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i) "heatre o By SHERYL THOMAS Assistant Arts Editor Theatre's origins revolve around an ensemble delivering the spoken word. But Tuesday night's performance by the National Theatre of the Deaf demonstrated that sometimes words provide only the commentary; the real theatrical beauty and intrigue is found in the faces of the actors, in their body movements, and in the overall visual aura of the stage. The National Theatre of the Deaf performed an original adaptation from Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The production draws from five tales: "Snow White and the Seven Dwards," "The Frog Prince" and the myths of Icarus and Daedalus, Minos and the Minotaur (and Theseus' killing of the beast), and Orpheus and Euridice. Each story illustrates ancient and contem porary problems of growing up and of being on the threshold of a new, independent existence. Review A set of intertwining tree trunks curving into one solid mass of branches, leaves and twinkling stars greeted the arriving audience. The symbolism of the set became increasingly apparent as the performance illustrated that all people and all myths spring from fDeafsDeaks through different sources, yet we and all myths are ultimately one. Action began as the actors scampered onstage in Little Bo Peep outfits, prepared for a 19th-century garden party. They immediately jumped into a series of carefully calculated arm and hand movements of exquisite finess and beauty. They were talking and only a few people in the audience even knew it. The signing was interpreted by two speaking actors in the group. But the most fascinating thing about the speakers was that they were utterly upstaged by the signers. After the spectators became used to the duality of the language, they were barely conscious of the speakers. The signing itself was remarkable. Occasionally the group would perform as an ensemble and sign together, creating a fantastic visual spectacle of grace and beauty. The visual appeal of. the signing was enhanced by the colors employed by company founder and artistic director David Hays in the sets and props. Hays used color-wheel opposites, such as blue and orange, and black, white and red. The Snow White sequence, for example, was dominated by black and white, with contrasting red fabric "drops of blood" and a red crown for the wicked queen. The bright contrast of the red with the movernen t black and white drew attention to that which was most important in the sequence: the life-threatening evil of the queen. The cast often performed as an ensemble, making it difficult to say that any one ac tor stood out. Still, two of the most engaging actors were Carole Addabbo and Adrian Blue, who played the princess and the Frog Prince in The Frog Prince fairy tale. Addabbo exhibited a range of facial expressions and communicative body movements that were superb for her role. Her portrayal of a self-conscious child-woman was accurate and very entertaining. But perhaps the most memorable performance was given by Blue, who portrayed the bull in the Minos myth as well as the title part in "The Frog Prince." The Elephant Man stance he assumed as the Frog Prince conveyed the human emotion and need for love that is common to the roles that the Frog Prince tried to demonstrate to the princess. His animated emotion was simultaneously hilarious and sym pathetic. Blue's performance as Minos' bull was equally fascinating. After Theseus killed the Minotaur, the story reverted to "The Frog Prince," and finally back to "Snow White," the circular quaHty, reinforcing the idea of the unity of all myth and aljvpeoples. Thursday, March 1, 1984The Daily Tar Heel5 Nuclear learning stressed Professor leads 'exploration ' of Shakespeare play By STEVE MURRAY SUff Writer A handfull of people braved Monday night's soggy weather to see a staged reading of Prospero in the Morning Light, a drama exploring the magical world of Shakespeare's The Tempest: The play, by Russell Graves, a profes sor of the UNC department of dramatic art, was the sixth in a series of monthly readings presented by - the Playwrights Workshop. Three actors Walter Smith, Allison Hall and Kenneth Russell portrayed Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Ariel and Caliban. The play, neither an update nor a sequel to The Tempest, was what Graves called an exploration. In earlier works, such as Bluebeard, Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein, Graves used the same technical approach. A popular piece of literature served both as a com mon base of knowledge between play wright and audience and as the launching point for a whirl of ideas and images very different from conventional