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daily nebraskan
Wednesday, September 10, 1980
Marco the clown discusses private, public image
This is the final conversation in a series
on artists and the images of themselves that
they create and have fosited on them. The
following b a questionanswer interview
with actor and mime Marc Willy. Willy is
perhaps best known for his clown Marco.
Marc: 1 never started by thinking about
my image. 1 was just doing my thing.
But as le been performing, images of
me have definitely been forming. 1
cant deny it.
MZ: Images of Marc or Marco?
Marc: 1 want my image not to be con
fused with Marco's, that's why I talk
about him in third person and one rea
son why lYn doing this interview.
17
MZ: How are you separated from Marco?
Marc: I am quite a bit different in my way
of expression. We both have similar
goals-of helping people and ourselves
to smile, to love, to be what we want to
be. But we use some different methods.
MZ: Such as?
Marc: Marco is highly effective by becom
ing a celebrity , well known-a symbol for
freedom in expression. Skipping down
the street, playing music, playing games.
People see him, smile at him, talk about
him to their friends.
MZ: And Marc?
Marc: I'm more quiet, personal, not want
ing the spotlight. I cherish being alone
and being with friends in a more quiet
communication.
MZ: Do people recognize this in you?
Marc: Well, many people experience me
only as a crazy carefree clown, and
when they meet me, see how serious I
am and how I have similar problems in
my life, they are often surprised. They
usually understand me, and respect my
clown a great deal more.
MZ: How is Marco's image growing?
Marco: I'm building it up. I'm hoping
that Marco can help spark a new ex
pressive feeling in the city. I'm con
tinually working on new projects to
help get this feeling going. There are
always new things. I'm hoping that
Marco will inspire other artists to bring
their expression out in public, share it
with the people who are hungry for it.
I've been receiving so many compli
ments about what Marco is doing, that
it tells me people really want more art
in their lives.
MZ: Why do you think more artists don't
come out?
Marc: Some are scared, I'm sure. It is scary
to do. There's a great risk of rejection.
But that can be lived with and soon
overcome -if you really believe in what
you are doing, also can look at the good
you're doing.
When 1 dressed as Cupid, running
around in diapers and 10 degree
weather, I took a lot of risks. 1 got a
number of hecklers too, but I felt it was
a great success. Most people loved it and
it gave me more desires to perform
again. I also experienced so many
special moments of intimacy while
snooting people with my love arrows. . .
MZ: (raised eyebrows)
Marc: It's wonderful to share that intima
cy in public.
MZ: How's all this affecting Marc?
Marc: Mmmm. (Pause.) I'm not sure. I'm
changing rapidly. I am becoming more
quiet, more private. I want more time
alone, and deeper relationships. I used
to be a good deal more extroverted -driven
on in my need to prove myself
to people. Marco sprung from some of
this. 1 don't need that so much now.
I'm gaining confidence and self respect,
I know I'm touching people. They're
telling me in letters, in person, and in
dreams. Other artists are telling me, and
as I travel I'm getting offers to join com
panies around the country. It means a
lot. (Long pause).
MZ: Marc?
Marc: My personal art and life are some
times hard to talk about. It's mainly
about love. How do I define that? How
do I express that in a newspaper? I
often feel inadequate in expressing
words. It's why I do mime. Words can
be so misleading. It's the image thing
again. What I say here will be stuck in
print. People will read this and say 'Here
is what Marc is all about' and they can
lock it in their minds, unconsciously,
and catagorize me. They will have pre
conceived notions and when we meet it
hurts our communication. I'm trying so
hard to understand my many-faceted
personality without wanting to be
labled wrongly by others.
MZ: Does it happen often?
Marc: People's images are very powerful
and if you aren't careful you can be
living other people's images of yourself
instead of your own. I know, I've done
it, and I chose not to anymore. I do risk
communicating. 1 want to and need to.
lYn a person and I'm a clown. lYri very
serious about what I do and I love it.
I'm very thankful to the people who
give me support. I'm often confused and
scared, yet learning more and more. I'm
not sure where my art is going to take
me. Now I feel tremendous love from
the clown and I will constantly be striv
ing for more love and more truth.
MZ: And the images?
Marc: Well I guess 111 watch them as they
develop and die. Marco may be dead
soon. I don't know. But if and when he
does go, something new will take his
- place , that much I know .
