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[an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) New Young Actors By Bobby Heiken Ashland Daily Tidings For a trio of actors at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this is their big chance. Phil Young, Kalene Parker and Nancy Rodriguez are all in their first year at the OSF. All feel lucky for the opportunity. All have plans that go well beyond the OSF. "A lot of people call this the Disney of theatre," said Young about the Festival. "They have money and take care of you and it's fun to work here. This is a great company." Young arrived at the OSF this year from the Bay Area and has roles in "The Tempest" and "Life is a Dream." He attended an open audition in San Francisco and the call from the OSF came just in time. "I was in the middle of a two month dry spell," Young said. "I was ready to move down to Los Angeles because I honestly thought that I had done as much as I could in San Francisco." Young had worked in theatres throughout California and had a small role on the television show "Nash Bridges." But he put off his move to Los Angeles by a week for the audition and it paid off. "I came up here in 1992-93 as part of a college trip and fell in love with it," Young said. "We got to meet the actors and thought it would be so cool to work here." Young is here and finding out about life as a full-time actor. "It's nice to finally be able to say that acting is my only job," Young said. "Before people would always ask what else you do beside act to make money. But the glamour is starting to wear off. The reality of the situation is setting in that this is my job for nine months." Even though he's not in the spotlight, Young feels like he plays a major role at the Festival. "Everyone's part of the process here," Young said. "Everyone has input in the productions and what's going on. It's just great to be here." Parker comes from a different background than Young. Both are from the Bay Area, but Parker had gone back to school teaching because of her lack of work in theatre. "It was a very practical decision," Parker said. "I had bills to pay." Parker was teaching full-time at Skyline High in Oakland from February to June and also working as a temp during her spare time. She had worked for the Sacramento Theatre Company and other theatres in California when she answered the call at the OSF's open audition in San Francisco. She was offered the job here in Ashland at the same time other companies were calling. "I was up for three other things when they called," Parker said. "The day before I was offered a job in San Francisco and two days later I got a call from a company in San Diego. It was pretty much feast or famine." Parker took the job with the OSF, but was surprised to even be offered it. "I had heard about all these people not getting in," she said. "And I didn't know if I was good enough. I had heard of people trying 11 years in a row and wondered why would I get in on my first try. I'm just thrilled." Parker is in the ensemble in "Life is a Dream" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor," and understudies the Wardrobe Mistress in "Enter the Guards-man." "That is my favorite role," said Parker of her understudy role in "Enter the Guardsman." "It's a great musical and a great show. Just being part of it is exciting." One of the reasons she enjoys the role so much is because she gets to sing. A singer all her life, this role fits right into her overall plans. "I want it all," Parker said. "I want to have two or three movies, a recording career and a hit on Broadway. I want to be very happy." Rodriguez is the youngest and came the farthest of all the rookies. The 24-year-old comes from New York and is a little over two years removed from the Boston University School for the Arts. "It's a little frightening thinking that I've only been out of school for two years and I've already been an actor for a full year," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez plays in the ensemble in "Life is a Dream," but unlike the others, she has a major role in "Two Sisters and a Piano." "I've had to wait five months for a speaking role," Rodriguez said. "So that took some getting used to." Of the three, Rodriguez is having the hardest time getting used to Ashland. "It's difficult," she said. "It's beautiful and everyone's nice, but I miss home too much. I've spent my whole life on the East Coast and around New York." Rodriguez said that the OSF even has some pull as far away as New York. "I've had some friends that did festivals and had talked about it," Rodriguez said. "It's almost a year of really good work at a high caliber theatre. And my agent thought that this was a very good idea." As for beyond this season, Rodriguez doesn't know what's ahead of her. "Next year depends on if they offer me a role and what role it is," she said. "As far as down the road, I want to do work that fulfills me. I want to do more. I'm young enough, I can fall and get up and keep falling." Actors' Theatre Alexs Restaurant Ali Ross/ Real Estate Agent Allyson's of Ashland Aphrodite's Salon Asante Health Ashland Community Food Store Ashland Community Hospital Ashland Homes Real Estate Ashland Springs Spa Associates for Oral & Maxillo Beasy's On The Creek Big Kahuna in the Park Bloomsbury Books Bookwagon New & Used Books Charter Communications Chateaulin Restaurant Conversations With God Center Cycle Sport Denny's Restaurant Earthly Goods Womens' Apparel Enchanted Attic Energy Outfitters Gateway Real Estate Grants Pass Visitor's Bureau Greenleaf Restaurant Hellgate Excursions Hot Spring Spas Jacksonville Inn John L. Scott Real Estate of So. Oregon Kat Wok Restaurant Klamath First Federal La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant Lithia Artisans Lithia Real Estate Martino's & Macaroni's Ristorante McDonalds Out of the Blue Patricia Sprague Real Estate Pizza Hut Remax Realty Group St. Mary's School Sara Walker/ Real Estate Agent Scheffels Toys Shop'n Kart Tamale Dog Taqueria The Apple Cellar The Galice Resort The Living Gallery Tudor Guild Gift Shop Twenty-four Pont Home Textiles Two Pines Unicorn Gifts and Toys Winchester Inn Windermere Van Vleet & Assoc. Real Estate Windmill Inn Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing