Sunday, March 10, 1940
THE DAILY NEBRASKAM
Pro of
- it if1'
1'
By Bob Aldrich.
Once the theater bug bites you,
they say, you never get the love
for the footlights out of your sys
tem? Herbert Austin Yenne, assistant
instructor in speech and dramatic
art, can testify to the truth of
that statement.
"I was bitten very early in life,"
Yenne says. "Broadway, I thought,
could hardly wait until I got there.
The university was just a stopping
place where I've been ever since.
You learn after a while."
Born in Lincoln, Yenne went to
school in Colorado before coming
to Nebraska for work in theater
theory, dramatic interpretation
and production. He spent a year
and a summer nt Cornell doing
doctor's work. He is planning now
to do more graduate work, prob
ably at New York university.
Not all books.
His theatrical training has not
been solely of the textbook va
riety. He has trod the boards with
stock companies and dramatic
groups of rdl sizes and odors.
While going to college he did parts
and "played people's son" in the
old Lyric, where the Stuart build
ing stands. Two seasons there and
another in the Oliver, now the Lib
erty, grounded him in essentials.
He was graduated in 1921, got
his masters in 1927. A summer
under Garnet Holm, English direc
tor of the California Mountain,
Forest, and Desert Players fur
nished valuable experience in out
door productions. During the sum
mers of 1929 and 1930 he directed
the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial
at Gallup, New Mexico. Over 7000
Indians took part in the pageants
and native dances, the program
lasting 3 days and nights. Yenne
can rival Cecil B. DeMille as a
director of mob scenes.
Scouted the Mexican.
He has done considerably "scout
ing around" in Mexico investi
gating native dramatic work. A
summer in Mexico City studying
productions there resulted in an
article) on "Theatres in Mexico"
for the Players Magazine.
Besides acting in a number of
University Players productions,
Yenne has directed a large number
of them. He has written five Koa
met Klub shows, The Dream Pi
rate, The Love Hater, The Campus
Cop, Jingle Belles, and Bar-Nothing
Ranch.
"The Love Hater" was a pretty
hot show. Anyway, the city audi
torium went up in smoke two
hours after the curtain went down
on the last show. The building
was located where the bus depot
stands today.
Among other Yenne plays is a
one-act production based on his
study of Indian history, "Son of
Setewa." This appeared in the
first issue of the Prairie Schooner.
"Three Suns West" was woven
around the life of Billy the Kid.
The Unl Players gave the latter in
the spring of 1932.
Keeps tab..
Yenne keeps close tab on Broad
way productions, tries to "catch"
New York plays each year. One
season he spent two weeks at it,
saw 17 shows. "It wore me out,"
he said.
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A hobby of Yenne's has been
dramatic and speech instruction
in prisons. He directed Thanks
giving, Christinas, and New Year
shows in the penitentiary and
taught public speaking for four
years at the state reformatory. He
believes the training helped pris
oners considerably, but, with
teaching, he did not have time to
continue .it. He wrote an article
on "Prison Lingo" for the Ameri
can Speaking magazine.
Featured in a society section as
one of Lincoln's "most eligible
bachelors" he has taken consider
able kidding from friends, a num
ber of whom have sent fake pro
posal letters. Some of the letters
haven't kidded, however. A girl
in Kansas was willing to hop the
next train if Yenne would say yes
Counting Dodswoith, there have
been 163 Players productions since
Yenne came here, in addition to a
number of Children's Theatre
plays. He has not directed all of
them, of course. He much pre
fers directing to acting.
Attract Broadway.
University theaters will be the
saviours of roadshows in his opin
ion. "Expensive university plants
are attracting Broadway," he says.
Radio is a good field for those
with dramatic training. Teaching
a course in dialects, he reports
that 25 percent of radio speeches
are in dialect.
He calls movies a great train
ing ground for acting but deplores
screen writers who mangle Btage
plays. He encourages students to
study movies, in the absence of
stage shows, for the fine charac
terizations, make-up, and tech
nique. "Grapes of Wrath" he calls
"god theater one picture that
didn't go Hollywood." Disney's
Pinocchio he terms a milepost in
entertainment.
