Page 2, THE PILOT
THE MIKADO
THE MIKADO couldn’t have come at a better time. With
the pressure of classes, tests, papers and meetings all build
ing toward exams, graduation (and for some—marriage) Gil
bert and Sullivan’s satirical comedy on British beauracracy
in a psuedo-Japanese setting was an hilarious release.
Casting was excellent. Newcomers to Gardner-Webb this
year, Bruce Wilson (The Mikado of Japan), Billy Summer
(Nanki Poo), Ricky Goodman (Pooh Bah), Bobby Headley (a
“Noble Lord”), Deborah James (Pitti Sing) and LeAnne
Smith (Katisha) handled their respective roles with ease. In
fact, considering the difficulty of the script and lyrics the
professionalism of the entire cast w^s definitely impressive.
Judging by audience reaction, freshman John Taylor—as
“Ko-Ko”, Lord High Executioner—was a favorite. They
have good judgment! He was hysterical: lines, stage man
nerisms, solos—everything!
Concerning Ricky Goodman . . . what a voice! As “Pooh
Bah” he carried the role of “Lord High Everything Else”
with appropriate arrogance and pompousness. Nobody real
ly needs to be told about Patty Dempsey (Yum Yum) be
cause her expertise and talent are well known. Once again
she proved her reputation accurate as a competent drama
tist and skilled musician.
Trina Beach and LeAnn Smith both complimented their
fellow cast members well. Hopefully G-W will be enhanced
by their talent even more while they are here.
The Gardner-Webb Choral Ensemble, under the direction
of Dr. George Cribb, did a wonderful job blending in with
the cast; they added a wonderful element of “Village” at
mosphere. Mr. Decker and the orchestra deserve a special
word of commendation for their hard work and fine per
formance. Likewise director/designer David Smith and the
technical crew made the production run smoothly. The sets
were beautifully realistic.
The only complaint possible would be directed at the
slightly ungraceful stage movement noticeable in the open
ing musical numbers. Also, the pacing on Friday night was
slow, but this was most likely due to opening night jitters.
At any rate, these are minor detractions; on the whole the
production was well worth two evenings of time away from
classes, tests, papers ....
Dogs Fight Off Alumni: 14-0
The 1st Annual Norm
Harris Alumni game gave
the fans more excitement
than they bargained for.
The Alumni, after taking
the opening kickoff, looked
as if they were going to
make the first score of the
game. After three straight
third down conversions the
Alumni were stopped on a 4
and 3 play at the Bulldogs
eight yard line, with 5
minutes to play in the first
quarter.
The Bulldogs proved that
they were out to win the
game as they struck for two
quick scores in the second
quarter. The first score came
on a run by Robbie Barnes,
and the second was a pass
from Chip Stuart to Dwayne
Foster, which made the
score 14-0 at that point and
it was eventually the final
outcome.
At half-time Dr. Craven
Williams presented certifi
cates to the nine members of
the 1930 football team, who
were in attendance at the
game.
Entertaining Talent. . . and Don Spargo
Who was the joke of the night April 10th? If you don’t
know then you probably didn’t have the pleasure of attend
ing the Christian concert held on that night in the Bulldog
room. The concert was sponsored by the Summer Missions
Committee in order to raise money, by way of an offering,
for the Summer Missions program.
The entertainment, as many can teU you, was great, as
foul" different groups displayed some G.W. talent. The first
of the four groups to perform was Gardner-Webb’s own
Horizon, with it’s two new members Stan Foster and Dana
Bucher. The six singers were accompanied by the piano,
drums, and a special display of sound effects as Danny Jen
kins worked the electric keyboard.
The next group was a female trio consisting of Mary Lee
Cudd, Linda Mills, and Mary Ruth Zanon who sang a well
received song entitled “My Father’s Eyes.” Then, Rick Har
well, G.W.’s own piano man, entertained with an array of
songs which kept his fingers flying and the audience en
thused.
The last group to perform was made up of four more of
Gardner-Webb’s talented musicians as Don Spargo, Kevin
Rutledge, Bob Strom and once again Danny Jenkins, closed
the concert with a selection of songs originally sung by well
known Christian groups such as the Imperials, and last but
not least the Love Song; very appropriate for the feeling pre
sent that night.
So, who was the joke for the night? Well, the Webb’s own
live-in comedian Don Spargo was the Emcee for the night.
Does this tell you anything? Amidst his comments about
other performers, Don was ironically funny himself as many
of his “jokes” didn’t quite come through for him. The situa
tion re^y got bad when Spargo finally resorted to “Laugh”
cards to get the desired audience response.
To The Reader:
This issue marks the end
of my advisorship of The
Pilot, a position I have oc
cupied for three years. For
each of those three years, a
small but dedicated group of
people has labored to pro
duce a student newspaper. I
extend my thanks to them
all. Because of them, the
enterprise has held many
pleasures for me.
The time has come for the
student newspaper to reach
beyond its present limita
tions. It needs more profes
sionally journalistic gui
dance than I can give. It
needs a broader-based staff
than I can recruit. It needs
to become an educationally
productive endeavor. Most
importantly, it needs to be
come a clearly student cen
tered operation, one that is
important to more than the
concerned few.
