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344-9411
UO School of Music fr Department of Dance
FEBRUARY CONCERTS
For more information on School of Music events, call 346-5678,
or call Guardline at 485-2000, ext. 2533 for a taped message.
Thur. JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET
2/5 Chamber Music Series 8 p.m., Beall Hall
Music by Haydn, Webern, and Beethoven. Limited
$5 student rush tickets; reserved seats $15, $28, $32,
at the Hult Center (682-5000) or EMU (346-4363)
Fri. THE JAZZ CAFE
2/6 UO Jazz Combos 8 p.m., 178 Music
$5 General Admission, $3 students & senior citizens
Sun. THE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY
2/8 UO Ensemble 3 p.m., Beall Hall
Symphonic ballet music by Copland, Milhaud, Gershwin.
$5 General Admission, $3 students & senior citizens
Thur. POETRY IN SONG
2/12 French Art Songs sung by UO voice majors.
7:30 p.m., Beall Hall FREE Admission
2/12- WINTER STUDENT DANCE CONCERT:
2/14 “Dance Infusion”
Department of Dance 8 p.m., Dougherty Dance Theatre
$10 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens
Wed. “A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC”
2/18 UO Opera Ensemble & University Symphony
Stephen Sondheim's acclaimed musical in a fully-staged
production. 7:30 p.m., Soreng Theatre
Reserved seats $20, $18, $10 at Hult Center: 682-5000
Fri.
2/20
Sat.
2/21
Sun.
2/22
Sun.
2/22
THE JAZZ CAFE
UO Jazz Combos 8 pm, 178 Music
$5 General Admission, $3 students & senior citizens
“A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC”
UO Opera Ensemble & University Symphony
7:30 p.m., Jacoby Auditorium, Roseburg
Gen. Admision $10 Call Ticketswest: 1 -800-992-8499
“A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC”
UO Opera Ensemble & University Symphony
7:30 p.m., Soreng Theatre
Reserved seats $20, $18, $10 at Hult Center: 682-5000
OREGON WIND ENSEMBLE Q
UO Ensemble 7 p.m., Beall Hall -
$5 General Admission, $3 students & seniors university
OF ORBGON
For our pomplete calendar, check: music.uoregon.edu
‘Thread’ merges old-world
tale with new-world topics
University Theatre’s latest
play, ‘A Thread in the Dark,’
showcases talented actors
and a politically sawy story
By Andrew Shipley
Freelance Reporter
Take feminism, existentialism, some
unnervingly timely sodo-political com
mentary
and a bit
of anar
chy, put
REVIEW them all
- in a
blender
with a base of Greek mythology, then
hit puree
Quite a mess, right? Not necessarily.
These were just some of the ingredi
ents in University Theatre's latest con
coction, Bella Baasse's play "A Thread
in the Dark." The result is a surprisingly
accessible and entertaining production.
The Dutch play — a feminist revisita
tion of the famous Greek myth concern
ing Theseus and the Minotaur— was
first performed in Bolland more than
30 years ago. For those whose knowl
edge of Achaean mythology is a bit
rusty, Theseus (played by Eli Levine), the
prince of Athens, is sent to the island of
Crete as a prisoner of war. On the island,
Minos, the King of Crete (played by Jon
Sharpy), has an inescapable labyrinth
— coastmcted to house the Cretean god
Minotaur — into which prisoners of
war are thrown as sacrifices. Theseus is
said to have slain the Minotaur and es
caped the labyrinth with the help of
King Minos' daughter.
Turning the story's original themes of
power struggles and masculinity inside
out, the play asserts the Minotaur never
existed and instead postulates that it
was simply a fabrication to augment
the power of Crete.
The myth also is also used as a narra
tive framework to explore issues of po
litical exploitation and power structures
through the characters' attitudes and ac
tions toward the Minotaur. Focusing on
the struggle of Minos' eldest daughter
Ariadne's (played by Erica Smith) at
tempt to expose her father's invention,
"Thread" weaves complicated intellec
tual themes through Ariadne's escape
from Crete and her subsequent rela
tionship with Theseus before twisting
into the final, climactic act.
If this plot sounds remote or outdat
ed, consider the statement, "My budg
et includes the largest increase in de
fense spending in history."
No, this is not taken from President
George W. Bush's State of the Union ad
dress, but rather from King Minos' ex
planation of his personal investment in
the illusion of the Minotaur. The king
— power-hungry and downright
Machiavellian at times — strikes an un
canny cord in America's current politi
cal environment. Don't be thrown by
the premise of a feminist revisitation of
a Greek myth; the play has plenty to of
fer even if you're not a classics or
women's studies major.