Enthusiastic about plans for the
speech department next year, he
calls attention to the - fact that
play try-outs will be open to all
eligible students. Plays for the
studio theater will not be too ad
vanced but will stick to the prac
tical. Playwrights are encouraged
to bring their wares for inspec
tion, he says.
'Arena' show.
He would like sometime to do
a show of the arena type, perhaps
in the Union with the audience
grouped around all sides of the
floor. "This calls for a distinct
type of acting and directing," he
comments.
He finds his speech class very
interesting. "Students have taught
me a lot," he remarks.. "I hear
speeches on how to test butter and
how cosmetics are made, for ex
ample. One man made a plea for
a northwest Lincoln school."
His favorite actors are Alfred
Lunt and Lynne Fontaine. Helen
Hayes and Katherine Cornell tie
as first ladies of the theatre in
Yenne's opinion. Luther Adler he
calls the most promising young
actor. Orson Welles, he thinks, is
wasting his talent with his finger
in too many pies.
In September, Yenne will take
Miss Alice Howell's , place as head
of the department. Miss Howell
will go on leave of absence,
White issues
l-M debate
schedules
4
Six teams sign to argue
auto insurance question;
first round Thursday
Pntrtniva for the first round in
the intramural debate tournament
starting Thursday were announced
by Prof. H. A. White yesterday.
Six groups having entered teams
to debate the question, Resolved:
that tne various states Bnouiu
adopt a plan of compulsory auto
mobile insurance to cover personal
injuries.
Schedule for the first round is
Beta Theta Pi aeralnst Alpha Tau
Omega at the Beta House, Delta
Thcta Phi against Sigma Aipna
Mu at the Delta rneta mi nouse,
and Palladinn acalnst TK in Pal-
ludinn hall. The debates are being
held in the houses or tne anirnia
tlve teams.
Debaters are:
Representing the competing
groups will be: Alpha Tau Omega,
George Blackstone and Bob Schal-
ter; Beta Theta Ti, Gene Bradley
and Keith Howard; Sigma Alpha
Mu, Paul Crounsc and Bernard Ep
stein; TK, Hamilton Reed and Don
Bursik; Palladlan, Hugh Stuart
and Harold Alexis, and Delta Theta
Phi's team has not yet been an
nounced. Speakers will have the floor for
a six minute constructive speech
and a four minute rebuttal. Judges
will be members of the intercol
legiate debate teams of the past
few years. A change of time may
be made by mutual agreement of
the two teams debating, but notice
must reach Professor White at
least one day in advance of the
time scheduled.
Business
index slumps
Nebraska trend is still
going down, says Spurr
Nebraska's business activity re
ceded further last month from the
December peak, according to W.
A. Spurr, university statistician.
None of the components of the
general index made the normal
seasonal gain. This decline reflects
both the unusually severe weather
and the slump in national business
following the failure of war orders
to come up to expectations.
Complete reports now at hand
for January show that gains over
December in employment, pay
rolls, building activity and life in
surance sales were more than off
set by declines in bank payments
retail sales, electric power output
and automobile sales, after sea
sonal adjustment.
Table for trends.
In the table below each business
index is adjusted to remove normal
seasonal changes and the effect of
the irregular calendar, thus re
vcaling underlying trends. The
combined figure is a weighted
average of the first 7 items listed
NEBRASKA BUSINE88 BAROMETERS.
1&35-J? 100.
Ftb.
1940
111
t8
102
1V0
Jan.
1940
113
89
100
109
198
121
88
11
10
83
i:i9
Combined lntlx
Bank Debits
Department Store Sulfa.
I'natal Receipts
Building Activity
ftlcctrlc Power Output..
New Car Sales
Pay Rolla
Employment
Lite Iimunince Sulei ...
117
113
102
109
183
127
82
114
104
78
Preliminary.
