Actor Draws On Real Experiences For Character

Theater

Clarence Forech has never been in a play before.

But the Valley Repertory Theatre got lucky when it cast him to play Crooks in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” opening Friday. That’s because Forech, who shines shoes at Nordstrom downtown, has lived the kind of life that makes it easy for him to identify with this black outcast in Steinbeck’s bunkhouse society.

“He reminds me of myself, of being shut out and shunned,” said Forech. “This is the perfect role for me, because I am Crooks.”

In fact, Forech’s life could have come right out of the pages of Steinbeck.

Here’s a brief version, as related by Forech:

He grew up in Pine Bluff, Ark., but when he was 16, in 1959, he was attacked and beaten senseless in the white part of town. His assailants dumped him in a freight car. When he woke up days later, he was in a lumber yard in Colville, Wash.

After a stay in the hospital, a white family in Spokane took him in and raised him. He eventually graduated from Lewis and Clark High School, and then went on to graduate from Eastern Washington University.

But he still bears scars from that long-ago beating.

He said he can understand Crooks’ alienation, because when he was growing up in Arkansas, he experienced similar treatment.

“Crooks can’t go into the bunkhouse; I couldn’t go into a restaurant down South because I’m black,” said Forech.

He said he is not upset by the many uses of the “n-word” in the script because he grew up in an era when it was common in the South.

“That’s history. That’s the ‘30s,” he said of the play, which takes place during the Depression. “That’s the way it was. You can’t change history.”

Forech has discovered that he loves acting and wants to do more.

“I’m hoping it can open up opportunities elsewhere, because I’m having so much fun,” he said.

The Valley Rep’s production is directed by Jodine Watson. The production suffered a setback when the two lead actors dropped out. But they were quickly replaced, and the show’s Friday opening is only one week later than originally scheduled.

“Of Mice and Men” runs Friday through Sunday and continues April 4-5, 11-14 and 18-20. Showtimes are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. on Sundays and 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $6 for students. Call 927-6878 for reservations. The Valley Repertory Theater is located on the southwest corner of Sprague and Pines, at the rear entrance.

‘Nominis Expers De Fabula’

This inaugural offering from 2Nomad Productions, a new experimental theater group, consists of three one-act plays which “expose the darker side of human nature.”

That’s the extent of the plot description, although the producers promised that it has a theme “that will make you wish the show was longer.”

The show was written by local playwrights Russel Fithin, Martin Gardener and Calven Eldred.

James Quinn, one of the founders of the group, said the show will portray the “magic and energy of live theater.” The soundtrack will be “techno-industrial and classical gothic.”

“We plan to take the city by surprise and show them something different,” said Quinn.

Quinn and partner Milo Denison worked for the Valley Repertory Theatre last year, but after a falling out with that group, they decided to create a new theater group that would “take Spokane by storm.”

“Spokane theater, for so long, has stifled and limited the creativity that would allow the audience to cross the threshold of imagination,” said Quinn. “Our purpose is to provide an outlet for the groundswell of Spokane culture that is restlessly waiting for a new product of entertainment.”

“Nominis Expers De Fabula” roughly translates as “performance without a name.”

The show opens Tuesday at The Met and repeats on April 17, with both shows at 8 p.m. Tickets will be $6 at the door or by calling 534-7910.

‘The Dawning of Chauntecleer’

Whitworth College is bringing back this adaptation of “The Book of the Dun Cow” by Walter Wangerin Jr. after more than a decade.

The theatrical adaptation of this allegorical novel was written by professor emeritus Pat Stien. The show was first produced and directed by Stien at Whitworth in 1983.

“Dawning of Chauntecleer” is an allegorical tale of good and evil, in the tradition of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the story of Chauntecleer the rooster.

The show opens tonight and continues through Sunday. Showtimes are at 8 p.m., except the Sunday matinee at 3 p.m.

Tickets cost $5 for adults, $4 for students with I.D., available by calling the Whitworth box office (466-3225) and at the door. The show will be at the Cowles Memorial Auditorium at the college.

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