Scoundrel Of Dagger Gulch

Background: Originally published July 19, 2006. The primary reason that I'm posting this column on a past-performed play is because Oakland Community Theater is now gearing up for this summer's melodrama, and this column serves as a reminder that OCT has now been producing plays for more than ten years.

     Three years ago, when Oakland Elementary School teacher Dana Basque walked into the teachers lounge, his co-workers would BOOOOO and HISSSS at him. It wasn't because Basque was an unpopular fellow. On the contrary, his co-workers fondly recalled the villainous character Black Bart that Basque portrayed in a melodrama.
     Basque had better prepare to be booed and hissed once again. He plays the villain Dirk Dagger in Oakland Community Theater's latest melodrama, Scoundrel of Dagger Gulch. Casting problems delayed Scoundrel in 2004 and 2005, but with extra cast members retained this year to handle most any contingency, the melodrama is scheduled to open on stage this weekend at the historic Washington School gymnasium in Oakland.
     Set in the 1890s at the Oakland train depot (yes, Oakland), the plot of Scoundrel follows the evil schemes of Dirk Dagger, who embezzles from the Dagger Gulch Bank and other businesses. Dagger frames another person for the crime, before he matches wits with the town's new district attorney, Preston Goodnight. Now you know why everyone wants to boo and hiss at Basque!
     The play was originally written by Dave Chapman, but this revised script was written by Oakland residents Steve Marek and Dana Basque; thus, the setting is the Oakland train depot. Frieda Smith is director and Jill Marek is assistant director. Aside from Basque's portrayal of Dirk Dagger, other characters include Rita Wiglesmore (Sherri Moore); Flora Darling (Joanne Bartleson); Daisy Darling (Kristie Moore); Will Standstill, aka Horace Hardpan (Steve Marek); and Preston Goodnight (Bill Livermore).
     "Oleo Acts" which are brief skits showcasing a variety of talents will be performed before the play begins. Eric Lanning, Kenny Holmes, and others will be in the Oleo Acts.
     Oakland Community Theater was born in February, 2002 when about 20 people gathered one evening inside the Oakland Public Library. Oakland native Julie (McCain) Seghetti wanted to bring community theater back to town, after the former Oakland Gaslight Players disbanded years earlier. Eleven people from that first meeting became charter members, and OCT's first production, Rustlers of Red Rock, was performed only four months later!
     Several hundred people from Roseburg, Glide, Yoncalla, and even from over on the coast came to see OCT's first production. The group's only regret was that they didn't show Rustlers on two weekends instead of just one. Many people heard about the popularity of the play only after the three shows ended that one weekend.
     The founding director Seghetti and artistic director Neil Weston have since left OCT to pursue other creative venues. But a core group of those charter members, and a larger number of newer members have kept the group going. The first melodrama had a sequel, Rustler's Revenge, which was performed on two different weekends the following summer in 2003. OCT has also hosted several successful community musical talent shows in the interim. Scoundrel will be the group's third melodrama.
     When I wandered into one of the rehearsals of Scoundrel on Saturday evening, June 8th. I recognized four of the people who attended that first charter meeting back in 2002 beside myself: Steve and Jill Marek, Dana Basque, and Frieda Smith. I also noticed an interesting development: OCT has an impact outside the Oakland city limits. One of the reasons Seghetti formed OCT was to provide a drama venue for local high school students who no longer had that option, after budget cuts eliminated their school drama program. But interestingly, NONE of the current cast members in Scoundrel are Oakland High School students. However, two of them are from Sutherlin. Bill Livermore is a SHS senior and Kristie Moore is a SHS sophomore. Of course, it helps with transportation when Moore's mother, Sherri Moore, is also a cast member in the same play. Another one of the Moore children will be selling refreshments during the play's intermissions.
     Watching the rehearsal that Saturday evening brought back fond memories for me. There's nothing like watching a group from different backgrounds coming together with a common purpose. There's something captivating about the stage featuring a melodrama. It's truly interactive theater when cast members talk asides to the audience, stroll into the audience, and the audience is encouraged to interact with the characters.
     Three years has been too long of a wait for a melodrama to once again grace the historic Washington School stage behind Oakland City Hall.
[2014 note: I deleted the ending of the column where I gave show times, ticket prices, and my shameless self-promotion where I said a "news story featuring some rehearsal scenes from the play will air on KOBI-TV's evening news...."]