The Black Curtain Society proudly to presents, "Comedy Syndicate."

Someone once said that laughter is the best medicine, and with the help of the Black Curtain Society club, laughter is guaranteed. The Black Curtain Society is a theater club at Linn-Benton Community College. The Black Curtain Society was formerly known as the Theater Club, that is until performing arts teacher Dan Stone stepped in.

The B.C.S has been working hard to keep the club going. Anyone is welcome to join and participate. The club has been working diligently to raise money for the theater department.

The club had recently put on a variety show. It involved everything from music to sketch comedy and more. The show that was performed was titled, “Comedy Syndicate.” The show was put on by the theater club members. 

This was the B.C.S.'s first comedy show they are put on for the public.

“I had never heard of the Black Curtain Society at LBCC, I knew they had a theater department but I didn't know they had a club,” said Albany resident Monica Hollings who had attended the show. “I use to do theater in high school and so I love everything about it.”

Hollings had grown up in Southern Oregon and had always had a passion for the arts.

“I have always loved improv and plays so I was very excited to hear about this,” said Hollings, “I thought it was absolutely hilarious and incredibly well put together.”

“I would say we are funnier than Mad T.V.” said Denzel Barrie, a member of the Black Curtain Society and also a performer in the show.

“We are hoping to make this a regular thing,” said Kim Willaman, another member of the club. “We want to make it a monthly event.” Willaman has been in multiple theater plays at Linn-Benton Community College and is also in a few other performing arts groups such as the Concert Choir on campus.

“We are hoping that this show helped raise awareness about our club and also raised our funds,” said Willaman.

The Comedy Syndicate took place on Saturday, November 17^th. They had a dinner available to the public for an extra price which started at 6:30pm. The show started at 7:00pm and was held at the Eagles Club in down town Albany.

Anyone that is interested, or wants to see what the drama club is about, can join. They often meet in the theater and hold weekly and/or bi-weekly meetings. For more information contact Dan Stone.

Dan Stone

Instructor Website

Email Dan Stone

Office Phone:

541-917-4566

Everyone is welcome to join Black Curtain Society, if you have a passion for drama and love being with theater groups, this club is for you.

A night of terror, FrightTown brings shivers to Portland

It's a time for spooky noises, dark alleys and scary costumes. Drapes rustle, candles flicker and the moon is high in the sky. Halloween is upon us and there are more than enough events to capture the holiday spirit. Aside from the copious amounts of candy creating sugar induced comas for all ages, there are many ways to enjoy the night. One the scariest ways is haunted houses.

The coliseum is dark inside, with few lights on, just enough to walk around and not run into anyone. There are screams of fright and enjoyment right as you enter.

People stand in groups, while zombies, vampires and face painted characters walk around, jumping at you to scare you, running after you, or just popping up behind you quietly.

People stand in lines waiting to enter the haunted houses. Anxious and scared, while hearing frightened screams from the other side. All for fun and entertainment, these haunted houses are full of fright for anyone.

Baron Von Goolo's “FrightTown” in Portland, Oregon has been named one of the best haunted houses event in Oregon. Horror culture magazine, Rue Morgue, has called FrightTown, “one of the best haunted attractions on the whole continent!”

And with three indoor haunted houses at one location for just one ticket, “FrightTown is also your best value for Halloween entertainment this year.”

“This is FrightTown's 11th year running,” said executive director, Dave Helfrey. “our all new haunt, The Contagion, drops you into the heart of a city ravaged by an unstoppable zombie plague! There's something to scare everyone at FrightTown!”

FrightTown is located in the Exhibit Hall at the Rose Quarter, on Portland’s east side between the Broadway Bridge and the Steel Bridge. FrightTown is below the Coliseum: in fact, you enter FrightTown off of the courtyard in front of the Coliseum.

WHAT:

FrightTown Portland
October 5-7, 10-14, 17-21 and 24-31
7-11 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays
7-10 p.m. All Other Nights
Tickets are $20 | All Ages 

WHERE:

Veteran’sMemorial Coliseum
1401 N Wheeler Ave
Portland, OR 97227 

“This year was my first year going,” says local resident, Jerry Range, “I'm all for zombies and everything, so before I even walked into the coliseum and saw a guy outside with a chainsaw I already knew I was going to love it.”

