jayplay
Thursday April11,2002 1B
TALK TO US: Contact Kimberly Thompson or Meghan Bainum at (785) 864-4810 or jayplay@kansan.com
THE BIRDS AND BEES DON'T GET IN TROUBLE : Kansas is one of four states that doesn't allow queer sex. SEE PAGE 2B
'Desdemona' offers feminine side of play
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Desdemona's servant Emilia, played by Mo Perry, Eden Prairie, Minn., junior, paints the toenails of the title character, played by Sarah Armstrong, Cushing, Okla., graduate student, during a dress rehearsal performance. The play, directed by Joy Richmond, Houston graduate student, opened last week and continues with shows this weekend.
Female production explores Bard's one-dimensional, tragic characters
By Becky McClelland Jayplay writer
"Director's Note: Within an hour after the events you see tonight, Desdemona and Emilia are murdered by their husbands."
While the outcome written in the play's program might not shock anyone who has seen Othello, the way Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief gets to its end is guaranteed to surprise.
Desdemona doesn't retell the Othello story as much as it gives the women characters' perspectives of the Shakespeare tragedy.
"Desdemona could stand on its own, but it's a great companion piece for Othello," said Sara Armstrong, Cushing, Okla., graduate student who plays Desdemona. "Shakespeare is known for showing universal truth, a universal spirit, but how well does he capture women?"
In *Othello*, Desdemona is the title character's wife, but her character is not explored as much.
The switch in titles from Othello to Desdemona emphasizes the shift in focus. No male characters come on stage during Desdemona and Shakespeare's one-dimensional females come to life — no longer the stereotypical faithful servant, virtuous virgin bride or dirty whore.
"I'm glad as hell that the feminists wrote an answer to it," said Mo Perry, Eden Prairie, Minn., junior, who plays Emilia the servant.
mm, junior, who plays Emma the second.
The result is a funny, unexpected explanation
SEE DESDEMONA ON PAGE 5B
RAWK SNOB Springtime sounds echo warm weather, flavors of season
The pleasantly warm/bitterly cold Kansas spring weather didactic is leaning toward the brighter side these days. The sun is shining, the entire bird and squirrel population is engaging in primal domestic disputes at the crack of dawn and, yes — mangoes are once again in season, and can be obtained right here in Lawrence, three for a dollar.
Bombarded with
Bombarded with sunshine, cries of the animal kingdom and the ever-present distraction of exotic produce, the first signs of spring, like the frozen desert nights of many a country tune, are enough to change a man's mind. Over the past couple of evenings, with the windows open wide and warm air chasing off a long winter's funk, I've been exploring some of the moldier recesses of my record collection, taking a break from a steady diet of guitar feedback to enjoy some vibrant springtime sounds from a world where cocktails flow like tap water and everyone wears a furry red fez.
COMMENTARY
Andy Gassaway agassaway@kansan.com
Featuring a seductively posed redhead in a jungle tree house on the cover, Quiet Village: The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny (Liberty Records 1964), is like a nap in a hammock on Gilligan's Island after a devastating typhoon leaves you and Ginger the sole survivors. Delicate piano lines drift atop
SEE RAWK SNOB ON PAGE 3P
Award-winning poet performs at workshop
By Lean Snamer
Kansan staff writer
staceyann Chin is an acclaimed slam poet whose works practically ooze with sexually charged verse. But the first thing the audience learned about her during yesterday's slam workshop was that she liked chicken and cheese sandwiches and cheering up old ladies.
About 50 students attended the Queers and Allies-sponsored workshop, which was at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The event gave the participants a taste of the poetry slam movement. Chin described slam poetry as being different from the traditional poetry reading.
"I practice believing in the small things, so I can believe in the rest." Chin said.
The slam movement was started in the early 1980s in Chicago by construction worker Marc Smith. Smith started to jazz up his poetry readings by focusing on his per-
AARON LERNER/KANSAN
SEE POET ON PAGE 5B
Staceyann Chin speaks to and performs poetry in front of about 50 people at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Chin was flown in from New York as part of Pride Week.
LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR
TODAY
Pirate House, 14th and Kentucky. All ages kite flying society, the plot to kill the president, chimera
Davey's Uptown Rambler, 3402 Main St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+ Angrius wUrban Disorder
Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., Lawrence 18+
Shanti Groove
Hurricane, 4048 Broadway St.,
Kansas City, Mo., 21+
The People
The Loft, 146 W. Pine St., Warrenburg, Mo., All ages Six Percent, Jeremy's Box
TOMORROW
The Pool Room, 925 Iowa St.,
Lawrence
Bulldog Battle 2002, dj P and dj
Platinum
The Pub, 1727 Mcgee St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+ Plugsparksanjay, Overstep, Fawn Fables
El Torreon, 31st and Gillam,
Kansas City, Mo., All ages
TWO MAN ADVANTAGE,
TANKA RAY, The Sloppy Popsicles,
The Skags
Grand Emporium, 3832 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.,21+ DC Bellamy, America's Most Wanted
Belt Brewery, 2317 N. Belt Highway St., Joseph, Mo., 21+ Az One
Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, 18+
The District
The Pub, 1727 Mcgee St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+ The Last of the V8s, The Throttlers, Filthy Jim
The Pub (Maryville),414 N. Main St., Maryville, Mo., 18+ Six Year Sophomore, Prank Monkey
SATURDAY
Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St., Lawrence KANU Public Radio presents Right Between the Ears, 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. performances
The Pub, 1727 Mcgee St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+ Hilbill Hop (Old Country 78s)
Pink House, 1131 Tennessee St., Lawrence, All ages The Capsules, Billy Music, Ghosty, TBA
Hurricane, 4048 Broadway St.,
Kansas City, Mo., 21+
Princess Superstar
PJ'S BISTRO, 8433 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Mo., 21+ Arthur Dodge, Rob Mountjoy
Grand Emporium, 3832 Main St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+
AIDS Walk Benefit featuring Fools Face & Kristie Strelmel
Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, 18+
David Zollo
Neiner's, 815 N Noland Road Independence, Mo., 21+ Swill Darkside, Electra Complex Barphyte
The Pub, 1727 Mcgee St., Kansas City, Mo., 21+ The Creature Comforts, The People, Westbury Squares
Sunday, April 14
Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St., Lawrence
Lawrence Chamber Players
El Torreon, 31st and Gillam,
Kansas City, Mo., All ages
The Business, Strife, Pistol
Grip, Sister Mary Rotten Crotch
Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, 18+ Hayden + TBA
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