Small Studio Theatre is home of big productions
by Rob Wynne
staff writer
People who plan on attending the
upcoming play, "Teibele and Her
Demon," may be in for a big...well,
actually little surprise. Behrend's
Studio Theatre, that little brown
house that sits next to the Turnbull
Barn and across from the Glenhill
Farmhouse, is where the play will he
put on. Actually, that's where most
of the plays are staged, and where the
actors rehearse. What's so big about
that little studio? The quality shows
that are put on there and the close
audience interaction that takes place
makes for an unique theatre experi
ence.
The studio, which has been
Behrend's theatre for over 20 years,
was at one time part of the library,
and was originally founder Mary
Behrend's own art studio. The 29 x
29 sq. ft. building amazingly provides
room for staging and seating of
roughly 65-70 people. The studio is
also home to the acting class, which
meets three times a week, as well as
Theatre Arts classes that sometimes
meet there.
The lack of room does not hinder
performance, though. Theatre pro
fessor and play director Mr. Tony
Elliot, describes the building as "a
very effective little space." He ex
plained that although he is somewhat
limited to the size of casts for plays,
he and his students do what they can
to make them work. One drawback
is the difficulty to put on musicals.
However, that doesn't stop Mr. Elliot
and his students. In the spring of
1998, they performed "Pirates of
Penzance" in the Reed Union Com
mons.
The cast of "Teibele" will not per
form the show three or four times as
Carville vs. Buchanan
Buchanan's change of party
affects upcoming debate
by Juliana Harper
staff writer
Recently, Pat Buchanan changed
his party affiliation from Republi
can to Reform, and is still attempt
ing to win the presidential nomina
tion. This may affect the presiden
tial election and the debate between
Bay Buchanan and James Carville
scheduled for November 9 in the
Reed Building Commons. Bay
Buchanan is Pat Buchanan's sister
and former Republican campaign
manager; Carville is Clinton's
former campaign manager.
In Buchanan's speech, in which
he announced his change of party,
he said, "only the Reform Party of
fers the hope of a real debate and a
true choice of destinies for our
country. If we don't go now, I have
been told by loyalists all across
America, every cause for which we
fought for seven years will die."
Shapiro shares distinguished poetry
by Erin McCarty
staff writer
Alan Shapiro, distinguished poet,
professor, essayist and translator, spoke
in the Reed Lecture Hall at 7:00 PM on
Thursday, October 28th. His appear
ance was a part of the Creative Writers
Speakers Series and was sponsored by
the Clarence and Eugenie Baumann
Smith Fund and the Mary Behrend
Cultural Fund. Shapiro greeted a half
full auditorium and spoke for about 45
minutes, with a 15-minute question and
answer period afterwards.
"As a person, he seemed completely
at ease with his work," commented
Arturo Zilleruelo, 07 Creative Writing.
"His poetry is really very confessional
and personal, and I think it says a lot
about him that he was completely un
apologetic about that nature of his
work."
He read several of his free verse po
ems, providing background informa
tion for each one. All of his poems were
based on his own experiences, though
Studio Theatre is being prepared for the upcoming production of Teibele and Her Demon
one !night expect. Rather, this play
will he put on TEN times due to the
limited seating a‘ailahle for each
show. The cast doesn't scent to mind,
though. Real Estate major Mike
Puline, who pla . ,s Beadle Treitel in
the show, said, - The Studio Theatre
here provides a theatrical look that the
Robert Sped], Assistant Professor of
Political Science. commented on
the significance of Buchanan's
change of party. "Buchanan's leav
ing the Republicans will probably
not he significant enough to affect
next year's presidential election
unless he actually becomes the Re
form Party presidential nominee. in
which case there might he ten per
cent of the population who support
him, most of whom would other
wise vote Republican."
Some of Buchanan's leading plat
form issues include: fighting
against abortion, protecting jobs ,
limiting legal immigration, rebuild
ing U.S. defenses, and outlawing
unlimited "soft money - donations
in politics. Speel remarks that so
far, Buchanan has not expressed any
changes in his views since switch
ing parties. He may have some
trouble winning support among past
Reform voters, however. His eco
he incorporated many allusions to both
classical mythology and current events.