FrightTown is open the whole month of October. It first opened on Friday October 5,. It stays open 21 nights through Halloween. They are closed every Monday and Tuesday except for the last week of the month leading up to Halloween.

The doors open at 7pm every night, closing at 11pm on Friday & Saturday and 10pm on all other nights. For more information and a chance to win free tickets, go to frighttown.com.

While haunted houses are for fun, they are not for everyone.

“As Baron Von Goolo would say "You can pay for a babysitter tonight or a therapist tomorrow,” said Helfrey. “Haunted houses are about being scary and we are very good at what we do. While we have no age restrictions at FrightTown, the management does not feel that FrightTown is appropriate for very young children.”

“The makeup was amazing, zombies had fake blood on their faces, things would jump out at you,” said resident of Albany, Kara Baugher. “There were a few times where we would come up to a dark room around a corner and I would make someone I didn't know go in front of me.”

FrightTown offers disturbing and often risqué humor. The first haunted house, “The Contagion,” is intensely scary and graphic full of zombies and graphic scenes.

“This year we were fortunate enough to actually have one of the makeup artists from the television show Grimm, help with special effect makeup,” said Helfrey.

The Black Box features scenes of gore and mayhem. Finally, there is the Museum of Horrors. Where you discover the sewer-licious abominations that dwell within this new exhibit, “The Storm Drain of Ultimate Stank!” 

“The set up, the costumes and the makeup was absolutely amazing. I am definitely going to try and get more people to go next year,” said Range.

Helfrey said that they have had four year old kids go through our haunts and have a lot of fun, laughing and smiling. While forty year old adults have gone through and literally soiled themselves.

“This is a very subjective call and we will always rely on the judgment of the parents or guardians,” said Helfrey.

If you are ready for a night of fright and the time of your life, take a trip up to FrightTown. Where zombies are abundant, vampires are thirsty and there enough scare to last a lifetime.

Saving students money

 Saving students money

The lines stretch for miles, the wait seems endless and patience seems wavering. During the first week of each term, the Linn-BentonCommunity College Bookstore is always abundant with loud chatter and people everywhere. Students are all in line waiting to buy books and supplies for their upcoming classes. There is always help in the bookstore for students looking for books or classroom requirements.

Kayleen Justensen, a junior at LBCC, has been going to the bookstore to buy books for about three years. She talks about her process of buying books from the store.

“Typically, I print off my schedule and take it in to the bookstore and the helpful staff help me find my books.” said Justensen.

However, some students pay for books out of pocket or with financial aid, which in some cases can be difficult considering some of the book costs. Workbooks and textbooks can range from a couple to a couple hundred dollars depending on the class and the textbook.

“They change a few pages and make new editions causing the price to rise or making it hard or impossible to find online,” said Laniesse Sherman, a new student to the LBCC campus, “they also charge a huge price for an online code where you don't even get anything out of it because it is a one time use.”

The first week of a new term at the bookstore always seems the most tedious. The waiting line seems to stretch forever with students waiting to buy books. There is comfortable music being played, and you are able to stand with friends and chat, but the wait is not for everyone.

A couple students had a few ideas of how to make the bookstore line move a little faster and smoother.

“I think they should let more than just two people in a time, or just make a bigger bookstore,” said Angie Erickson-Witwicky, an attending junior at LBCC.

“Perhaps they should open a second bookstore,” said Justensen.

According to Lawrence LaJoie, the LBCC bookstore manager, the bookstore has been working hard to accommodate the needs of students dealing with prices of books and ways to save money. They are proud to announce that for Fall term, they saved the students $138,747 through 2 major initiatives:

1) Their aggressive 5% off for everybody and 10% off when they texted in LBCC to their unique number. Approximately 3,400 students took advantage of the texting discount. The discount was good on almost everything in the store, including textbooks. This saved the students over $89,000 on their course materials, supplies and more.

2) They rigorously expanded their textbook rental offerings from 25 titles last year to almost 100 titles this year. They rented over 1300 books this term, saving the students over $49,000 versus buying the books.

