expect the unexpected

Adam Rosko here, director and Kirk of Trek in the Park. Over the last 3 years I’ve had the immense fortune of working with the most passionate, enthusiastic, and talented cast and crew in the NW. This is the type of ensemble that theatre practitioners fantasize about having. Since 2009, producer Amy Rosko and I have had the honor to meet and team up with truly remarkable and talented people to build an outstanding crew and a tight ensemble. This ensemble returns in year 4, Journey to Babel, with some actors in the same roles and others playing different parts. Let’s meet the crew.

The Enterprise Bridge:

Kirk- Adam Rosko

Spock- Jesse Graff

McCoy- Paul Pistey

Uhura- Dana Thompson

Chekov- Ryan Castro

Chapel- Tanya Smith

Scott-Nate Ayling

The crew has remained the same since Day 1. I’m thrilled we’ve been able to have consistency in the Enterprise Bridge. It’s wonderful to watch these actors make such iconic roles more and more their own every year. I’m especially excited to see Tanya Smith return as Nurse Chapel, the last time we’ve had Chapel in an episode was in our very first production, Amok Time!

Officers:

Joseph: Benja Barker

Hadley: Ben Coleman

Benja Barker joined us with 2010′s Space Seed where he played Khan’s henchman Joaquin, and in Mirror, Mirror he was the unfortunate Mr. Kyle. Here, as security officer Joseph he’ll be on the other end of the phaser, finally doing some good aboard the Enterprise. And click the link on his name to learn about his fabulous work as head of the Alter Ego’s society.

Freelance Mercury and Live Wire Radio writer, Ben Coleman, debuted in last year’s Mirror, Mirror as a snotty, Mirror Universe deck officer who probably holds the record for most times a redshirt has been knocked out, phasered, and/or vaporized in a single episode. This year, I’m handing him the keys to the ship and he’ll be a gold-shirted helmsman that doesn’t die.

Alien Ambassadors:

Thelev- Jamie Kirk

Shras- Kaebel Hashitani

Gav- Dan Clark

Tellarite- Royal Hebert

One the aspects of Journey to Babel that sealed my decision to make this our year 4, is that we will finally get to include some heavy duty alien characters. Full facepaint and prosthetic pieces, grand costumes, makeup special effects! Now, all that is well and good, but it’s nothing if the actor behind it isn’t giving their all to make an audience believe in that character and sell the makeup and effects so well that the character would shine through anyway if you took it all off.

When it comes to larger than life character work in Portland, look no further than the pirates of PDXYAR. A group of performers that prove that live theatre isn’t limited to just a stage, Portland’s pirate ensemble create clear and bold characters, often under heavy costume, and perform in public events with music, comedy and breathtaking stage combat. Jamie Kirk and Royal Hebert, our resident combat choreographers, return to the stage for the first time since their respective debuts in Space Seed. Jamie has the task of going mano y mano with Kirk and stirring up trouble as the Andorian, Thelev. Royal, previously seen as Khan’s henchman brute, Otto, is acting as aide to the Tellarite, Gav, played by Dan Clark making his Trek debut. Dan is a Captain as well, as the commanding officer of PDXYAR in the guise of Captain Redgoat. If you’ve ever been to a ‘yar event, then you’ve seen how these gentlemen command a room and earn an audience’s attention, I’m ridiculously excited to see the interaction between the Tellarites, Sarek and the rest of the ambassadors.

If you saw Mirror, Mirror, it’s hard to forget Kaebel Hashitani‘s portrayal of the slimy, wicked Mirror Universe Sulu. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see a kind version of his Mr. Sulu in Journey to Babel as the helmsman doesn’t make an appearance in this particular episode. However, I saw something in Kaebel’s evil Sulu performance, a tone and approach that made me think of him as a perfect fit for the mysterious Andorian. Shras.

Spock’s Parents:

Sarek: Paul Guinan

Amanda: Anina Bennett

Two new additions to our Trek in the Park family build a parental unit around around Mr. Spock. Jesse Graff always turns in a powerful performance as Spock, so it was a fun challenge to find a couple that could counter him, confront him, scold him, embarrass him, you know, those things parents do. The husband and wife team of Paul and Anina approached me very early on, not about playing Sarek and Amanda, but about Journey to Babel. I knew of the episode, but it was them to put in on my radar as a potential candidate for year 4. The two have been some of our biggest supporters and greatest champions of our cause. Their incredible creative work as authors and illustrators has always been inspiring and if you ever get the chance to hear them read from their books in character (Boilerplate and Frank Reade especially) DO IT. While reading Dorothy Fontana’s script to Journey, I couldn’t get the images or voices out of my head of Paul and Anina as Sarek and Amanda. So much so we made an appointment with them at their home to just read a little of the script to each other and see what happens. What happened was one of those occurrences where you just feel it. The emotion, the voices, the humor, it was all there, and I can’t wait to develop these characters and this at times very intimate story with them this summer.

Other extra Starfleet officers and Aliens will be added as we go on with hopefully other familiar faces from Trek in the Park’s past. I’m honored to announce this cast and thrilled about these characters. With our new location at Cathedral Park and with this fantastic story, we hope to make a bigger and better Trek in the Park than ever before!

