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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1997
EVENTS • ENTERTAINMENT • ISSUES • MUSIC • ART
Master's guitar to sing again in pupils' hands
By Emily C. Forsyth
Kanson staff writer
Classical guitarist Christopher Parkening will take the Lied Center stage at 8 p.m. tomorrow to give the opening performance of "Evening of Segovia."
The concert, the first of his national tour, is a tribute to his mentor, the late Andrés Segovia.
"It's been a decade since the Maestro played concerts, and so it was an idea of my manager, Earl Blackburn, to do a tribute tour to my mentor, friend and the greatest guitarist of all time — Andrés Ségovia." Parkening said.
The guitar Parkening will use during the tour is Segovia's old concert guitar, on loan from the National Museum in Madrid, Spain. Parkening said he was delighted at the opportunity to use
delighted at the opportunity to use the Maestro's guitar.
"It's such an honor for me, such a privilege," Parkening said.
Parkening designed the program for "Evening of Segovia" after researching Segovia's concert programs from 1928 through 1987. The performance will be preceded by a 12-minute film highlighting Parkening's relationship with Segovia.
Parkening said he anticipated the performance to be emotional.
Parkening: Begins tour tomorrow night at the Lied Center.
"Especially since it's the first one, and it's on his concert guitar, it will be a little bit difficult," Parkening said. "But along with that will come
great fulfillment in honoring my musical inspiration. Parkening began playing the guitar when he was 11 years old. He was initially inspired by his cousin, Jack Marshall, a guitarist at MGM Studios. Upon recognizing Parkening's interest in the guitar, Marshall told him to do two things. First, he told Parkening to build a foundation of classical guitar technique. Second, Marshall told him to buy the recordings of Segovia, the greatest guitarist in the world.
great fulfillment in honoring my musical inspiration."
A year later, Parkening met Segovia backstage after a concert and resolved to become his pupil. Parkening went on to study at Segovia's first master class, a musical workshop at the University of California at Berkeley. He later studied privately with the Segovia in Spain, where their friendship grew.
Parkening said there were four major strengths that made Segovia the greatest classical guitar player: technique, beautiful sound, passion and rapport with his audience.
Walter Clark, guitarist and assistant professor of musicology, has seen Parkening perform on several occasions and said that Parkening had inherited these characteristics from Segovia.
"He plays the traditional repertoire beautifully." Clark said. "He's just a wonderful guitarist who plays from his heart. His technique is such that he's completely relaxed, so he immediately puts the audience at ease."
Parkening credits Segovia with single-handedly bringing the classical guitar to the concert stage.
"Never before had the classical guitar been played in the concert halls of the world prior to Andrés Segovia," Parkening said.
"The guitar is a wonderful vehicle to bring the beauty of classical music to the younger generation because they identify with the instrument," Parkening said. "With all of its many styles — rock, pop, jazz, country — it's probably the most popular instrument in the world."
Parkening continues the tradition of performing and said that he attracted a varied audience.
Tickets are $27 and $32 for the public, $13.50 and $16 for KU, Haskell and K-12 students, and $26 and $31 for senior citizens. For more information call the Lied Center Box Office at 864-ARTS.
Dance instructor David Capps demonstrates a move while Erin Shortlidge, Overland Park sophomore, and Pia Heinonen, Helsinki, Finland, junior, follow his lead. Capps came to the University of Kansas with a Big 12 Faculty Fellowship and is preparing a performance for the end of November. Photo by Roger Nomer/NANSAN
Dancing allegro
Instructor has limited rehearsals to teach routine
By Rachelle Detweiler
rdetweiler@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
David Capps and his troupe of eight dancers were exhausted and covered in sweat, but they punched out one more energetic practice to a tune by Duke Ellington.
They can't slow down because Capps, a faculty member of the Boulder Dance Division, has only 13 rehearsals to choreograph the number and teach the troupe his original piece. A newly established Big 12 Faculty Fellowship brought Capps and his 15 years of professional dance instruction to KU students.
Capps said he was the only person to apply for the art-oriented fellowship, even though many dance departments must scrape together money for guests.
The University's music and dance department incurs no cost as a result of Capks fellowship. The only questions were who could cover his classes in Boulder and financing
the expenses not covered in the $2,500 fellowship, Capps said.
Joan Stone, a music and dance instructor working with Capps, said people in the art field had not realized the fellowship was available. Instructors from the KU music and dance department may apply next year after seeing the benefits of Capps' visit.
Capps is teaching two classes in the dance department and is preparing for Nov. 20 and 21 University Dance Company recitals. The performance will be presented at the Lied Center. Capps will return to Boulder Oct. 19.
"There's more than just an athletic relationship between the Big 12," Caps said. "Dance programs have so little money. I thought we must cash in on this opportunity."
