Arts and entertain
II
tent
I -------1
Photo by Sh*rylyn HforkKrrn
The cast of “Lucky Per's tourney” polishes its performance at dress rehersal Tuesday. The
play, written by August Strindberg, is bein/f presented at the l Iniversitv’* Knbinsun Theatre Fri
day and Saturday, and a^ain the following weekend.
'Journey' will entertain all ages
“Lucky Per's Journey" will
lx; the highlight ul the Univer
sity's Robinson Theatre this
weekend. The play, by August
Strindberg, was written in the
lHOOs and follows the style of
expressionism also originated
by the playwright.
Preview by
Kelvin Wee
A play filled with fantasy and
excitement, it revolves around
tile magical adventure of a
young boy named Per (pro
nounced pear'). Per is the son
of a church-bell ringer and has
never been outside of his
church-tower home. The adven
ture begins when Per's fairy
godmother is tricked by a troll
into giving him a magic ring
which will grant his every wish
Per's Journey takes him into
different fantasies where he
learns the evils of life which his
father has sheltered him from.
To guide him through his
journey, his fairy godmother
sends a beautiful maiden named
l.isa. Lisa watches over Per
throughout his adventure and is
there for him in the end when
everyone else deserts him.
Directing this production is
Norma Wetzel I, a doctoral stu
dent majoring in theatre arts.
Them are two versions to this
play, a shorter children's ver
sion and the original full-length
adult version. "There is really
not much difference in both ver
sions exc.epl we have excluded
much of the politics from the
children’s version." she said.
"Because we have such a
small cast, many of the actors
play two or more roles
Wetzel! added. "This is very
demanding and I feel that they
have done a very good job."
The costumes featured in the
play are exciting and flow well
with the scene changes. Also
designed by Wet/.ell. the
costumes distinguish the
various visual images which
stage productions often do not
allow Assisting Wetzel I with
the costumes is Norm Johnson,
a recent University graduate
who created the masks. The
musks add much to the produc
tion. and without them much of
the essence of fantasy would be
lost
Per is played by Scott I tiger,
who plans to major in music
sometime in the future. Niger is
a recent high school graduate
from Pocatello. Idaho, and is
unsure ol his college future "It
is a very difficult role to play
mainly because this is my first
college production and it lias
some very long lines which I
have to memorize." he said.
l.isa is portrayed by Niger’s
sister, kristyn Niger Truan. a
graduating University senior in
music performance "The first
time she (Wetzell) said that he
had to kiss me. I just about pass
ed out " she said. "And being a
very inexperienced actress, it is
Turn to Journey, Page 8
'Swimming' spins one
man monologue
Spalding (’.ray is a storyteller.
Ilis stories are sometimes hor
rific. somtMi mos hoa rI -
wrenching, mostly funny and
always thought* provoking.
“Swimming toCambodia" con
veys all those elements to create
a brilliant satire on humanity.
Review By
Carolyn l.aniberson
"Swimming” is actually a
film of Cray’s one-man
monologue, which centers on
the eight weeks he spent in
Thailand while filming “The
Killing Fields." Close observers
may recognize Cray from his
small role in that film: that of
the American ambassador's
aide in Cambodia before the
American evacuation in 1975.
What is interesting about the
performance piece is how Cray
relates life, death, love, sex.
relationships, paranoid fears
and his quest for "the perfect
moment" to his time in
Thailand, where “The killing
Fields" was filmed.
However. Thailand is not the
only setting for his stories. Gray
also parodies life in New York
City and the aggressiveness of
its inhabitants with great
success.
The sets ol Swimming" are
not elaborate. Filmed entirely at
The Performing Garage in New
York City. Cray sits at a desk for
the entire film. He occassiunally
drinks water and points to a
map of Southeast Asia. His uni
que hand motions and facial ex
pressions punctuate certain
moods.
The tone and volume of his
voice also lend to the
monologue's message. One of
Cray's talents is his ability to
change f r om his N ew
England/Boston accent to New
York. British and South African
ones at the drop of a hat.
Director (onathan Demme
("Harold and Maude.” "Stop
\1 a k i n g Sense’’ an d
"Something Wild") has taken
the concept of the concert film
into a newer plant- As with
"Stop Making Sense," Demme
uses lighting .tnd images pul
let: led on to a screen behind
Cray to add to Cray’s perfor
mance and make up for the
relative lark of movement in the
111 in
lint even the screen images
are used as an enhancement
rather than a detractor The
skyscape liehind Cray remains
constant, however, the lighting
changes as the mood of Cray’s
topic changes.
The inclusion of a musical
score by avant-garde perfor
mance artist Ixiurie Anderson is
appropriate for this film. Tint
music doesn't distract the au
dience and isn't constant
throughout the film. Instead, it
draws the audience into a
mood, a feeling, and lets the im
pact of Cray's monologue grab
the audience's emotions.
There is no one message to
Cray's monologue. Ranging
from the blatantly political to
the strictly personal. Cray’s
Turn to Cambodia, Page 8
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