arts
Student playwright
makes 'Fast laughs
By VICKI FERGUSON
Collegian Staff Writer
Brian was going to elope and run
away with his girlfriend but he got
cold feet. So instead, he ran away
to a convention his first conven
tion to be alone, to think it over.
Unfortunately for Brian, the hotel
had overbooked and an unwanted
roommate was thrust upon him.
His roommate, Marshall, was so
nice he was obnoxious. What re
sults is "Fast Friends," an origi
nal play by Bret Marks, a first
year graduate student in film.
"Fast Friends" will be per
formed Wednesday through Fri
day at the Pavilion Theatre as
part of the University Resident
Theatre Company's 5 O'Clock
Theatre. Shows start at 5:30 p.m.,
admission is free and tickets can
be picked up at the Playhouse box
office or at the door.
theatre preview
"Fast Friends" is the first play
ever brought to the 5 O'Clock stage
that was written by a film student
and not a theatre student. Accord
ing • to Marks, his endeavor has
brought the people in the theatre
and film department closer to
gether.
"Fast Friends" is better adapt
ed for stage than for film, Marks
said, because of its one-room set
ting. A single location doesn't
adapt well to film, he said, and the
location is important to this play.
Marks also said his heavy dia
logue style would be better served
in a play.
5 O'Clock Theatre is a program
that gives playwrights, directors
and actors a chance to present
original material before an audi
ence and receive feedback.
"The best thing about 5 O'Clock
is the unusual opportunity you get
to implement others' sugges
Bret Marks
tions," Marks. said. " 'Fast
Friends' has been rewritten since
last term (when Marks wrote it for
class) and I'm still.rewriting."
Marks helped select some actors
for the play. He pointed out that
selecting someone on the basis of
some preconception isn't always
the best decision.
"Compromises are made be
tween what you want and what is
available," he said. "For exam
ple, the bellhop was originally a
small part, but has been signifi
cantly enlarged because of the
actor's capabilities."
A play changes a lot after you
see someone actually acting it out
for the first time, Marks said.
"You realize that some things
are impossible and other things
are just boring so they're
changed. With help from . the direc
tor and actors you can create
something better," he said.
Upon seeing "Fast Friends" for
the first time, Marks said he had
an unusual feeling.
"It's as if they're doing an imita
tion of me. You see some of your
self in all the characters," he said.
Marks graduated from New
York' University with a degree in
film. While in college he studied
comedy with Marilyn Suzanne
Miller, a writer for Saturday Night
Live and The Mary Tyler Moore
Show.
According to Marks, comedy is
often more difficult to rehearse
because jokes become stale.
"They aren't funny after they've
been repeated so many times," he
said.
Marks said his jokes come from
his characters.
"You define the character and
hopefully the jokes will come out
of it. One of the biggest mistakes a
comic writer can make is to just
throw in a joke because a laugh is
needed. Jokes come from situa
tions and characters," he said.
"Fast Friends" has a slight
message and a decent story be
hind all its jokes, Marks said, but
overall it is a lighthearted and fun
comedy.
Marionettes lose magic touch
By DEBBIE KRIVOY •
Collegian Staff Writer
Sometimes, too much of a good thing isn't so
good after all. Because eventually, when you
start analyzing the product, the glitter fades and
you lose interest in what was once so fresh, so
captivating.
Such was the case Friday night when the
Artists Series brought_ the Compagnie Philippe
Genty to Schwab Auditorium as part of the
Schwab Theatre Series.
Genty is one of the best known French mario
nette and puppet theatres performing today. And
it can't be denied that Friday's program, titled
"Round As A Cube,"-treated us to the animated
magic of the theatre with remarkable crispness.
Enchanting Muppet-like creatures, a heart
breaking Pierrot marionette, furry orange and
pink ostriches as well as some fascinating Black
Light figures were just a few of the visitors from
Genty's diverse repertoire.
And, yes, the story ideas were most creative,
and the executions nothing less than precise. But,
the action wasn't continually fresh and exciting.
Time and again, the innovations became tire
some, as the pieces' internal action became too
drawn out. And once the sequence began to
repeat itself the audience was able to catch on to
how the piece was being done, thus destroying
that spark of curiosity and amazement that
usually makes puppet theatre so exciting. It was
like learning how someone did a magic trick.
For example, soon after watching "Twilight,"
the last piece of the first set, the novelty of seeing
those orange puppet creatures dance in a line-up
turned into a more analytical "now that's an
orange nylon curtain they're using, and the
players are putting their feet through the bottoms
." Both "Twilight" as well as the amusing
"Ostrich Ballet" could have been condensed to
more skillfully bedazzle the audience. As it was,
too'many images were worn out.
New Dire Straits is pure gold
By MIKE BURNS
For the Collegian
Rolling Stone Magazine rates Love Over Gold as one
of the most important albums of the year; People
magazine rates it as one of the worst. Love Over Gold is
Dire Strait's fourth album and is by far the most
ambitious piece of art the band has yet attempted.
