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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY DECEMBER 11 2006
ARTS
Students to perform show in Lithuania
BY DARLA SLIPKE
A handful of students will take their final exams on a 10-hour flight to Lithuania.
Seven students will travel to the National Drama Theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania, to re stage "The Snow Queen," which they originally performed in Murphy Hall last December. The group will leave Lawrence on Tuesday.
Romas Vikishraitis, artistic director of Elfu Teatras in Villnius, directed the production last year when he came to the University of Kassamon as a visiting artist. John Stainman, chair of the department of theatre and film, said Vikishraitis was "enamored" by the production and asked the cast to come in the show at his theater. In Matteson, who plays the most enjoyable part of the show was working with Vikishraitis who he described as "crazy and 'interesting'". Matteson said Vikishraitis was the inspiration for one of his characters in the show.
Contributed by Catherine Kimball Students will perform "The Snow Queen in Lithuania."
Contributed by Charla Jenkins
Alicia Gian, Garden City graduate student said Vikshitras had them explore their childhood memories and incorporate them into their acting. Gian said during those exercises, she remembered being outside, running around, creating worlds and climbing trees. She said that was helpful because they performed the show for children.
Gian said the cast spent the first two weeks of rehearsals building relationships between characters while Vikhiraksh translated the script. In
"We were able to relate to the children because we were coming from a place where they are currently," she said. "I've been able to tap into resources that I forgot I could use."
Lithuania, they will perform the show three or four times each day, which is unconventional in Western theater, with two Lithuanian actors. Gian said she looked forward to learning about their approach to theater.
Kansan staff writer Darla Slipe can be con-tacted at dislikek@kansan.com.
Edited by Erin Wiley
》 STUDY ABROAD
Different locations draw more students
BY KIM LYNCH
The number of KU students studying abroad in South America and Asia has increased, far exceeding the number of foreigners.
A November report released by the Institute of International Education found an increasing number of students were interested in countries in South America and Asa that were thought of as non-traditional destinations. In 2005 the number of American students studying in China has increased by 34.9 percent, in India by 52.7, and in Argentina by 53.1 percent.
Susan Gronbock Tecedos, director of the office of study abroad, said the percentage of KU students studying in these non-traditional areas has increased from 21 percent in the 2002-2003 school year to 26 percent this year.
She said students are traveling to non-tradi
tional destinations because they wish to learn more about different cultures, she said.
Maggie Childs, associate professor of East Asian languages, said the increase could be influenced by countries like China in the news. Students wanting to go into international careers could find it important to go to China because it is growing economically, she said.
Kristen Hageman, Woodlands, Texas, sophomore, she planed to study abroad in Germany.
"China is becoming such a leader in the business world, that I wanted an opportunity to get over there and gain some insight," she said.
Kansan staff writer Kim Lynch can be contacted at klychn@kansan.com.
Edited by Gabriella Souza