robert webb
performances save crowded comedy
A young high-spirited commedia dell arte ensem
ble show has come to town and the action is fast and
furious — perhaps too much so
A Company of Wayward Saints," now playing at
the Very Little Theatre, starts off suddenly Scapino,
energetically acted by Matt Bonham, realizes that there
is an audience in the house and that the players have
not yet assembled He goes through a tremendous
range of sight gags, dance steps, pratfalls and silly
faces to entertain us while bemoaning the fact that his
companions are not there yet and that the show isn't
ready to go on When the company does come together,
this sort of frenzied physical acrobatic activity in
creases tenfold
The show s plot is very simple the ten players make
up a commedia deli'arte troupe, the Company of
Wayward Saints who, as their delapidated banner
proclaims, travel from town to town doing their comedy
routines Each member plays his or her own traditional
role (rascal tart, warrior, old man, lover, etc ) complete
with costume and often with a mask
But the company is in a quandry Their shows
aren't doing well, they are tired of the road and of each
other and all they want to do is go home
It so happens that in the audience tonight is a Duke
who will give them the money to go home if they will
perform what he wants to see The actors readily agree,
even after they iearn that the Duke wants them to do The
History of Man
■ 1 ■■■— IN I !■■■ 1—11.11
In their slam-bang, rambunctious style the com
pany tears into Adam and Eve, Odysseus return from
the siege of Troy and the assassination of Caesar
These sequences have some very fine and funny bits in
them, especially Matt Bonham s slithery physical quality
as the Snake and Teri Thomas who, as Calpurnia, tells
Caesar about dreaming of him being stabbed by men
with adorable little short swords "
The problem with Act I is that there is just too much
going on There are bits played all over the stage and we
miss half of them while watching others Sometimes
actions are actually blocked from our view because
other actors get in the way Also, this energetic ap
proach often gets in the way of the actors' delivery and
their ability to convey the meaning behind the spoken
lines
In many ways, it's a joy to see these actors and
director Dennis Dolan coming up with so many delight
ful sight gags and action It's energizing for the
audience as well, up to a point.
But on the other hand the lack of focus due to poor
orchestration by the director makes the whole thing
appear confusing after a while Confusion for its own
sake is not a strong enough premise to hold our interest
for a full act
The play demands some extent of a splintering
effect in order to underline one of its major themes, that
none of us will get anywhere unless we stop thinking
only of ourselves and cooperate with each other But
it's like the old adage that if an actor truly portrayed
boredom, the audience would probably be bored
watching it The trick is to make an interesting portrayal
of boredom The problem with this production is that it
failed to show that its confusion had a purpose
Act II, however, settled down considerably as
playwright George Herman allowed his characters to
see their errors and focus on the truths underlying their
roles
The characters decide that the History of Man
could also be construed as the archetypal history of "a
man We are then led into more simple, direct stories of
birth, adolescence, marriage and death
Two of the scenes were particularly effective the
episode involving Thomas and Bonham as Huckleberry
Finn-type characters exploring the blossoming of early
love and the "first kiss,” and the final sequence with
Don Scorby as a conquering warrior and John Duncan
as a priest condemned to die This latter tale effectively
punctuates its tragedy with a sense of humor, an odd
but useful approach.
Act II is as rewarding as Act I is confusing A
schizophrenic production, perhaps, but one worth
seeing for the truths revealed and several fine perfor
mances, most notably those mentioned above and
Roberto Morganti as the hunchbacked set changer
"A Company of Wayward Saints" continues its run
at the Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hilyard, Nov. 26, 27 and
Dec 1-4. Curtain time is 8:15 p.m Tickets are $4 each.
Call 344-7751 for reservations
Strategic Management Institute may
boost Northwest business economy
By Land du Pont
Of th« Emerald
Increasing organizational
skills of Northwest businesses
through research projects
would be the goal of the
Northwest Strategic Man
agement Institute — if it gets
funding
Creation of the institute
hinges on a request for a
three-year annual commit
ment of $255,000 from the
Fred Meyer Charitable Trust
“The institute would be a
framework for applied re
search," says Jim Reinmuth,
dean of the business college
Reinmuth is positive about
the prospect of getting fund
ing, but sees one potential
hitch.
"I'd give anything to see it
accepted,” he says. “But we
have one problem private
trusts often don't want to give
money to public institutions."
