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The Dresser' benefits UNL theatre projects
Ey Erie Peterson
"The Dresser a backstay play by Ronald Har
wood, b the current production of the Nebraska
Directors Theater. The play, which will be per
formed in the Temple Studio Theater Wednesday
through Saturday at 8 p.m., will benefit both the
Nebraska Directors' Theater and the UNL theater
department's graduate assistantship program.
The Nebraska Directors' Theater Is an independ
ent project managed by eight master of fine arts
candidates and one doctoral candidate of theater at
UNL. It originally grew out of a class project, Urn
Mooney, one of the project directors said. Theater
department Chairman Hex McGraw made it a class
project to go out and start our own theater, Mooney
said.
The group rented space in the old Minnegasco
building at 421 & 11th St "Since the department Is
strapped for space and there is a very strict sche
dule of plays, we found that we needed our own
space," Mooney said.
Mooney said that an independent project like this
has real advantages because they do not have to
select plays with audience appeal and certain tech
nical requirements as the primary considerations,
like the UNL theater department sometimes has to.
Constance Hill, another director involved with the
project, emphasizes the practical experience that
the Nebraska Directors' Theater hes.
"We have to do everything," Hill said. "We know
what it means to run the theater."
Teamwork essential
Working with the other directors is essential to
the success of the theater, Hill said. "Each of us has a
different concern for it each of us has our own
ideal of what we want out of it"
Being in the middle of things makes the project
hard to evaluate at present, she said. There have
been a variety of frustrations and growths. It's hard
to count our assets now," Hill said. "
Most of the students involved with the independ
ent theater will receive their degrees next spring
which means there will be a considerable turnover
in the proj ect Hill said she hopes the theater will be
able to make the transition.
The project has been praised for its efforts. Larry
Hubert, writing for the Lincoln Journal, listed two
Nebraska Directors' Theater productions, "Buried
Child" and "A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around
Talking," among the 10 best plays presented in
Lincoln during the past year.
Actors, directors regain eelf-critical
Hill said that it is important for actors and direc
tors to remain self-critical "You have to ask, are we
doing what we want to do?" she said. "If it's not
working for you, it doesnt matter what Larry
Hubert or anybody else says."
The first production the Nebraska Directors'
Theater did was a one act play, "The Fencers," which
was written by J. Stanley HaehL a UNL theater stu
dent '- ,
"A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking"
opened in the new space on 11th street, and was
directed by Alexis Reisig. Although it was not
reviewed by any newspaper, Hill said that it was a
strong production.
Mooney said not being reviewed can be as frus
trating as being reviewed. "It's been almost a little
political trying to get reviewed in a lot of ways," he
said.
"Buried Child" an artistic success
For Mooney, "Buried ChUd," a play by Sam She
pard, was "our biggest success to date, at least artis
tically." The production benefitted enormously from
a class in which innovative and creative rehearsal
techniques were explored by using the play as basic
material, he said.
The investment of time by all the directors Is very
great, Mooney said. Rehearsals of "Buried Child"
often ran six to eight hours a day, and it could only
be performed at 11. p.m., after some of the cast had
finished their performing or stage managing in a
UNL theater production of Goldsmith's "She Stoops
to Conquer," he said.
"It was that experience that got us closer together
and got us most artistically excited," Hill said.
Most recently, the theater did "A Voice of My
Own," a vignette by Elinor Jones. Hill said "A Voice of
My Own" is the kind of play the Nebraska Directors'
Theater exists for.
"It's not a mainstage show," she said. "It's not going
to be a Howell (Theatre) show." Yet, she said, it is '
an interesting play about what women writers
throughout history have thought aiout their writ
ing. ' .
"The Dresser" will help relieve funding problems
for both the independent theater project and the
department's graduate assistantship program.
"All of our classes are overloaded," Hill said,
adding that a large amount of the money which goes
to hiring more assistants comes from box cilice
receipts. . . . .
The play is "quite well-known," Hill said. "It's a nice
vehicle for both Rex (McGraw) and David (Landis)
as actors " she saidV , .
-t!
'Salvador': Realizing the 'mechanism of terror
"Salvador" by Joan Didion
Simon & Schuster ($12.95)
Before reviewing Joan Didion's "Sal
vador" there are some facts that one
should know about the author and her
work.
A life-long resident of California,
Joan Didion has written extensively of
the hot and arid region. Two collec
tions of her articles and reviews
"Slouching Towards Bethlehem" and
"The White Album" reveal her dis-
Book Review
dain and pity for true believers (specif
ically those of the leftist persuasion),
and film critics who are unable to '
penetrate Hollywood's social ciicles.
On the other hand, she reserves praise
for John Wayne, luxury hotels and
lifeguards.
Famous for her candor concerning
personal matters, Didion has written
about her migraine headaches, per
sistent pangs of dread, and the results
cf a Thematic Appreciation Test which
confirmed that she had a "fundamen
tally pessimistic, fatalistic and depres
sive" view of the world.
In view of Didion's corpus, one can
understand why film critic Richard
Corliss called her "the Empress of
Angst" And it is quite obvious that she
does not have the credentials of a rad
ical Therefore, "Salvador," a chilling
indictment cf El Salvador's right-wing
military dictatorship, cannot be dis
missed as propaganda from the left.
