Section A · Page 16
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The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 17, 1998
Low-budget acting troupe makes debut at Java Break
Trevor Ruder, Lawrence senior, grabs Chandra Dickson, Lawrence resident, as she holds a gun. Ruder played Ned and Dickson played Martha in the play *Restitution*, written by Joseph Griffin, Ottawa sophomore. *Restitution* was one of four one-act plays that were performed by the new acting group EMU at The Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St., last week. Because of the success of the performances, EMU will be presenting an encore performance tomorrow at 8 p.m. at The Java Break. Photo by Augustus Anthony Pinney / KANSAN
By Augustus Anthony Plaxza
Kansas staff writer
A new acting group composed of students and local thesians performed their first shows Thursday at The Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St.
The group, ExtraCommunicative Minstrels Union, performs original scripts by local writers. It was started two months ago by Nate Cadman, a Lawrence resident, and Andy Stowers, Lawrence senior.
Cadman and Stowers asked Derek Logan, owner of The Java Break, about letting them use a back room for their performances.
"When I originally opened the Java Break, I wanted to have acoustic bands, poetry readings and plays," Logan said. "There are so many creative people in town that I was hoping to spotlight the talent."
EMU is made up of 20 people who range in age from 17 to 35. The organizers hope that the number of people in the group will increase.
They have put up flyers advertising for both local actors and screenwriters.
"This is a new opportunity for drama students, but also more importantly, this is an opportunity for students who aren't theater majors who have never done it before," said Melissa Shimkovitz, Chicago junior.
Everyone in the group is an actor. Shimkovitz acted in one show, Inheriting Pickle and another called Blind Sourels.
EMU started with no money and spent less than $100 on the four one-act plays they performed last weekend. The group received most of its set equipment and props from the Lawrence Community Theater.
Cast members, directors and set crews worked together each night to build and take apart the set. The sets had to be dismantled after each practice and performance because the coffee shop needed to
use the area for its customers.
Logan said that the performances added unimessness to the coffee shop.
Katie Angermeier, Lawrence freshman, attended the opening-night performance Thursday. She said that The Java Break created a cozier environment and that she hoped to see more performances by EMU. Logan also said he wanted to provide a place for future shows.
Although EMU would like to continue at The Java Break, the troupe hopes to be act in larger venues such as The
Lawrence Community Theater or Liberty Hall.
shimkovitz said. It's now things go.
Kay Kuhmann, who is directing a play for the Lawrence Community Theater, said she was glad to see the kind of performances pursued by EMU.
"I'm sure it has an opportunity to grow," Kuhlmann said. "Sometimes the charm of that kind of thing or some of the interest level is because of the rather unorthodox performance and small space."
Michael Myers, slicer and dicer extra-dairy, has aged well in the 20 years since he first began stalking horny teen-agers in Halloween from 1978.
By Jeromy M. Dohorty
Kansan movie critic
In part seven of the series, *Halloween: H2O*, people continue to go after him with axes, knives and the occasional toss off a balcony, but Mikey keeps on trucking. Clearly, the guy has been taking his vitamins.
Too bad for him that the Halloween franchise ran out of pep ever since its creator, John Carpenter, decided to steer clear of each subsequent installment. Although not as dumb as one would expect, H2O provides more on the order of self-parodying chuckles instead of pants-wetting horror.
Of course, this raises questions about the movie's intended audience. Horror fans want gore, not irony, and folks in search of satire can probably do without the bloodletting. As a result, H2O veers wildly and never finds its own tempo.
For the first time since Halloween II, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the series as Michael's sister, Laurie Strode. Following her bout with her homicidal sibling in 1978, Laurie faked her own death and relocated to California.
Halloween H20
Kansan rating: **1/2 out of *****
Running time: 85 minutes
Rated R for gore and naughty language
Laurie, now living under the name Keri Tate, is the headmistress of a posh boarding school and a struggling alcoholic. Nightmares about Michael Myers' bloody rampage continue to haunt her, and she's taken to pill popping to alleviate the stress.
But Oct. 31, 1998 approaches, and Laurie fears a repeat of Michael's savagery.
Michael himself, played by Chris Durand, remains an eerie presence behind the white William Shatner mask. Deliberate, careful and forever silent, he's still the ultimate bogeyman.
Curtis has become a much better actress in the two decades since her debut in the original Halloween, and she's able to give more than a few scenes extra momentum.
