October 25, 1968
N C ESSAY
Page 4
REVIEWS
AN EVENING
OF DANCE WINSICN SYMPHONY
CONCERT
NEW PLAYS:
SUMMERTREE
By Peter Lane Starabler
SUMMERTREE is a very bad play.
In its somewhat deleted version
(performed with customary aplomb by
undergraduate actors at Carnegie-
Mellon's Drama School), Ron Cowen
fills three hours' time with five
minutes' action, ten seconds' sus
pense, and an eternity of cliche-op
pressed language. A memory play
(the show begins with the hero's
death in Viet Nam), Cowen deftly di
rects us through the adolescence of
an adolescent's memory of trauma
worthy of remembrance only on the
death bed--or, in this case, in the
death swamp. We are introduced to
Mom, Dad, the Girl Friend, the lit
tle Boy, and (so we know what scenes
are in jungle) a soldier. No one has
a name, nor are names ncc'-:33ary:
pick an afternoon re-run and fill in
the required dog tags. Mom loves
her son; so does Dad but he's too
busy with business; Girl Friend
promises to be true but she stops
writing; Little Boy doesn't want to
play with his toy rifle any longer
("I don't like it. What's it good
for" school of dialogue. But we
know what it's for, don't we?). All
the Young Man wants is to play the
piano; Dad won't pay for the music
school....it won't pay off. But
Young Man won't stay on at school to
avoid the draft because Dad wants
him to stop spending so much time
with his room-mate ("you think I'm
queer, don't you?" school of obliga
tory rhetoric) because he should be
out making friends "who can help you
later on." Young Man manages to
make Dad proud of him, dying, as he
does, a soldier's proud death. Bra
vo! Saving Grace Department: One
must add, through, that Cowen's at
tempt is rather admirable in at
least one respect. Few other writ
ers have ventured into a valid dis
cussion of modern politics, especi
ally those related to the war in
Viet Nam. The very clinche of the
play lends a kind of credence to its
topic; if the work were meant to be
ironic comment on the cliches of the
war, one would doff thankful hats
to the author, at times, a rough hu
mor of young lovers sneaks into the
script and those of us who had not
drifted off into sleep (and many did)
or had not closed our ears to the
unmerciful palaver (the only charac
ter we did not have was the I-love-
America recruiting officer, but then
Dad took his role fairly happily)
were treated to some exchanges of
innocence most any one would have
been pleased to write.
Final Essential Words: It is
unlikely, in this polarized world,
that one can choose his issue.
By Tess Morton
The curtain of the N.C.S.A.
auditorium rose on an excellent,
well-balanced dance performance on
the evenings of October 18th and
19th.
The first ballet was "Adagio
for Ten and Two" choreographed by
Richard Gibson of California. The
leads were admirably portrayed by
Marjorie Philpot and Cam Lorendo.
The total effect was one of beauty
and poignancy.
The "Peasant Pasde Deux" from
"Giselle" appeared next. It was
done with preciseness and animation
by Kenneth Delmar and Kristine Ell
iott, pupils of Richard Gibson. It
is felt that both will go far with
their talent and dedication.
Job Sanders' "Summernight" was
next on the program. A ballet that
left the audience with a strange
feeling, giving the audience a lot
to talk about.
Last on the program was Duncan
Noble's "Symphony 13." It is hard
to believe the performers are still
only students. They did an excell
ent job on this extremely difficult
ballet.
NCESSAY STAFF
Editor Tony Senter
Co-editor & Review. . Lynn Bernhardt
Feature Writers David Wood
Mark Walsh
Dance Editor. . . . Sandra Williams
Music Editor Celia Sparger
Political & Editorial . D. Williamson
Typist Harold Ingram
Photography Cathy Casper
Proofreader Becky TroxTer
Design Editors . . . Ruth Critchley
John Chapman
Business Manager. . . . Tess Morton
Advertising Manager. . Polly Crocker
Advisor Anthony Fragola
choose his side, forumlate his edi
torial opinion and present a play
which will change the minds of his
adversaries if his statement is of
the fact itself. Eg: I hate Fruit
Loops; here's a play saying why in
which ;he hero is named Hater of
Fruit Loops. Those who believe con
tinue to do so; those who do not are
not moved. But what of those who
have no opinion, those who grace the
Gallup polls with uncertainty? They
are the rub, and in business lan
guage, if they rub our backs, we'll
rub theirs. But they need to be
persuaded, not bombarded. Therefore,
Shakespeare (at his best), Milton,
Blake, Dante included, it becomes
the artist's internal philos-aphilos
to excoriate the real world through
the fiction of metaphor. A good
metaphor illumines our darkest ef
forts of protecting ourselves from
what might be real but is not. A
good metaphor sustains what is true
and inviolate and admits of no "no
opinion" response. A good metaphor
works on its beholder like a con-
By William Duyn
On Tuesday, October 15, the
Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra pre
sented its first concert under the
auspices of the Rockefeller grant.
The value of this grant and the per
formance of faculty members in the
orchesrra are certainly evident.
The first two compositions of the
program, the introduction to the
third act of Wagner's Lohengrin and
the Fourth Symphony by Brahms bene
fited greatly by the "German School"
timbre of the horns and accurate
playing by the trombone trio (after
a long pause!) in the passacaglia.
The Mozart concert aria received a
refined and intimate rendition by
Mr. Farrow, although it was somewhat
hindered by a solid-sounding accom
paniment. The three Ruckert songs
by Mahler were the highlight of the
evening as we could enjoy Mr. Far
row's profound understanding of the
poems in its entirety as well as de
tail, his finished phrasing and ex-
exemplary German diction.
The accompaniment was a "notable con
tribution, although the wind instru
ments (in spite of Mr. luele's clear
indications) were dominating, espec
ially in "Um Mitternacht." If you
can't hear the soloist, you're "over
playing" dynamically.
To summarize, fine work was done in
particular by the brass section, the
alto-oboist in Mahler's "leh bin der
Welt abhander gekommen" and in the
middle part of the "chucker-out,"
(Dvorak's Carnival Overture).
Objectively viewed, it is obvious
that the Winston-Salem Symphony stai>
ted to walk in the road to profess
ionalism.
(con't from P. 1)
Casting:
Mr. Smith ----- Stanley Bernstein
Mrs. Smith ------ -Chris Rosania
Mr. Martin - Gene Johnson
Mrs. Martin- ------ Tina Menzies
Mary (the maid) Lesley Hunt
Stephanie Sugioka
The Fire Chief ----- David Sutor
Directed by ----- - Ira Zuckerman
Assistant Director - -Jimmy Greenwood
Stage Manager - - Charles Vanderpool
Assistant State Managers ------
- - - -Joyce Reehling
- - - -Julian Eubanks
ductor, leading his tour through the
scenic and essential back ways di
rectly to the heart of the city.
Young artists must learn this;
thankfully, Mr. Cowen is not yet too
old.