April 6, 1970
The N. C'. Essay
Page 3
Dialogue 1:30 B.C.
tion)
(Before Convoca-
"There's a required convocation
today, man. Are you going?"
"Yeah, I suppose so. What's
it about this time?"
"There's no telling, it's
called "The Top Ten", so maybe
they're bringing in some disc jockey."
"I dunno, man, it sounds like
some dude who's really into sports
and wants NCSA to have an inter^
departmental, All-American team."
"Yeah, well he works upstairs
with the money so he probably knows
where to get some uniforms whole
sale, complete with motif of toe
shoes rampant on a field of mauve."
"So, uh, put out your cigarette
and let's go in and find out."
from President Rofaeri- Ward
COUNTING BLESSINGS
"SO TODAY AIN'T THANKSGIVING"
As I drove home in the happy
afterglow of the stunning performance
of "Guys and Dolls," I found myself
making some very proud reflections
on our School. Where else, I pon
dered, will one find a campus of a
little over 400 students which, in a
year's time, can produce a series of
exciting concerts of every variety;
a hilarious "Don Pasquale," a lavish
"Nutcracker," and several evenings of
dance which have given birth to hand
some new ballets and dance works; a
"Liliom" and "The Brick and the Rose,"
and, last but not least, the "Artful
Dodger," Volume I, Number 1? All this,
and tours of our companies which have
delighted audiences of all ages over
the entire region and again added
greatly to our renown. Where else
can one dream of adventures in
learning one's art in the fabled
cities of Italy, England, and Austria
and know that with work one can make
the dream come true? And, finally,
where else, is there a State, a sup
porting group of Trustees and Direc
tors, and a city which have been so
generous and receptive to artistic
effort?
In a school community comprised
of many sensitive and m^ody, but
sometimes egocentric and hypercriti
cal people, we have heard and read
much that has been negative and bitter
through the year. And despite my
euphoric state after that final cur
tain, I remembered these voices and,
more importantly, the voices which re
minded me of our physical plant which
seems snialler every day and iiampers
us O.L every turn; Liie probiefiib oi geL-
Lin^ new buildings planiiJ.d aaci baxlc
to a uigh standarci; tiie diiiiculties
in organizing and developing our
{oon’t on "page 6J
T
t
I
There was a compaxatively large
turn-out for the April Fool's Day
Convocation as attendance was re
quired. However, there: was .less
doodling and chewing on’'the atten
dance slips than usual and a minimum
of fidgeting.
The speaker was Mr^ R.G. Hall
and "The Top Ten" turned.out to be
the ten basic elements one must
either be born with or. acquire in
order to be a -a.uccesB£nl artist^, ie.,
"Ten basic requirements for star
dom" i.e., what one has to have in
order to make it to the. top in one's
field.
The following list- is a brief
paraphrase of Mr. Hall's speech. The
phrases in quotation marks are
phrases taken from Mr. Hall's speech
as accurately as I can recall them.
I Talent - something inborn,
effortless and so natural that a
denial of it is an unnatural act; a
denial of one's talent in a particular
art form is a denial of aelf.
-II Individuality - again an inborn
quality, a color, a flamboyance that
cannot be faked and is an absolutely
necessary ingredient in true artistry
for in the theater, the dance, music
and writing, ..."nothing is duller
than dullness itself." An artist
must be a creative, original, individ
ual being.
Ill Intensity - "You must be
like some tightly coiled machine".^A
dynamic or expansionist quality.
IV Craft - technique, without
this talent has no value. It is "..
the architecture and chemistry of your
profession" and consists in part of
learning what not to do.
V Drive - ambition, ego ie.,
"hutzpah!"
VI Poise - "an inborn serenity
and power...an aura of stage
aristocarcy." Presence.
VII Style - showmanship ie.,
"It's not what you do it's how you
do it."
VIII Taste (if possible)-
"Great art enobles tragedy and des
pair" it is not a tawdry imitation
of life's or society's worst. (N.B.
Administration cringes)
IX The Common Touch - This con
sists of fulfilling two obligations,
the first to one's own artistic con
science and the second and perhaps most
important, to the public, to uplift,
educate entertain, etc., them.
X mxt" _ the innate magic of
one's personal chemistry. A quality
which is undefineable but is absolutely
necessary in the artist's character.
It's a little hard to picture
Mr. Hall seated behind a desk signing
requistions for the Philadelphia
Orchestra after hearing him speak.
He is a fine speaker and his talk was
a novel change from the usual didactic
trivia. For once the captive
audience was impressed and free enough
to be moved to honest applause as Mr.
Hall left the auditorium.
As reviews of theatrical pro
ductions have become a part of our
society one must accept the good with
the bad and accept one person's
opinion as to their reactions when
viewing an' endeavor.
In professional theatre it can
make or break a production, in a
school situation it should be con
structive criticism— a student's
opinion of his peer's endeavor. His
review does not make or break the
production. We go on despite his
comments. And far be it from me to
say anything against that. However
I really must speak out about the
review written by Mr. Fisher.
If it had been a knowledgeable
review I would not have offered an
argument and if the reviewer had not
clapped wildly and yelled bravo and
encore opening night, I might have
accepted his review. But this
was not the case if I may believe
the reports that were given to me.
If; Gu.ui' and Dells is such a
ij
cliched, sLereo-typed, contrived
show why was it such a smash hit, with
SRC audiences complete with standing
ovations? Wliy did some people see
every performance? It could hardly
have been boring. Why did people
laugh and applaud throughout the show?
Task, tsk, Mr. Fisher, certainly the
older generations and even the younger
ones are not that jaded and worldly
that they've forgotten what it is to
laugh and enjoy.
Isn't it a pleasure to get
away from all this hard-core reality
and "think" material that seems to
make up our theatre of today and our
lives in general and be able to
relax and tap your foot and enjoy???
I really had to laugh hyster
ically, Mr. Fisher, at your state
ment Guys and Dolls is not a difficult
show by any standards and should look
more like a romp than a study in
diction and double tours en I'aire."
.,„If it is such a simple show why did
I spend two months doing preliminary
work, why did we rehearse for a
month putting in many additional
hours of work and extra rehearsal
time with the principles and dancers,
why did it involve so many people?
Believe me, Mr. Fisher, it is not
a simple show. And since clarity of
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