Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1994)
Arts(oEntertainment Nebraskan Thursday, February 10,1994 English professor visits Shakespeare institute By Heather Sinor Staff Reporter William Shakespeare himself may not have survived into the twentieth century, but his talent and his love for the theater live on through Dr. Stephen Buhler, assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lin coln. Buhler had the unique opportunity to join sixteen other “students” from across the United States at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., to improve their knowledge of Shakespeare’s theater. The partic ipants in the project were composed of professors and members of theatrical departments and dance departments. Participants were direct ed by Lois Potter, a leading theater critic in England and a professor at the University of Delaware, Buhler said. The students studied the psycholo gy of Shakespeare’s characters, reen acted productions, viewed local per formances every weekend and pre pared re v iews of their reactions, Buhler said. They also learned how to convey Shakespeare in theater into a class room and vice versa. Buhler said this aspect was of particular interest to him. In order to be admitted to this class, interest in the subject was a must. This was no ordinary summer school pro gram, Buhler said. Instead the stu dents met one weekend a month from September of 1992 to May of 1993 and again in October of 1993. The final class session is this month. Although the commuting may sound excruciating to some, Buhlet said, “the main appeal wps that you could think about each of the aspects for three or four weeks before the next session.” He said the time interval allowed him to go back and try out what he learned in the classroom. “That way,” Buhler said, “I can immediately find out what can be of use and how it could be of use in the classroom.” Just having the opportunity to be admitted into this program highlights Buhler’s exceptional qualifications. He was selected into this National Endowment for the Humanities-fund ed project as one of 17 from a pool of 80 to 100 applicants. He is the only Nebraskan in the program, he said. Buhler enjoyed his experience and said in a few years he would like to have the same kind of program here and call it the Nebraska Shakespeare Project. The Folger Library, where the class was held, was established for Henry Clay Folger, a leading oil executive and avid book collector. Folgerdied in 1930 and didn’t get to see the opening of the library on April 23, 1932 — Shakespeare’s birthday — Buhler said. The library is primarily a research institution and has the greatest single repository for the first folio. It also houses several acting editions put to gether by acting producers, including Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film script and prompt books from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Buhler said. This was good news for Buhler, who has been researching the differ ences in generational politics between the two. He said one of the neatest smxisX. Jon Waller/DN Dr. Stephen Buhler, an assistant English professor, has taken his interest in Shakespeare to the national level by participating in a Folger Institute Center for Shakespeare Studies workshop. Buhler says the institute has given him new classroom tactics in bringing Shakespeare alive to students. experiences he had was taking the Olivier script and thumbing through it to see the process that was involved. Another of Buhler’s Folger favor ites was the stained glass window of the seven ages of man from the play '“As you Like It”. “It reinforces the idea that this is the shrine of Shakespeare. It’s both touching and inspiring that people can find in Shakespeare such a sense of meaning for their lives.” William l auer/DN David Neely is the next performer in the University of Nebraska Lincoln School of Music’s Faculty Recital Series. Neely’s performance is tonight at 8 in Kimball Hall. Violinist is next in faculty series Concert review By Joel Strauch Senior Reporter Violinist David Neely is tuning up his strings to perform at tonight’s concert in the UNL School of Music Faculty Recital Series. Neely, a new music professor at the Univer sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been playing the violin since he was 8 years old. He teaches chamber music and is a viol in and viola instruc tor. Neely said his interest in the violin went back to when he was a child. “A violinist passed through my elementary school in Mason City, Iowa, when I was in second grade. I don’t remember his name, but I was intrigued by what he could do and the way the instrument sounded,” he recalled. Neely grew up in the Midwest and received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State Univer sity. He then earned his Master of Fine Arts degree at the California Institute of the Arts. “I lived in California for two years and I got really tired of the fast pace. I’m glad to be back in the Midwest,” he said. Neely taught for six years at the University of South Dakota in Vermilion before he came to UNL. One of his ongoing goals is to be part of a nationally known piano trio. He is still in volved with a piano trio that is based in South Dakota, and he will fly to Rawlins, S.D., for a concert Sunday. Neely said the group used to practice togeth er six to eight hours a week, but now he found it difficult to travel to South Dakota and back so frequently. “I’d really like to put a trio together here. But I haven’t had much luck yet,” he said. Neely will be performing tonight at 8 p.m. in Kimball Hall. He will be accompanied'by pia nist Shirley Irek. Admission is free. Tale worth a read for mystery, puns “Lady Slings the Booze” Spider Robinson Ace Science Fiction A talking dog, telepathic twins and a time traveling madam — these arc a few characters to be found in Spider Robinson’s fifth entry in his “Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon” scries. The tale begins as Joe Quigley, a private eye with notorious bad luck, is hired to investigate unusual events at Lady Sally’s, the most well known house of ill repute in Brooklyn. Lady Sally’s employees report perplexing occurrenc es, such as being inside one minute and totally naked outside the next, with no recollection as to how they got there. The solution is so good it can’tbe givenaway.but it does have Robinson’s bent touch replete with atrocious puns, his trademark. Having solved one mystery, Quigley then ponders the mystery of Lady Sally herself, who has a remarkable prescience regarding world affairs. She reveals herself as a time traveler, coming back to the mid-1980s to discover why World War III never happened. A series of deductions leads to Quigley, Sally and company stopping a terrorist group from setting offhomc built nukes. Robinson is in fine form here, and anyone familiar with the “Callahan” series cannot af ford to miss this one. The characters alone make the book worth reading. Quigley falls for a pair of gorgeous blond identical twins who are telc pathically connected. Ralph Von Wau Wau, a talking German shepherd, is the result of a mad scientist’s experiment gone slightly awry. Lady Sally’s husband is none other than Mike Callahan, owner of the saloon and fellow time traveler, better known as the Mick of Time. Even for those not familiar with the series, “Lady Slings the Booze” is a perfect introduc tion. But be warned - - once you finish this one, you’ll probably want the whole series, bad puns and all. — Sam Kepfield
