4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
ENTERTAINMENT
Actors, puppets, everyday objects bring fairy tale to life
Students perform 'The King Stag' for public this weekend at Murphy Hall
Theater students, Jordan Gouge, Lawrence junior, and Debbie Diesel, St.Marys junior, help Spencer Lott, Lawrence junior, operate one of his large-scale, mechanical puppets as the students prepare for a performance on Tuesday at Murphy Hall.
BY BRANDY ENTSMINGER bentsminger@kansan.com
Puppetry transforms actors into magical creatures in the fairy tale world of "The King Stag."
mances for the public this weekend.
The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People presented the play to elementary school audiences this week and the organization will continue perfor-
Performing the play at the University was the idea of Spencer Lott, Lawrence junior. Last semester, Lott proposed the play to the season selection
Trottier said her favorite characters to create were Kovar and
committee in the department of theatre and film.
"What the cast brings into it is a kind of flesh and blood reality to these different characters."
DENNIS CHRISTILLES
Director
The play is an adaptation of an 18th century fairy tale, and tells the story of a king who wants to find someone who loves him for who he is.
"The puppets are kind of the glue that combines these two worlds together." Lott said.
Susan Rendall, costume shop manager for the department of theatre and film, and Gail Trottier, cutter and draper for the costume shop, worked with 30 students to help Lott bring his designs to life.
Julianne Kueffer/KANSAN
He enlists the help of a wizard who gives him a lie detecting magical statue to use while interviewing potential spouses. After an evil prime minister interferes, a "magic mantra" is used by the characters to put their spirits in different bodies.
Lott designed eight puppets for the play and trained student actors to use them. The actors wear seven puppets throughout the show and the eighth puppet is the magical statue.
The costume designers covered Kovar and Keno in lightweight objects including ladles, straw hats, socks, scarves, beads and toy army men.
Keno, who are moving piles of trash.
"It's like decorating a Christmas tree" Trotter said.
Lott said pupeteers usually tried to conceal that their puppets were made from common objects. The materials for the puppins in "The King Stag" were not concealed because the characters were supposed to look as if they lived in a junk world.
One thing the costumers had to keep in mind was the actors' safety. The main concern was the weight of the puppets, some of which reached 25 pounds. Costumers also considered balance and temperature.
The actors who play Kovar and Keno have to wear camping backpacks to distribute the weight of the puppets onto their hips.
Trottier said the puppets for "The King Stag" were more complex than any she had worked on in the past. Kovar and Keno each took about 80 hours to complete.
Lott said one of the greatest
challenges for the show was the size of the puppets. One puppet, The Mistress of the Shadows, is about 11 feet tall and 16 feet wide.
The cast also had a shortened rehearsal time to prepare for the show. Lott said it was challenging because many of the puppets were still being constructed at the time of rehearsal.
Lott is a designer and choreographer for the show, but he is not performing in it.
"This was kind of fun." Lott said. "To build the puppets and put them in someone else's hands and see them come alive."
Dennis Christilles, associate professor of theater and film, directed the show and called the cast
worked to build the characters in the same way the puppets were built.
"What the cast brings into it is a kind of flesh and blood reality to these different characters," Christilles said.
Rebecca Ralstin, Shawnee senior, plays the head housekeeper in the king's court. She said the kids in the audience reacted well to the story.
"The puppets really just give that extra magical twist to it," Ralstin said.
"The King Stag" will be performed at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.
Edited by Jennifer Torline
See a photo gallery of "The King Stag" at www.kansan.com/galleries.
Everyday objects are brought to life as Spencer Lott, junior, tests a puppet prior to the first performance for children on Tuesday afternoon.
Julianne Kueffer/KANSAN
HURRICANE IKE
City officials reopen Gavelston; residents return to devastated homes
BY JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS
GALVESTON, Texas — Ten days after Hurricane Ike, this dev
astated beach town reopened to residents Wednesday with stern warnings about what still lurks on the island — rotting cattle carcases, snakes and swarms of mosquitoes — and what isn't there; drinking water, reliable electricity, medical care or sewer service.
After spending hours in traffic that backed up for 10 miles, some residents found their homes in ruins.
"I wasn't prepared for this," taxi driver Patricia Davis said as she waved away mosquitoes and surveyed the remains of her apartment, which had its entrance blocked by collapsed walls, wrecked furniture and sodden clothing.
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that drowned during the storm are too badly decomposed to be moved; they'll rot in the fields just outside the city limits.
"We didn't promise paradise when you came back here. We've got a lot of work to do. You've got a lot of work to do." City Manager Ste LeBlanc said Wednesday.
City officials hoped most of the 45,000 residents who fled before the Sept. 13 storm would
The city has limited drinking water, few working sewers, limited electricity and minimal medical facilities. Officials extended the disaster declaration for 90 days.
"Being here today kind of gives me some closure," said Anita Arredondo, who found a pile of rubble where her two-story home once stood. "I have not been sleeping well, worried about what we could save and what we couldn't."
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What Galveston does have is ripening in the tropical heat: Rotting food in piles of debris where houses once stood, millions of mosquitoes and an abundance of snakes. The carcasses of cattle
Ken Holman said he wished city leaders had allowed residents to return sooner because it might have allowed him to save more of his mother's belongings from the house she lived in for 56 years. The home was inundated by 4 feet of
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The city has opened a shelter for 100 newly homeless residents, and officials hoped to set up more shelters on the mainland for residents whose homes are uninhabitable, LeBlanc said.
"Just the fact it took us this long to get in here, that kind of hurts," he said.
The city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are considering a plan to allow residents to live in FEMA trailers in their driveways or near their houses during repairs. But LeBlanc noted he would want all trailers removed from the island before the start of the 2009 hurricane season.
WATCH PARTIES Local organizations offer chance to discuss debates
You can still watch the presidential debate between John. Sen. McCain (D-Riz.) and Sen. Barack Obamab (D-III.) this Friday, even if you don't have a television. Here's a list of places in Lawrence that will host watch parties:
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics - 8 p.m.
As part of the Commission on Presidential Debates' DebateWatch program, the Dole Institute invites students to come analyze the presidential debate. Communications studies graduate students will lead discussion groups after the debate is finished. Participation in the discussion is suggested, but is not mandatory.
Abe and Jake's Landing - 7 p.m.
The Kansas Democratic Party, in conjunction with KU Young Democrats, will host their party at Abe and Jake's in the pub room. Local candidates will speak at the event before the debate begins at 8 p.m. This is an all-ages event, but alcohol will be available for purchase.
KU College Republicans will not hold its first party until the Vice Presidential debate on Thursday. Oct.2.
Groups still registering voters
KU College Republicans will be registering students to vote on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wescoe Beach. Democratic students who still have not registered to vote can do so at the Abe and Jake's watch party.
The Student Legislative Awareness Board, or SLAB, will also begin registering students of all parties to vote on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wescoe Beach as well. Students can register through SLAB during the week until Oct. 15.
The last day to register to vote in Kansas is Oct. 20. Students can start sending in absentee ballots on Oct. 15 if they are a registered to vote in Kansas. Kansas absentee ballots must be received by noon on Oct. 30.
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Francesca Chambers
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