Oregon daily emerald., June 21, 1973, Page 7, Image 7

weekend preview
Summer students get the best and Ue worst of the
weather.
After a day of baking in class they usually find time
to transform the sunshine to an asset on the bike trails,
in the parks and by the side of their favorite swimming
spots. A number of Oregon institutions are doing the
same this weekend, among them the Renaissance Fair
and the Ashland Shakespearean Festival.
For those who prefer to beat the heat indoors I have
a few tips, too.
Ron Gold is doing a special on Jethro Tull on his
“City" program tonight. For an earful of Tull tune-in to
KWAX between midnight and 2 a.m.
Stan Fink’s Jazz Group will be doing a series of six
weekly concerts at the Wesley Center beginning tonight.
The basic corps of musicians will feature guest artists
from time to time. A 50 cent donation will be asked at
each 8 p.m. performance.
The ACME-Bijou Film Society will launch its
summer film fare with “Paison” tonight. “Rome, Open
City” follows Friday night, “Voyage to Italy,” Monday.
All three films were directed by Rossellini. Show time is
8 p.m. in 180 PLC. A one dollar admission will be
collected.
In Portland, jazz man Herbie Mann will do a concert
tonight for Paramount Northwest. Tickets are $5 to the 8
p.m. gig.
Crack-ups Cheech and Chong hit the Paramount
Friday night at 8 p.m. Tickets are also $5.
In the Portland Coliseum Friday country western
stars Johnny Cash, June Carter and Carl Perkins will
perform. Tickets are all reserve at $4.50, $5.50, $6.50 and
$7.50 to the 8 p.m. stow.
“I Do, I Do,” the play about fifty years of marriage,
opens Friday night at the Eugene Hotel’s Theatre-at
Large. $8.50 tickets include cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner
at 7 p.m. and the play itself at 8:45 p.m. A performance
An exhibit of photographs and other related material
celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus
Copernicus will be at the Museum of Art through July 1.
Saturday follows the same schedule; Sunday’s is a bit
earlier with cocktails served at 5 p.m.
The seventh Oregon Renaissance Faire is scheduled
for Friday, Saturday and Sunday near Veneta. Two
hundred and fifty craftsmen will offer their wares in
booths erected for the occasion. Foods and beverages
will be preferred in forty-five additional stalls. Wan
dering minstrels, madrigal singers and puppeteers, who
add a flavor of the 15th century fair, will be on hand to
entertain fairgoers. The grounds will be open each day
from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $1, parking is free.
Another special entertainment drawn from an old
tradition is celebrating its “official” opening this
Saturday. The Oregon Shakespearean Festival will
commence its summer season with its Feast of the Tribe
of Will and a performance of “As You Like It” at 8:45
p.m. in Ashland. Other plays in the summer repertoire
include “The Dance of Death” by Strindberg, “The
Alchemist” by Ben Johnson, and Shakespeare’s
“Othello,” “Henry the Fifth” and “The Merry Wives of
Windsor.” Daily performances at 2 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
through September 9 will be offered at prices ranging
from $3 to $6. Student rush tickets are available 30
minutes prior to the blast of the opening trumpet.
The Pizza Palace (29th and Willamette) shows free
films in the parlor. This weekend they are featuring
“Fatty and Minnie” starring Fannie Arbuckle; “$10 or
Ten Days” with Ben Turpin; and a Laurel and Hardy
classic, “Help Mates.”
The Ananda Marga Yoga Society kicks off its
summer film series with “Elvira Madigan.” The
Swedish film directed by Bo Widerberg will be shown
twice, at 7 and 9 p.m. in 180 PLC. Admission is $1.
Weekend forecast: warm. Entertainment-wise, that
is.
Teresa Margaret Sotta
drama
America’s
first
four
act
imu
play
and
a good
comedy
Good pantomime is often more expressive and entertaining than
action which is supported by dialogue. Because of its non-verbal
nature, pantomime demands the audience’s undivided attention and
offers more rewards to the viewer who allows himself to become
immersed in what is before him.
Such is the case with the Oregon Mime Theater’s production,
“Life of an Artist,” which premiered in Portland June 9th and 10th.
Believed to be America’s first four-act play in mime, the excellent
production examines the artist’s view of the world, how he ex-*
periences it and how he expresses himself.
