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Friday, April 10. 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Plays need universal understanding, Soviet says
By CHRISTOPHER HINES Staff writer
A political prisoner of 19th-century Russia awaits his death alone at Akatu prison in Siberia.
Memories of his past return to him during the night in the form of ghosts, as he relives his life experiences. In the hours before his execution, he ties together the strings of his life and answers some of the most fundamental questions of human existence.
That scene from Edward Radzinsky's play, "Lunin": Theatre of Death," may seem far from Kansas in time and space, but Radzinsky thinks the key to a good play is universal understanding.
"For it to work, it has to be unshaken in the heart of America," he said last week.
Radzinsky, one of the most popular playwrights in the Soviet Union, left Lawrence on Sunday after a two-week visit to the University of Kansas. He attended a rehearsal of the University's production of "Lunin" on Friday.
Joseph Brandesky, left. Lawrence doctoral student, listens to Edward Radzinsky, right, a visiting Soviet playwright, talk about Radzinsky's play, "Lunin: Theatre of Death." Brandesky, who is directing KU's production of "Lunin," receives some help with translation from Gerald Mikelsen, middle, professor of Soviet and East European studies.
"I was quite struck by the audience's reaction to the play in New York because it was the same as the reaction in Moscow," said Radzinsky, through a translator. "They laughed in the same places and were silent at the same moments. I did not have to understand the language the play was being performed in because I could tell exactly where they were by listening to the moments of laughter and silence."
Mikhail Sergeevich Lunin was one of the Decemberists who unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Czar Alexander I in the early 19th century and was sent to live in exile in Siberia.
Joe Brandesky, the director of the play at KU, said Radzinsky's visit provided his actors with a unique opportunity to gain insights about the play. The play will be performed at 8 p.m. April 23 in the Inge Theatre at Murphy Hall.
Dennis Christilles, Lacoste, Texas,
graduate student, plays the part of
Lumin. "I don't think it's just politi-
calism," he says. "There are here to
draw the line is important."
The department of Slavic languages and literatures sponsored Radzinsky's visit as part of its program to attract Soviet playwrights to KU.
Gerald Mikkelsen, professor of Slavic languages and literatures and Soviet and East European studies, translated for Radzinsky, who, like most people who are learning a new language, understood more than he spoke. Mikkelsen said it was easy to learn the language through Radzinsky thought before he spoke and his words were clear and precise.
"They fly like the words in his plaus." Mikkelsen said.
"I like Lawrence," he said, without a translator. "It is very nice. There is a very strong intellectual atmosphere here."
But the soft-spoken playwright could hold a conversation without the assistance of a translator and seemed to enjoy talking about his travels and the pleasure of his stay in Lawrence.
Radzinsky will stay in New York this week to attend an off. Broadway performance of "Lunin" before returning to the Soviet Union.
"New York is horrible," he said.
"But I love it."
ky's previous requests to travel abroad because of the strong political statements in his plays. But this time, his request was approved. He had visited the United States six years ago.
Mikkelsen said the Soviet government had denied some of Radzinz-
"The privilege to travel abroad is an acknowledgment in the Soviet Union of success," Mikkelson said. "To have it taken away is a form of retribution. Against what depends on the mood of the Soviet government."
Radzinsky said he never wrote his plays as political tracts, but as a memoir.
"I'm not very fond of political plays," he said. "Life is the combination of the temporary and the eternal. And politics is temporary. When the political times change, those plays die.
"Plays are, first and foremost, about people, history and suffering. And 'I Lunin' is the story of an old man's journey through his subcon-
Brandesky studied the Russian history in Radzinsky's plays and said he was intrigued that the playwright had used a Decembrist revolutionary to make a statement against what Lunin in the play calls "merciless power."
"They are heroes in the Soviet Union because they represent the first intellectual uprising against the Czar," Brandesky said. "It's difficult for anyone to openly criticize the first, failed Russian revolution."
The Soviet people's curiosity about the Decembrists compels him to write about early revolutionaries, Radzinsky said. He received a degree in history from Moscow State Historical-Archival Institute in 1960
their work in Harvard University in 1803.
"It seems to me that such people
exist in all times and all countries." Radzinsky said. "If there had not been such people, history would have stoned.
"Lunin is one of the most mysterious people. He continues to have great influence in the Soviet Union."
writings supposedly were burned. But Radzinsky said a 15-volume work of his manuscripts soon would be compiled by a Soviet writer.
After Lunin was strangled to death while in exile in Siberia, all of his
Answering the mystery, Radzinsky said. "Manuscripts do not burn."
Radzinsky grew up among the Soviet Union's intelligentsia. He was born in 1936. His father was a well-
known man of letters who translated French and dramatized works of works
Radzinsky has more plays in production in the Soviet Union than any other playwright. A number of them have been translated and produced in several languages and he has gained critical acclaim worldwide.
Group seeks to help kids from single-parent families
Special to the Kansan
Bv VALOREF ARMSTRONG
The dedicated work of three sorority sisters is keeping University Pals alive in Lawrence. But the program, which provides companionship for young boys and girls, is not large enough to meet area youths' needs.
University Pals is the successor to the campus Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, which disbanded last spring because of a lack of dedication, said Kim Bulman. Bulman, a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, 1339 W. Campus Road, started
University Pals last fall in an effort to continue the work of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
Bulman, a junior, transferred to Wichita State this semester. Three volunteers from her sorority then took over the program.
The new coordinators said they decided that University Pals, which matches children from single-parent families with students who will spend time with them, was worth the time and effort.
"It is a good program and I want it to continue," said Julie Timmons,
Lake Quivira junior and one of the coordinators. "I think anybody who's involved with it would really get something out of it."
Only members of the greek system are eligible to be volunteers. That rule makes it easier for coordinators to work with the volunteers, Bulman said.
Sandra Pence, a school psychiatrist at New York Elementary School, said that she thought that every KU student should be eligible to volunteer.
way," said Pence, who helps to find pals for elementary and junior high school students. "We always have more kids to match than volunteers. Every year there are more kids who need a pal."
But Timmons said the limitation was necessary because the group was not financed by the University of Kansas.
"It's not that we're trying to say that only these people can do it." Timmons said. "It's just that, otherwise, we couldn't sponsor the program. It would get too big for us to
"You get more volunteers that
handle."
The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program was plagued by some participants' reluctance to complete the yearlong commitment that the program required, Bulman said.
"There were some problems with a lack of devotion," she said. "Too many weren't willing to make the commitment every week."
rummons' goal for the program this semester is to make sure that volunteers know the extent of the team, and the need before they become involved, she said.
"A lot of people have said that they don't have time for it this semester." Timmons said. "That upsets me because that can really hurt those little kids when suddenly we don't have time to be their friend."
Pence said, "We encourage them to do it for a whole year because these kids have had a lot of disappointments in their lives. If the children have somebody that they're good at, they'll be a week, and all of a sudden the pals don't show up again, the children really can be hurt."
KU STUDENTS 1987 KANSAS RELAYS BUTTONS HAVE ARRIVED!!
If you purchased an All-Sports Ticket you may stop by the ticket office in Allen Field House and pick up your Relays button
If you didn't purchase an All-Sports Ticket, you can still get a button for only $2.00 until April 17.
This years Highlights include: Al Oerter, 4 time Olympic gold medalist
- Over 250 high school, college and university teams from over 20 states compete for Kansas Relays championships.
- Over 250 high school, college and university teams
- Over 1,000 runners to compete in Kansas Relays marathon and 10,000 meter town and campus road race.
Stop By:
Athletic Ticket Office
Allen Field House
Lawrence Kansas, 66045
more info call 864-3141
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