Reinmuth notes that while
the institute would use private
money from the companies
requesting research, the initial
funding is necessary to coor
dinate the efforts of the insti
tute
Several businesses, includ
ing Pacific Northwest Bell and
the Weyerhauser Foundation,
have indicated interest in
projects if the Fred Meyer
Trust comes through.
The institute would consist
of two directors responsible to
Reinmuth and an advisory
board of local business
leaders Project teams would
conduct research in areas
identified by businesses and
the institute
While the institute would
employ professors and
students who are already at
the business school on the
project teams, it would draw its
funding from private sources
The focus of the institute s
activities would be the private
sector, but it could become an
important part of the school
"I see a great deal of faculty
research directed at the insti
tute.” Reinmuth says Busi
ness school faculty would be
involved in the summer and
could get time off during the
school year to work on
projects, he adds
Reinmuth believes the insti
tute could become as impor
tant to the state and the
University as the OSU agricul
tural program
' For the past hundred
years, the agricultural exten
sion at OSU has acted as a
magnet for farmers,” he says
"We hope to do the same for
businesses "
Sit down , take a load off your feet.... with an ODE
Businesses and LTD drop fare
to 10 cents, a shoppers windfall
i en cents doesn t pay tor
much these days — certainly not
a rider's share of running an
Lane Transit District motor
coach through Eugene
But 10 cents is all a rider will
have to pay to board LTD buses
all day Saturday for any destin
ation within the Eugene-Spring
field area
The Downtown Association of
businesses will pay the differ
ence in the fare This windfall for
LTD riders is in accord with
promotion arrangements
between The Downtown As
sociation and LTD Last year a
similar promotion was paid tor
solely by LTD Ridership went
up 30 percent and revenues fell
by only $300 says Ed Berger
son. LTD marketing director
It was an encouraging
promotion and the Downtown
Association had their biggest
sale day ever." Bergerson says
Because the last year's suc
cessful promotion the Down
town Assocation readily agreed
to foot the riders bill for another
$300 It s all to the benefit of
LTD riders
Happy traveling
School schedules piano classes
Piano classes for children,
teenagers and adults in the
Eugene-Springfield area will be
taught this winter at the Univer
sity music school
Students will be taught the
elements of music and how to
use them in improvising, har
monizing, playing by ear and
transposing In addition, they
will learn to read classical, folk
and popular music
Individual lessons are com
bined with small-group studies
at all levels of performance A
special class is offered at
reduced rates tor senior ci
tizens
Music professor Doris Allen
serves as the division s director,
assisted by a staff of exper
ienced piano teachers
Offered by the school's
Preparatory Division, the on
campus courses will begin Jan
5 and continue for 10 weeks
through March 15. A fee is
charged for the classes Regis
tration began on Dec 1
1
New look, same great taste!
LOOK HOW WE'VE GROWN
EUGENE!
We’ve grown a lot since our first restaurant opened in 1960 at 13th and
High. Since then, we’ve made a few changes, but one thing that will never
change at Taco Time® is the great taste of our food. We invite you to drop
in at our newly remodeled restaurant near campus at 1401 Villard Street.
You’ll enjoy that great taste, and, you’ll see how we’ve grown!
Our first Taco Time* restaurant of
fered Tacos, Bean Tostados and
Taco Burgers Who would have
thought this could be the beginning
of an international success story?
Just a year later, we re already
growing* Folks living in Springfield,
Oregon and Tacoma. Washington
enjoy new Crisp Meat and Bean
Burritos in two new Taco Time
restaurants
We introduce customers to 26 new
restaurants and two popular menu
Hems — Taco Time* Enchiladas
and Cinnamon Crustos.
The growing years — 35 new
Taco Time* restuarants spring
up across the Western United
States
1960
1961
1964
1969
Our new Drive-Thru window is a
first in the Northwest, and so is
our new Taco Salad!
Some like it crisp — some like
it soft. New Soft Tacos and
Burritos are a hit.
Would you believe Taco Time
goes Hawaiian?!
4 ,
1974
1977
1978
X'
It’s a natural! We’ve got the first
Natural Super Taco made on a
whole wheat tortilla and we’ve
grown to 225 restaurants in 13
states.
1979
iS
look
1982
Taco Time has a new
look inside and out.
There’s one thing we’ll never
change, though, and that’s the
great taste of our food, as important
to us now as it was 22 years ago.
Taco Time pops up ’’down
under” with two stores in
Australia.
1981