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daily kansan
friday ▲
3.6.98 ▲
eight.a ▲
A new, cultural road to the final four
story by tim harrington • tharrington@kansan.com
English Alternative
Theater
presents a final four showdown of student-
written plays
Domination:
Basketball not your thing? Sad because you'll miss out on the competition and chances to bet on your favorite contestant? Well cheer up! The English Alternative Theater is sponsoring four plays competing head-to-head for your viewing pleasure. Just like "rock beats scissors," academics beats athletics when it is time to EAT.
It's like the Final Four without the tedious march of subaru contests that precedes it.
1 of sub par contests that precedes it And it's at the beginning of March, instead of at the end.
And it's with plays written by KU students, instead of basketball played by KU students.
or basketball play. They are 'It's the English Alternative Theater's final four of original plays for Paul Lim's English 354 beginning playwriting class.
The tickets will be a lot cheaper—they're free—than the one's that will be scaled in San Antonio in a few weeks, but the competitors will be just as intense, or almost as intense, or maybe some of the actors in the plays will pretend to be intense.
Do we mention that the event will be free? One aspect of EAT's final four that will be far superior to the other Final Four is in the way of audience participation.
The audience for EAT will have a direct influence on the course of the tournament.
on the course of the play, the theater patrons will be asked to comment about aspects of the plays and then vote for the one they enjoyed more.
At 8 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday there will be two sets of two back-to-back plays. The audience favorites will then go head to head, mono y mono, nose to nose, in a fiction-writing, thespian-dueling, steel-cage, original-college-student play, death match from hell.
"It's a lot of fun," said Paul Lim, associate professor of English. The title, however, doesn't do his role at the University justice. He is the beginning and end of playwriting in the English department and was brought here to be just that.
He began the final four competition nine years ago when he came to the University. He says it gives his students experience that a budding playwright cannot get by simply putting words on paper.
nor get by them. "It gives them some semblance of performance." Lim said. "These writers need an audience reaction to see if it's working or not."
Another way that EAT's final four outplays that other Final Four is in the spoils for the winner.
There's a cash prize. Nobody knows for sure how big it is. It's rumored that it will be less than $100,000, but Lim is tight-liped about the subject.
The playwrights, all with their eyes on the prize, undoubtedly are eager to see exactly how big the pot is that will begin the victor's professional career.
"It could be a happy meal for all I know," said Bob Deterbon, Bonner Springs senior and one of the playwrights.
The natural question for many EAT final four goers will, of course, be: "What are the odds in Vegas?"
The official response by the University Daily Kansan features page is: Gambling is illegal except in Las Vegas; Reno, Nev.; Atlantic City. N.J.; on Native-American reservations in Kansas and on certain waterways around the country.
The unofficial response is: Some theater goers could, completely of their volition and with no enticement whatsoever from the University Daily Kansan features page, use in making a gentleman's or gentlewoman's bet.
EXECUTION DAY
THE CHALLENGERS
Written by Bob Determan University Daily Kansan odds: 1:4
Determan is a nontraditional student living in Bonner Springs who drew from his 39 years of life experience to write "Execution Day."
The play is about five blue-collar guys, all waiting in a room, knowing that one of them will be fired. The play touches on issues of male bonding and relationships under adverse conditions.
8 p.m.
Tomorrow
Determan sees his advantage in the competition to be the base humor which comes out of his working-class characters. "I pound 'em with perversion," Determan said. "Even Paul Ullman said that this will offend some people."
Determan said he based his character on friends he knew while working at factories and warehouses.
Determan also said there was some mild violence in his play but no nudity.
THE ROAD TO JAVA
Written by Ed White University Daily Kansan odds: 1:4
White is a senior who was born and raised on the southwest side of Chicago. "The Road to Java" is a dark comedy that he said dealt with serious social issues, but his characters deal with them is a very vicious manner.
White said "The Road to Java" poked fun at the way big business has been known to treat people and at both the political right and left.
8 p.m.
Sunday
White said his inspiration came from hanging around activist groups in coffee shops smoking cigarettes.
"This will be the first time I get to see my words take on three dimensions," White said. "It's like meeting a correspondence for the first time."
The advantage of White's play is that it has a twist ending, but there is neither nudity nor violence.
UP COMES SOCIETY
Written by Nick Woods University Daily Kansan odds: 1:4
Woods is a Prairie Village senior who has studied in Spain. He studied the Spanish language, however, and not playwriting.
9 p.m.
Tomorrow
"Up Comes Society" is a prison story that deals with masculine roles and relationships. Lim calls it a love story, but Woods hates it when he does. Woods said it could be a story of unrequited love between two men, but it's more about social outcasts. Woods said that he was not gay and that there was nothing wrong with being gay. Wood's advantage may come in the form of cash bribes to actors for "choking" in the other plays but performing well in his. Some of the actors are in more than one play.
Wood said his influences were Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde and Herman Melville.
There is no nudity but a little violence in "Up Comes Society."
CHARLOTTE'S SPECIAL DAY
Written by Darren Weimer University Daily Kansan odds: 1:4
9 p.m.
Sunday
Weimer is a native of Hays, so whether he wins, it's a good bet that he'll be drinking beer afterwards.
Weimer said "Charlotte's Special Day" was a drama about a 50-year-old woman who recently has arrived home from the hospital after learning that she has a malignant brain tumor.
There is no nudity or violence. "It's a good family drama," Weimer said.
Weimer, who said that this was the best play he ever had written and the first play he'd ever finished, said that winning not only would be an honor but something cool to put on a resume.
Weimer says his advantage might be in the actress playing the title role, Charlotte, for whom the rest of the play's characters are simply scenery.
"I was very impressed," Weimer said of his star actress, Anne Schofield.
Place your bets and fill out your bracket now, or follow along as the tournament unfolds.
Charlotte's Special Day
First play begins at 8 p.m. at 100 Smith Hall. Second play begins once the first play concludes, approximately 9 p.m. all plays are free
illustration by bryan volk/kansan
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