The episode of PORTLANIA we assisted with airs FRIDAY, FEB. 3 at 10/9c on IFC! Bring it up on your viewscreen!

Adam (Kirk) and Portlandia star Fred Armisen on the set!

Our scenic designer, Mike Estes, has created a revolutionary new product that benefits not only your cat, but your home too! It’s the Sky Scratcher! And he needs your help! Check out his kickstarter video and show your support! Thanks!

On Sunday, August 21 at McMenamins’ Bagdad Theater & Pub, join us and hosts Cort and Fatboy for a special screening of one of the best “Star Trek” movies ever made: GALAXYQUEST! Prior to the film we will reprise our performance of “Mirror, Mirror” ONE LAST TIME on the Bagdad’s stage!

This Trekkie double feature will also include a Star Trek entertainment reel during intermission put together by Bobby “Fatboy” Roberts!

Doors open at 7pm and start off with our mini-convention in the lobby! We will have vendors with all sorts of Trek wares, artwork and more! As well as a few surprises! Please contact us if you are interested in being a vendor at our mini-convention, but please note we are looking for Trek related items only.

Come check out our final trip to the Mirror Universe, watch some hilarious and fascinating Trek shorts, then sit back and relax with the movie that brilliantly and lovingly satires the phenomenon that is, “Star Trek”

This event is 21 and over only. Tickets are $6 and available now!

And if you wish to be part of the Mini-Convention, contact us!

So assemble your away team and BOLDLY GO!

Adam Rosko here, director of Trek in the Park (and Captain Kirk).

First of all, I speak for all of Atomic Arts when I say that we cannot thank you enough for all the love and support we’ve received this year on our opening weekend of Trek in the Park. It was incredible to hear and see so much enthusiasm for something we’ve worked on all year, since the close of last summer’s Trek adventure.

I’d also like to take a moment and address some feedback we’ve received at the show and online regarding the size of our theatre space. We completely understand some of the audience’s frustration with the sound and the back lawn area. This year we’ve worked harder than ever to include all of our audience in our performance. It’s not a perfect circle in the round, but currently we are performing with EVERYONE in mind. After hearing some feedback from “Mirror, Mirror”’s opening weekend, we will continue to make more tweaks and changes here and there to accommodate those in the back lawn area.

However, it is painful to me personally to hear people thinking we don’t care or aren’t trying to accommodate everyone—that’s not what Trek in the Park is, nor will ever be.

First, a little bit of history. Three years ago when Trek in the Park premiered, our goal was to just fill the “bowl” section of the Woodlawn amphitheater and to our surprise, we did. Towards our final weekend, people began to sit in the lawn area behind the stage. During Trek in the Park’s second year, we had to make last-minute tweaks to the production to address our growing lawn crowd. I say “last minute” because we honestly never thought we’d get that big a crowd.

Since then, we’ve been committed to making sure that the growing audience in the back never felt ignored or unappreciated. This is our third year providing a free, family-friendly intergalactic show in the park, and we knew there would be an overflow audience from the “bowl” to the back lawn area. We looked into many options to amplify the sound so dialogue could be heard regardless of where people sat. However, given the set up of the stage, the music, the incredibly high risk of feedback, and many other complications, these efforts were not practical. Having body mics for our actors was simply too expensive for us, and sound companies were unable to sponsor it (the very physical fight scenes alone would be a huge liability).

That Trek in the Park remains free is a necessity—we are obligated not to charge because we simply do not own “Star Trek.” However, it’s also important to me personally that this show remain free: Atomic Arts’ goal with Trek in the Park is to share a live theatrical experience where money is not an issue for our audience. I don’t need to tell you that in this economy, that not only is money tight for most folks, but live theatre can be pretty expensive. My group and I want to provide light, breezy summer entertainment without any strings attached while spending an afternoon in a great park watching theatre.

With the help of a few sponsors and the money out of our own pockets, we pay for the park fees, insurance for everyone who is at the park, and port-o-johns. These  things are not cheap- we look for deals and stretch every penny at Atomic Arts: all of our costume and prop materials are handmade (by donated labor) and cast and crew do what they do out of love for the material, our goals, and to make you—our audiences—really happy.

We love Woodlawn for a variety of reasons—its seldom-explored potential, the local businesses that appreciate the new customers Trek in the Park brings them, and our many audience members who love the area. While we would love a bigger space (suggested relocations like Mt. Tabor or Washington Park would be great— and possibly Trek in the Park 4 may bring us somewhere more accommodating), Woodlawn Park is our home for “Mirror, Mirror”.

This show is about fun in the summertime, with cool stories and performances we hope make people smile. From the Mayor himself to kids experiencing theatre for the first time in the small, Woodlawn amphitheater, we appreciate the support of every single audience member, and we never take any of what you give us for granted.

Thanks for your time and all your support,

Adam

Fan art sketched during July 10th performance by Kalina Geminica Wilson. Check out the full sketches and more on her website!