plays. Graves called his exploration technique a way to "take the text and see where it leads you." Rejecting the importance of symbolism in drama, he also spurns the notion of specific themes in his plays. Instead, he said that plays should be "precisely constructed ambiguities" in which audience members can find their own meanings, as in an ink blot. "The use an audience makes of a play is really quite remote from anything the creator may make," he said. . To illustrate his concept, Graves likened the playwright to a potter and the au dience to a buyer. "Ik a potter makes a jug, he may have intended it to hold water or wine." But the buyer may make "use of it as a doorstop or a bookend." Interpretation of drama is a highly per sonal matter in Graves' opinion. He said he discovered while writing the play that, for himself, the main issue of Prospero in the Morning Light would be "the dif ficulty of sustaining magic in a world of strange kinds of things." He quickly added that the audience is in no way responsible for finding the same theme in his work. Those who attended Monday night's reading at the Playmaker's Theatre were challenged by a thematic whirlwind of ideas ranging from innocence to incest and from animals to abortion. Like bright objects, the words spun around. Graves, the juggler, never let the objects be seen too clearly, encouraging the au dience to explore their own thoughts, to define the shapes themselves. In, a discussion between audience, cast and . playwright following the reading, questions were few. Graves took the time to reiterate his belief in using drama as a tool or as a screen on which to project one's own ideas. He pointed out that many plays work musically, using theme and variation. This seemed appropriate, since he ad mitted to structuring the scenes of Pro spero in the Morning Light according to Arnold Schoenberg's 12-tone technique in music. Graves gave special thanks to PlayMakers Repertory Company's literary manager, Margaret Hahn, who is responsible for organizing the monthly series of readings. "I don't think any theatre can be vital on revivals without doing new work fairly regularly," Graves said. The purpose of the Playwrights Work shop series, Hahn said, is to give new plays a "first listen," keeping in mind the possibility of further production. Pro spero in the Morning Light, along with other plays, in the series, will be con sidered for next year's PRC line-up. In November of 1983 Graves' Mr. Hyde was performed on Austrian radio. Graves has no plans of submitting Pro spero in the Morning Light for produc tion elsewhere, however. He admitted that his unique dramatic vision doesn't work as a commercial venture. "I'm really quite out of step with the American ethos," Graves said. "I'm do ing something very different not better or worse, just different." The difference in Graves' writing may cause excitement in some, distraction in others. In either case, it provokes a reac tion. And that, according to Graves, is the magic of drama. e I 9 X- MYRTLE BEACH Wednesday, March 7 WWW II J J J 4' 7iJ u ' U WDWG SPECIALS ALL NIGHT LONG Thursday, March 8 COLLEGE MIGHT $1.00 ADMISSION WjTH COLLEGE ID. 2 FOR 1 BEER AND WINE ALL NIGHT Friday, March 9 & Sat. , March 10 $1.00 ADMISSION WITH COLLEGE I.D. HAPPY HOUR 7-9 P.M. nDosssnDODnaDoaDnnDDnonnDDDoannaDDDDDDdcaon u p o 0 o a n COUPON COUPON MYRTLE BEACH EXCHANGE AT DOOR FOR FREE BEER CERTIFICATE (ONLY 1 PER NIGHT) Expires 31884 C V M I u u D BILL RIPPY. By AMYSTYERS Staff Writer ' The threat of nuclear war haunts the public through movies, endless publications, vocal protests and heated debates among national leaders. Many people "throw up their hands in disgust or just try to forget about it," said Dr. Robert A. Greenberg, associate professor of pediatrics at UNC's medical school. Greenberg is one of about 200 members in the Triangle Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a non-profit non-partisan organization whose purpose is to promote professional and public education on the medical dangers of the buildup of nuclear arms and the threat of nuclear war. Americans tire easily of social issues, but this one keeps coming back, he said. The goal of this organization is to make sure that it does. Dr. Norman A. Coulter Jr., professor of biomedical engineering and physiology at UNC and president of the North Carolina Triangle Chapter of PSR, described the threat of nuclear war as the "greatest health problem the world has ever faced." No medical response could help the tragedy of a nuclear holocaust, he said. The Triangle Chapter of PSR actively involves itself with the community through speaker bureaus and assorted special projects. The organization has presented the medical