The employees worked hard to provide the best service possible to our students, to give them a great start to the new academic year. The 2 initiatives were done throughout all campuses.

While they will continue to provide as many rental options as possible for students going forward, it is yet to be determined whether they will continue to discount the entire store every term.

________________________

At a glance:

Lawrence LaJoie
LBCC Bookstore Manager
Linn-Benton Community College
(541) 917-4953 Office
"There's more in store, even better than before, at the Linn-Benton Bookstore"

http://www.bookstore.linnbenton.edu/lbenton/default.asp

Taking the Challenge

Taking the Challenge

There are times in life, when hope can seem a little scarce, and it feels like there is very little places to turn. Do not fear, Teen Challenge is here. The Willamette Valley Men's Center (formerly called Lebanon Men's Program) is now settled in the small community of Shedd, Oregon and is privileged to be a part of America's largest and most successful residential drug and alcohol program. They offer a faith-based Christian Discipleship Program for people who suffer from life-controlling problems such as drugs or alcoholism.

This Teen Challenge Men’s program has served the Pacific Northwest region for more than 23 years. Executive director, Ron Wenning has been helping with Teen Challenge since 1995. He began as a counselor for Teen Challenge and moved up to be executive director in November of 2006. Wenning has been working with the Lebanon Men's Program for almost 22 years now. 

“It really lights my fire,” said Wenning. “We work with students 18 years old and over recovering from drugs or alcohol.” Wenning had begun his path as a pastor in Albany and was recognized by a fellow pastor in Scio, Oregon in 1989 who had been the director of Teen challenge at the time.

It is called, “Teen Challenge” from the work of man named David  Wilkerson. Wilkerson is known as the founder of the international drug rehabilitation program that has one of the highest success rates anywhere in the world. Wilkerson had gone out on the streets of New York and got involved with teenage gangs to try and help with through the ministry to get them on a healthier path. Teen Challenge is not only located all over the United States, but can be found 68 other countries around the globe.

Residents of the program reside on site in Shedd, Oregon. They are given work tasks and work around the community. “They are able to earn passes to wonder around,” said Wenning, “but they are constantly under supervision and surveillance 24/7.” The students are provided with one on one counseling and group counseling which usually consist of 10 people. The mission of the Teen Challenge is to get people back on the right path.

The Teen Challenge program has an upcoming banquet titled, “Western Shindig.” The theme of the banquet is a western vibe. There will be chuck wagons, singing, pulled pork and tin plates just like in Western times. This banquet all goes toward Teen Challenge and help provide the help needed for the students. “We would love to have people come and check out our facilities” said Wenning. The banquet will be held on October 20, starting at 5:30pm with the banquet at 6:30pm. All festivities should be over by around 8:30pm.

“All of the residents have been hurt and have some of their hopes crushed before they get here,” said Wenning, “the greatest reward when working with the students is seeing hope in their eyes after we work with them.”

At a Glance:

________________________________________

Teen Challenge Banquet

“Western Shindig”

October 20^th, 5:30pm

________________________________________

Willamette Valley Men's Center

Ron Wenning, Executive director 

www.teenchallengeusa.com

31700 Fayetteville Drive
Shedd, OR 97377

Phone: 541-491-1002
Fax: 541-491-1005

Email: info.wvmc@teenchallengepnw.com

The LBCC choirs sings songs of innocence.

Everytime someone walks by the choir room there is a resonating sound of voices coming from the music room. The sound swells and builds and practically fills the entire balcony and filters down to the courtyard in a harmonious tone. The voice blend and melt together like that of an angel chorus from the heavens.

Usually when we hear about a choir concert we think of a very strict dress code, opera like voices and some people only dread to hear such a performance. At LBCC that is not the case at all. The choirs at LBCC performed a wide genre of music.

James Reddan is the director of multiple choirs at LBCC that include, Chamber Choir, Concert Choir and the Women's Choir. At the concert there were a couple of acapella groups that performed as well such as an all male group named Blue Light Special and an all female group named, The Sirens.

"I was very impressed with each group that performed," said Sally Beattie, a guest who attended the concert. "Each group sounded different in their own way and brought a little bit of their own flavor, I would have to say it was one of their best performances."

