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Christmas Carol singing original tunes
By Brian McManus
The Theatre Arts department will
perform the play "A Christmas Carol"
during December. The play, written by
R. Dale Wilson and directed by R. Scott
Lank, is an adaptation of the book by
Charles Dickens. ' 4
Lank, who is directing the play as the
thesis for his Master of Fine Arts degree,
said the play will feature seven original
songs composed by Clark Kimberling,
professor at the University of Evansville
in Indiana.
"The songs were written for two
pianos and reflect the time period of the
play, (1843)," Lank said.
The production will be elaborate.
Lank said there were going to be many
quick scene changes in the play and, to
effectively accomplish this, they will be
using a revolving stage.
"Although I didn't want the play to
jje overly sentimental in its portrayal, I
want to add spectacle to the show
through visual means. The adaptation
written by Wilson is a good, solid script.
We are going to complement this with
strong production - the use of lighting
effects, costumes, make-up. We even
have fog and snow in certain scenes."
IN SPITE of the elaborate pro
duction, Lank said his intention is not
to make a "picture postcard" type of
play. He is going to concentrate on the
strong class separation that, existed in
1843.
"That was one of the strong points in
Dicker's, story. He wrote it in a time of
poor working houses and mandatory
child labor. The class separation at the
time was much more pronounced than
it is today.
"His message was that we are all
fellow passengers on this earth and that
monetary achievement doesnt change
this fact. We are all heading for the
grave, so we should make life as pleasant
for one another as we can along the
way."
One of the main obstacles Lank has
to deal with is the size of the produc
tion. "The cast will consist of 36 mem
bers. It is a task to use this many people
without a sense of clutter."
Lank added that 14 of the members
were children ranging from 8 to 14
years old.
He held two days of auditions for
children's roles after advertising in the
newspaper, sending .letters to public
schools arid talking with the Lincoln
Community Playhouse, which sponsors
acting classes for children.
4
0
Graduate student R. Scott Lank is directing the Theater Department Arts' produc
tion of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
"THE RESPONSE was excellent. We
had over 50 children come to the audi
tions. From this, we were able to select
a very good group.
"When working with children, there
are many problems to deal with-lack of
attention, tardiness, and non-involvement.
This is only natural, they're kids.
But I haven't had too many problems at
all with this group. They have been very
attentive and well behaved. I am sure
they will do well in the play. The boy
that is playing the role of Tiny Tim is
especially good."
Lank said that Wilson's adaptation
stayed fairly close to Dickens' book.
One difference is in a scene with
Scrooge and a girl named Beolinda. The
play will concentrate more on this seg
ment.' Lank said the scene is effective in
portraying Scrooge as a man who once
felt deep emotion before becoming
immersed in achievement and greed.
ANOTHER DIFFERENCE is the
portrayal of the ghost of Christmas-Yet-To-Come.
A child will play this role to
symbolize that the future is in the hands
of the next generation.
The play will be performed at 8 p.m.
Dec. 7 to 8, 13 to 15, and 20 to 21.
There will be matinees at 2 p.m. on Dec.
9, 16 and 22. They are giving group dis
counts, but Lank said that people who
want to see the play should act fast, be
cause seating is limited. ,
"The seating in the first five perfor
mances has already reached the bal
cony," Lank said. "People who want
good seats should act now. Most shows
will probably be sold out before too
long."
Hothouse set in 1955
Play depicts reality after WWII
By Betsie Ammons
Family relationships and the role of women are
explored in the next UNL Studio Theatre play, Megan
Terry's Hothouse. , "
The play, which opens Thursday, is concerned with
"finding a family in a world that has torn families apart"
according to director Judith Pratt, a graduate student
working on her doctorate in theater.
Pratt said the play, set in 1955 1 also deals with what
happened to American women as a result of the depress
ion and two world wars.
The women remained at home during those times,
"tending the home fires" Pratt said, and by 1955, were
beginning to question their traditional roles, even though
the women's movement did not blossom for another
decade. .
Calling Hothouse a realistic play, Pratt said she chose
it because she finds it difficult and challenging.
f4When I read it I thought Wow, I'm really going to
have to do sdme thinking to understand this, but in the
end, will learn something ( want to know' she said.
She chose a realistic play in the style of Edward Albee
or Tennessee Williams, because she thought it would help
her at this stage of her education, she added.
Pratt said she prefers working in smaller theatres such
as UNL's studio, and that is the theatre usually available
to student directors.
When she found which theatre she could work in, she
chose a play that would work in that space, she said.
