Friday, November 14, 2008
The Dispute displayer Behrend's acting prowess
The Behrend Studio Theater's
fall performance, The Dispute,
premiered thursday, Nov. 13.
Under the direction of Chrystyna
Dail, the 13 member cast puts on
a thirteen year old appropriate
performance about a life-long
question with a touch of comedy.
The Dispute, translated by Neil
Bartlett from the French original
by Pierre Marivaux, is about a
rich scientist, Dr. Prince (Bryan
Monroe), who conducts a 19 year
long experiment and presents it to
Hermiane Cache (Sarah
Calligan). The experiment is to
answer the question of who is
bound to cheat and give into
temptation first: a boy or a girl?
The experiment is about two
girls and two boys living in isola
tion for 19 years. The four isolat
ed specimen were raised by
Carise (Kay Smith) and Mesrou
(Earl Kunsman). Egle (Kylie
Swanson) is an innocent, fun-lov
ing girl who was one of the two
girls living in isolation. Adine
(Cassie Kosmal) is the other
female, with a self-loving and
involved personality. The two
males in isolation, Azor (Patrick
Sharbaugh) and Mesrin (Evan
Koser) are both interested in the
opposite sex and have a friendly
bond.
Egle and Azor are the first to
This week in art history
NOVEMBER 14, 1851: Moby Dick is published. Herman Melville's
classic adventure, has been a staple in the English curriculum in
high schools across the country for decades. The narrator Ishmael
tells his story of joining the crew of the Pequod, headed by the
eccentric Captain Ahab, who is on a deranged quest to hunt down
the white whale, Moby Dick. When published. Moby Dick was
greeted with mixed review. Its popularity has increased over time
and has been made into several movies, most famously in 1956 star
ring Gregory Pecls.
NOVEMBER 19, 1946; :6641wy . hPicturs was founded by Samuel
Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn. Samuel Goldwyn was horn in Poland
and as a young boy traveled on his one to England. He immigrated
to the United States settling in New York. While in New York he
and two other partners ventured into the film industry. Goldwyn
left the company, which would evolve into Paramount Pictures, and
partnered with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn.
They created the Goldwyn Picture Company which was mildly suc
cessful and is famous for its Leo the Lion trademark. Goldwyn
would eventually be forced out of the company which was bought
by another organization to become the very successful Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM).
NOVEMBER 15, 1926: NBC radio network's first broadcast. Soon
after NBC divided itself into two networks: the Red Network,
which featured entertainment and music, and the Blue Network.
featuring non-sponsored news programs. Over the years NBC has
expanded greatly, creating new radio networks and branching off
into television.
NOVEMBER 18, 1928: Mickey Mouse debuts in the cartoon
Steamboat Willie. Produced by Walt Disney, Steamboat Willie was
the first animated short to feature sound. In the cartoon Mickey
Mouse, voiced by Disney, works aboard a steamboat under the
advisory of Captain Peg-Leg-Pete. Sailing down the river they
come across a female mouse, later to be named Minnie.
NOVEMBER 17, 1942: Martin Scorsese is born in New York City.
Scorsese's desire for the cinema came at an early age. He attend
ed the NYU Film School and in 1969 graduated with an MFA in
directing. His first major production came in 1976 with the creation
of Taxi Driver, which starred Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster.
Another great success came in 1980 with the production of Raging
Bull. The film received eight Academy Award nominations includ
ing Best Director. While Scorsese has been nominated for numer
ous awards he did not receive the Academy Award for Best Director
until 2006 for The Depart.
NOVEMBER 16, 1960: Hollywood legend Clark Gable dies at the age
of 59. Born in Cadiz, Ohio, Gable's mother died ten months after
his birth. He grew up with his father and first discovered his love
for acting after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise. In his early
20's he made his way to Oregon where he was trained in acting by
Josephine Dillon, an actress and theater manager who he would
later marry. He and Dillon moved to Hollywood, where at first
Gable saw little success, being offered only minor parts. His suc
cess started in 1930 when he was offered a contract with MGM.