G. E. executive to
interview seniors
M. L. Frederick, director of
business training for the General
Electric company, will be here
Monday and Tuesday, March 18
and 19 to interview graduating
seniors interested in accounting
sales, or credit work.
Those selected will be given
business internships in the com
pany s offices at Schenectady
N. Y., or Bridgeport, Conn. Be
sides their regular work, the stu
dents will attend afternoon classes
in business subjects. Graduates of
the bizad college will do graduate
work while arts students will take
beginning subjects
According to Prof. T. T. Bul
lock, Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Gam
ma Sigma, and activity men are
in demand. Arrangements to meet
Frederick my be made in Profes
sor Bullock's office any day this
week. Similar interviews were
held at the engineering college r?
ccntly.
Prof discovers
new methods
of instruction
C. V. Pollard, instructor of Ger
manic languuges at the University
of Texas, claims that he has per
fected a method whereby a stu
dent can learn to rend advunced
German with less than 50 hours
of instruction.
Instead of un extensive study of
Gorman grammar texts, Pollard
equlres his students to learn but
nine verbs and a few rules. An
other feature of his system is the
finger movement in which the left
finger is used as a guide and lo
cates the key words, enabling the
irht thumb to move along the
sentence, as the reader follows
thru. Breaks in the sentence, made
by punctuation and the fact that
all German nouns are capitalized,
are clues used.
Pollard's method has passed 92
out of 94 students on language
exams that ordinarily require
three years' schooling.
Judd, Hawaii
ex-governor
to speak here
'Unofficial ambassador'
to disprove false ideas
about 'Pivot of Pacific'
The Honorable Lawrence M.
Judd, known by his associates as
Hawaii's unofficial ambassador of
understanding, will speak on
"Hawaii, Pivot of the Pacific" at
the Union Wednesday at 11 a. m.
Judd is a former governor of Ha
waii and an outstanding figure in
the political and business life of
the territory. His address in Lin
coln will be a stop on a good-will
tour of the United States which he
is now making.
It is the purpose of the tour to
remove some of the current mis
conceptions in regard to the terri
tory and to win a wider recogni
tion between Hawaii and the
United Sttaes.
Enthusiasm natural.
Judd's enthusiasm for Hawaii is
natural, as he was born in Hono
lulu and is a member of a family
which has played an historic role
in the development and Amerizan
ization of Hawaii. His grandfath
er, Dr. Gerrit Judd, a medical mis
sionary and statesman on the Is
lands, enjoyed the Intimate friend
ship and confidence of the native
King Kamehameha III and became
his political adviser. His father
became Chief Justice of the Ha
waiian supreme court under the
native monarchy.
Lawrence Judd entered the sen
ate of the territory of Hawaii and
later became its president. Presi
dent Hoover appointed him to the
governorship, an office which he
held until 1934. He has been close
ly identified with the development
of the pineapple Industry which
has been important in American
business.
Wedel of Smithsonian
finds primitive men
Dr. Waldo R. Wedel of the
Smithsonian Institution, who re
ceived his master's degree from
Nebraska in 1931, announced re
cently the discovery of three types
of primitive men who lived on the
western Kansas plains. The Ne
braska alumnus was in charge of
Smithsonian in Kansas last sum
mer. Most recent of the cultural
types was the Upper Republican
which was found nearest the sur
face. Beneath this was the Wood
land civilization, and at the lowest
level flint pieces which Indicated
the presence thousands of years
ago of a primitive people who had
not yet developed to the pottery
stage of human culture.
Wilhelms ottends meets
Fred T. Wilhelms, director of
secondary course construction for
the Extension Division, will dis
cuss "What and How to Teach
Adults of Low Income Level" at
the second national conference on
consumer education held at Ste
phens college, Columbia, Mo.,
April 2.
Movie clock
Nebraska: Invisible Stripes,
1:14, 4:05, 6:56, 9:47. Night
Work, 2:58, 5:49, 8:40.
Stuart Vigil In the Night,
1:14, 3:15, 7:30, 9:45.
