12
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday. December 5, 1967
Atlanta playwright joins KU staff
A playwright who organized and ran a theater in Atlanta, Ga., for two years is now a member of the KU faculty in Slavic and Soviet Studies.
E. J. Czerwinski says that his theater, the Dart Players, thrived because "I made my students attend the performances, and I didn't pay the actors."
Czerwinski was studying English and American literature at Emory University in Atlanta, and teaching at Georgia Technological Institute when he formed his theater.
Some of his own works were presented in his theater.
"Most of my efforts are about the Slavic experiences in American life," he states. "We had a good time with the theater and were fairly successful."
Czerwinski's parents were immigrants. His father was from Poland and his mother from the Ukrainian portion of Poland.
"I didn't speak English until I started to school," he explains.
"We tried to present Slavic and American dramas in the Dart theater," he continues. Some of the actors were professionals who worked for nothing while they waited for other opportunities in Atlanta.
His one-act play, "The Brave Man with a Sword," was presented in an off-Broadway theater in 1956. "I was pleased that it was chosen," he says thoughtfully, "but it wasn't very good. It needed a lot of work."
Czerwinski's Ph.D. study at Emory was delayed for lack of an adviser so he went to the University of Wisconsin to begin anew another doctoral program—this time in Slavic Studies.
Czerwinski feels that Slavs have had a difficult time being assimilated into American life, mainly because their culture has never been fully accepted in Anglo-American traditions.
Two of his plays won awards at the University of Wisconsin. "All the Faces of My Brother" and "The Comedians" were selected as one of the three best plays for 1963 and 1964 at Wisconsin.
It ran for two weeks.
"You might compare the Slavic
experience to the Eastern cultures," he adds, "in that the Orients have stayed together as have the Slavs.
"I think that Slavic traditions are only now being accepted because of the rise of Russia in the consciousness of Americans."
Czerwinski talks enthusiastically about his three major projects at KU.
He is finishing work on the final draft of a manuscript to be published by Twayne Press, entitled "Dialogue: Polish Theater of the Absurd."
He was in Krakow, Poland, from 1962-64 while working on this book.
He also is involved in the efforts of the University Theatre to develop a Slavic theater program.
And he is helping evolve a program in comparative Slavic Literature for both undergraduates and graduates at KU.
He teaches a section of Polish- Russian culture, and part of an interdisciplinary seminar on Slavic studies.
"I think that KU could give real direction to a Slavic program," he says. "We could become leaders in the area."
"We must disseminate more Slavic literature in American," he adds. "Much important work is being done there, and it is vital in our dialogues in the West."
Czerwinski taught at the University of Pittsburgh in 1965, and was chairman of the department of Slavic studies at the University of Buffalo, New York, last year.
KU,students air views on parking lots
There are parking facilities for the 11,629 cars registered on campus, though not always exactly where students and staff want them.
The main trouble area, according to University officials and student committees, is near the scholarship halls on the east side of campus.
Students also complain about parking in the "east Topeka" lot, west of Iowa Street on Daisy Hill and the long line of cars awaiting Zone-X parking, west of the Union, in the morning.
Residents of Joseph R. Pearson Hall are hampered by the lack of visitor zones.
J. J. Wilson, KU housing director, said he doesn't feel there are any real trouble areas near residence halls with the possible exception of the scholarship halls.
"Since parking lots were redesigned we have no visitor zones only unloading areas, said Dan Olson, Clifton junior and hall president.
The Association of University Residence Halls is in the processes of preparing a resolution pertaining to the parking problems.
According to Butch Lockard, Raytown, Mo., sophomore and vice-chairman of AURH, the resolution will include appeals for an enlargement of the parking area behind Stephenson Hall and a new lot behind Ellsworth.
"We're hunting around for the exact place to get the money," he said.
"There are no planned expenditures for parking areas this fiscal year," said R. Keith Lawton, vice chancellor of operations.
He said addition and expansion of peripheral parking areas will be completed as needed. "It's an evolutionary process that is far from finished," he said.
If you see news happening— call UN 4-3646
---