The Daily Tar HeelThursday, March 17, 19883
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Calliope Theater Company member Linda White (left) and director Lindsay Pontius
Taking a lighthearted look at feminism
By KAREN ZIMMER
Staff Writer
Next weekend at the ArtsCen
ter the Calliope Theater Company
will show that feminist issues can
make both men and women laugh.
The problem with most femi
nists is that they have no sense
of humor, says Linda White, a
member of the cast of "Orgasmo
Adulto Escapes from the Zoo,"
Calliope's current production. She
says this production is hilarious.
Calliope, named after the muse
of eloquence, focuses on women's
voice in theater. The plays the
company performs usually pres
ent women at odds with a male
dominated society. Same old
story?
"As a matter of fact, yes," White
says. Laughing, she adds that one
of the four plays in the "Orgasmo
Adulto" program is actually
entitled "The Same Old Story." So,
what's new in that, and why
should we want to see it?
White has ready answers, "it's
old material in terms of the politics
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behind it, but the director's
approach is different," she says.
Director Lindsay Pontius has
thrown eclectic methods
together to reach her final pro-
duct. Her originality springs mainly
from her use of clown and fool
techniques, common in times
when royalty's main source of
entertainment was the court's
buffoon.
The plays are mostly comedies
which stretch real situations to an
extreme, says White, in one of
them, a housewife goes through
an elaborate morning routine,
getting herself and her family
ready for school, before she
realizes it is Sunday. These situa-
tions have their roots in the real
world, White says. Although the
actresses use clown and fool
techniques, the women they
embody are neither clownish nor
foolish.
in a way, White says, the
audience is expected to believe
and accept the worlds of these
women, as preposterous as they
may seem. Above all, the public is
expected to laugh. The laughing
takes off the cutting edges of the
political statements.
The material presented remains
provocative but doesnt alienate
the audience, White says. Even the
often blunt and bold language
used shouldn't offend a modern
adult public, because it mainly has
a comic function. "Still, I told my
mother not to go. Once she hears
(a swearword), she doesn't hear
anything else any more," White
says, in general, the language
generates laughs which loosen up
the audience and make it easier
to express political viewpoints
without getting into polemics, she
says. Laughter aireviates the
stories.
Laughter also establishes a com
munication channel between the
public and the actors. "Mind you,
we (the group) all hate the kind
of audience participation where
you put the public on the spot,"
says White. However, the Calliope
actors usually play face to face
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with the audience, at the same
level and without any particular
lighting effects.
This way, the players' voice is
hard to escape. So is the audience's
reaction. "It's very frightening,"
says White, "It keeps us very
honest. You can't ignore the
public's reaction, you have to take
it in."
You also have to take in unex
pected situations in your imme
diate environment, White notes.
She once helped a backstage
person place back a ladder that
had fallen down in the middle of
a performance. She fell in love with
the man there and then. "So I had
to deal with that ladder and with
my sudden feelings while acting,"
she says. "I love doing this."
It is understandable, in more
ways than one.
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After receiving phone calls
from Ken and Jason, Meg finds
herself unable to forget the
rape.
Just as Mary Catherine is
about to confront Brendan
about his "secret" afternoon
with Suzy, he announces that
they were out to find an
engagement ring. After he
proposes on bended knee, M.c.
is ecstatic to accept and begins
planning the wedding with
maid of honor Sarah.
Furious to learn that Paige
has taken over most leads in the
band Lower East Side, Billy is
quick to accept Trisha's offer to
start a new band to rival it.
Hoping to get another free
toot, Anne and Courtney are
disappointed when Tessa's boy
friend, Trevor, tells them their
next line is going to cost them.
In a heated confrontation
with Sarah, Chris accidentally
reveals that it was she who
seduced Kingsley.
After being fried for her
irresponsibility, Anne lies to her
mother to get money for more
cocaine.
Shocked to discover her
mother's snobbish attitude
about Jack's financial status,
Alex chooses him over the
family's money and social
position.
When Chris is forced to drop
the charges of sexual harass
ment, Sarah tells Joseph she has
kept her promise to stay with
him through the crisis, and they
are finished. After leaving in
tears, she races away in her car
only to find that her brakes
wont work.
Tune in for more danger and
intrigue Monday through
Thursday at 11 p.m. on Carolina
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