The 2012 winter concert was entitled, "Singing songs of innocence." The Chamber Choir and the Concert Choir both performed different styles of music including joyous Latin pieces such as "A festive sanctus," and spirituals including, "Ezekiel saw da wheel."

This year the Concert Choir did something a little different than they ever have before in a concert, they performed a ballad from the play "Candide" from the finale entitled, "Make our garden grow."

"Compared to the other pieces we sang, I would definitely say that the song, "Make our garden grow," was one of our hardest to learn and sing," said Diana Soltero, a first year choir member in the Concert Choir at LBCC. "There was a lot of blending that needed to be done and there was a lot of overlapping rhythms but it was an amazing piece."

There was an nice turn out for the concert, there was a lot of friends and family from the groups along with community members who enjoy the music program at LBCC.

"Usually each of our concerts gets sold out, so that's what we were hoping for this time," said James Reddan, "people who come to watch us just shows a lot of support."

The energy that came from both the public and the performance of each group was incredibly high all night which made for a productive evening, and everyone is prepared for brand new songs and entertainment for the spring concert.

At a glance:

________________

"Singing songs of innocence."

March 15, 2012

LBCC Choir Concert:

Concert Choir

Women's Choir

The Sirens

Blue Light Special

Chamber Choir

Is technology making us dumb?

YOU'VE ALL HEARD tales of travelers who got stuck on unnavigable back roads or who ended up hundreds of miles off course after blindly following the directions on their global positioning systems. Their unquestioning reliance on technology negated the need to look at actual “ye olde mappes,” or heed roadside warnings.

I yearned for a map at times during my college road trip this past summer. (Unfortunately the maps were stuck in the trunk in a very un-get-at-able spot.) At any given moment I, with the assistance of Maggie (our somewhat-trusty Magellan GPS), could pinpoint my exact coordinates on earth. Sadly, unless I paid attention, I was not always entirely certain which state I was in.

Today in our society, technology is slowing enabling us to use our own skills, while we replace them with cellular devices, PDA's, and computers. We no longer have to use our brain and memory skills to memorize or organize ourselves, everything is becoming more and more automated and making us more unaware of how much we don't use our given brain power.

GPS navigation, like any other technology, is quite reliable, so it is easy for us to let our guard down — to let it do all the thinking for us. Sometimes we may lose something in the process. Who still plans a route or bothers to memorize a phone number?

"I just got the new Android Verizon phone, and it has GPS and text messaging and all that stuff," says Hope Wilton, a sophomore at LBCC studying nursing.

"I'm in a field where it takes a lot of memorizing material and I've always had a good memory, I never really needed some technological device to help with remembering numbers and stuff," said Wilton.

In elementary school I knew my friends’ phone numbers, addresses, and even birthdays off by heart. Apart from a few emergency numbers I no longer make an effort — and why should I? It is right there on my phone.

"Today's generation is so funny to watch sometimes," said Joy Elrich, a psychology major at Oregon State University, "I walk by these groups of people, not just teenagers anymore, people in general, and everyone is on their cell phones texting or playing games."

"No one talks anymore, everyone is so focused on their phones that no one talks or have conversations face to face anymore," said Summer Veit, a computer science major at OSU.

Memorizing this type of information is not really terribly important. The simple fact of memorization, however, is, and any university student can tell you that there is plenty of that going on in our daily lives.

Apparently old classics like “War and Peace” have become challenging reading because the Internet has dumbed us down. Reading with concentration and contemplation is no longer possible. The Internet seems to have weaned us from that.

Technology and its concurrent ills are more a symptom of the world we live in than a cause of the “decline.” Sure, we rapidly navigate through pages and “randomly” follow links from topic to topic (down the rabbit hole to subjects we would never have dreamt of reading about).

Patricia Hastings is a resident in Benton County and has noticed the consumption our society makes when it comes to technology.

"My niece knows more about the cell phones and GPS systems and fancy televisions than I could ever dream of," said Hastings, "it's just crazy how fast technology progresses each and every year, I gave up trying to keep up."