For many reasons, I can
not guide The Pilot in these
directions. Under no circum
stances, however, will I
abandon my belief that it is
an important aspect of cam
pus life, and should continue
to be so. I shall continue to
work for its improvement,
hoping for it the support of
its readers.
From The
Editor:
Serving as editor of this
paper has meant a lot to me.
I’ve learned much more than
it would ever be possible to
reflect in this short space,
but I do want to share a few
things with you.
There have been times
when I’ve wanted to throw
my hands skyward and for
get about a school news
paper. (I’m sure most of The
Pilot staff has felt that way
at one time or another.) Yet,
although it may not have
been very regular. The Pilot
has been published. For
that, and for the work
behind the scenes, I’d like to
say “thank-you” to my staff
who has had to put up with
all my crazy notions, and to
the folks who have been so
patient with me while I fuss
ed and worried.
Especially important to
me, however, is the support
that our advisor. Dr. Stowe,
has shown. I think he’s the
most patient man I’ve ever
met. I’m not going to sing
his praises, but I do want to
express my gratitude for the
things he’s done for this
paper, and for me as its edi
tor. The entire staff joins me
in a sincere and hearty
thank-you!
I hope this issue, dedi
cated to the seniors, is
special to you. It isn’t with
out a touch of sadness that I
see this, my final issue as
editor, published.
Have
Guitar
Will
Travel
By Randy Waters
At the Eastern Region 3 convention of Alpha Chi held re
cently in Atlanta, G-W’s Zeta chapter of the national honor
society was represented by Bruce Queen. Students pre
sented their treatises on a variety of subjects, including psy
chology, chemistry, logic, and others. Bruce submitted
three of his origind guitar compositions as a musical trea
tise, performing one of them, “Variations on the folk-tune
‘Shenandoah,’ ” for the convention delegates and judges. If
the judges like Bruce’s work, it will be published by Alpha
Chi in a forthcoming journal.
The convention was an important opportunity for the 20-
year-old music major from Gaffney, S.C. Bruce is not G-W’s
only guitar major, but will probably be the first to graduate
with such a major. Bruce takes guitar from Mr. Gene Wyatt
and composition from Ms. Carolyn BiUings.
When asked when he began playing guitar, Bruce re
sponded that he actually began playing around age 13. It
was around that age also that he seriously undertook read
ing and studying music. As with most young musicians,
Bruce went through the usual neighborhood peer musical
experiments. He admitted to playing in a “. . . couple of
lousy rock bands.”
At age 16, he and several other musicians of similar tastes
formed an experimental jazz band. Consciously “trying to
be strange,” as Bruce phrased it, they attempted to
astonish their audiences with unusual music. According to
Bruce they often succeeded.
Despite his deprecatory remarks about his earliest musi
cal adventures, Bruce would probably admit that they were
valuable experiences nonetheless. However, it was the
amazing technique of the classical guitarist, capable of play
ing three melodic lines simultaneously, that eventually
snared Bruce’s full attention. Impressed by the music and
technique, he began devoting his time and energy to the
classical guitar.
As for his future plans, Bruce mentioned the possibility of
going for a master’s degree. He hopes the future will consist
of a healthy balance between the performing and composing
aspects of music. As for the immediate future, Bruce is
waiting for what will hopefully be good news about his
treatise.
TALENT SHOW
The night of April 16, 1980 was a fun-filled evening of
local talent as the Phi Beta Lambda Club sponsored the an
nual talent show in Bost Gymnasium. Streams of talent
flowed through the gym as participants in the Junior High-
High School and College divisions competed for a prize of
$20 in each division.
Judges for the talent show were Stan Hardin, Helen Gil-
liatt, and Jim Taylor (not GWC’s tennis coach). President
Craven Williams, the Emcee, humored the audience as he
told of his first college job which consisted of a “tragedy” in
Dorm construction. Among other “serious” stories that he
told were those about the “final exam in Old Testament,”
and something about “a student and bird legs.”
Seven acts of talent were displayed ranging from a gym
nastics routine to dancing by “the short people” in the
Junior High-High School Division. Third place winner in
this division went to Shelley Walker from Crest Junior High
School who performed a gymnastics routine to “Summer
Breeze.” Lori Putnam from Charlotte placed second with
singing “Show Me,” and Renee Lutz from Shelby claimed
first prize with a dramatic singing of “I’m Gonna Wash that
Man Right out of my Hair.”
The second half of the show was devoted entirely to talent
here at Gardner-Webb. Participants from GWC included Bo
Taylor, Risa Pless and Mary Ruth Zanon, Belinda Cooke
and Jackie Haynes, Miriam Harding, Marsha Huffstetler,
Bobby Buron and The Band. Third place winner was Miriam
Harding who played a piano solo entitled “Fur Elise.” The
Band which consists of aU guys from Royster performed the
song “Freebird” and came in second place. The first place
winners of the College Division were Belinda Cooke and
Jackie Haynes who sang a very touching and triumphant
“My Tribute” by Andrae Crouch.
The Talent Show was truly a success this year and a spe
cial thanks goes to the members of the Phi Beta Lambda
Club who worked really hard to make this show a success.