The play's author, Megan Terry, is playwright in
residence at Omaha's Magic Theatre, Pratt said Terry is
better -known for her avant garde plays rather than those
in the realistic vein. A Terry play in the avant-garde style,
Goona Gootia,- is now playing at the Magic Theatre.
ferry also has worked with the Open Theatre, an
experimental group formed in the '60s.
Hothouse premiered in 1974 at the Chelsea Theater
Center in New York. It is the story of three generations of
women, a grandmother, mother and daughter, living in
Seattle just after the Korean war and the love and choices
available to each.
In the UNL production, the grandmother is portrayed
by Beth Marie Hansen, the mother is Patti Raun and
daughter is Deborah Brooks. Caron Buinis, J. Marni Vos,
Ed Hanson, Larry Petersen, Jay Judds, Richard Dinsmore,
Blake Hambrick and Denise Frost also are featured.
Hothouse will run Thursday through Dec. 4 at the
Studio theatre in the Temple Building, 11th and R
streets. Tickets are available at the Temple Box Office.
Vonnegut to host Twain re-creation
A dramatic recreation of Life on the Mississippi, Mark
Twain's story of his youthful experiences as a riverboat
pilot, has started into production near Peoria, 111. for a
major public television in the 1980-81 season.
Kurt Vonnegut is host of the two-hour film television
special which is being produced by- the Nebraska
Educational Television Network in association with The
Great Amwell Company of New York-the team respon.
sible for the Public Broadcasting Service's innovative
Anyone For Tennyson? poetry series.
life on the Mississippi is the pilot program of a project
ed series of nine Mark Twain specials to be presented on
PCS over three seasons, dramatizing the famous and well
loved works of America's best -known writer. Included will,
fcs The Innocentf Abroad, Roughing It, Huckleberry Finn,
The Gilded Age and Pudd 'jtheacl Wilson .
The National Endowment for the Humanities has pro
vided the basic funding for the production of Life on the
Mississippi with Deere & Company and the Exxon Cor
poration . providing corporate underwriting support.
A cast of 40 headed by Robert Lansing (12 O'clock
High) as pilot Horace Bixby and newcomer David Knell
playing Sam, the young "cub" apprentice, is currently
filming on the authentic paddle-wheleler Julia Belle Swain
at Henry, III. a short distance upriver from Peoria.
A scholarly advisory board for the Mark Twain series
includes Daniel Aaron, Harvard University; Walter Blair,
University of Chicago; William M. Gibson, University of
Wisconsin; Justin Kaplan, Cambridge, Henry Nash Smith,
University of California; and Anne F. Scott, Duke'
University.
Orchestra jazzes up
The Nebraska Neoclassic Jazz Orchestra will appear in
concert at 'the Lincoln Pius X High School fine Arts
Center on Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
In August, 1978, the Neoclassic Jazz Orchestra toured
England and Scotland for three weeks as the U.S. repre
sentative to the International Festival of the Arts.
The concert will feature selections from bands such as
Count Baise, Stan Kenton, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis and the
NBC (Tonight Show) orchestra, as well as original
compositions of the Jazz Orchestra.
Tickets are $3 and are available in advance at Dirt
Cheap Records and at the doof. This concert is the only
Lincoln performance scheduled for this season.
NET V hunts heirs
Beginning Sunday, the Nebraska Education Television
Network, in cooperation with the Nebraska State Trea
surer's Office, will air a series of "mini-programs" just be
fore signing off each night.
Entitled Treasure Hunt, the short programs will list the
names and addresses of persons who have unclaimed pro
perty coming to them.
Each year, there is a surprising amount of cash, check
ing and savings accounts, utility deposits, insurance pro
ceeds, stocks, dividends and other abandoned assets which
flow into the Nebraska Permanent School Fund because
no one claims them. . ,
There is a good chance that the rightful owners or heirs
of this property live within a radius of 150 miles of the
listed address of the owner. Anyone discovering that they
are possible heirs to any of this unclaimed property, or
having some personal knowledge of the owners or rela
tives, should call the Nebraska Educational Television
Network, Information Department.
Correction
In the Monday, Nov. 19 issue of the Daily Ncbraskan,
it was incorrectly reported 'that Bill Behrr.er played the
guitar at an Open Stage Night at Jesse's Lounge, and that
Bill Mearns played the dulcimer. The story should have
said that Mearns played the guitar and Behmer was the
dulcimer player. The Daily Nebraskan apologies for the
error.