It’s inevitable that our reading and thinking styles will not be the same as those of readers who lived in an isolated, slow, and less complicated world. Having grown up with the Internet we (my generation) are capable of a “skimming Internet” style of reading as well as “deep 'War and Peace'” style of reading.

How many readers from the previous generation can say they read 700-page novels nonstop in their preteens? Being comfortable with both big fat books and the Internet, we actually end up reading more than previous generations.

Technology is a benefit to curious people, since they have tremendous resources at their disposal. People who are too lazy to think will always end up doing something odd or lazy, and technology should not be blamed for it.

At a glance:

___________________

http://www.thomascrampton.com/internet/debate-the-internet-is-making-us-stupid/

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/07/google-making-us-stupid-and-smart-same-time/40007/

http://www.blubb.org/2009/1/26/new-technology-make-us-unhappy-and-stupid

Profile: Dan Stone

There is never a dull moment, hustling back and forth from his tiny office, lined with masks and posters from wall to wall. During the day he can be found pacing around his classrooms full of mirrors, lights, chairs and make up boxes. The work of being a theater teacher is never a bore.

Dan Stone, a theater instructor at Linn-Benton Community College, always has something going on. When spotted Stone can always be talking with students or staff about some upcoming play he’s working on or explaining his schedule.

"I have taken multiple classes with him and he's really funny but very passionate about theater and everything that goes into it," said Kat DiFonzo, the stage manager for the LBCC theater department.

Stone can usually be found in one of three locations, his office, the green room checking in on actors and actress and then of course the stage.

Stone grew up in Texas with his mom and dad, his mom was a jockey and his dad trained horses. They moved from different places all the time to different race tracks. When Stone was in high school he and his family moved to Southern California and lived there for a while.

"I got my undergraduate in C.S.U. (California State University) in San Bernandino, California," said Stone. "

"Then I got my M.F.A. degree (Master of Fine Arts) at Humboldt State University in Northern California, after that I moved here to Oregon," said Stone.

On campus at LBCC, Stone is the theater director and teacher. He has always loved theater, he loves the fact that you get to create something new everyday. You can use your imagination and not have to be stuck behind a desk.

"[Dan] Stone is very much a theater person at heart, and also he can also be kind of a child," said DiFonzo.

At the moment Stone is directing a play at LBCC called, "Wiley and the Hairy Man." Its a shadow theater play and performances are to take place in the Russell Tripp Center on campus.

Shadow plays deal with myths and this particular play is a southern myth.

Emily Smith, a student at LBCC and also an actress in this place, has been working with Stone all term on this production with rehearsals.

"I love shadow theater," said Smith, "it's very different but really exciting to do something new like this, plus the other actors are great."

Aside from pouring his heart and soul into the performing arts, Stone has another hobby he enjoys very much.

"Theater takes up all of my time, but I love fishing, and I fish whenever I can," said Stone.

In a little slough off the Willamette River, there's a big pond across from a golf course in Corvallis called the, "Twisting Tree Golf Course." Stone likes to get into his canoe and paddle across the pond then get out on the other side, goes over a hill and wades through the bushes.

"Its like a jungle," said Stone, "it's like you're in the amazon, you can hear all these owls and little critters all over the place in the evening."

Q & A with Dan Stone

________________

• What did you decide to teach theater?

Stone: I decided to teach theater, because I have a great interest in the preservation of theater, the arts are going to be preserved in the youth who are going to be carrying this stuff forward, that's why I love teach.

• Would you rather act or direct?

Stone:I would rather direct, I am not an actor, although I am a ham, but that does not make me an actor.

• Have you ever wrote your own play?

Stone: Quite a bit actually, 80 percent of the plays I direct are all originals, they are either written by me or other people like friends of mine.

• Whose your favorite playwright?

Stone: I have three actually, Samuel Becket, Sam Shepard and Tennessee Williams.

• How old were you when you wrote your very first play?

Stone: I was probably about 12 years old at the time.

• What was the play about?

Stone: It was about my dog.

At a glance:

_______________________

Upcoming plays:

LBCC 37 Annual Childern's Theater Production

"Wiley and the Hairy Man"

Dates: Sat, Feb. 18 and Sat, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

Russell Tripp Center, LBCC campus

Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for children and seniors over 60.