The play was written and directed by Francisco Reynders, who
portrays the artist. He is supported by his wife, Elizabeth, mime
teacher Burl Ross, and Rhonda Anderson, a Portland jazz teacher and
choreographer. Although Reynders is the most oustanding of the
quartet, each performer demonstrates a superb grasp of mime
techniques coupled with individualistic interpretations.
The play opens at sunrise, as the artist awakens to begin a day’s
work. Reynders is marvelous as he cavorts through a series of
exercises, dressing, and preparing to paint. But he soon falls victim to
the wandering of his own mind, and slips into a state of limbo.
Act II, which seems to draw inspiration from Theater of the Ab
surd. finds the artist facing judgement by a monkey, a bird, and a
boar. The episode is punctuated with humor as the bird-defender of
the artist’s work,-and the boar-prosecutor-attempt to juggle the
scales of justice held by the dumb ape. The artist finally loses his head
in a grotesquely funny operation-execution by the animals.
The remainder of the play consists of short vignettes which
represent the thoughts of the artist. Each episode is preceeded by a
film clip of the artist in various settings: at the beach, on his front
porch, climbing monkey bars, writing a story. The film introductions
fade into elaborations of the artist’s “thoughts” through mime. Each
of the routines is distinct and well-executed, but two are especially
outstanding.
Ross does an hilarious mime of a man trying to commit suicide,
who finally succeeds by hanging himself with his own intestines. Ross’
awareness of his body and each small movement are no more ap
parent than in this episode. Reynders joins Ross in a mime about two
men climbing a mountain. His fall from ths summit is a masterpiece
of muscle control and facial expression.
Reynders has done an excellent job of writing these seemingly
unrelated episodes into the plot of the play, by presenting them as
individual thoughts of the artist. It is a perfect vehicle for demon
strating the classic techniques of mime, in classic situations, and is
the only act in which the players are dressed in the traditional mime
costume of black and white, with white greasepaint on their faces.
The technicalities of the production are equally well executed.
The sets and costumes are imaginative, and the film and music are
used tastefully and effectively.
After the Portland premiere, Reynders will tour the play
throughout Oregon. It is being funded through a grant from the Oregon
Arts Commission in cooperation with the National Endowment for the
Arts.
Nancy Hay
“How The Other Half Loves”
The Very Little Theatre took on a very big task with the produc
tion of “How The Other Half Loves.” The VLT has met with success.
The lighthearted comedy, under the direction of Ed Chambers,
was much enjoyed by all who were present opening night.
There were multiple ingredients working to make the production a
success. The set (designed by Terry Warner) is laid out in such a
manner as to afford the players limited space to work with. Needless
to say timing is very important.
During one scene there is a dinner party at two homes taking place
on two different nights. The Detweilers, (Jere Rosemeyer and Meg
Hicks) are the guests at both parties. The dinner parties, for the sake
of staging, take place simultaneously and every time a bell goes off
back stage the Detweilers have to change from one dinner to the other.
The actors pulled that scene off quite well.
Mr. Detweiler is a sort of meek man who tries very hard to make a
good impression with both families. But poor Mr. Detweiler is not all
that bright. Mary Detweiler is similar to her husband in meekness but
she is extremely shy and quiet. Every time Mr. Detweiler cracks his
whip Mary jumps and she only speaks when spoken to.
The two families occupying the homes and giving the dinner
parties are the Fosters and the Phillips. The Fosters are played by
Wanda Grabau and Paul Meier. Fiona Foster is very elegant and
beautiful, definitely upper middle class. Frank Foster, logical and big
hearted, also fits well in upper middle class. He even refers to toilet
paper as “bath room stationery.”
The Phillips are played by Marcia Callis and Daniel Nye. The
Phillips are not at all like the Fosters or the Detweilers. Bob Phillips
is a fast talking beer drinker and Theresa Phillips is a lazy housewife.
Both have great interest in the gossip column of the newspaper.
All the cast works well together, and there were very few
noticeable mistakes. The plot also aids in making the play enjoyable.
Bob Phillips is having an affair with Fiona Foster but mild
mannered Frank Foster has no idea of his wife’s activities. Frank,
who is the employer of Bob Phillips and William Detweiler, thinks that
everyone else but his wife js having an affair and he tries to set things
right but only makes them worse.
“How The Other Half Loves” is a funny play. Add that to a func
tional set, and precise lighting with some very fine acting and you
have a very Big play from the Very Little Theatre . .. bravo.
David Jinings