U N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
Friday, November 15, 1996
3A
Hard work conveys era's feel
By Bradley Brooks Kansan staff writer
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
While the audience settles back to watch the upcoming University Theatre production of Hair (Revised) , they will notice several things: the intricate set, colorful hippie characters, naked people and rock music.
Cast members from Hair (Revised) perform a dress rehearsal in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre. The play opens at 8 tonight and runs through Saturday, Nov. 23.
But what they won't see are the students who have worked behind the scenes all semester.
"We tried to bring the set into the face of the audience," said Stephen Hudson-Mairet, Waukesha, Wis., graduate student and the scenic and lighting designer for the play. "We are trying to use Crafton-Preyer in a different way than any other show."
Mairet and the 25 students who assist him have been working since the beginning of the semester on set construction.
"The most challenging part was the 29 painted images that we had to make," Mairet said.
Those black and white, photo-looking images of political and cultural '60s icons help to take the audience back to the chaos of the era.
"We are trying to represent the society of the '60s and make a connection with the students of today and the people who actually lived that kind of life." Mairet said.
The most unique aspect on the set of this production will be a series of slides used in the play.
Maggie Gilmore, Stanley senior, is the assistant scenic designer and was put in charge of scouring libraries, magazines, and any other source to find images relevant to the actions and emotions of the time period.
The role of the slides is important in the presentation of the story, but Gilmore said they will not be overbearing.
"Sometimes they provide comedy, sometimes they support a song, and sometimes
they are just visual," she said. "Basically, they provide a backdrop and don't compete with the actors."
Along with the importance of the set, the clothing also is crucial. Ann Hockenberry, Syracuse, NY, graduate student and the show's costume designer, said she and her assistants had been working hard to help transmit the play's essence to the audience.
"I help the director develop the concept of how he wants to present the play," she said. "Anything that goes on a body falls under my domain."
Ironically, it is in a play that is best known for a nude scene that Hockenberry got her first chance at being the costume designer.
"Yeah, that is pretty ironic. But it is just for a brief scene," she said.
Baring all no problem for some in Hair cast
Theater production draws diverse range of students
By Liz Musser
Kansan staff writer
They may have been born a generation late, but the cast members of Hair (Revised) have spent the last few months confronting many of the same issues that college students faced in the days of free love and flower children.
"Hair covers the whole spectrum of American issues, whether it's teen pregnancy, homosexuality or drugs," said cast member Silas Hoover, Topeka junior. "We may not be out there with signs, but we're dealing with the issues on a more personal level."
The University Theatre's production of Hair (Revised) opens at 8 tonight at the Crafton-Preyler Theatre in Murphy Hall. The rock musical, which first opened on Broadway in 1968, centers around a group of hippies called the Tribe. The leader of the Tribe, Claude, struggles with whether to dodge the draft or serve his country in Vietnam.
Brennan Smith, Hutchinson senior, plays Claude, and he said that he and the cast completed extensive research to prepare for the play, including reading excerpts from works by Jack Kerouac, Tom Wolfe and Allen Ginsberg.
"I also went to the traveling Vietnam memorial in Tonganoxie," Smith said. "There were some very powerful speakers there that helped me better understand the issues I would be dealing with."
kip Niven, director, said that Hair (Revised) was only slightly different from the original version. In the revised version, the
story is told from the point of view of Berger, another Tribe leader.
Niven said that one of the unique aspects of the 32-member cast was its diversity. Many of the cast members are freshmen and are not theater majors, he said.
"It's a terrific mix of people." Niven said. "It certainly been a democratic process of bringing people from all over campus into the play."
Andrea Lockett, Shawnee junior, said the diversity within the cast had made the members stronger.
And, yes, some members of the cast will get naked.
"Within the cast itself we've been able to discuss racial issues we had never thought of," said Lockett, who plays Ronnie. "It has benefited us not only as a cast but as people."
"It's a completely and totally liberating experience," Hoover said. "Doing it in front of people makes you realize that you have nothing to hide, both in your body and your personality."
Tyra Cheatem, Des Moines, Iowa, freshman, said that she hadn't told her mother she would take off her clothes for the play and that her mother would not find out until the performance.
However, Cheatem said that she was comfortable with the nude scene.
"Before I started, there was no way I would have gotten up in front of a crowd and shown my body," she said. "But I've learned a lot about myself during this musical. I'm a completely different person."
Hair (Revised) will be performed at 8 tonight, tomorrow and Nov. 21 through 23. It will be performed at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices are $16 for the general public and $8 for students.
Vision plans not detailed enough for Regents
By Lindsey Henry Kansan staff writer
TOEKA—The Board of Regents wants to see more aggression from its six state universities.
Each school was required to detail action it would take to improve in the coming years as a part of Vision 2020, the Regents broad plan to improve the Kansas Regents universities for the 21st century.
Yesterday at the Board's monthly meeting, the universities were criticized for their plans' insubstantial content.
will improve 10 percent."
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said that vast statements for improvement naturally were ambiguous.
"I thought the goals were quite timid," said Phyllis Nolan, chair of the Board of Regents. "I'd like to see a better job with more aggressive indicators."
"Guarantees like this are easy things to do for universities," Hemenway said. "Of course a university can beat its chest and say it
The plans for advising improvements, faculty development and ways to reduce the time it takes to graduate will be presented to the Legislature during the spring session. Each university's statistics on graduation and retention rates, number of courses taught by professors and number of students graduating in four years will accompany the written plans.
Wefald said such misinformation could lead to less money for the universities — something Kansas can't afford. The state's financing for higher education increased only 4 percent in the last year.
Jon Wefald, president of Kansas State University, said presenting the Legislature with outlines and
university statistics was dangerous. He said such indicators did not always tell the entire story.
"Statistics don't suggest the history out of which they come," Wefald said.
"This could be used not to our advantage in the Legislature," Wefald said. "Not for a million
years will the state of Kansas be funded like a state like North Carolina. Kansas is only in line with Oregon because that state devastated its higher education funding."
In other business:
The Regents agreed to consider each school's request to raise housing fees. The University's suggestions included a 2.6 percent increase in residence hall rates, from $3,640 to $3,736. The new rates, if approved in the December board meeting, would go into
effect on July 1, 1997. The Regents also agreed to review requests to amend each school's comprehensive fee schedule. Off-campus fees would be increased by two to three dollars to keep courses offered in continuing education in line with each campus.
The Regents authorized the University to seek financing from the Legislature to begin renovations to Lewis Residence Hall. The estimated cost for the project is $5,915,000.
Tickets are $2.50 at the SUA Box Office.
Free with SUA movie card. Movie cards are
$35 for the year or $25 for the semester.
STUDENT UNION ACTIVITIES
SUAR FILMS
LAWRENCE AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS 842-8665 2858 Four Wheel Dr.
Connecting your Macintosh to the Internet
Saturday, November 16,1995 4:00 p.m. KU Computer Center Auditorium
a monthly meeting of The Lawrence Apple Users Group laug@ukans.edu http://www.ukans.edu/~/laug/
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