CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, March 19, 1996
3A
Love and lying at heart of student operas
Scenes will depict range of moods
By David Teska
Kansan staff writer
In opera, love and lying go hand in hand.
"Most opera has to do with love, and love has a lot to do with lying," said Mark Ferrell, associate professor of music and dance and musical director of Lovers and Liars!, a collection of operatic scenes being presented by the KU Opera Thursday and Friday at the Lied Center. Directing the production is guest stage director, David Roth.
"From our viewpoint, it's like teaching 10 different operas," he said.
Whereas most opera performances are a single story, Ferrell said operatic scenes offer the audience a sample of different stories set in a variety of moods and periods.
Ferrell said that using the operatic scene gave the students greater variety in their performances because they had the opportunity to learn different musical styles and play different roles.
"They're good pieces for the students to learn," he said. "We really want it to be educational."
To draw the audience in, Ferrell said that the audience would be sitting on stage, surrounding the performers on three sides.
"We want to maintain a sense of intimacy," he said.
Having the audience with them on stage will also help the performers, Ferrell said.
"Since they are younger, they don't have to worry about filling a 3,000-seat hall with their voice," he said.
At rehearsal yesterday, Katherine Steinbacher, Lawrence senior, and Jennifer Angeletti, Lawrence senior, prepared for their duet from Act I of Julius Caesar by German composer George Frederick Handel. They both said that to have the audience up close during the performance would benefit both the audience and the actors.
"There more opportunity for more people to be involved," Steinbacher said. "With small scenes, it's easier to communicate with the audience."
"It's really nice because you can see all kinds of talent," she said.
Angeletti said the actors weren't bothered by performing different operatic scenes.
Auditions for the performance were held in January and 30 students were chosen from about 60 who tried out, Ferrell said.
Switching time periods and roles has been stressful on everyone, he said.
"Some days you're sort of in a daze at the end of rehearsal," he said.
Gina Thornbure / KANSAN
Members of the KU Opera rehearse "Lovers and Liars" showing Thursday and Friday at the Lied Center. The opera contains different scenes of love and living
Candidate holds town meeting
Snowbarger encourages self-reliance, tax reform
By John Collar
Kansan staff writer
"I'm convinced that you can solve your problems better than I can," he said.
Government should not be in the business of doing what individuals, families and communities could do for themselves, said State Rep. Vince Snowbarger, R-OLathe.
That philosophy is the centerpiece of Snowbarger's campaign for the Third Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Jan Meyers.
Snowbarger visited with about 15 Lawrence residents last night during a town hall meeting at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.
Part of Snowbarger's self-reliant outlook includes eliminating the federal
departments of education, commerce and energy. Not all of the functions of these areas should be eliminated but should be moved to other agencies, he said.
He also said the budget impasse in Washington rested on President Clinton's shoulders.
Vince Snowbarger
"It never would have gone that far if we had a president who kept his word," Snowbarger said. The shutdowns had occurred because Clinton indicated his support for certain bills and then backed away from signing them, Snowbarger said.
Tax reform is also an important part of Snowbarger's guiding principles. In this year's state legislative session, he proposed phasing out the 35-mill property tax levy for education, which generates $580 million for public education in the state.
Under Snowbarger's plan, spending would continue to increase for education and other state departments while providing $1,170 of tax relief for every person in Kansas during the next ten years.
"There is a golden opportunity to deal with property tax reform," Snowbarger said.
Andy Obermueler, Liberal sophomore, said that Snowbarger had a good chance of winning the election and had a squeaky-clean reputation in the state.
"He's a Boy Scout," Obermüller said. Snowbarger has served in the Legislature since 1984. He has been the House Majority Leader since 1993.
Republicans Ed Eilert, Overland Park mayor, and Greg Schoofs, a former staff member in Jan Meyers' office, are running against Snowbarger. The only democrat to declare her candidacy is Judy Hancock, Overland Park, a former trade official in the Carter and Reagan administrations.
Program to explore race, sexuality
By Heather Kirkwood
Kansan staff writer
Chance Smith, a stage and film actor living in Lawrence, believes he is on a mission sent from God.
His assignment — to bring attention to the issues of being homosexual and a person of color.
His weapon — a knack for pulling together pieces of himself and those he has known into one composite character and then becoming that character to help the audience understand his experiences.
"I felt it was important for me to do work
in contribution to my community as a Black and as a gay."
Several weeks ago SMIT approached Sara Collas, a graduate assistant in the Minority Affairs Office, about doing a performance for the University of Kansas community that would bring these issues into the open. Collas said she was ecstatic
"I've been wanting to do a program like this since the Multicultural Resource Center opened Sept. 6," Collas said. Collas and Smith have put together an awareness program which runs at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Multicultural Resource Center.
The program will feature three parts:
Three lesbian and gay panelists will speak and answer questions.
A documentary about being AfricanAmerican, gay and HIV-positive called Tongues Untied will be shown.
Chance Smith will perform a 10-minute monologue he has written.
"For me, the issue isn't only about being a lesbian, particularly when you are dealing with all three of these issues at once." Collas said. "As a lesbian I have to deal with homophobia, and then as a person of color I have to confront issues of racism. And thirdly, because I am a woman, I have to deal with issues of sexism."
Dredging permits avoid moratorium
State senators divided sharply on the issue
By John Collar Kansan staff writer
TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate voted yesterday to exempt two sand-dredging permits near Lawrence from a proposed dredging moratorium on the Kansas River.
By a voice vote, the Senate tentatively approved the moratorium, which is sponsored by State Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence. Supporters said the moratorium would allow the state to study the possible recreational uses of the river without the detrimental effects on the river of additional dredging. Praeger said that the moratorium would preserve a natural resource and a critical habitat for the bald eagle.
However, during debate on the bill, the chamber voted 18-17 on an amendment to exempt the permits near Lawrence, which are being considered by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Supporters of the amendment argued that the moratorium would cut off construction companies from an important source of sand and that the state should not be involved in a local issue.
"We do need the sand, and we need it at a decent price," said State Sen. Carolyn Tillotson, R-Leavenworth.
State Sen. Don Sallee, R-Troy, who proposed the exemption amendment, said, "I
have a problem with closing something down for two years that produces a lot of money for the state just for the study of recreation."
Opponents of the amendment said that passing the moratorium was a step in the right direction, but exempting the two companies would defeat the bill's spirit.
Praeger argued that the state should be allowed to gather information without additional permits being granted. If the companies are allowed to proceed, the dredging could affect possible future recreational uses of the river.
"We are not going to have the luxury of correcting those mistakes." Praeger said.
She said that additional permits could affect the river upstream and downstream from the dredging site.
Although the stretch of the river from Lawrence to Kansas City has been dredged extensively, the portion of the river between Topeka and Lawrence is relatively untouched.
The applications to dredge have drawn the fire of the Lawrence and Douglas County Commissions, which voted to condemn the proposed dredging operations last year. Environmental groups have argued that the dredges could change the course of river and release materials from a city landfill near the river.
Victory Sand and Gravel Co. and Penny's Concrete Inc. have applied to dredge north of Lawrence. If the Corps approves the permits, the Jefferson County Commission would have the final say on whether the companies could dredge.