tuesday, february 12, 1980
daily nebraskan
page 13
la Turista' to initiate theater
By Debra L. Miller
Feb. 14 may mean hearts and flowers to most students
but to the members of the UNL Theater Department who
are building, painting .and rehearsing in Kozer Hall, it
marks not only the opening of La Turista by Sam
Shepard, but the debut of Studio 12, the new theater
facility. .
While the Temple Building is being renovated, Studio
Theater activities have been transferred across the street
to Kozer Hall, formerly a Nebraska Bookstore warehouse.
The new facility is between Q and R streets, on the west
side of 1 2th Street (hence the name Studio 1 2).
Transforming a warehouse into a theater complete with
lights, sets and seating is no small task, but with the
efforts of designer Ed Stauffer and his technicians the re
suits provide an intriguing setting for theatrical
production.
Studio 12's atmosphere has been compared to that of a
New York loft theater, where the basic premise is that
theater can and will be done wherever there's an audience,
actors and a stage.
The theater is located on the second floor of Kozer
Hall. Those used to luxurious lobbies and easily accessible
restrooms may be confused by the somewhat Spartan
accommodations, but the theater is amply equipped with
the necessities.
In the round
Theater in the round, with the audience seated on all
four sides of the. stage, is an unusual facet of Studio 12.
With an increased seating capacity of 118 (compared to
the old Studio's 99), prospective audience members will
find it easier to get tickets for upcoming shows.
Many aspects of theater in the round-such as minimal
sets and the possibility of innovative staging-seem to
point to newer, more experimental theater. These are
two reasons graduate student director Don Renaud chose
La Turista for the facility's opening.
"I wanted to do something by a modern American
playwright," Renaud said. "I wanted to experiment to
do something different, branch out. A play by Sam
Shepard gave me the opportunity to do these things."
Romance . . .
Continued from page 12
"Oh, but that isn't true, sir. Romance still exists."
"You mean some place other than the pages of
Harlequin novels? I think not, dearie. But thanks for
saying so."
He sipped his drink. f-. -
"No, really. I mean Just last year I heard about this
guy in a dormitory. He had been living across the hall
from this woman for three months. Never spoke a
word to her. Then all of a sudden on Valentine's Day,
he knocks at her door, hands her a dozen roses and
says 41 love you.' Just like that. Three months later
they're married."
Happily ever after
The boyish face brightened. "Really? And did they
live happily ever after?"
"Uh, yeah." I didn't have the heart to tell him
about the divorce.
"You mean in spite of all the foil-wrapped com
mercialism and smarmy television there's a bit of the
old spark left?"
"I was just going home to make sugar cookies."
His eyes sparkled, and the hump on his back seemed
to almost -well, flutter.
"Well, if that's the case, dear one, I've some work
to be doing. Thanks for a lovely chat, my dear. But I
must be off. Perhaps we'll meet again someday, eh?"
He chuckled as he made his way out.
"Perhaps we will," I called, toasting him with my
Shirley Temple. But probably not, I said to myself.
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'There were also a lot of factors to consider In terms
of a small cast, minimal setting and budget. We weren't
even able to rehearse in Studio 12 until a week and a half
into rehearsals because it wasn't built yet."
, Two-month run .
La Turista is Shepard's first full-length play. It was
tirst performed by a" New York experimental group in
1967 for a two-month run.
"And as far as I've been able to find out, that's the
only other production of the play that's been done,"
Renaud said. "Certainly the only production by a major
company."
Since then Shepard has become one of America's fore
most young dramatists, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1979
for his play Buried Child. He was one of the first
"violent" playwrights to emerge from the 60's, and looks
at the jituals of violence that lie just under the surface of
American culture.
According to Renaud, the play explores American
cliches, movies and myths. It takes off into flashes of
fantasy-Frankenstein, Sam Spade and the big shoot-out,
to name a few.
Td describe Sam Shepard as an avant-garde play
wright, but totally American," said Renaud. "La Turista is
a totally visual play, full of action, chilling, and often very
funny."
The play opens Thursday and runs through Tuesday,
Feb. 19.
Play is for charity
The American Lung Association of Nebraska is
to receive funds raised through a special performance
of the Lincoln Community Playhouse's production of
"Same Time, Next Year", March 12.
The evening will include a wine and cheese recep
tion following the prodcution. Tickets for the event are
$10 each. All seats are reserved. .
The two-character play is being directed by Scott
Lank, a master's student at UNL. Joyce Ebmeier and
Lee Schoonover have been cast as Doris and George.
The play follows the couple over a period of 25 years
as they meet annually for a weekend affair.
Funds raised through the benefit are to be used to
support the lung association's programs for children
with asthma, patients with lung disease, smoking
education and for quit-smoking clinics.
Tickets are available by calling the lung association
regional office at 474-5858. '
Don't be a Gas Guzzler!
Share a ride, take the bus,
or walk.
John Eccli
ABC News Correspondent fo the
United Nations
Former U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations
speaks on
'Wilt the United Nations Survive the
Iranian and A fghanistani Crises?"
Wed.t Feb. IS 7:30 p.m.
Neb. Union Centennial Room
FHEE AD:.ii2siorj
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ltT73QTrO" Si. 432 -dQ42J.
A University Theatre Produqtion
Q.A UQJtPDSUA
A Play in Two Acts
February 14, .15, 16, 17, 18, 19
At 8:00 P.M.
Studio 12
472-2073
329 No. 12th St.
Lincoln, 68588
Tickets: 3 studentssenior citizens
4 all others .
U CITY