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University Daily Kansan
Monday. Oct. 20. 1958
THE OFFICIAL ALWAYS WINS—Coach Jack Mitchell disappointedly leaves the field after failing in an attempt to make an official see things differently. Although Mitchell and many thousands of spectators protested several calls at the KU-Okla-oma game, the men in the striped shirts prevailed and the calls were not changed. See page 4 for story.
At 74, Mrs. Rooesvelt Keeps Tight Schedule
By Eileen Charbo
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt ended "My Day" Saturday night by leaving ahead of the crowd that was awed by her presence; and still in her formal dinner dress, met a tight plane schedule.
She showed the same directness in her arrival. Spared the formality of a receiving line, she went right to the blue and silver draped dining room commemorating the 25th anniversary of her late husband's inauguration.
The Cornish hen and wild rice dinner seemed to her liking.
At 74, the most active first lady in the history of America, Mrs. Roosevelt works for the betterment of others.
Racial relations are her particular interest. During her husband's administration she found no mine too dark, too deep. No slum was too dismal and no troops were too far for her visit.
Mrs. Roosevelt's own experience with politics has been divided. A former teacher of history and current events at New York's Todhunter School for Girls she has been a grassroots politician. Later she served as vice-president of the New
York chapter of the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan organization.
The joys and hurts of family life have been hers, too. She experienced the death of her eldest child and of her husband, in 1945. And during FDR's fight with infantile paralysis, she shared his worries.
No aristocrat ever sat back less. Knitting for busy work and making uneasy comment on the state of affairs and the rising generation were to her dislike. Instead, she wrote books, columns, made goodwill tours and worked for her political party.
Her blessing does not include beauty or grace. Her speaking voice is high and thin. Yet she gives confidence, she has done her best with other gifts.
As one red-faced, red-tied party enthusiast said during the dinner,
"They don't often come like her."
Hawaii asked to be annexed to the United States and was voted permission in 1898.
University Theatre Weighs Value of New Acting Style
"The Method" has not hit the University Theatre.
Teachers of acting and theater crafts at KU agree that "The Method" is a force for discussion about the theater and the art of acting. But they also feel that it should be called "a method" rather than "The Method."
"There is no KU method." Lewin Goff, director of the University Theatre, said. "We are healthiest when we have diversity of opinion on how to present a scene. Every director has his own method."
What, then, is this most talked about development in American acting?
It is a technique of self-expression derived from the style of acting advocated by Stanislavsky, the founder of the Moscoe Art Theatre.
The Stanislavsky method has been adopted by Lee Strasberg, guiding light of New York's Actors Studio, an advanced acting laboratory. It can be seen in the work of such actors as Marlon Brando, Julie Harirs, Eli Wallach, and even Marilyn Monroe.
It states simply that an actor should derive his characterization from his own personal experience rather than from an imitation of other acting.
According to Stanislavsky, the actor should imagine a situation so strongly that he can feel himself in it.
The Stanislavsky viewpoint took hold in New York in the 1930s. They replaced the refinement and elegance of the British theater which had dominated the American stage.
During this depression period
there were also occurring great changes in social, political, and economic standards. A new school of playwrights, including Clifford Odets, was coming to the fore.
The Stanislavsky method was used to grapple with American problems. Young actors portrayed members of the inarticulate American masses attempting to express themselves.
There are many critics of "The Method" in both the British and American theaters. Tyrone Guthrie, English stage director, says that it is out of date and places too much emphasis on self-analysis and too little on technique. He is particularly emphatic on the latter point.
"The voice is the actor's principal means of expression." Mr. Guthrie claims. "Theater classics cannot be done without close attention to the technique of voice control and diction."
He adds that those untrained in technique are not effective actors. As a result, their "acting" is in reality merely behaviourism. He says the whole idea just may be a passing fad.
Several members of the University Theatre staff were asked their opinion of the importance of "The Method."
Allen Crafton, professor of speech and drama, feels that it does no harm. He cannot say how much good it has done because he has not had first-hand contact with it.
Professor Crafton said there must be soundness in it, because it came from Stanislavsky.
Jack Brooking, assistant professor of speech and drama, feels it is a good development if it causes top
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He pointed out that users of "The Method" employ a more animalistic approach in interpretation.
Gordon Beck, instructor of speech and drama, feels "The Method" is just a new name for what actors have been doing always. He believes it is just one of the ways to approach the art of acting.
Professor Lewin Goff, who has sat in on acting sessions at the Actors Studio, says the Studio's approach is not too different from any other acting school. Acting problems are worked out before an audience and then criticism is made.
Students at one acting school in New York are taught that to be a good actor, one should have a cool mind and a warm heart. Professor Crafton agrees with this approach.
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