Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / Feb. 19, 1970, edition 1 / Page 3
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BY JACK LIGGETT. ^en one takes 15 reasonably Znsible St. Andrews stu- transports them into a ^ture foreign but not com ply strange to them, gives them 19. 1970 Qroup Experiences Inglish Theatre month-long course In jc«('*'Mch not necessarily S to them), and allows them certain amount of free time explore their new temporary niiture, these students are Ld to have a worthwhile and enlightening experience. This aay on first reading seem to be a bit of you-know-what, but this writer, who was one of the flf- tsn does feel that on the ,tiole our group experienced a ,ery valuable and entertaining month. Under the expert guidance of Hr Arthur McDonald, and his self-appointed assistant tour guide (yours truly), we traveled to London for the January sem ester and there worked on what officially titled “An Intro duction to Acting”. The group studied In an experimental theatre workshop called “Stage Two" and worked mainly with six artists: Mr. James Roose- Evans, a well-known English director and the organizer of Stage Two; Yoma Sasburgh, a fascinating woman who gave us esson on movementjand the four current actors-in-residence of Two—Hywel Jones, Ke vin Costello, Diane Trevis, and Paul Sanders; all of whom we grew very close to. Work-outs were daily, five days a week, and consisted firstly of one hour’s movement exercise with Miss Sasburgh. The exercises were very strenous and ex hausting but, at the same time, very necessary for what were doing. Many of us were even so exhausted at the end of the day that we were really too tired to party and ruin St. An drews reputation. Next was an approximately two hour acting session with Mr. Roose-Evans and the r e s t of the troupe. Everyone, “teacher** and stu dent alike, was on an equal standing and participation was up to the individual; those who wanted to sit out could. Mainly we performed a series of im provisations based solely on a prop, or an idea, or even just another person. The purpose, as this student sees it anyway, was to get us to concentrate and to know ourselves and at the same time to understand others and learn to work with them. Tliese are frontiers which should be crossed in order for an actor to be successful. And then afterwards we would briefly discuss the day’s work over coffee and cookies. In addition to those lectures given by Jimmy (as Mr. Roose- Evans wished us to call him), we heard four other British artists on varous aspects of theatre. Miss LitzPisk, who has THE LANCE PAGE THREE Physical Exercise For Their Art done choreography for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Company (the two main acting companies in England) and among other things was Vanessa Redgrave’s choreographer for “The Loves of Isadora”, gave a short but concise lecture on the history of dance and made a comment on our civilization of today when she pointed out that the dance of a period reflects the mootf of the times and whereas dance' started out as a rite and a working together for a common end, it has now evolved into a self-centered action where peo ple dance apart and into them selves, not relating to the o- thers around them. Then we had discussion with three playwrights: FrankMar- cus (“The Killing of Sister George”, now mainly a critic), Tom Stoppard (“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”, which we all saw done by the National Theatre Company), and Alan Bennett (“Beyond the Fringe”—a satirical political revue, and “Forty Years On”). The discussions not only en lightened us about playwright- ing, but it was a relief for us to hear from all of them that it is notnecessarilyBroadwayand the West End (London’s answer to Broadway) which will keep the Theatre alive; it is experi mental theatres such as the one we were working with and the “off-off-Broadway” produc tions which are doing this be cause, like any art form, drama needs experimentation and there Is too much money tied up In a Broadway production these days to allow it to experiment and risk failing and losing hun dreds of thousands of dollars. At least this made yours truly feel alot better. But we did not only stay in London the whole time. In ad dition to seeing all the produc tions of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Company and some of those of other theatres and also visiting the historical sites of London, we travelled around England and visited such places as the song-renowned Winches ter Cathedral, Salisbury Cathe dral, and Canterbury Cathedral where we attended a service. Also we went to Dover Castle overlooking the famous White Cliffs and to Stonehenge, the m- famous old Druid ruins, which was one of the more fascinat ing parts of the trip for many of us. And of couse no visit to England would be complete for an actor, or anyone else for that matter, if he didn’t go to Strat- ford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace and residence of a playwright na m e d William S h ak espeare and the home, strangely enough, of the Royal Shakespeare (Continued from Page 1) cation that defies definition but Invites involvement. Then they approach the frontier. Poles, ladders, boxes, bones, nets and combinations of things provide the physical setting for the ac tors as they move in silence to ward the frontier. What frontier? The frontier that each of the actors defines by the movements that they evolve. Some relate. Some move in iso lation. A segment of the re lationships build to a seeming climax only to be stopped by Hywel Jones, one of the actor- teachers, who suggests that they begin the exercise again. First they choose partners and sit on the floor. They look at each other. They stare for one minute, two minutes, three, four, five. Then again they move toward the frontier. One actor Company. We saw all the Shakespearean relics and what was left of his wife’s (Anne Hathaway’s) cottage, which was being restored after being burned. It see ms that a couple of months ago a young man got mad at his girl friend and so in the romantic spirit of the moment went out and set fire to the Hathaway cottage. This may sound funny, but the English are very proud of the Shakespearean heritage and while we were in England the young arsonist was sentenced to five years In a hard-labor prison for It. Also the group had a free four-day weekend during which we scattered everywhere: some staying in London and England, others going up to Scotland and St. Andrews, and a few going off to France and Holland. We were all gaining much eX' perlence on the trip not only about theatre but about alot of things. But soon the month was over, and we had to leave to come back to dear old SA. And even though a few in the group were anxious togetbacktothelr waiting loved ones, most or all of us regretted very much leav ing England and especially Stage Two where we wish we could have worked longer. shrouds himself in a blanket. Another grabs the feet of the shrouded figure. Anotherbegins to build a pattern with the poles. Kevin Costello, an actor-ln- structor, begins to beat a drum. The improvisation continues. The actors proceed to discover not only a basic meaning of movement for the stage but they also discover a basic meaning of selfhood for the actor as his person is transformed into an Instrument of artistic com munication. Then two hours later there is the first break. There is coffee, tea and biscuits. There is in formal conversation as the ac tors reflect on the class, on the failures and successes, and on themselves. An understand ing of esthetics become not a luxury for the isolated class room, but a necessary point of conversation so that the ex periences can be interpreted. Some are silent as they probe the experience. Some talk of the weather and the train ride the past weekend to Canterbury. Some speak of the performance last night of the Royal Shakes peare Company. But all in their individual manner realize that they are becoming involved In their art form to a degree that is frightening, frustrating, per plexing and at the same time satisfying. Farewells are spoken for the day and the student actors move down Regent’s Park Road to ward the tube station. Other move to the sign near the Roundhouse and board the dou ble decker bus and observe the gray air as they move toward the hotel of Russell Square. The mats and the props in the rehearsal hall are rearranged and the Stage Two actors con tinue their own work in the ex perimental field of improvlsa- tional theatre. The day ends and there will be another day and another venture In the task and meaning of the artist. DAVID DOLGE Jane Cline and Dawn Taylor ,go through their pace at Jame^Roose-Evans Stage Two in I^"don They were among the 15 St. Andrews students who studied at the theat e for the January winter term. BEAUTY MIST HOSE $1.00 Value Now 22c SELECTION OF DRESSES Up to $30.00 Value Now ^10 The College Shop RIZICS
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Feb. 19, 1970, edition 1
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