Galen | Dangerous Common Sense

The River Bride

By Galen|2016-09-05T11:56:59-07:00September 5, 2016|osf, plays|

Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival The River Bride by Marisela Treviño Orta Some plays are so mystical and rich with meaning that I feel inadequate. I know I should be getting more from the plot, from the language, from gestures, from everything. I am not worthy to be viewing the performance and should only be allowed back in the theater after completing a refresher course of Symbolism 201. Either that, or the play itself actually is thin, obvious, and over hyped. My ego makes me choose the later reason for my reaction to The River Bride. Ensemble from "The River Bride". [...]

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Twelfth Night

By Galen|2017-01-02T14:28:10-08:00September 5, 2016|osf, plays|

Ashland, Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Director Christopher Liam Moore invented a brilliant, fun concept for this workhorse comedy: set it on a 1930's movie musical set. Emphasize the scripted music and add more song and dance! Unleash the voices and tapping toes! Keep the Shakespeare give it 20th Century Foxiness! Scenes are sharp, funny homages to classic the musical films of the day. Susan Tsu's costumes are elegant and completely right. You get your ticket's worth from the fashion show alone. Twelfth Night - photo by OSF You will be talking for years about Moore's [...]

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Talking to LGBT Refugees About the Orlando Shootings

By Galen|2016-06-13T10:36:48-07:00June 12, 2016|Social Justice|

There is no place where you are absolutely safe. No place in the world. The men and women whom my church's Refugee Guardian Group has helped all fled their home countries to avoid being beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation. Most of our clients come from Muslim countries. They know first-hand the deadly acts against LGBT people carried out in the name of Islam. The news from Florida this morning must have sounded frighteningly familiar. Today I contacted the four men for whom I have been a mentor. I wanted to check in. How were they after the murders at [...]

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