Wednesday, november 18, 1981
page 8
daily nebraskan
Houseman's company shows repertoryat its best
By Christian S. Thompson
Under the artistic direction of John Houseman, The
Acting Company performed three plays at Kimball Recital
Hall in Lincoln and at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha,
snowing audiences what repertory performing is all about.
FGUISUJ
At a press conference in Omaha, John Houseman,
popularly known for his role as Professor Kingsfield in
The Paper Chase, told reporters that The Acting Company
fulfills a "unique and extraordinary function in American
theater." The Acting Company is the official touring arm
of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and
is the only company in the country solely dedicated to
the development of American actors through repertory
touring and performing.
The Acting Company opened its Omaha Lincoln stop
with Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Al
though completely traditional in terms of diction and
costuming, the set design gave the production a fresh, con
temporary adaptation.
The set, designed by Heidi Landesman, was geometrically-shaped
aluminum tubing that resembled an elaborate
jungle-gym. The set itself was abstract enough that all of
am
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Photo by Peter Cunningham
courtesy of Kimball Recital Hall
Hennia (Lynn Chausow) and Helena (Pam Nyberg)
are shown in a scene from The Acting Company's
production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
the scenes worked well in it; consequently, there was no
need for set changes. It was an integral part of the play
and the players without being an obtrusive presence.
The nymphs and fairies of the farce performed
acrobatics, making exceptional use of the set design.
Lighting was especially nice, as was costume design by
Carol Oditz. Not only were the costumes stitch-perfect,
but they were color-coordinated so that no matter what
grouping of actors were on stage, they were chromatically
balanced and aesthetically appealing.
Eccentric actors
Certainly the best part of the production was the act
ing, which reflected Houseman's statement that. "the
actors were not picked for their acting aptitude or con
sistency, rather for their eccentricity." Nick Bottom and
Pyramus, played by Richard S. Iglewski, was obnoxiously
hammy, but fittingly so for the characters. Michele-Denise
Woods did a marvelous job asTitania, femme-fatale of the
fairy queens, and Patrick CConnell wielded an excellent
rendition of Oberon, the fairy king. His almost hypnotic,
resonant voice and agile movements made for a dominat
ing presence on stage.
Casey Biggs played Lysander, the frustrated lover of
Hermia, and turned what otherwise might have been a
lackluster role into a beautifully understated character
empassioned with quiet intensity. Biggs captured subtle
nuances generally overlooked in most renditions of the
play.
The Acting Company's version of A Midsummer
Night 's Dream was practically flawless. The comic timing
and pacing was perfect. The group exemplified deep
rapport not only with the audience, but with each other
as well. The intimacy they have for one another on stage
is a rare quality they bring in all their performances.
.4 Midsummer Night's Dream was followed on Satur
day evening by Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett.
Again, set design by Radu Boruzescu and lighting by
Dennis Parichy was exceptional. A giant stonelike incline
dominated the stage, adorned with a single boulder and
singje-branched barren tree. - .. - .
The backdrop was effectively shaded to subtly recreate
the sky and the total starkness of the design accentuated
the tone and theme of the play itself.
Godot possibly God
Throughout the course of the play, Estragon and
Vladimir "wait for Godot," who never shows up. Al
though interpretations vary, critics have commonly assert
ed that Godot represents God. Estragon and Vladimir
meet Lucky and Pozzo, who are passing through. Ironical
ly, Lucky is not "lucky." Rather he seems to symbolize
all man's inhumanity to man. Played by Paul Walker, he
does an exemplary job of externalizing those sentiments.
Wearing a leash and a running sore from rope burns, he
pants and froths at the mouth through most of his perfor
mance, looking more like a rabid dog than a human being.
Waiting for Godot is a disturbing play, and the character
development was thorough.
The Acting Company's tour of Omaha and Lincoln
closed Sunday night with Carlo Goldoni's Campiello, a
Venetian Comedy. Dominated by general pandemonium,
A Venetian Comedy is a slice of life in Venice in the
1700s. Wives gossip, girls blush, lovers quarrel and the
people of Venice strut out theii comic lives upon the stage
of the village commons. The costumes and set exuded the
grimy, gritty, moody, sooty, dirty feel of 18th century
Venice The characterization and interplay was consistent
ly exceptional. The comic behavior of the lusty Italians
was uproariously funny.