Throughout the 1930's he was cast alongside some of Hollywood's
leading ladies, including Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and Jean
Harlow. His most famous role came in 1939 when he was cast as
Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. In 1939, Gable married Carol
Lombard, a successful actress who in 1942 died in a plane crash on
her way to a war bond rally. Gable was devastated and in 1942
joined the U.S. Air Force. He went on to star in many more movies
and was married two more times. He died of a coronary thrombosis
in Los Angeles leaving behind his wife Kay Gable, who was preg
nant at the time and gave birth to John Clark Gable four months
after his death.
NOVEMBER 20, 1960: Actress Jodie Foster is born. Foster started
her film career at a young age appearing in numerous commercials
and movies such as the iconic film Taxi Driver, in which she played
an underage prostitute. While attending Yale University a deranged
fan of Foster's John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President
Ronald Reagan in order to impress her. Foster graduated from Yale
in 1985 and went on to perform in many more films. Two of these
performances earned her two Academy Awards for Best Actress.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
meet and right away they fall in
love after getting to know one
another in a comedic fashion.
Carise and Mesrou encourage the
two to practice set
aration and whil
they do, Egle meet
Adine. Naturally
the two female
introduce of
another and fi,
themselves sterel
typically compe
ing for the title
More Beautiful
Egle soon meet
Mesrin. Unkno ,
to who he is or wi
he belongs to, Eg,
finds herself inter
ested in the novel!
of a new frieni
Before anythit
happt.
between Egle and
Mesrin. Adine
finds them and
exacerbates the
negative relationship between her
and Egle. Within minutes there is
a four-way love triangle between
Egle, Adine, Azor, and Mesrin.
The Dispute touched on serious
topics with a comedy undertone.
The characters dealt with love.
loss, jealousy, temptation, infi
delity, and separation. There were
By David Stull
contributing Ivritei
dass I 22 o,psu.cdu
One of the many comedic scenes from The Dispute.
(From left to right) Patrick Sharbaugh, Kylie Swanson, and Evan Koser
several conflicts between charac
ters. There was a conflict
between Adine and Egle where
their instincts led them to com
pete and sabotage one another.
The conflict between Mesrin and
Azor led them through their natu
ral instincts, to compete and fool
around as friends.
What does a rabid dog, a goril
la suit, and left-handed scissors
all have in common? If you were
playing Elevator in Tuesday's
Improv night hosted by the
Matchbox Players it would all
make perfect sense.
The purpose of the Matchbox
Players is to "promote the arts on
campus." explains Craig Peffer,
the group's secretary and., tpast for
the evening. Peffer lead the night
in a wide range of games. from
the aforementioned Elevator to a
game on advice where one mem
ber of the audience would pose a
question to a panel of three peo
ple. The advice ranged from the
good, the bad, and the just plain
horrible—like going to your dead
aunt's funeral to proclaim your
undying hatred for her and to
profess your delight in her
Saturday night, Bruno's was
treated to the musical stylings of
Scratch Track, a beat boxing,
guitar playing, singing duo hail
ing from Kansas City, M.O.
Scratch Track is comprised of
David "DJ" Lee, who is the MC,
singer, and songwriter, and Jason
Hamlin, who is a songwriter and
guitarist.
According to their website, a
New York University reporter
praised them as "mind-bending.
style-bending and undeniably
original." It also goes on to say
that "the group's vast resume is
loaded with soundtrack slots
including "CSI New York",
Warren Miller's snowboarding
By Jennifer Juncosa
perspectives editor
jdjso6l@psu.edu
Scratch Track rocks Bruno's
Want to
Write for
the
Beh rend
Beacon?
Just email:
rcrsos7
@psu.edu
Dina (Kathryn Kotlarz) and
Meslin (Darius Martin) make an
appearance at the end of the play
to enforce a obvious moral to the
life-long question.
