ASSASSINS
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Actors Tim Wilmer, Overland Park freshman; Chip White, Chillicothe, Ohio, junior; Trey Hohman, Topeka freshman, and Craig Kenkel, Dow City, Iowa, sophomore, (from left to right) go over a scene in the play *Assassins*, scheduled to open at 8 p. f.m. Friday in Murphy Hall. The play utilizes an unusual set with oversized objects for illustration.
Play looks at society and violence
Drew Starlin, Lawrence freshman; left, Andrea Lockett, Lenexa freshman; Matt Fowler, Lenexa junior; and Andrea Sahlen, Englewood, Colo., senior, rehearse a song.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
'Assassins' asks who would kill the president?
By JL Watson Kansan staff writer
So large is the revolver onstage that, if it were real, the sound of the discharge would deafen the entire audience. The bullets are big enough to sit on. They are part of the set for "Assassins," a musical being presented by the University Theatre Department.
"Assassins" discusses the love affair between society and violence, particularly the use of guns in assassination attempts on U.S. presidents.
"Who are the disaffected people in my society who feel the only solution to their problems is to assassinate the president?" asked "Assassins" director Ron Willis. The question sparked Willis' imagination as he began directing the 17-scene show.
Willis said that violence had long been a part of the American consciousness and that he had focused on questions about typical violence.
"What is there in the American consciousness that may inadvertently be promoting this perspective?" Willis asked.
"One is that the 'American Dream' has something to do with saying, 'No matter how humble your beginnings and roots, you can reach the top. You can achieve your goals with hard work.' It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see a lot of people who work hard yet don't reach their goals."
Willis said that although "Assassins" was a musical, it asked probing questions.
"A lot of people think that theater is there to entertain and that this glorifies violence. Theater can be diverting, entertaining, but it can also be provoking," Willis said.
Phoebe Zimmermann, Wichita senior, plays Emma Goldman. She had heard about "Assassins" before she auditioned. "It's such an incredible concept," she said. "The subject matter is so harsh and so dark. It's so hard to believe you're laughing at it. It's vicious in how ironic it is."
Zimmermann said she thought audiences would laugh, and yet they would feel disgusted that they're laughing at such a serious subject.
"They will find themselves rooting for and sympathizing with the assassins," she said.
Elisha Dragen, Pickney Elementary School sixth grader, plays Billy Moore, the son of assassin Sarah Jane Moore. He said he decided to take the part because he
thought it would be fun.
"It's different than other musicals because there isn't as much music," he said. Several of the scenes do not contain music.
Dragen said "Assassins" covered a broad range of subjects. "I like to hear their point of view," he said of the assassins. "I think most people will think it's funny."
"Assassins" will be staged at 8 p.m. Oct.
15, 16 and 21-23 and at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. Tickets are $12 for the public, $6 for KU students and $11 for senior citizens and other students. Tickets are available at the Murphy Hall box office, 864-3982, and the Lied Center box office, 864-ARTS. VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone orders.
Kim Forehand considers Lawrence her home, but after beginning her music career here, she is moving to Nashville.
As part of her folk singing performance, Kim Forehand, Lawrence resident, chats with her audience between songs.
Melissa Lacey/KANSA
Local woman sings - with a laugh - to reach her dreams
She graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a degree in economics and worked as an investment banker in Baltimore for two years before developing an interest in music.
She came to Lawrence nine years ago to study music therapy and got sidetracked by the music — not as a therapist but as a performer. For the past four years Kim Forehand has been playing to folk audiences around Lawrence and the rest of the country.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
By JL Watson Kansan staff writer
"At first I got involved in concert production, which is the riskiest business I have ever been in," Forehand said. "I've learned by making every conceivable mistake," she said with a Southern accent. Eventually, Forehand said, she went out, bought a guitar and started fiddling around.
"Ientered the Kaw Valley Songwriter's Contest in 1989," Forehand said. "It was my first time playin' in public, and my hands were shakin', and I won."
"I've entered the contest for the past four years," Forehand said and smiled. "This year when I won it was a relief. I got lucky. I did comedy with audience participation."
Since that first contest Forehand
Many of Forehand's songs include comedic insight into ordinary life. She said she was obsessed with her song "Lawn Ornament Freaks." It tells of her love for lawn ornaments. Forehand also wrote a song about Lawrence called "Living in a College Town."
has continued to win. This year she won the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Songwriting Contest in Kerrville, Texas. She was selected from 648 entries in 48 states and two other countries.
Forehand considers Lawrence her home, but she is moving to Nashville, Tenn.
"I've tried to leave for years," Forehand said. "If life went on forever, I'd stay, but I need to make contacts in the industry, and a lot of people there know each other."
Once in Nashville, Forehand hopes to perfect her craft as a songwriter
See FOREHAND, Page 8.
People and places at the University of Kansas.
calendar
NIGHTLIFE
Benchwarmers Sports Bar & Grill
1601. W. 23rd St.
Curt Hill, 9 onight
Wake, 9 p.m. tomorrow
Turquoise Sol, 9 p.m. Saturday
The Crossing
12th and Oread
Blue Fuse, 9 tonight
Ricky Dean Sinatra, 9 p.m. tomorrow
Arkansas White Trash Express, 9 p.m. Saturday
Dos Hombres
Dos Hommes
814 New Hampshire St.
Eight Men Out, 10 p.m. tomorrow, free
803 Massachusetts St.
Full Moon Cafe
Acoustic Juice, 8:30 tonight, free
The Young Johnny Carson Story, 8:30 p.m.
tomorrow, free
Tommy Johnson Experiment, 8:30 p.m. Saturday,free
The Jazzhaus
926 1/2 Massachusetts St.
'70s Disco Party, 9:30 tonight
Slamjammy, 9:30 p.m. tomorrow
Easter Day, 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Rick's Neighborhood Bar & Grill
Rick's Neighborhood Bar & Grill 623 Vermont Soulshaker, 9:30 p.m. Saturday, $3
The Bottleneck
The Bottleneck
737 New Hampshire
Salty Iguanas with Motherwell, 10 p.m. tomorrow, $4
L.A. Ramblers, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, $4
Granada Theater
1020 Massachusetts St.
So What, 6:30-9:30 tonight
Hispanic-American Leadership Organization
(HALO) presents Tempeststad for a fund raiser
for HALO, 9 p.m. tomorrow
Marqueal Jordan Sextet, 7-9 p.m.
Staying Alive: '70s Flashback, every Wednesday
Hockenbury's Tavern
1016 Massachusetts St.
The Mirage, 10 tonight, $3
Caribe, 10 p.m. tomorrow, $5
Caribe, 10 p.m. Saturday, $5
Acoustic open mike, 10 p.m. Sunday, free
See CALENDAR, Page 8.