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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1995)
By Jeff Randall Staff Reporter So you want to be a star. Many Lincoln residents with the same desire are making their show business dreams come true with community access televi sion. Dave Grooman, community access coordinator for CableVision in Lincoln, said community access programs covered a wide range of topics. “It’s basically anything that has been sponsored or produced by residents of the city of Lin coln,” Grooman said, “and the only real restriction is that it can’t be commercial program ming or solicit donations from the public.” Religion, politics, sports, music and movies are just a few of the topics covered by Lincoln community access programs. To have a community access show, Grooman said, all one needs to do is live in Lincoln and fill out an application form. Those who fill out the form then request a time slot and must wait 30 days before their pro grams will be broadcasted. If participants wish to use Cable Vision ’ s studio equipment to produce their programs, he said, they are required to take a class on using the equipment. To use the studio, participants must take one class that takes between 2 1/2 and 3 hours. Classes covering the use of editing equipment are the same length, but two sessions must be attended, Grooman said. Tests over the covered material are given after the classes are com pleted. He said all classes are free of charge. What can and can’t be put on the air was decided by Lincoln ’ s city government, Grooman said. Those regulations allow a great deal more than normal broad cast television. As long as the programming isn’t legally obscene, it can be broadcast on community access television. To be considered ob scene, a program must be offen sive and explicit, and must have no redeemable social or politi cal value, Grooman said. Le gally, obscenity is different from indecency. “With the number of qualifi cations that must be met, it’s pretty tough to get something declared obscene,” he said. “We’ve never had anything that has come anywhere close to obscenity,” Grooman said. “Ac tually, you could probably get away with showing a triple-X rated movie as long as there wasn’t a copyright violation.” Any program that Grooman believes may be questionable is referred to an assistant city at torney who makes the ruling on whether it is acceptable, he said. But most programs don’t even threaten to cross the line of indecency, Grooman said. Most programs are done by people or groups who want to air their own personal beliefs and ideas, he said, and not by people who are interested in public displays of explicit material. Tammy Alvis produces the show “Reach Out and Live” as an outreach program for First Plymouth Congregational Church at 2000 D St. In production since 1987, “Reach Out and Live” is also broadcast on network television in Omaha and North Platte, Alvis said. She described the program as an “edited version of our Sunday service.” “Our mission is to reach out to people in order to provide an alternative to other religious pro gramming as well as provide a service to those )vho can’t get to church,” Alvis said. Students from Sheridan El ementary School are also taking advantage of community access. About once every month, the school’s sixth grade students produce the “Sheridan Shark Network” show, principal Clifford Sibley said. The “Sheridan Shark Net work”—the shark is the school mascot — gives students an opportunity to put their creative talents to work on a tangible creation, Sibley said. Dutch theater involves local talent By Joel Strauch Senior Reporter A young Dutch male yearns to be a baton-twirling majorette, but the attitudes of his sexist village make it difficult for him to realize his dream. This is the premise of “Einzelganger,” or “The Loner,” a dance theater piece directed by Dutch choreographer Gonnie Heggen. “Einzelganger” spins onto stage at the Lincoln Community Playhouse this weekend. > Amy Lamphere, director of the Wagon Train Project, said she was pleased to bring Heggen’s work to Nebraska. “Gonnie is one of the rising stars in movement theater in west ern Europe,” Lamphere said. Lamphere explained movement theater as a “beautiful blending of both dance and theater.” “It’s very engaging,” she said. The main character of “Einzelganger” is based on a real man that Heggen knows in Hol land. Since he was a little boy, this young man has dreamed of being a baton twirler, an inappropriate ambition in his Dutch township, Heggen said. “Every year for the last 12 years, he goes to a carnival in Holland dressed up as a majorette,” she said. “This man is my inspiration for this work,” Heggen said. To add to the twirling environ ment, “Einzelganger” features the local talent of the Capital City Twirlers, a middle school and high school group of baton twirlers. The show always includes a community element that changes at each site that Heggen visits, Lamphere said. Heggen said she used a local group from Amsterdam when she directed “Einzelganger” in Hol land. Working with the Lincoln group of twirlers has been intense but enjoyable, Heggen said. “It had to be done in about a week,” she said. “But it’s always a lot of fun to add local people to the work.” Jody Adcox, the director of the Capital City Twirlers, said the ex perience had been great for the students. “The kids are really having fun,” she said. “I think it’s an honor that they asked the students to be in it,” she said. “And it’s good for them to learn about another culture.” The twirlers have had many adjustments to make to assimilate their twirling into dance theater, not the least of which is adjusting to the space, Adcox said. “Twirlers are used to twirling in a gymnasium with a really high See THE LONER on 13 Troupe combines styles By Gerry Beltz Senior Reporter The future of dance arrives tonight at the Johnny Carson theater. David Rousseve’s REAL ITY performance troupe com bines dance, imagery, dialogue and sound to bring “Urban ! Scenes/Creole Dreams” to the stage tonight and Saturday night at 8. Lisa Fusillo, director of the dance department at the Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that anyone planning on seeing the show should expect the unusual. “What is interesting from a dance perspective,” Fusillo said, “is that he does not stay in one style of dance. “He doesn’t just use tap dance or modem dance, but runs the gamut from hip-hop to post-modern to experimental movement.” The show — in which Rousseve serves as choreogra pher, writer, director, dancer and actor — also uses several performing styles, Fusillo said. “This dance-theater perfor mance combines dance move ment with performance art with David’s experience as an Afri can-American,” she said. The performance addresses racism, sexism, individuality, humanity, homophobia and AIDS, Fusillo said. “He is working with per sonal issues and social issues.” Rousseve’s seven-member dance troupe is primarily fe male and primarily African American. REALITY has been together since 1988. Rousseve is not just another dancer, Fusillo said. x See REALITY on 13