The atmosphere during the per
formance was involving, as The
Dispute was avant-garde. Prior to
the performance, actors Jessica
Night of Merriment
untimely demise
Of course there was the ever
popular Dating Game, similar to
the TV show The Bachelor, only
trust me when I say you wouldn't
want to date any of these clowns.
the fiNt Contestant • couldn't
seem to form a coherent sentence
due to the ice pop unfortunately
frozen to his tongue. Contestant
number two was a psychic, but,
not the kind you are probably
thinking of. This psychic predict
ed everyday events, like sleep
ing. Probably the most entertain
ing of the group was contestant
number three who broke out into
glorious renditions of show tunes
every time he was asked a ques
film "Off the Grid" and Sony
Playstation's "MLB" video
game, along with a prestigious
performance credit on the Trick
Daddy/Ludacris/Cee-Lo collabo
ration's top twenty tune 'Sugar
(Gimme Some)". Given the
enormous success in those medi
ums, Scratch Track caught the
attention of Sonicbids, who
wound up choosing the group to
embark on tours to entertain
America's Armed Forces (includ
ing trips to the UK, Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany, France and
Janet Neff Sample Center
for Manners ir Civility
"Better than -.a thousand
hollow words is one
word that brings peace"
Higgins and Kevin Roche asked
scientific questions such as their
blood type and their medical
background to get the audience
volved. The
eater ocate
on campus next to the Glenhill
Farmhouse. The historic build
ing-turned-theater holds roughly
50 attendees, making perform
ances personal. Despite the small
facility, the Behrend Studio
Theater has all the necessities to
put on a successful production.
The Dispute premiered with
By Lauren Dißacco
contributing writer
leds 1 (X)OP psu.edu
Lion. I think it is safe to the say
that the bachelorette chose none
of these fools, and has probably
since given up on dating.
The McOarvey ,Commons
filled up with latecomers who
engaged with the odierTaulliing
students in an evening that was
meant to celebrate the arts. An
added bonus to the evening's joy
was some free food and drinks,
along with a good dose of laugh
ter. The club's Improv Night has
been such a success that a former
student and member of
Behrend's Matchbox Players,
came back just to be a part in the
evening of merriment. For those
participants in the nights festivi-
By Catherine Frisina
contributing writer
cmfs244o,psu.edu
even Japan).
The pair played for an hour,
and as various students filtered in
and out of Bruno's, they stopped
to take notice of what was going
on onstage. One student even
paused to take a video on his cell
phone. Lee began by beat box
ing, then looping it while he
sang, and Hamlin played the
acoustic guitar.
Scratch Track played a variety
of their own original songs off of
their album The Legend of Wild
Bill. They also played some
~Buddah
The Behrend Beacon I 5
great success and ease. The
Behrend Studio Theater will put
on six more showings over the
weekend and next week. There
will be performances Friday and
Saturday (Nov. 14 and 151. and
Tuesday through Thursday (Nov.
18-20), all at 8 p.m. and 2 p.m.
showing on Sunday Nov. 6 will
be available. Tickets are available
at the RUB desk for $7 and are
available to students for $5.
dience played
role as
,servers to the
.periment. The
;ientific ques
ons completed
ie idea that the
dience was
it there to see
theatrical pro-
Iction but to
The Dispute
xperiment
nfold.
veryone
volved with
e play and
- tor to the play
re characters
The Dispute
was performed in
the Studio
Call THE RUB Desk
ties, you did an excellent job of
entertaining this journalist. and
for those of you who weren't
able to partake in the fun, Peffer
would like to inform you all that
the Matchbox Players will he
hosting Late Night Players. a
professional improve group out
of Cleveland, on Dec. 2. in
McGarvey Commons, startin4.a,t
t p.m. He hopes that you all will
come and partake in an evening
that is sure to bring about a round
or two of uproarious laugher.
Until then, Peffer would like to
remind students that the
Matchbox Players are always
looking for new and enthusiastic
members, and encourages every
one to check out their weekly
meetings which arc held.
Thursdays at 12:30 in Reed 113.
cover songs including "Crazy"
by Gnarls Barkley and "I Heard
It Through the Grapevine" by
Marvin Gaye.
The audience reacted particu
larly well to the cover songs and
the twosome in general.
Students thought the act was
original and entertaining. One
student reacted by saying, "I
thought it was really cool how
they made their own heats."
Another said they were "unlike
any other group I have ever
heard." Without a doubt. Scratch
Track offered a unique style of
music to a normally quiet stage at
Bruno's.
Nov. 14-15, 18-20
AT 8 P.M.
AND
NOV. 16 AT 2 P.M.
AT
898-6242
FOR TICKETS
STUDENTS $5
GENERAL Puouc $7