The fellowship allows only two weeks for rehearsals, and Capps said he had never prepared a piece so quickly. The dancers must correct mistakes quickly and choreographic decisions must be made almost instantaneously, Capps said.
The learning process is especially intense because both Capps and his students are unaccustomed to working with jazz music. Capps dabbles in a wide range of music — from classical to African. Most of the eight dancers have a solid training in ballet or modern dance.
Erin Shortlidge, Olathe sophomore, said that the new dance form was more precise and fast paced than her regular classes. When she comes home from practices, she said she's exhausted and stressed from the
"Mistakes are something you have to deal with. Your mind blanks out sometimes. You just have to get to where you were and keep dancing"
Erin Shortlidge overland park sophomore
In theory, dancing should reduce stress, but with the new techniques, the potential for mistakes is increased and is draining. Shortl-ledge said.
"Mistakes are something you have to deal with," Shortlidge said. "Your mind blanks out sometimes. You just have to get to where you were and keep dancing."
Capps said that he approached the new music in a way to help both himself and the dancers.
All dancers agreed that mastering any piece involves hard work, especially when they're tackling a new medium. Audience members only see the seemingly effortless performances, but they don't see the sweat and dedication involved during the practices.
"The quantity of information these dancers have absorbed in one week is amazing," Capps said.
Classic Inge comedy buses home to Kansas
By Emily C. Forsyth Kansan staff writer
The University Theatre will present its first main stage production of the season, William Inge's classic comedy "Bus Stop," at tonight in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
The play is set in the 1950s at a Kansas roadside diner where bus passengers are stranded during a snowstorm.
As in the play's bus stop, a cafe and sheriff's office were located close to the Tonganoxie stop, Wright said. When he was teaching in St. Louis, Inge often traveled by bus to Kansas City and surround towns.
Director Jack Wright, professor of theater and film, said he thought Inge's bus stop was based on one located close to Lawrence.
"The one that I think Inge was imagining in his mind was in Tonganoxie," Wright said.
"Bus Stop" opened on Broadway in 1955. Marilyn Monroe starred in the film version. released in 1956.
Inge, a University of Kansas graduate, returned to his alma mater several years later to teach a playwriting course. At the time, Wright was a graduate student in theater and one of Inge's students.
"I was thrilled to learn that Inge would be teaching the course, but he had just suffered devastating reviews from the New York critics and was very despondent," Wright said. "Yet it was quite thrilling to hear him talk about his plays, his work in the theater and his love for this area."
"Whether you're in a small Kansas town in the Midwest or in a big city in New York, his plays are universal in the sense that they deal with broken dreams, a feeling of loneliness at times, a feeling of isolation," Wright said. "Inge looks at various kinds of loving relationships in the play and sees how they develop."
Wright said that although "Bus Stop" was set in a small town in Kansas, it could take place anywhere and deals with issues to which anyone could relate.
Jennifer Nichols, Topea senior, plays a nightclub singer named Cherie. She has been abducted by a cowboy named Beo who plans to make her his wife. Despite her character's predicament, Nichols said that Cherie was able to look at the bright side.
"She finds humor in the situation and enjoys meets new people," Nichols said. "She is intrigued and entertained by people she meets at the bus stop."
"Bus Stop"
The play unfolds in Grace's Diner, a set complete with running water and working grills — designed by Steve Hudson.
Actors rehearse a scene from University of Kansas graduate and playwright William Inge's comic classic "Bus Stop." The play opens at 8 tonight in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. Photo by Sarah McKinney/VKANSAN
Times 8 p.m.
Friday, tomorrow, Thursday and
Oct 24.
Matinee: 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Whitby Coffee & Theatre
Tickets: public $12, senior citizens $11 and students $6. Call Murphy Hall box office at 864-3982.
Info: "Bus Stop" was written by William Inge and is directed by Jack Wright. It will be the KU entry in the 1998 Kennedy Center-American College Theatre Festival and will be staged in April at the Inge Festival in Independence, Kan.
Maiet, Lawrence graduate student in scenography.
To capture the flavor of the time for both the set and costumes, Hudson-Mairet researched newspapers, magazines, advertisements and television clips from the 1950s. He said he tried not to give a stereotypical portrayal of the time period because many audience members would be familiar with what things looked like.
what it was like," Hudson-Maliret said.
"This is a show that's so '50s, and there's still a large generation of people who know
Wright said "Bus Stop" would transport the audience to another time—in stark contrast to today's world.
"You can jump back into the 1950s and get caught up in that cafe and the problems
and joys and excitement of the characters that Inge has so cleverly created," Wright said.
"I think for sheer entrainment value, there are great funny moments and lots of action." Wright said.