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F E ATU RE S
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WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM
RUMORS
^Rumors^ theatre production all depends on timing
Continued from page I
She continued, "People don't 'fast' — that's not a thing we
do ... The 'what if' results in speed."
"Part of the challenge of doing a farce is that it's
tempting to just play tempo, where it's all very fast-paced,
and not be specific about motivation," said senior Kelly
Rose Cope, playing Cookie Cusack. "You have to have all
your motivations and your intentions very, very clear in
your mind so it's not just high school kids running around
slamming doors."
The effect of "Rumors" is all in the timing.
"(Farce) involves near misses," said Williams. "A lot
of rehearsal has been spent choreographing those near
misses."
Choreography remains essential in the physical comedy
which abounds throughout the show.
"We've had to work a lot on making sure that the injuries
are genuine but still funny, so no one believes someone's
actually injured," Williams said.
"We first had (my character) doing a somersault over
the couch, which looked funny, but I was at risk of kicking
another actor in the face," said senior Lily Ozer, playing
Chris Gorman.
This kind of action can only be perfected when rehearsing
on the set, and as with the play itself, timing is of utmost
importance.
"We got on the set earlier than previous productions,
which was really beneficial for this show," Ozer said. "Since
we have the staircase, which a lot of actors have to run up
and down frantically during the production, having a real
staircase instead of something just taped down on the floor
was really nice for us."
While "Rumors" is very physical, the wit and satire of
Simon's script drives the show.
"There's so many zingers in this show," said Ozer. "They
pop up everywhere. Every character gets a chance to say a
couple zingers."
The cast of characters compose a jumbled caricature of
metropolitan upper crust.
"Most people don't think of themselves as a bad person,"
said Moreno. "Then there's Claire walking into the room
going, 'I am the queen of the raging bitches, and I know it,
and you know it and that's why you respect me.'"
Visiting Instructor of Theatre Studies Robin Vest
constructed a swanky set matching the elitist airs assumed
by the characters.
"The tricky thing is that there (are) four doors that have
to be used and one door that's not really used but needs
to be there, and how to do that in a simple way without
ending up with this huge, massive set that a: we couldn't
really afford, and b; isn't really that interesting," said Vest.
"By finding an irregular shape (for the set), tilting this
and angling things, she's really been able to allow for this
play to work in our space," said Williams. "She's created
a world that gives the illusion of money on our limited
budget."
That illusion holds paramount importance in "Rumors":
the characters' lives revolve around status and wealth.
"Farce presents us with a world that's opulent, that
seems magnificently wealthy, powerful, prestigious, and
shows that fantasy is really a myth," said Williams.
"You think you're watcfdng a comedy, but really, you're
watching a commentary on upper-class society and how
ridiculous their lives are," said Cope.
Still, "Rumors" is a comedy, hilarious even to the cast.
"I know I personally was crying with laughter by the
end of the first three rehearsals," said Perez-Leahy.
"Regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a
'theatre person' or like going to plays, this is funny, and
you will laugh," Cope said.
But maybe you should not take her word for it — rumor
has it Cope is also the play's publicist.
"There's something in it for everybody," said Cope. "If
you like physical comedy, if you like character-based jokes,
if you like witty one-liners, it's all there."
TICKETS: $5
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SHOWriMES:
NOV. 1-2
NOV. 7-9
SHOWS START
AT 8:00 RM. IN
AUDITORIUM
Reminder: please don’t use cell
phones or flash photography during
performance. Enjoy the show!
Alumna Tara Alan bikes across Europe, writes book
BY RENEE DEHART
SnwF WluiiiiiM
Many people have a dream of traveling
the world after college with a close group
of friends, meeting new people, trying
exotic .food and having unbelievable
experiences.
Few people actually follow through
on this dream, and one of those few is
Guilford College's own Tara Alan '06.
In 2008, Tara and her now-husband
Tyler Kellen began a bicycle tour across
Europe, Africa and Asia, and detailed
their experiences with journal entries and
photographs in their blog, goingslowly.
com. Their journey also inspired Tara
to write "Bike. Camp. Cook." a camp
cookbook coming out this December.
"Romania was a great country to visit,"
said Alan. "It felt so wild and far away
from home, like going back in time with
gypsy people and wagons. It was like a
fairytale."
Alan also attended the annual French
festival "Chalon dans la Rue," which
celebrates urban artists.
"Through crowded hippie markets
we walked, past racks of colorful,
patchouli-smelling genie pants and pot
paraphernalia," said Alan on her blog.
"On every street corner and in every
'place' or square, there was some form of
entertainment."
Kellen came up with the idea to tour the
world on bicycles, and after Alan agreed,
their two-year journey began in Scotland.
"Tara has always liked other cultures
and food from other cultures," said
Mark Alan, Tara's father, in a telephone
interview.
The idea of their daughter setting off on
a bicycle journey across three continents
did not settle well with her mother initially.
"At first I was really surprised and
nervous; it was really foreign to me," said
Tara's mother, Lisa Alan, in a telephone
interview. "They were really great though
and showed us how others did it. Then I
was excited about it."
For Alan, however, traveling is not new.
Before she came to Guilford, she worked
as a nanny in France and, in 2004, joined
Guilford's study abroad program in
London.
"Guilford's curriculum allowed Tara to
explore a variety of courses, giving her the
freedom to learn what was important to
her," said Professor of English Jim Hood,
Alan's advisor and mentor during her
years at Guilford. "That seems to me a
precious gift the institution gave to her."
Alan agreed the environment at Guilford
did make a difference for her.
"The college helps you become more
open by encouraging group discussions
and spreading goodwill," said Alan in a
telephone interview. "After graduating
you're able to carry a sense of community
with you."
It was in Italy where Alan decided to
write a book based on their experiences;
cooking seemed like a natural choice for
her.
"She has always loved to cook, since
she was a little girl, and I have always
encouraged it," said Lisa.
"She was writing the bqok at the same
time she was writing for the blog and
working on building a house," said Mark.
Alan's book "Bike. Camp. Cook." is
currently available for pre-order from their
blog goingslowly.com and will be in print
by Christmas 2013.