HERMISTON, Ore.-The Hermiston High School Drama Department will be putting on “Grease” starting February 20, and one of the stars of the show recently made it to the Hermiston Auditorium.
Cast members chanted “car” as a trailer backed up to the auditorium and erupted in cheers as “Greased Lightning,” a car designed and built for the production by Roger Pope, of Boardman, was rolled out.
Supporting the arts
The Hermiston High School Performing Arts Collective (HHS PAC), which was formed less than a year ago by parents and community members to support theater and vocal arts, paid for the car.
“We’re really excited, this is one of our first big purchases to support the collective,” said Kelley Hoskins, HHS PAC President. “It was pretty expensive, but we’re excited to be able to provide a car for the program.”
HHS PAC raised money for “Greased Lightning” through its inaugural banquet and silent auction last fall.
“We don’t have unlimited funds, we’re not even a year old yet,” Hoskins said of HHS PAC, which consists of an executive board of six parents, a director and five paid members.
HHS PAC is accepting applications, and the collective will hold elections in the spring. Those interested in getting involved with HHS PAC can contact the collective at performingartscollective@outlook.com or follow on social media.
Creating “Greased Lightning”
“I hope the car can inspire in some fashion and embellish the performance,” said Pope.
Pope, of Boardman, works for the Hermiston School District and is a well-known artist and sculptor across several mediums, including pumpkins, sand and wood, as well as a digital creator.
“I’m always telling Jordan (Director Jordan Bemrose Rust) that I’d love to help out with sets or props,” said Pope. “So, when she emailed me that she needed a car, I was excited.”
Pope researched what kind of car “Greased Lightning” was in the film version of “Grease” and discovered that it was a 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible.
With the help of his girlfriend Stacey Armstrong, and his father, Randy, Pope started working on the car on December 26, spending weekends on the project at his Dad’s shop in Dallas, Oregon.
“I figured, why not do it here?” Randy Pope said of his shop. “I’ve got the room and I work at the lumberyard, so we could get the wood at cost and save money, too.”
Instead of steel and chrome, Pope’s “Greased Lightning” was crafted from 2-by-4s, 2-by-2s, 4-by-4s, half-inch plywood, high-density foam and epoxy.
The hardest part of the project was coating the car and its internal wood structure with epoxy, since high-density foam would get banged up, according to Pope.
The car had to be coated in a two-part epoxy, with one coat applied, then 24-hours curing time before the coating could be sanded.
Another unexpected challenge was finding paint that would stick to the materials used to create the car.
“It was all great until it was time to paint,” said Randy Pope.
Latex paint would not stick to the materials, and while oil-based paint would stick to the plastic parts, it also ate away the foam.
“It was like chemistry class,” said Randy Pope. “There’s about three kinds of paint on there.”
Despite the challenges, the car was finished on January 26, and the final product is a solid set piece that Danny Zuko and any other member of the T-Birds would be proud to race.
“Greased Lightning” weighs about 500 pounds, according to Pope, and can be rolled and turned, with one side a work in progress and the other the finished product for different scenes of the production.
“Since there’s dancing on and around the car, every horizontal surface is weight-bearing,” said Pope, of the finished product that includes a working steering wheel and a personalized state of Oregon collector’s license plate.
“It was a great project, I enjoyed helping with the design and figuring out how to create it,” said Randy Pope.
Grease is a popular play, seemingly always in production somewhere, and there’s talk of the “Greased Lightning” built by Pope being used by other productions after the run at Hermiston High School.
“It’s pretty exciting to start here in Hermiston and then have the opportunity to go out and be used in other areas,” said Pope.
“Grease” opens on February 20 at 7 p.m. in the Hermiston High School Auditorium, followed by 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows on February 21, a 7 p.m. show on February 27, and concluding with 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows on February 28.
Tickets are $5 for adults and are available at the door. Students are free with identification.