Fragments of John Carpenter's familiar music punctuates a few scattered scenes of carnage, but this isn't really a movie about violence. It's about confronting old ghosts and carrying on with life, and it provides a decent exit for a series that has gone on far too long.
No dice for Return to Paradise
By Jeromy M. Doherty
Kansan movie critic
*Return to Paradise* is one of those movies so cocksure of its own self-worth that it cannot stop reminding us of it at every available opportunity.
It cannot be blamed for not putting up a good effort, though. Its story, about an American sentenced to die in a foreign prison for a drug charge, consistently promises to deliver the goods.
It's basic premise also is lifted directly from the classic nail-biter *Midnight Express*, a prison drama that won Oliver Stone the 1979 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
But that movie contained complex characters and a plot that nearly overwhelmed the viewer with its no-frills portrait of prison life. Return to *Paradise* is pure Hollywood babulum, complete with phony emotions, a few sex scenes and a courtroom showdown.
Vince Vaughn stars as a limo driver who is faced with a choice. A buddy of his (Joaquin Phoenix) is stewing in a Malaysian jail after the cops found him in possession of more than 100 grams of hash — some of which Vaughn had helped purchase. Phoenix's
lawyer (Anne Heche) says that if Vaughn agrees to surrender to the Malaysian government, her client's life may be spared.
Director Joseph Ruben attempts to shock us with the horrors of the Malaysian legal system, but the scenes lack spark. It is as though he picked up a film-school textbook about political dramas and followed it step by step.
In the end, Return to Paradise does not strike a chord as either an anti-drug film or as a creed against Third World politics. Instead, Ruben settles for the favored Hollywood pastime of media-bashing. His villain turns out to be a scavenging tabled journalist (Jada Pinkett) who is itching to expose Phoenix's ordeal.
'Abide the Dawn' reflects Quantrill's historic raid
But her motivations are so poorly understood that, like the rest of Return to Paradise, it makes nary an impression on any clear-thinking mind.
Kansan Staff Writer
By Augustus Anthony Plazza
Kansas Stiff Writer
The play focuses on the events and survivors of Quantrill's early morning raid of Lawrence on August 21, 1863.
One of the bloodiest events in Lawrence history will be remembered during the Lawrence Community Theater's production of "Abide the Dawn" which commemorates the 135th anniversary of Quantrill's raid.
"I'm interested in history, and I write specific historical plays for a living," said Kay Kuhimann, the play's writer and director.
The performances will be begin at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Lawrence Community Theater, 1501 New Hampshire, where audience members will board two 30-foot trans connected to a tractor. The trams will stop at six different locations along the way.
The Friday performance will take place at the same time the actual raid took place —135 years to the day.
The Friday performance will take place at the same time the actual raid took place—135 years to the day. The theater also will be performing a second show, with tram service leaving the theater at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The final two scenes of "Abide the Dawn" will culminate at the Oak Hill Cemetery, 1605 Oak Hill.
commemorate people's lives at the cemetery, where they are actually buried," Kuhlmann said.
"I thought this was an appropriate thing to do, to
The victims were reburied at the Oak Hill Cemetery in 1865 after they had been removed from the original mass graves on campus, where Daisy Hill is today.
Kuhmann said that the mass graves on Daisy Hill were not the only connection the University had with the raid. Mount Oread also was used as a lookout for Quantrill's raiders.
The performers of the play will face some problems because of the outdoor venue.
The actors will have to project their voices more for the audience to hear them.
"The audience has to work at it," Kuhlmann said. "They have to keep their ears open."
The play's characters are both real and fictional. "Some of the characters are recognizable names from the history of Lawrence," Kuhlmann said. "Others are composite-type characters."
Adonia David, Lawrence graduate student, plays the role of Louisa Gates, a widower of one of victims.
David gained an early interest in Quantrill's history from her mother.
"My mother was really interested in Quantrill's Raid," David said. "She used to tell me stories when I was a little girl."
Cynthia Dahlberg, Lawrence resident, also plays
- Indicates Tram stops. Each stop is a historical representation of actual events.
one of three widows who return to the grave site to mourn for her loved ones.
Jason Benavides/Kansan
The play has reunited Dahlberg with two of her college acting friends from the University, Jon Hobble and Eunice Stallworth, both Lawrence residents.
"It's really cool," Dahlberg said. "It's hard to stay
serious when we have so many inside jokes from way back when."
Audience members will be provided with music on the tram, performed by Steve Mason, Lawrence resident, who will play several string instruments from the period of Quantrill's raid.
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