- , r . " t -
' ' ' - : , L ' l"0 '' s
- rl- f .'X A" ' 1 ( 1; ' t ' '
-;-r v 1 . - '
I i. "- ' -
Photo by Mark Billinpiey
Marc Willy
Restaurants specialize in spuds
By Carl Sjulin
Tired of eating the same old Big Mac, having it
your way at Burger King, or wiping your face after
a juicy Wendy's hamburger? If so, a new restaurant
trend is surfacing in Lincoln that provides a nice
break from these well-rehearsed habits.
dining out
This new idea happens to be a twist on America's
own baked potato. The Sanctuary and Spuds and
Greens are two restaurants featuring this type of
cuisine. Spuds andGreens, 13th &0 Streets is open
from 10:30 to 7:00 Monday through Saturday. It
offers five different types of baked potatoes.
The choices range front a beef and bacon potato
to their famous taco tator. For $1 .95, you can get a
baked potato stuffed with the topping of your
choice.
Salad and drinks are extra, so if you're really
hungry, the bill can top out at around $5. However,
it is well worth the money once you taste the food
and consider the excellent service.
The unique decor of the restaurant includes
assorted potato sacks that line one of the walls. The
rest of the room is decorated with barn boards and
old laminated newspapers. One of the three owners,
Brian Pinkerton, said he got the idea for the restaur
and when he and a friend were in New York.
"We saw long lines of people waiting to get into
a restaurant that was serving just baked potatoes,"
he said, We have had a steady flow of business
with most of our clientele consisting of people who
work downtown, vegetarians and students who are
looking for a change of pace."
His mother, Bev Pinkerton, who acts as the
manager, said she thought it was their business'
duty to "take the little potato and turn it into
something famous."
The Sanctuary, 18th and N Streets, is another
restaurant playing on the same theme.
The Sanctuary features a basic baked potato and
offers the patron 16 different toppings that may be
applied in any or all combonatipns. For $2.50, you
receive two baked potatoes and the salad of your
choice. Both were delicious and served with a smile.
It is an attractive place that has an outdoor beer
garden sporting an array of hanging plants, flowers
and fountains. The decorative celing fans that hang
from a huge canopy make the garden good for all
types of weather.
The inside is designed with small, dimly-lit tables
that accent a quiet atmosphere. It is open from
11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for food and until 1:00
a.m. for drinks on Monday through Saturday.
The Sanctuary is owned by Joyce Durand,
who might be more familiar to many people as the
owner-piano player of The Sidetrack bar. Durand
said the restaurant has recently begun serving
happy hour drinks from 4:00 pjn. to 6:00 pjn.
She said that business has been excellent.
"I felt like Lincoln needed more places to go
where a person could take their date and not have to
go through the hassle and noise that characterizes
so many Lincoln restaurants," she said. "We get all
types of customers, including many lobbysts from
the State Capitol."
These restaurants definitely provide $ welcome
change of pace and deserve a try. If you like
potatoes and a light and different atmosphere, I
would jecommend Spuds and Greens.
If you are looking for a unique place to take a
date where you can enjoy good food with a small,
moonlit table, then I would suggest The Sanctuary.
Both are close to campus and offer some variety,
which is just what Lincoln needs.
Vietnam film is a
powerful portrait
By Jennifer Bauman .
I've been John O'Haraed.McNamar'ed;
I've been Rolling Stoned and Beatled till I'm . blind.
IVe been Ayn Randed, nearly branded a communist
cause left -handed. ..-Paul Simon, A Simple Desultory
Philippic.
FGUESl'J
Only recently has Hollywood turned to the Vietnam
War as a subject for films. And well-made films looking
at Vietnam are relatively uncommon. Perhaps the best
treatment of the situation was Peter Davis's documentary,
Hearts and Minds, released in 1974 after two years in the
making.
About the same time Hearts and Minds was released,
Glenn Silber and Bfrry Brown began background work
for The War at Home. These two filmmakers carefully
examined TV news film from the Madison, Wis. area on
anti-war demonstrations and the rhetoric of the Vietnam
period.
They followed up this research by tracking down some
ol the people who had been involved in the protests at
Madison.
Working from a script written by Producer Elizabeth
Duncan and aided extensively by funds from the National
bndowment for the Humanities and other foundations,
Silber and Brown built The War at Home
Wealthy liberal schools like Cal-Burkeley and Colum
bia received the lion's share of the attention during the
days of student protest against Vietnam. While the Mid
west was relatively calm (UNL did have one major protest
at the Military & Naval Science Building) the Universities
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