He opened his talk with an introduc
tion and then a reading of a poem in
two parts. The first part was a recount
ing of Michael Jordan's countenance as
he held his NBA trophy. The stiff con
centration which had carried him to vic
tory was no longer present, and he col
lapsed into a fit of joyous tears. The
second part concerned Shapiro's father
as he wept at his father's funeral. and
how he was chided by another man in
the family for looking unmanly. In his
introduction, Shapiro suggested that
men must earn the right to weep and
that whatever reward they receive in the
conquest is insignificant.
"He delivered anecdotes before he
read each poem, and his anecdotes were
basically attempts to give the audience
some insight into his creative process
and the genesis of his work," Zilleruelo
said. All of his poems had something
to do with his family. Several concerned
his ailing parents, who live in Califor
nia. He lives in North Carolina, where
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eign policy \ icy, s are not too far
from those expressed by Ross Perot
and supported by Reform \ oters in
the past. But Buchanan's conscr
vati\ e religious views on social
matters contrast with the libertarian
minimal go‘ eminent attitudes taken
by other Reform leaders such as
Governor Jesse Ventura of Minne
sota On floral issues. Buchanan
may have other problems with his
campaign. Speel further comments
that Buchanan's verb conservative
positions of injecting his religious
viewpoints into govL•rnment
pull -
cies and some of his past comments
and views which many have inter
preted as anti-Semitic will cause
him trouble with winning Reform
party activists and supporters for the
presidential nomination.
Buchanan stated in his recent
speech, "But of all the needs of this
nation, none is greater for our peace
he is a professor of English and Cre
ative Writing at the University of North
Carolina. Others dealt with the deaths
of his brother from a brain tumor and
his sister from breast cancer.
During the question and answer pe
riod, he was asked whether writing
about the woes of his family was thera
peutic for him. He replied that it was
just the opposite. Writing was, for him,
a way of avoiding the confrontation of
his grief.
"Writing," he explained, "is a way
of being happy in the midst of misery."
All of his efforts were focused on cre
ating a beautiful piece of art, He be
came removed from the experience
which had led him to write. He admit
ted that he had been unable to grieve
for his sister until he had finished writ
ing his book about her. In answer to the
question of whether he ever wrote fic
tion, Shapiro replied that he did all the
time.
"Alt writing is fiction to some ex
tent," he said. A writer has to pick and
choose what aspects of an experience
NEWS
"adds a Y. hole new dimension foi
actors and leaves less room for error...
There are always plans 14 the long
run, though. Finding a new location
for the theatre is always looked at,
with the budget in view, of course.
But for now, students and the public
and happiness than racial reconcili
ation. This land is our land; it be
longs to all of us, immigrant and
native-horn alike; and it would he
unpardonable ingratitude if we, the
children of pioneers and patriots of
ever) color, continent, and creed,
lost this last hest hope of earth, be
cause we could not learn to live with
one another, and could not learn to
love one another."
"There is virtually no chance he
could he elected president," says
Speel. "But if he becomes the Re
form party nominee, Buchanan
could damage the election chances
of a Republican presidential nomi
nee, because of our election sys-
tem."
But Buchanan seems determined
to fight for the presidency. It is in
the name of the Founding Fathers
that we go forth to rescue America,
he says, and we will not quit this
fight as long as there is breath
will be brought to light in any piece of
writing. Parts of it will always he miss
ing from print, because there is just too
much to include, and the same story
could seem like two entirely different
stories when written from the unique
vantage point of two different people.
The evening ended outside of the lec
ture hall, where three of Shapiro's
books were available for purchase and
could then be autographed by him
"I'm not sure if 'enjoy' would be an
appropriate word with which to de
scribe my reaction [to the reading]..."
