Green River in the Press

May 4, 2005

Front Page

Theatre Extempore Puts Yelm Center Stage

(AUBURN, Wash) – What happens when Neil Simon, several sheep, and the residents of Yelm all come together in one place? It will be mayhem, hilarious comic confrontations, and several opportunities for physical comedy, according to Elena Hartwell.

Dr. Hartwell is the guest director for “Fools!” the Neil Simon comedy coming to Green River Community College’s new performing arts theater in June. “Fools!” will be presented by Theatre Extempore, the ensemble of student performers at the college on June 3, 4, 10, and 11.

Hartwell currently runs the Rainier Valley Ensemble Theatre and teaches at the University of Puget Sound.

“Fools!” is unique among Simon plays, since most of his works deal with the modern American middle class, like Oscar and Felix in “The Odd Couple”, or Corey and Paul in “Barefoot in the Park”. Simon set “Fools!” in rural Russia and presented the moral that sometimes seemingly simple rural folk can have depths of surprising wisdom.

Hartwell, a playwright herself (her play “The Wall” just debuted at RVET), hopes that by relocating Simon’s comic gem to Yelm, the audience will tune in better to the story and the quirky characters.

The show’s cast joined assistant director Judy Taylor on her Auburn farm recently for background research on portraying ovine behavior – sheep are a running gag in the show. “Yes, we will have sheep onstage – and even in the audience – but they’re all very well behaved…and completely house-broken,” promised Taylor.

“Fools!” will run Fridays and Saturdays, June 3-11, with all performances beginning at 8 p.m. Further information and reservations are available by calling (253) 833-9111, ext. 2400.