Sandy High School (SHS) senior Arianna Cioffi has been involved with the school’s theatrical productions since her freshman year, including jumping into the role of Caliban in William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” with just two weeks of rehearsal time. And while Shakespeare may seem like a different language, Cioffi has a role in the upcoming SHS production that gives Shakespeare a run for his money.

Cioffi is Don in “The Universal Language,” one of six one-act plays written by
David Ives, collectively called, “All In the Timing.” In “The Universal
Language,” Don is the creator and teacher of Unamunda, a wild
comic language.

“It’s really confusing because you’ve got all kinds of words in here,” said Cioffi,
18. “It’s kind of like gibberish. The audience has no idea what he’s saying.”

“This is a lot different than Shakespeare,” she added, noting how much she
has to use her face, hands and body to help communicate in Unamunda. Cioffi
also plays the role of the waitress in “The Philadelphia,” alongside
junior Harley Reed, 17. In it, Reed plays Allen Chase, a laidback New Yorker
who meets up with his friend who has fallen into "a Philadelphia," a Twilight
Zone-like state in which he cannot get anything he asks for.

This is Reed’s first production at SHS after taking some classes, and he noted
that the stage experience is different than the classroom one because there
isn’t as much time to ramp up to the demands of the play.

“It’s kind of challenging,” said Reed, who also plays the baker in “Philip Glass
Buys a Loaf of Bread.” “This is what it feels like when you rehearse, you have
to be on top of it.”

Junior Peyton Noreen, 17, plays the role of Swift in the play “Words, Words,
Words,” about three monkeys writing on typewriters until they come up with
“Hamlet.” Noreen noted that while each one act is very different,
the collection of plays does have a common thread.

“The theme for a show is definitely human interaction, just different scenarios
that seem crazy or outlandish,” she said. “The idea of realism comes from
unrealism.” Sandy High School Drama presents “All In the Timing,” by David
Ives, at 7:30 p.m. May 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, at 37400 SE Bell Street in
Sandy. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. For
more information, call 503-668-8011, ext. 7313.

“The Nerd” comes to Boring
Justin Lazenby, director of the Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Company’s production of
Larry Shue’s “The Nerd,” notes that audience members are likely going to
relate with the comedy’s main character, Willum Cubbert. Cubbert is an
aspiring architect and veteran who gets the chance to meet the man who
saved his life in Vietnam. Unfortunately, that man turns out to be tactless and
obnoxious.“In the horrible house guest, (the audience) will see aspects of a
person that they met at some point in their life that they had to deal with,”
said Lazenby, who will also play the role of Warnock Waldgrave, Cubbert’s
boss who is over for dinner when the nerd arrives and starts to mess things
up.

“(It’s) probably not as bad as they will see on stage, but everybody can relate
to it. We find ourselves in a position where we can’t just tell them off, we
can’t just shout at them.”

Lazenby, who has performed in the show previously, described it as a “good,
solid belly laugh comedy” as the audience gets to watch Cubbert squirm and
try to get out of the mess.

“You walk away smiling,” he said.

NNB presents “The Nerd,” by Larry Shue, from May 18 to June 3 at the Boring
Grange, 27861 Grange Street in Boring. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays
and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for
children, seniors and students and $11 for teachers and law enforcement. For
more information, or to make reservations, call 503-593-1295 or visit
nnbtheater.com.