THE PENDULUM
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WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 29. 2010 // PAGE 19
Acting up: Technical Difficulties looking to
become official campus organization
Eden Etzel
Reporter
Creativity, expression, public
speaking and problem solving: all
are elements of a successful career,
and all are elements one can learn at
Elon University’s own improvisational
acting club.
Improvisational acting, or improv,
focuses on making scenes in the
moment without rehearsal. Often,
improv sketches can be humorous,
similar to the TV show "Whose Line is
it Anyway?"
Technical Difficulties, Elon's
improv acting group, has existed for
about three or four years on campus,
but has not received organization
status by the university.
“Technical Difficulties” is headed
by theatre professor Richard Gang
and junior Ben Morris, an acting
major. This year they are pushing for
recognition as a university club.
“It would be great if Technical
Difficulties became an actual
organization,” Morris said. “We would
be so excited to have a table at the
organization fair in the future and get
as many people involved as possible.”
Tthe group has performed at
Midnight Meals in fall 2008, and has
worked with the communications
department and recorded some
performances.
Technical Difficulties members
said they want to perform even more
this year and not be limited to only
a few performances, as has been the
case in years past. The members want
to be given the chance to portray to
any audience all that a person can
learn about him or herself, life skills
Senior seminar acting
class to perform double
repertoire for the first time
Eva Hill
Copy Editor
This year, senior seminar students
in the Batchelor of Fine Arts in Acting
program will be trying something
completely different for senior
performances. This fall, the seniors
will be performing two shows,
“Ravenscroft” and “Shakespeare’s
R & J,” in one semester, instead of
performing one play in the spring and
one In the fall.
Typically, the senior students
perform one show per semester.
Ross Denyer, an Elon senior
involved in the productions, said
this year’s performances will bring
exciting challenges, great potential
and good shows.
“It’s very hard to choose shows
to do in rep, and there’s a lot of
collaboration with the different
departments,” Denyer said. “We have
10 acting seniors, and both of these
shows complement each other."
Denyer said the students decided to
double up on performances in the fall
to leave more time to work on their
careers. The senior seminar students
also plan to bring casting directors
and agents in the spring, and doubling
up on performances in the fall will
provide more time for focused work.
Fred Rubeck, chair of the
department of performing arts, said
the students have total control of these
projects. He said it will be a challenge,
which will provide good preparation
for the life of a professional performer
after Elon.
“It was the seniors’ decision to
change it, and the students take care
of everything,” Rubeck said.
Rubeck also said the senior
seminar class will perform three
or four times a day when the
performances begin in November,
again similar to professional
theatre.
The girls in the program are
doing a play called “Ravenscroft,”
which is a murder mystery with the
seduction of the sole male character,
a detective.
“Shakespeare’s R & J” involves the
original text of Shakespeare being
used in a performance put on by
Catholic school boys who decide to
perform “Romeo and Juliet.”
“This will be a challenging
experience, having two shows in the
same space and alternating after
each performance,” Rubeck said.
Senior performing arts student
Sarah Glover said faculty will serve
as advisers to the students if they
need help, but this is a learning
and professional experience for the
class.
“These performances are meant to
show that the performers are ready
to go out into the world,” Glover
said.
According to Glover, the
performances will be Nov. 18-21 and
the department is still working on
specific times. Performances will
likely be in the Black Box Theatre in
McCrary.
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and how it can all be turned into
pure entertainment in the heat of
the moment. Technical Difficulties
would also like to collaborate with
other schools in the area in order to
improve the organization and make it
as successful as can be.
“As a group, we would really like
to push our limits, get ourselves out
there, and let everyone know about the
entertainment we can provide them,
if it’s via a live show or a possible
competition or collaboration with
another school” Morris said.
Anyone can join “Technical
Difficulties,” regardless of if he or she
is involved in the theatre department.
Morris said he just walked into a
meeting to get involved.
“I came to a meeting my freshman
year and 1 had an absolute blast," he
said. “After that I returned every week.
and the rest is history,” he said.
A typical meeting involves warm
up games along with group improv
sketches.
Those scared of speaking in front
of groups can take heart. Gang said
students should view improv as a fun
outlet.
“Don’t get up there (on stage) and
try to be perfect or do the right thing
because the whole purpose of improv
is to act on your feet and not plan
ahead,” Gang said.
Students wishing to attend a
meeting to see what “Technical
Difficulties" is all about should go
to Williamson Road Acting Studio,
with the blue awning between All
That Jas and Eleonore’s Hair Salon, on
Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Fridays
at 3:30 p.m. Members do not have to
attend both meetings.
ALEXA JOHNSON | Photogr^yw
Junior Cody Greene picks apples at Millstone Creek Orchards, just one hour from Elon.
A local alternative: Try
'pick your own' outings
Alexa Johnson
Senior Reporter
At Elon University, it’s easy to
forget that the countryside just a
short car ride from our nice brick
buildings.
For students suffering from
boredom or those simply looking to
put off work for as long as possible,
the nearby fields and small towns
offer a great alternative to lounging
around watching movies in bed.
Interested in an activity that is
fun and helps the local economy?
Try picking your own fruit and
vegetables.
Skeptics, listen up. Picking your
own food can be a lot of fun with
a group of friends. It’s also fairly
inexpensive.
Visit PickYourOwn.org and search
North Carolina to see all the different
options for “pick your own” outings.
You can also specify which part of
the state you would like to visit,
depending on how much time you
have to spend.
Right now is a great time
to pick apples and pumpkins.
Visit AllAboutApple.com to find
local orchards and their contact
information.
When picking apples, remember
these tips:
1. Don’t expect grand apple trees.
Most apple orchards have dwarf
trees, which are closer to the ground
and easy for anyone to pick.
2. Color is important. Along with size
and firmness, color will tell you if an
apple is ready to be picked. Because
color varies with the type of apple,
some people research ahead of time.
3. Apples ripen faster on the branches
farthest from the trunk, so scope
those out first.
4. Inspect all sides of the apple before
picking it. You don’t want to grab a
juicy looking apple only to feel your
fingers slide into brown mush. When
you do find a good one, gently twist
the apple off instead of giving a hard
tug or shaking the tree.
5. Don’t dismiss the apples on the
ground. Many farmers ask you to look
at the apples on the ground because
they are often ripe and have just fallen
(or someone shook the tree)—they are
still edible, although admittedly less
fun.
6. Always call ahead. A lot of orchards
don’t have websites, so call to find out
about cost and what kind of apples are
ready to be picked.
North Carolina produce is prolific
with long growing seasons and
temperate weather. A few items of
produce available for harvest:
- Apples (August to November)
- Figs (August to October)
- Beets (October to December)
- Broccoli (October to December)
- Carrots (October to December)
- Eggplant (June to October)
- Kale (October to December)
- Lettuce (September to December)
- Spinach (October to December)
- Winter Squash (September to
December)
- Zucchini (October to December)
- Turnips (October to December)
- Pumpkins (September to October)
Ripening dates may vary
by two weeks. Information
from pickyourown.org.
t