Bard in the yard: Pacific pitcher makes debut

Sean Lindsay embraces his inner actor as he steps off the baseball mound

By A.p. Kryza

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jul 28, 2010, Updated Jul 28, 2010

Photo courtesy of Casey Campbell

Sean Lindsay will be on stage in Hillsboro this weekend, playing Sebastian in “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare.

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Sean Lindsay has stepped off the pitcher’s mound and slid into West Egg.

The Pacific University physics grad, originally from Alaska, makes his professional acting debut with Hillsboro-based Bag&Baggage this week, playing the role of Sebastian in William Shakespeare’s classic, “Twelfth Night.”

This will not be your grandmother’s Bard. The company, notorious for artistic director Scott Palmer’s non-traditional adaptations, is presenting the tale of mistaken identity and doomed romance through the lens of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, “The Great Gatsby” — champagne flutes, flappers, roaring ’20s outfits and all.

‘A little nervous’

For Lindsay, who came to Pacific as a left-handed pitcher for the school’s baseball team before embracing his long-standing love of acting, entering professional theatre has been a unique experience.

“I was a little nervous, but I really enjoyed it,” said Lindsay, 22. “I just had to trust them and basically go to school. It’s been extremely rewarding.”

The production is Bag&Baggage’s second annual foray into outdoor Shakespeare, a tradition that dates back to the days of the Bard and offers a unique set of challenges.

With Hillsboro’s Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza serving as the venue, actors must project their voices across a literal field and take cues from colored flags located nearly one-half mile away.

It’s a task that’s not always without challenges.

Stable of actors

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