Page 2
The Blue Banner
March 6,2003
Features
‘A Village Fable’ delights kids and adults
Diana Kostigen
Features Reporter
“A Village Fable” delights audi
ences with a hopeful tale reminding
everyone who sees it of important
values like friendship, honor and
virtue.
“I thought it was very appropri
ate for family audiences, and I’m
thrilled to see UNCA doing a pro
duction like this,” said Denise
Crowell, an Asheville resident. “It
was highly entertaining with mo
ments of cheer, poignant moments
and just a little bit of everything
that touches all ages.”
James Still wrote “A Village Fable,”
and John Gardner adapted it from
“In the Suicide Mountains.”
The play begins in a storybook
land where three brave souls be
come heroes by emerging from so
cial, political and gender based de
mands.
Newer fairy tale stories, like the
movie “Shrek,” may
have helped change the
idea of hero. The
model hero
has to have both brav
ery and good looks. In
stead, this new
hero represents
truth, kindness
and has the cour
age to achieve
their dreams.
Francesca
Garvey, an unde
clared freshman,
plays Armida the
gypsy. Garvey
grasps the
audience’s atten
tion from her first moment on
stage. Garvey’s soprano vofce hto a
feeling of hope and peace. Her im
pressive acting ability brings believ-
ability and emotion to this simple
and naive tale, and she touches on
the subject of death with the ut-
“A few of my friends were con
cerned that it is a little heavy re
garding death,” said Janette DeVan,
a cast member and an undeclared
junior. “But I don’t think the kids
reacted that way so much. In this
play it’s dealt with in a pretty
straightforward way. They found a
lot of the humor in it. They laughed
in places that we hadn’t really
thought about, where we hadn’t
gotten laughter before.”
Chudu, played by DeVan, repre
sents everything seemingly unhe
roic. Chuda must deal with the
problems of being an outcast, a
loser and worst of all, a strange
looking “goat man.”
DeVan’s character makes the big
gest transition in the end. DeVan
brings life to this character in a way
that both children and adults can
relate to. This makes Chudu’s final
victory worthy of praise and admi
ration, and brings audiences to their
feet cheering.
“I’m excited because
everybody understands
this is for young audi
ences, though adults
D be getting a real
/
COURTESY OF THE UNCA DRAMA DEPARTMENT
Andrew Walker (left) plays the King and Francesca Garvey (right) plays a gypsy in the children’s play.
kicko
t of it
said Patricia
Snoyer, the di
rector and asso
ciate drama pro
fessor at UNCA.
“It’s intended
for families, but
I can’t wait to
see 250 or 300
little kids out
there and see
how they’ll re
spond.”
The cast and crew of “A Village
Fable” enrolled in a special topics
theatre arts class. The members of
the class plan to perform in local
“I’m excited because everybody .
understands this is for young
audiences, though adults seem to be
getting a real kick out of it.”
Patricia Snoyer,
director and associate drama
professor
elementary schools.
“It’s kind of a community service
project to make it available to el
ementary school kids,” said DeVan.
Prince Christopher, played by
undeclared freshman Aaron Stepp,
epitomizes the bumbling hero.
Stepp plays the sensitive guy, the
wimpy prince constantly overshad
owed by his father’s overbearing
demeanor. Stepp’s acting starts out
restrained and unbelievable, but
becomes brilliant at practically the
same moment in which Prince
Christopher realizes his own
strength of spirit.
“They did a wonderful job acting,
vocally their voices blended well,
their energy was really, really good,
especially for a small a^idience,”
said Crowell.
Nate Juraschek, a junior drama
major who plays the six-fingered
man, has the most impressive pres
ence on stage. Juraschek brings both
humor and silliness to this yoda-
like creature, portraying him as both
wise and scary at the same time.
The six-fingered man, fueled by
pain and loneliness, provides the
most profound words of the story.
“Monsters are never hard to come
by,” he said, giving an important
truth to the audience.
The class required auditions for
speaking roles in the production.
Those who worked on the crew
simply had to enroll.
“It’s kind of an experiment. We’re
testing it out,” said Snoyer. “The
whole reason we’re doing this is to
give the actors and the crew a simu
lation of very real life opportunities
that await them. A lot of young
performers especially get some of
their very first professional jobs in
touring companies.”
The excitement and zeal of the
cast felt throughout the theater con
firms the students’ enthusiasm with
this project.
“Everyone’s really enjoying it,”
said DeVan. “It’s hard work. We
get up early and pack irito vans, and
we have to deal with new spaces.
There are little challenges, but it’s
really exciting to take it to the kids. ”
The popularity of “A Village
Fable” lies in the message and the
reaction of the children.
“All these concepts about believ
ing in yourself, turning what you
perceive to be weaknesses into
strengths, the ability to work to
gether, there is safety in numbers,
helping people is a good thing, not
to pick on people just because they
seem to be a little different than
you,” said Snoyer. “I think these are
all excellent messages for young
audiences.”
“A Village Fable” also uses prin
ciples from Arts 310, even stating
within its lines that sometimes life
follows art.
‘The Vagina Monologues’breaks silence
Shelby Thompson
Features Reporter
So men can pee standing up, so
they can be ready for sex in two
seconds, so their stuff s on the out
side, whoop-ti-do. The seventeen
women in the cast of Eve Ensler’s
“The Vagina Monologues” proved
on February 21 -22 that women have
something special to talk about too.
The auditorium filled with lots of
vaginas, both young and old, and a
few men attended the play as well.
The cast appeared wearing a variety
of black and red ensembles, some in
the form of sexy short skirts, some
in dressy black pants and one Cyndi-
Lauper-style bright red, lacy dress.
