A Service of The Arrow           Thursday November 4, 1999 7:52 PM

By: Scott Bennett

ARROW STAFF

In-flight movies aren't foreign to plane-bound, school-sponsored trips like the six-day trip to Ashland that students and staff took, but what happened on the flight over could have been the plot of an in-flight movie.

“So we're on this little Dash-8 going from Portland to Medford,” said senior David Hawkins. “I brought 45 ginger cookies with me, because I don't travel too well. And this 50-year-old stewardess sits down next to me, and asked very seductively if she could have a cookie. So for the rest of the flight, she sat next to me, and told me not to worry, because she had a boyfriend, and he was 20 years younger and all her friends thought he was a gigolo.”

While that stewardess was never to be
seen again, the adventures were far from over for the 11 FHS students, six staff members and Mrs. Hashley. Hashley started taking groups of students to Ashland in 1974. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival makes use of two different theaters — the indoor Bowmer Theater and the outdoor Elizabethan Theater, similar to the traditional Globe Theater used in Shakespeare's time.

The Ashland trip started off with the Sunday, Oct. 3 departure, and a series of plane changes, followed by the group's viewing of their first Oregon Shakespeare Festival production, Good Person of Setzuan. Then, the weary travelers arrived at the Ashland Hills Inn, where junior Betsey McGarvey and seniors Jenny Fawcett and Megan Buffington were forced to cohabitate with the dreaded “Elephant People.”

“They must have weighed 300 lbs each,” said senior Jenny Fawcett. “They were always clog dancing or jazzercising or something. And always up until the wee hours.”

The next day, Monday,
is know as “the dark
day,” at the Ashland festival, when all the actors have a day off. So what better time for the drama students and staff to take in the sights and a little shopping? Tuesday remained their busiest day, spending over 11 hours in the theater overall, with a backstage tour of the festival, and viewing of the productions Pericles and Henry IV. Wednesday included an interactive workshop with two of the festival's actors and ended with the festival's presentation of Three Musketeers. Thursday, their final day at the festival was capped off with shopping and the attendance of their final production, Much Ado About Nothing.

The trip was more
learning experience
than anything else,” said junior Emily Lavin. “I mean, their tech crew could completely change the set in 45 minutes. That's a little less than how long it takes us to set lights!”

The drama department picked up several new concepts in staging, such as a more minimal approach to the staging, leaving most of the visualization to the audience.

The group's return to Kalispell did not progress as smoothly as the rest of the trip, after the group's Seattle airport layover turned from two to 10 hours. But in no way did that layover detract from experience of the trip.

“This was my first time to Ashland, but it was equally educational and fun for both staff and students,” said teacher Ivanna Fritz. “Even the staff members that go year after year always learn something new every time.”

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