Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

“This event levels the playing ground, everything is decided randomly,” said Tinamarie Ivey, LBCC’s theatre club student advisor and creator of the event, as she introduced the program.

Ivey explained to the audience how the process worked.

The night before the performance the theme was chosen out of a hat. The playwrights then received their gender combination and hurried off to write the play overnight. Next morning at 9 a.m. playwrights returned with a play in hand. After that, they picked their director out of the hat, and directors picked their actors out of the hat. Then all day Saturday directors and actors rehearsed until the evening when all five plays were performed.

“Students are always intimidated at first, and then they’re always super glad that they did it. That none of these plays existed 24 hours ago is pretty incredible,” said Elizabeth Helman, OSU’s theatre club student advisor.

Play in a Day was started by Ivey and LBCC theatre faculty member Dan Stone 13 years ago in northern California with their theater company, Sanctuary Stage. Both faculty members came to Oregon in 2010 to teach for the LBCC theater department and since then Sanctuary Stage has become a permanent foundation of LBCC, and an extension of the campus Theater Department.

Several years ago Ivey and Stone contacted Elizabeth Helman in OSU’s theater department regarding Play in a Day and the two schools began to collaborate. Since then LBCC and OSU have alternated hosting the event each year.

This year’s theme was rivalry. Actors and directors brought to life the playwrights’ scenes written to depict feuding sisters, dog parenting, apocalyptic ponies, and military friends and frenemies using a simple set and a few essential props. The result was five humorous, surprising, and completely entertaining performances.

“It’s fun to watch the director take what I'd written and make it something more than what I had on the page,” said Jalen Todd, an OSU senior theatre major, a playwright who stayed up until 2:30 a.m. writing. “It’s nerve-wracking, but a ton of fun.”

Although rivalry was picked out of the hat, the theme of the night felt more like comradery.

“It’s such a social art, and so fun to see what everyone comes up with,” said Dari Lawrie, an LBCC and OSU graduate and Play in a Day alumnus who came back to take part again this year.

“There are very different levels of experience and abilities and ages all being creative together. It's a very different way of connecting … magical things can happen.”

The event was free but donations collected were split between the schools’ theatre clubs.


At a Glance

What:      Play in a Day
Where:    OSU Withycombe Hall Lab Theatre
When:     Saturday, Jan. 27 at  7:30 p.m.
Who:       LBCC Black Curtain Society Theatre Club and OSU Masque and Dagger Theatre Club
Contact:  Tinamarie Ivey at iveyt@linnbenton.edu

Student Leadership Council Serves and Leads at Linn-Benton Community College

Photo courtesy of LBCC

With 17 Student Leadership Council officers coming and going, the Student Life and Leadership office at LBCC hums with constant activity.

The SLC is the governing body of the Associated Students of Linn-Benton Community College which advocates for students and communicates student desires and concerns to the college administration. It also provides students with opportunities for networking, social interactions, and outreach activities.

“We’re a group of students trying to enhance the college experience for LB students, with clubs, activities and volunteering,” said SLC finance director Caleb Hedin, a freshman.

Hedin keeps track of the SLC accounts for the ASLBCC, which amounts to around $44,000 to spend for the 2017-18 school year.

“Students come to us, if they need help funding a school-related activity, such as $40 to put posters around campus, to start a new club, or to pay for new monitors,” said Hedin.

Hedin said the account has even provided a few thousand dollars for students to attend conferences.

“Anything that will enhance the college,” said Hedin.

Barb Horn, Student Activities coordinator and advisor for the SLC, said the officers vote and make decisions for how students’ money will be spent.

 “They try to get the most bang for the buck. They’re great stewards of the money,” said Horn.

SLC can also help with basic needs like food insecurity. According to Horn November’s food drive event provided for more than 150 student families’ Thanksgiving meal, which included breakfast.

Food is also available at the Linn-Benton Lunch Box, LBCC’s food pantry run by SLC officers and funded through proceeds from The Hot Shot Café, a campus co-curricular. Horn said six or seven families take advantage of the food pantry every week.

Another form of assistance offered to students through the SLC is the upcoming energy assistance program event planned for Jan. 30. SLC events planner Jacob Senske, a freshman, is one of the officers trying to get the word out through LBLive and posters placed around campus.

 “A real goal right now is trying to find ways to introduce ourselves and what we are doing to provide help to students,” said Senske.

 Students also come looking for community outreach opportunities, where they will find community outreach director Marta Nunez. Nunez, a sophomore, is often the first to greet you when entering the office.

“I’m the BFF that sees students through community events they want to plan,” said Nunez.

 If students want to get involved in volunteering opportunities, Osvaldo Galvez, a sophomore, is the one to see. Galvez assembles and organizes volunteers for one-time events or to staff the Hot Shot Café. He can also pair a student volunteer with an SLC officer to learn job-specific skills in a more involved student leadership experience.

SLC President Brian Ixtlahuac encourages students to voice their ideas and concerns. They can stop by the office or attend student government meetings, which are open to all students and held throughout the month.

“When it comes to the SLC, if there is ever a problem that presents itself, we want to make sure that students know they can come talk to us and know we are here to help them,” said Ixtlahuac

At a Glance:

What:     Student Leadership Council, Linn-Benton Community College
Who:      Brian Ixtlahuac, President
Where:   LBCC, Forum Building Room 120
When:    Meetings held Mon, Tues, and Wed check website for times and locations
Contact:  Brian Ixtlahuac, SLC president at slcpres@linnbenton.edu