The st£^e, although simple, proved
effective. A red cloth hung in the
back decorated with strings ofwhite
Christmas lights. A couch and sev
eral chairs rounded the stage, and
the whole cast sat together creating
a comfortable, living room-type en
vironment.
Before they took the stage, how
ever, the girls walked among the
audience members and demanded
participation. They handed out
pieces of paper with one or two and a litde flair into their character’
words on them and gave instruc- stories, whether through using ai
n when to use the phrases. accent, wearing a short skirt o
Lauren Joj
CAROLINE SOESBEE/STAEF PHOTOGRAPHER
:s who starred in the monologues last year narrated the play.
The atmospher
mained mostly upbeat
and lighthearted, dis
cussing such topics as
sex, menstruation and
birth.
Other pressing top
es, like rape, domestic abuse, geni-
their desires
tal mutilation and incest tightened happy,
the circle that connects all women. The audience got to scream out
Almost every topic that affects answers to various questions pro
women came up during the play. posed by the cast. Some of the
The cast all performed very well, answers to these questions were
Each performer added much love quite humorous.
CAROLINE SOESBEE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
a freshman, played an elderly woman in “The Flood.”
What would it wear? Women on
each end of the lecture hall called
out the answers that cast members
passed out to them earlier. The
answers included “Armani only,”
“emeralds,” “diamonds,” “a tattoo,”
“a silk kimono’ and “wet garbage.”
What does it smell like? “Pine
apples,” “strawberries,” “vinegar
and oil” and “cinnamon and cloves,”
make those vaginas came out first as standard responses.
Then a woman yelled the phrase,
“the beginning,” which added a
little depth to the discussion.
The last question, and certainly
the most entertaining of the audi
ence participation section, asked
throwing off a thong in
an act of liberation. All
the things done in this
quickly pulled together
version encouraged
women to feel good
about their vagi
what would your vagina say in two
words? The cast immediately
screamed out, “slow down,” while
others chimed in with “speed up,”
“more, please,” “thank you!” and
the favorite, “Where’s Brian?”
The play, sponsored by UNCA
organization Women Acting In Lib
eration (W.A.I.L.), touched upon
many issues facing women today.
Performances of “The Vagina
Monologues” take place all over the
country to help
raise money for
V-Day, a self-de
scribed “orga
nized response
against violence
It’s not easy to ignore lots of
women talking about their vaginas.
Not just talking about them, but
describing them, personifying them,
celebrating them and loving them.
Well, the vagina will no longer sit
back and be shy and quiet. The cast
members felt no fear using words
and names that generally are seen as
offensive, even belittling, terms.
When used by a woman, though,
they appear empowering. They
range from shy
women, ac
cording to the
program from
the play.
Not only does
the organization
raise money for the cause, but also,
through the use of this play, they
“Each cast member added much love
and a little flair into their character’s
stories, whether through using an
accent, wearing a short skirt or
throwing off a thong in an act of
liberation.”
names like,
“down there” to
snorcher.”
One mono
logue, written
from the per
spective of a law-
yer-turned-es-
cort, called for
nplete comfort with discussing
and pleasure
Singer-lecturer
discusses issues
of race and sex
Rhiannon Richard
Features Reporter
awareness and consciousness in public. This escort „
about violence against women. please women, to make them moan.
Asian-American singer-
songwriter, lecturer and painter on
a mission, Magdalen Hsu-Li per
formed to a supportive audience
the Humanities Lecture Hall Feb.
20.
“I ended up here in Asheville,
North Carolina at age 16 after
suicide attempt. I realized that I
was either going to have to get my
life together in spite of everything
that had happened to me, o
disappear,” said Hsu-Li in her lec-
Raised in rural Virginia, Hsu-Li
experienced hatred from children
who did not understand her differ
ences. They constantly called her
names and treated her differently.
“I was experiencing racism and
bigotry on a daily basis at school,”
said Hsu-Li on her Web
magdalenhsuli.com. She said she
wanted nothing more than t(
“be white.”
Aside from her Asian appearance,
battled
Review
She first lost weight to try to fit
school and at home, but soon took
it too far, according to her lecture.
She spent time in Asheville to help
overcome her health problems.
She used her parents as role mod
els of how she did not want to livt
her life. Her parents held, preju
dices despite their own hardships as
Asian-Americans. When Hsu-Li
confronted them, they refused
admit it to her or to themselves.
“They were unable to see their ov
programming and prej udices,” said
Hsu-Li. “I dedicated my life and
music to raising awareness in
self and others about racism and
discrimination.”
She uses music as just one way
get her message across to her audi
ences.
“It was through music and art that
I began to shape my true identity
and learn to accept myself for being
different,” ssid Hsu-Li on her Web
Before the lecture Hsu-Li per
formed songs from her albums as
well as a few new songs. Her songs
strive to prove a point, to make
people aware and, in her own little
way, to change the world.
“One of the problems with our
society is pigeonholing people and
lack of awareness for the wealth ol
ciJtural diversity that surrounds us,”
she said on her Web site. “I hope I
will always be defining issues of
identity, raising awareness and
bringing communities together
through my music.”
Her song “Divided States” calls
attention to the lack of cultural
diversity in America, something that
worries her. The line “divided states
of America” recurred throughout
song.
From behind the edgy lyrics
comes a beautiful voice that fits
equally well with any instrumenta-
She alternates between playing gui
tar, piano and a drum. She also has
a drummer to back her up.
“I liked the drums, and the piano
was good,” said Shawna Turner, a
senior literature major.
Her song “As I Am” draws from
her experiences at the hospital in
Asheville.
She played the song “Monkey
Girl” which the Gay and Lesbian
American Music Awards once
named “best out song.”
Hsu-Li spoke of her difficulties in
the music industry as a minority.
‘My dream is to become the first
Asian-American singer-songwriter
to break the glass ceiling,” she said.