. After spending two weeks in El Sal
vador in June of 1C32, Didion lias
interwoven two powerful stories for
this slim volume. :
First, there is the visceral chronicle
Of what it is like to live in a small coun
try where parking bts and playgrounds
become charr.cls far mutilated bodies.
Then there h the clary which b net so
vLrlila to these who are net familiar
with Didion's past prose.
Was Indifferent
In the past, Didion has displayed a
glaring indifference toward the poor
and oppressed, For example, the plu
tocratic heroine in "A Book Of Com
mon Prayer" trivializes the poverty in
her country while maximizing on the
angst of her affluent cohorts.
The author's sojourn to Ei Salvador
has apparently changed her percep
tion of angst and dread. After witness-'
ing senseless military tyranny (one
afternoon she noticed a person being
forced out of a shopping center with a
gun to his back, and on two occasions
' she feared for her own life) she writes:
"I came to understand, in a way that I
had not understood before, the exact
mechanism of terror."
"Salvador" is filled with brutal sense
of irony which deviates from Didion's
typically "smart" and distanced obser-...
vations. At the shopping center where
the civilian was apprehended by soldi- -
ers, Muzak was playing Don McLean's
"American Pie" (". . .singing this will be
the day that I die. . .").
Yet the most eery event to be chro
nicled happened when Roberto D'Aub
isson, one of the leaders of a familiar
right-wing death squad, granted an
interview to a Danish crew that was
shooting a film. No one was quite sure
if D'Aubisson knew exactly what was
going on. "The place brings everything
into question," writes Didion.
Winning a beauty contest (Senorita .
El Salvador) becomes a-, matter of
life and death since the tig prize means
a provisional "safe conduct" status for
the winner and her family. Didion
wryly remarks that ,the runners-up
responded to losing with less grace
than is the custom cn these occasions".
Nat ts dcnaitlva tart ' - '
"Salvador," to be sure, is not the
definitive text cf the country's civil
strife. It is not meant to be. One has to
do seme-more reading on the subject
and Didion's bock arouses the reader
to do just that Yet despite the author's
acute observations there are problems
with her report
For one thing, she does not question
why the United States is supporting El
Salvador's regime with money and
weapons. In fact, she seems to think
that our government has been unwit
tingly baited by anti-communist slo
gans. Most disturbing however, is the
author's approval of isolating the "out-and-out"
Marxists (as long as a broad
based coalition of moderate and center
left groups is supported). What should
be done to these out-and-out Marxists
once they are isolated? Furthermore,
Didion concentrates on the more vio
lent and episodic aspects of El Salva
dor's reign of terror while remaining
oblivious to the more banal aspects of
oppression which are just as devas
tating. " T
- Nevertheless, the landscapes and
portraits that Didion has painted in
words should leave a lasting impres
sion on the reader. Her impressionistic
style has matured and she now writes
with an expreasionistic flak that recalls
Picasso's "Guernica" (she refers to this
masterpiece herself when describing
the unfinished Metropolitan Cathed
ral in the country's capital of San Sal-
The structure of "Salvador" is sup
ported by various journalistic hard
ware: newsclipping3 from the popular
media; reports from the American Civil
Liberties Union and various human
rights organizations; interviews with
government officials from both coun
tries (including provisional President
Alvaro Magana and former Ambassa
dor to El Salvador, Deane Hinton); and
interviews with dissenters.
Finally, the reader will notice that
thebcckbcwithawEltkrpasa
from Conrad's "Heart cf Darkness,"
..which ends with Kurtz's postscript
.- "Exterminate all the brutes," the cur-:
rent mandate cf El Salvador's rulers.
'Joan Didion is to be commended for
penetrating the heart cf this hemis
phere's darkness.
Local bars
offer variety,
entertainment
College students are back from
vacation with summer job money
in their pockets and thirst in
their throats. Area bars have
reacted by booking strong acts to
lure the students off of the
streets and back into the bars.
The Drumstick, 547 No. 48th
St, has a strong lineup for the
week. Wednesday, Model
Citizens' Club, a new-wave band
from Lincoln, will perform.
Thursday, an Arista recording
group, Ministry, comes to town,
and the week is capped by
appearances by Jason and the
Nashville Scorchers Friday and
Saturday nights.
Closer to campus, The Show
case, 1316 N St, will present
legendary blues singer Koko Tay
lor and her Blues Machine Wed
nesday night Thursday at The
Showcase is the bi monthly
Comedy Shoppe, featuring local
comedians and performers. The
Morrells come to town for a two
night stint to round out the week.
The Zoo, 1 38 N. 14th St, is feat
uring the music of Magic Slim and
the Teardrops all week.
Magic Slim, a nationally
renowned blues singer, was
recently quoted by the
Associated Press as saying he'd
rather play the Zoo than any
other club.
For those who dont have a
taste for blues, McGus, 1024 P
St, features the. Lincoln Jazz
Society Thursday nights. Unlike
most bars, McGuSys does not
have a cover charge.
Finally, for those whose tastes
run more on the exotic side, the
Aku Tiki Lounge, 5200 0 St, b
featuring a croup caHsd Levis
and Lace. Erkfcase fa optional