Lincoln: The Grapes of
Wrath, 1:37, 4:13, 6:59, 9:45.
Dr. Dykstra
to speak at
graduation
Nationally recognized
educator is chosen as
commencement speaker
Dr. C. A. Dykstra, president of
the University of Wisconsin, who
will deliver the 69th commence
ment address, June 10, is nation
ally recognized as un educator and
as a public administrator.
The baccalaureate sermon June
9 will be delivered this yenr by
Dr. Albert W. Pnlmer, president
of the Chicago Theological semi
nary. Was city -manager
Long before Dr. Dykstra hud
successfully served as city man
ager of Cincinnati, he had achieved
distinction as a teacher and ns an
authority in the field of civic ad
ministration. The Wisconsin presi
dent was for a time an instructor
in history and government at
Ohio State university. From 1909
to 1918 he was chairman of the
department of political science at
the University of Kansas, and
later professor of municipal ad
ministration at the University of
California.
City club secretaries
His career as a public adminis
trator is impressive. He has been
secretary of various city clubs
over the country, among them the
Cleveland Civic league, the Chi
cago City club, and the Los An
geles City club. From 1923 to 1920
he was also commissioner of the
Los Angeles water and power
department, and from 1926 to 1930
was the department's director of
personnel and efficiency.
It was in 1930 that President
Dykstra became city manager of
Cincinnati, and in the seven years
that he served in this capacity, he
came to be recognized as a pio
neer in many important matters
of municipal administration.
'Best-dressed'
girls parade
AWS board to make
final judgment today
Candidates lor the title of
"Best-dressed Girl" on the Ne
braska campus will appear before
the AWS board this afternoon at
2:15 in Social Science auditorium
for final judging. The girl selected
will be presented at the Co-ed
Follies, March 29.
Try outs for models at the Fol
lies will begin at 2:30. Those who
will appear are as follows:
At 2:30.
Alpha Chi Omega: Frances
Green, Betty Ann Egington; Al
pha Omicron Pi: Dorothy Latsch,
Loraine Chant: Alpha Phi: Elea
nor Berner, Patricia Prime; Al
pha XI Delta: Annette Biernbaum,
Catherine Smith; Chi Omega:
Yvonne Costello, Mary Chase;
Delta Delta Delta: Mary Ann
Cockle, Olive Spieth; Delta Gam
ma: Barbara Meyer, Betty Rath
burn; Gamma Phi Beta: Geral
dine Wiemers, Jean Gcddes; Kap
pa Alpha Theta: Emily Hess, Pat
Wood; Kappa Delta: Lethla Pet
tit, Mae Peterson; Kappa Kappa
Gamma: Betty Jane Burgess,
Louise Benson.
At 3:00.
Phi Mu: Ruth Fairley, Ruth
Hult; PI Beta Phi, Virginia Hor
ner, Mary Louise Simpson; Sigma
Delta Tau: Rhoda Krasne, Helene
Albert; Sigma Kappa: Emma Ma
rie Schuttleffel, Carole Fcterson;
Raymond Hall: Anita Jones, Car
lene Hohenscc, Katherine Hanley,
Ann Speiker; Loomis Hall: Owen
Jack, Winnefred White; Rosa
Bouton Hall: Marion Brown, Mari
lyn Barr; Wilson Hall: Betty
Jones, Lucille Bertelson; Home
Ec Association: Mary Lloyd, Mary
Schricker; Barbs: Nadene Arnold,
Beryl Weaver.
Alumnus Nedon, famous
geologist, dies at Tulsa
Henry Nedon, prominent south
west geologist and well known
Nebraska alumnus, died Thursday
at Tulsa, Okla.
Nedon received his bachelor's
degree in geology from the uni
versity In 1921, and had begun
work for his master's degree when
he was appointed to the geology
staff of the Lago Petroleum com
pany. For many years he did con
sulting work for the company in
South America, and the last sev
eral years ran a consulting office
of his own at Tulsa. ,