The themes of modem political alle
gory are clear from the play's beginning,
and in large part the parallels to mod
em day succeed. However, the language
is at times heavy-handed. For example,
the pronunciation of Cretean "bull
games" is suspiciously similar to "ball
games," and the references to white
houses and standards of living are glar
ingly anachronistic. Still, the play's ex
amination of complex political and
moral issues is intelligent.
Though "Thread" is thought
the leading role. Ariadne's progres
sion from fearful innocence to
self-righteous excitement to resent
ful cynicism is captured in con
vincing detail by Smith, whose
prescience of events shift tangibly
in both speech and movement,
from stiff to jittery to lethargic, as
the play progresses.
The set design also adds to the play's
dark atmosphere Light-colored clothes
stream from props and costumes, and
black trees are painted in silhouette
surrounding the Arena Theatre, creat
ing a sinister contrast. A giant column
juts impressively out of the stage's back
wall, rounding out a conceptual design
which sacrifices realism to more accu
rately capture the atmosphere of the
play. On the whole, "A Thread in the
Lauren Wimer Photographer
(Left to right) Margie Kment, Connie Hymer and Erica Smith act out a scene from "A
Thread in the Dark," which opened Wednesday at the Arena Theatre.
provoking, it still contains a sense of
humor. This is accomplished partic
ularly in the final arts when the con
flict focuses into a lofty examination
of the importance of truth. Perfor
mances in the first art by Sharpy and
Connie Hymer as the Nurse are en
thusiastic and breathe fullness into
their potentially flat characters.
In the second and third arts, the
characters grow more complex, and the
talents of the performers begin to dom
inate the show. Levine is appropriately
solid and simple as Theseus, while
Margie Kment steals entire scenes as
Ariadne's pouty and manipulative sis
ter, Phaedra. At points, the chemistry
between Kemnt and Levine is laugh
out-loud funny, providing a welcome
escape from otherwise dour characters.
Most impressive, however, is
Smith's treatment of Ariadne in
Dark" is a creative and challenging pro
duction that will inspire sympathy or
animosity in any thoughtful audience.
For a play that carries no pretenses of
escapism or mindless enjoyment,
"Thread" manages to be both enter
taining and provocative and well worth
the investment of a little open-minded
curiosity.
The play runs tonight, Friday and
Saturday, and next week it mns from
Feb. 12 to Valentine's Day. Perfor
mances begin 8 p.m. in the University's
Arena Theater, located in 104 Villard
Hall. There is no late seating. Tickets are
available at the EMU Ticket Office and
cost $4 for University Students, $5 for
University faculty and staff and $6 for
the general public.
Andrew Shipley is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
Dance for a Reason benefits
high-demand scholarship fund
More than 100 dancers
performed a range of styles
at Friday and Saturday shows
to raise scholarship money
By Jennifer Sudick
Freelance Editor
It is five minutes to showtime at the
lOth-annual Dance for a Reason bene
fit, and 12-year-old Geffan Pearlson is
nervous. An audience of nearly 500
people has packed the Lane Commu
nity College Theater, with last-minute
attendees pouring into the aisles.
"I love performing," Pearlson said.
"Once you're on stage, you are not
nervous anymore — you just perform."
Pearlson, along with her 8-year-old
sister Alia Pearlson and members of
The Elite Dance Gymnastics Exhibi
tions performance group, opened sold
out shows on Friday and Saturday
nights with a mix of dance tumbling
and modem ballet.
More than 100 performers highlight
ed dance styles, ranging from West
African to hip-hop, in an effort to raise
money for The EDGE Scholarship Pro
gram created by Dance for a Reason
producer Geni Morrow. Morrow said
there has been an increased demand
for dance scholarships in recent years
and estimated that this year's perform
ances raised more than $2,000.
"There's a whole lot of needy peo
ple out there," she said, adding that
22 people received scholarship funds
this year, and that more than 200 chil
dren have benefited from the pro
gram in past years.
The event has raised money for or
ganizations, such as the Lane Indepen
dent Living Alliance, Community Soup
Kitchens and Womenspace Eugene res
ident Misti Waddell, who helped sell T
shirts at the event as an additional
fund-raising effort, said the commu
nity has shown overwhelming sup
port for the program.
"Last year was the first year they did
two nights because it was selling out
Turn to DANCE, page 12