Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1995)
Arts ©Entertainment Wednesday, November 29, 1995 Page 9 ■ ■ ■ - -- the glassy eye ^PMU'IIIIII .,,1.1 . Mark Baldridge Electric Co. better than purple fluff l i When I was a child, so Tin told, I was a voracious TV watcher. I kind of remember it — I just never thought that was such a big deal. Apparently it was. And if there’d I been more people saying “TV rots your brain” I probably wouldn’t have been given the chance. But I spent a good deal of my childhood in a semi-hypnotic trance downloading a lot of nonsense that just happened to become our current culture. Don’t see how that hurt me. But kids these days ... I’m afraid it’ll rot their brains. Let’s explore the differences be tween “The Electric Company” and “Barney the Dinosaur.” “The Electric Company,” like “Sesame Street,” was a product of the Children’s Television Workshop and featured no less than the (then) future superstar Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader — an afroed hipster with a ^peflcha»t for reading* “The Electric Company” did a lot of that kind of joke: Easy Reader—a play on the cult classic “Easy Rider.” One stock character was a bumbling encryption specialist known as Fargo North, Decoder. I was in my 20s before the geo graphical reference dawned on me. And that’s the point, sort of. Here I was, a 5-year-old glued to the set while my mom or older sister ironed or folded clothes in the room behind me. Fargo North, Decoder (who always referred to himsel f that way) comes on and stumbles around trying to decode some obviously transposed sentence. I knew what the sentence was long before the pratfalling North. Every kid did. And that knowing was impor tant. n meant we couici ngure tnings out “for ourselves”—a much more effec tive pedagogical technique than mere instruction. But in the meantime, my sister, patiently folding clothes, laughs ... at something I don’t quite catch. Fargo North, Decoder. And not just the name, but sly, off the-cuff references to a larger world of culture and knowledge than is avail able to my 5-year-old self. The example I give is simple minded, but effective. For those who want a fuller exploitation of the effect, may I suggest “Sesame Street’s” “Me Claudius” on “Monsterpiece Theatre” with Alister Cookie as host. It’s a hoot. But back to the matter at hand. The reason that the “The Electric Company” is better than his Purpleness is that it included jokes aimed over my head. Shows like “The Electric Com pany” and “Sesame Street” offer some thing that can be shared by parents with children — a good thing at any time. And even more important, it offers a kid the idea that there are LEVELS of humor—or allusion or what have you. “Barney” and all his Care Bear ilk exist entirely on the surface—and the surface is aesthetically dead. So I’m afraid for these kids today — TV will rot their minds. Or, maybe not. Jay Calderon/DN Dancers in the production “Postcards from Nebraska” perform during a dress rehearsal Tuesday evening in the Howell Theatre. Reflections Dance show features images of Heartland By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter The image of dance in the Heartland will be delivered on “Postcards from Nebraska” at the Howell Theatre this weekend. “Postcards from Nebraska,” the UNL dance department’s fall performance, features new and experienced choreographers and dancers from Nebraska. ,-1 Lisa Fusillo, dance director ment ot dance in Nebraska by bringing together about 20 stu dents, faculty and former stu dents who have become pro fessional dancers. Mark Jarecke and Cary Twomey, two UNL dance aiuumi wiki nave oeen wonc 1-1 ing in New York, will present their collaborative piece “Whetstone” with UNL faculty and students. Visiting artist Anita Lemon, although not a Nebraska native, will present her seven-part dance “The Nebraska Waltz Project,” which represents her time at UNL. And for the first time, senior dance majors were allowed to choreograph dances for the fall performance. A special Saturday night will move the spot light to long-time dance professor Dee Hughs who is planning to retire. Hughs started her career at UNL in 1954 when the dance department was part of the physical education department. She stayed with the program as it moved through the Teachers College and to its current home in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. In 1994, she received the UNL 40 Year Ser vice Award. Tice Miller, department director, has worked with Hughs for the 23 years he’s been involved with the program. He said it was unusual for people in the arts to stay for as many years as Hughs has. “The pioneers and people who have been a real stable force of the university have been around a long time,” he said. “They’ve given an enormous amount to this institution.” Fusillo said Hughs introduced several non dance majors to dance in her introductory, social and ethnic dance classes and has shown support and dedication to dance and dance education. “She has been an incredibly stabilizing influ ence through all the changes in the dance pro gram at UNL,” Fusillo said. A national search will be conducted to fill Hughs’ position and another full-time position, which was temporarily filled by Lemon, who is leaving after this semester. Performances of “Postcards from Nebraska” will be at 8 p.m. each night Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $6 for students, $7 for faculty, staff and senior citizens and $9 for the general public. They can be purchased at the Howell Theatre box office. MacLeod performs tonight By Cliff A. Hicks Staff Reporter “ Despite two years between records, filled with “stress, love and death,” and a move from Geor gia to Minneapolis, Marlee MacLeod found time to record her second album, “Favorite Ball and Chain ” And she brings her music to Mudslide Slims p j I tonight. • 1SP®®- “Favorite Ball and Chain,” PrGVieW released Oct. 10, is a large de parture trom her first album, “Drive Too Fast.” “We downplayed the coun try influence this time,” MacLeod said in a release. “Making that more of a subtext *,f|I " tnan a tocus. 111- When “Drive Too Fast” was recorded, MacLeod was living in Athens, Ga., and there she eventually hooked up with the local band Dashboard Saviors, who helped her on “Favorite Ball and Chain.” After “Drive Too Fast” was released, she kept busy with various things. “I had a band for a while, then I didn’t have a band,” MacLeod said. “I played many shows in various places, in cluding one in a bank last New Year’s Eve. This was part of an entertainment extravaganza that also included hermit crab races. “I spent two very enlightening weeks working in the world of food service. I almost got a real v job. I was detained and almost arrested in Canada,” MacLeod said. She now lives in Minneapolis, home of her label,Medium Cool/TwinTone. Despite all her trials and tribulations, “Favor ite Ball and Chain” was eventually released. “I’m pleased. We all worked hard, and I for one am busily preparing for whatever the coming months have to offer.” MacLeod plays tonight at Mudslide Slims, 1418 O St. The show starts at 10. Grad students’ art exhibition opens today By Gerry Bettz Senior Reporter An exhibit of the works of 19 UNL students currently enrolled in the Department of Art and Art History master’s program opens to day, running through Jan. 28 at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. This biennial exhibition comprises47 works of art in various forms — including photo graphs, paintings and ceramics — that have been selected by Sheldon Gallery Chief Cura tor Daphne Deeds. Lari Gibbons, a Master’s of Fine Arts stu dent and graduate instructor in design and See EXHIBIT on 10