aspect of nuclear war to several county medical societies, to public groups upon request and to various departments within the UNC medical school, including the depart merits of pediatric medicine, family medicine and surgery medicine, said Dr. Daniel T. Young, professor of medicine at UNC medical school and a member of PSR. The purpose of one of the organiza tion's more recent projects was to play, a small role in improving what Young called .America's "dreadfully primitive" rela tions with the Soviet Union. The Ground Zero Pairing Project initiated cor respondence between about 800 Americans cities and 800 cities in the Soviet Union. Chapel Hill, which is paired with Novozybakov, U.S.S.R., has sent the city a "strike of paper missiles" consisting of letters, pictures and songs contributed by the Chapel Hill communi ty and area school children, Coulter said. He added that the project is an attempt to establish some "people-to-people" con tact with the Soviets. Last April, the Triangle Chapter of PSR arranged a symposium on the biomedical consequences of nuclear weapons and nuclear war. The event was sponsored by several UNC health care departments. Physicians for Social Responsibility has also become interested in the effects the threat of nuclear war has upon children. Dr. John Mack, professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, has done studies that indicate children living under such a threat are affected psychologically, Coulter said. Coulter ad ded that children generally know more about the situation than most adults realize. Nationally, Physicians for Social Responsibility has attracted about 30,000 members in 148 chapters in 48 states. Similar organizations exist in about 40 other countries. Two Russians delegates attended PSR's annual national meeting, which was held in Washington, D.C., in January. Coulter, Young and Greenberg all said they felt their involvement with PSR was their responsibility as physicians. "I realized this was something I had to become involved in," Coulter said. Greenberg stressed the importance of student involvement with the threat of nuclear war. "Students have a particular stake in what the world is going to be like," he said. -i COME ON DOWN!!! THE "HOT SPOTS" ON YOUR FLORIDA STOPS o. mm DAYTON A BEACH , BIG DADDY'S 21 S. Ocean Ave. 5 levels '0 i 3 dance floors 2 D.J.'s 1 BIG PARTY! RIGHT ON THE OCEAN!! FT. LAUDERDALE -v- ''id - THE GRAFFITI 3150 E. Commercial Blvd. The drinks The atmosphere The service The prices . YOU JUST CANT BEAT IT IN LAUDERDALE!! NORTH MIAMI BEACH THE MARDI GRAS 2355 Sunny Isles Blvd. SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR WHEN LAUDERDALE CLOSES!! OPEN TILL 6 A.M. : , i.- i i i. ' f. S?" I i.4... y. CHANCELLOR'S UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS CEREMONY Wednesday, April 25, 1904 Morchead Building 3:00 p.m. Nominations arc now being accepted from all members of the University community for the following student activities awards: Name of Award Nature of Recipient Primary Area of Achievement Algernon Sydney Sullivan .' Senior -one man, one woman humanitarian contribution Award John Johnston Parker, Senior man or woman student self-governance Jr. Medal Frank Porter Graham Award Senior man or woman "; improving quality of life of University community through principles of " , equality, dignity, and peace among v ,.-''.'...' men. Irene F. Lee Award Senior woman ' character, scholarship, leadership William P. Jacocks Senior man . versatility Memorial Award ' Jane Craige Gray Junior woman character, scholarship, leadership Memorial Award Ernest L. Mackie Award Junior man character, scholarship, leadership Robert B. House any undergraduate unselfish commitment through ser- Distinguished Service Award vice to the University and the sur rounding community International Leadership any undergraduate international awareness and under- Award ' standing Jim Tatum Memorial Award any undergraduate . athletics plus extracurricular ac- tivities 'y -, ' ...' " Ernest H. Abernethy Prize any undergraduate student publications . ' - ' Ferebee Taylor Award Senior man or voman recognizes the principle of honor as one of the University's most hal- v lowed ideals Delilah Neville Hayes Award Senior man or woman preservation and enhancement of loyalty and good will between the " University '.-''-"friends."'' Nomination forms are available at the Union Desk, Y Dnilding and the Office of Student Affaire (01 Steele Building). The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 1, 1933. For farther Informa tion contact Sharon Mitchell, Office of Student Affairs, 966-4041.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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