Zilleruelo admitted. "The poetry itself
dealt with dark, often depressing issues,
but the language with which the poems
dealt with these issues was, for the most
part, beautiful. So, I suppose that I
would call the experience of the read
ing 'rewarding' or 'affirming'. It was a
rewarding linguistic experience,
but...some of my emotional reactions
to the poetry were too intensely sad for
me to be comfortable with the term 'en-
NOVEMBER 5, 1999, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE
have the opportunity to he close to
the action. Anv students Who are in-
terested in acting in a play or musi
cal may contact professor Elliot, or
ask to join the "Matchbox Players, -
Behrend's student theatre organiza
tion.
within us.
The debate between Clinton s
former campaign manager, James
Carville. and Buchanan s former
Republican campaign manager,
Bay Buchanan is scheduled for
'Tuesday, November 9. It should
he an excellent debate. says Speed.
Both speakers have very strong,
usually opposite viewpoints, and
both can provide lots of interesting
or colorful examples to support
their positions. They have both had
a lot of experience in how politics
and presidential campaigns work.
If students want sonic insight into
American politics and next year's
presidential election from two cam
paign managers who have been
there, they should be attending this
debate, Speel says.
If you would like more informa
tion on Buchanan's views and party
platform, check out the website
www.gopatgo2ooo.com .
Alleged computer hacking is
under investigation at Behrend
by Adam H. Costa
staff writer
According to Police and Safety, on
October 22, an individual not affili
ated with Penn State realized that
their computer was being tampered
with from an outside source. The in
dividual then traced the trespasser
back to a psu.edu server. From there
a phone call was placed to the Uni
versity Computer Network and Secu
rity office at University Park.
The UCNS then contacted the Be-
Knacke
holds second
Astronomy
Open House
by Nicole C. Greene
staff writer
On Thursday October 28, Behrend
hosted the second Open House Night
in Astronomy for the 1999-2000
school year. The speaker for the
evening was Behrend's own Dr.
Roger Knacke. Professor of Physics
and Director of the School of Science.
His subject was "The Nature Of
Space", in which he spoke about how
we define the word space.
As a preview of the topic a slide
presentation was shown. The slides
related to outer space, the stars, and
other galaxies. During the slideshow,
the Otto Behrend Science Building
Lecture Hall was filled to capacity.
Many different people attended this
informative presentation. Not only
were students from Behrend present,
hut also an assortment of faculty,
adults, children, and others interested
in the topic.
To open up the lecture, Dr. Knacke
posed a question to the audience.
"What is space itself'?" This question
was answered as the he continued to
talk about the nature of space. He
stated that we don't really sense the
space that we are in. It is difficult for
us to understand the nature and the
essence of space. "A good way to
think of it," according to Dr. Knacke,
"is as a medium."
One property of space is time.
Space and time have now been cor
related and cannot he separated.
When one thinks of space, they no
longer think of space alone, but of
"space-time". The two concepts of
space and time merge together and
work together.
Dr. Knacke gave an example of the
relationship between space and time.
His illustration pointed to the An
dromeda Galaxy, a neighboring gal
axy to our Milky Way. He stated that
it took light from the Andromeda Gal
axy over a million years to get to us.
"Therefore, every time we look at an
astronomical object, we are looking
back in time. We are seeing what it
was," as Dr. Knacke stated.
This idea is explained in the notion
that although light travels at a defi
nite speed, the space between the two
points determines the amount of time
it will take for light to pass between
the two objects. This idea leads to the
concept that space in the universe is
expanding. According to Dr. Knacke,
"Space has a property of being some
thing that can change."
The lecture by Dr. Knacke was one
that was worthwhile. To capture the
attention of the audience, he displayed
comic strips relating to the nature of
space. Both the comic strips as well
as his humor entertained the audience,
and the information he provided
grabbed their attention. The topic
proved to be interesting to many
people. At the conclusion of the lec
ture, the professor invited all of those
that were interested to view the plan
ets of Jupiter and Saturn outside
through the telescopes. The smiles
and attentive expressions showed that
everyone present had a good time.
hrend Police and Safety office, and a
joint investigation began. Police and
Safety filed an affidavit of probable
cause with the District Justice's of
fice, and a warrant was issued. Po
lice and Safety then entered an unde
clared residence hall dorm room and
seized some computer equipment and
other sensitive items. No arrests were
made.
Little else has been disclosed to the
public, but the incident is still under
investigation.