This is the Acting Company's fourth appearance in
Lincoln. It was founded in 1972 when John Houseman,
then director of the Theater Center at the Julliard School
in New York, saw in his first graduating class a group of
actors so talented that he felt they should not be disband
ed. Houseman and Margot Harley, executive producer,
formed those actors into a professional company, which
made its debut as the dramatic arm of the nation's leading
summer festival, The Saratoga Performing Arts Festival in
New York State. The company became known as the City
Center Acting Company, under the auspices of New York
City's Center of Music and Drama.
In 1975, the Company became known to the public
simply as The Acting Company. Its exceptional perfor
mance here in Lincoln attests to its prominence as the
leading repertory group in America.
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Photo courtesy of Kimball Recital Hall
Estragon (Richard S. Iglewski), Pozzo (Barry Heins)
and Vladimir(Jeffrey Rubin) try to recall the topic
of conversation in a scene from Tne Acting Com
pany's production of Waiting for Godot.
'Prophecy ' tells of the crystal ball in our games
By David Wood
Science continues to put us in our place. Almost 30
years after Crick and Watson revealed the genetic code in
a book that shaped modern thinking about the origins of
life more than any book since Darwin's, Zsolt Harsanyi
and Richard Hutton have written a sequel. Genetic Pro
phecy: Beyond the Double Helix is an account of the im
pact and implication to medical technology of the discov
ery of the key to life's blueprint.
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Evolutionary logic demands we are created unequal.
We are endowed genetically with varying biological capa
bilities in order to adapt to changing surroundings. Nature
and nurture are not distinct tyrants vying for the deter
mination of our character. Rather, recent evidence shows,
in most every instance they are an intimate duo bent on
mutual survival.
Genes bracket us into probable ranges of response to
environmental factors. If their sequences could be read di
rectly off chromosomes, our future health and general be
havior largely could be foretold, also given the full know
ledge of our environment.
Prognostic medicine has developed a shortcut for this
formidable task. It can determine the blueprint from the
structure. In each of us exists "genetic markers," various
protein-like compounds in our organs or blood that direc
tly indicate the presence or absence of individual genes.
From a pricked finger, the scientist can adjust the
spread of our individual chances at later developing cer
tain cancers or other disorders. Genetic Prophecy is the
story, written for layfolk, of the past, present and future
of the new medical skill called "genetic screening." The
book is a historical summary of seemingly piecemeal dis
coveries, a directory of known correlations and an itiner
ary of implications, both medical and ethical.
Richard Hutton is a magazine science-writer who has
five books under his belt. Dr. Zsolt Harsanyi, a professor
of genetics at Cornell's medical school, currently oversees
the committee advising congress on matters of genetic re
search. Hutton and Harsanyi have written a book that is
both thorough and 276 pages long, excluding appendices.
It is specific and yet not overly technical.
The subtitle, Beyond the Double Hehxt remains prob
lematic. Harsanyi and Hutton seem to feel they're onto
the hottest discovery since Crick and Watson, when ob
viously genetic screening is significant on a much less fun
damental level. But, as they never wax into bombast or
science fiction, their air of self-importance is easily forgiv
en. They understate as often as overstate.
Besides, on another level, the level of direct impact on
society, the craft of screening is more threatening than the
abffity to decode DNA. Genetic prophecy, as a sweeping
tool of discrimmation, has vast potential for abuse
If our probability of health can be tested, and if the
records were public we can expect to see racially based
price discrimination being written into insurance premi
urns Also, we can expect to see job rtscrimination. An
employer who wishes to avoid claims also will avoid work
ers with known susceptibilities to their environment.
We already have witnessed the prejudicial clamor that
can spnng from a genetic marker. Alter nuseXdSer
Richard Speck went to court, all tall males with an extra
Y chromosome were labeled violent criminal type dl
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