The sound has not changed, it is unmistakably Dire
Straits, much like Supertramp or the Who, both bands
which boast their own distinctive sound. But the scope
of the recording is where the difference lies. Mark
Knopfler (who is like Jagger to the Stones, or
Springsteen to the E Street Band) wrote all the songs,
produced the album and dared Dire Straits to be
different. As Rolling Stone says, ". . . Love Over Gold
dares to put art before airplay."
The first track, "Telegraph Road," is 14 minutes
long. The song starts as a delicate mix of guitar and
piano, but the background is wrought with ominous
feeling. Then comes the Knopfler trademark: Fender
lead and a voice with the story telling-talent that equals
Chapin, Springsteen or Joel. Like The Nylon Curtain
and Nebraska, Love Over Gold is as pessimistic as the
times. "Telegraph Road" is a story about the growth of
a town, and the hard times that we must all deal with.
The song reminds me of a mix between "Jungleland,"
with the feelings evolving and interwoven between the
music and the lyrics, and "Freebird," with its driving
instrumental outro. Whether the song reaches the
popularity of either of those classics is doubtful, but the
potential is present. In my opinion, "Telegraph Road"
is the outstanding track on the album.
The seven minute "Private Investigations" follows,
and sets the mood for what is to come: soft, intricate
instrumentals, contrasted with tight driving rock,
For this reason, the short, snappy comic vi
gnettes between the six regularly-scheduled
pieces took on an added dimension because the
"Wow, how did they do that?" aura remained
after the lights went down and the sets were
changed.
Additionally, these short commercial breaks
were played atop an elevated §tageplatform and
were very easy to see. Unfortunately, some of the
more visually exciting pieces on the regular
program a very emotional "Pierrot" and the
mystical "Dreaming" —featured too much floor
work. Consequently, audience members who
weren't in the first five rows or so were forced to
crane their necks in order to see the action.
Of the entire program, though, "Metamorpho
sis" was perhaps the most emotionally charged.
It began with a simple white beach ball moving
about the stage. Soon, though, the playful ball
was devoured by a rather grotesque piece of
slime. After a series of the slimes' metamor
phoses, a stumpy white snail-like creature with a
protruding trunk emerged. He. romped around
the stage by himself, later to be joined by a near
identical partner. Frolicking about their trouble
and toil-free paradise, they tossed a green ball
back and forth from their trunks.
But soon the second creature swallowed this
green fruit of sorts, only to fall to the ground, as if
in extreme pain. Instantly,. the first creature
gave the second trunk-to-trunk resuscitation
and she bounced back to life. At this point, the
first creature fell to the ground. So the newly
revived comrad immediately inhaled all the light
from the floor spot to give her friend "the light"
he so desperately needed. They were inseparable
from that point, having each become life sup
ports for the other.
Reminiscent of the Adam and Eve tale? Very
much so, and very smartly done. "Metamorpho
sis" was classy, cerebral puppetry at its finest.
Throughout the evening, the Compagnie Phil
ippe Genty displayed an abundance of creative
alternating throughout the album. The instrumentation
on this song is elusive in that the song continually
changes from soft to hard, rock to jazz, slow to fast, and
back again.
Knopfler's guitar is superb as he duals Alan Clark on
the keyboards. Hal Lindes adds some rhythm (distor
tion) guitar, just enough to give the song a jolt. Mike
Mainieri throws in some vibes and marimbas that add
a little jazz flavor. I waited for the song to break into
jazz, but it stayed one step away, teasing me with the
sound. The timing and production of "Private Investi
gations" was extremely well done. With this song
Knopfler shows us not only his musical talent, but his
ability as a producer as well.
Side two starts with a bright, lighthearted song called
"Industrial Disease." The song has a good steady beat
which could lend itself to dancing, and a catchy tune
which could lend itself to the radio. "Industrial Dis
ease" is the shortest song on the album with a time of
just under six minutes, but even this is a long song by
the commercial industry standards. Laced throughout
the song is a synth program by Ed Walsh which really
makes the song unique in relation to the rest of the
album.
Love Over Gold, the title track, is a beautifully
composed song featuring keyboards and guitar. When
the song started I thought the tempo would remain at a
constant slow. But I was surprised with some excellent
transitions into, and out of, a number of varying speeds
and intensities.
Truly this is a rock and roll album with heart, and
courage enough to take chances. These days most rock
is commercial at best, but Dire Straits has come up
with something fresh and new that fits into no category
(New Wave, Heavy Metal, pop, etc.) except good solid
rock.
The Daily Collegian
Monday, Jan. 10
energy and provided an intriguing balance of
satire and sincerity. Unfortunately, the pro
gram's overall lack of spontaneity subverted
what could have been an evening of truly delight
ful adult entertainment.
This sad Pierrot was one of the marionettes
featured in Compagnie Philippe Genty's "Round
As A Cube" program Friday night in Schwab
Auditorium. The show was sponsored by the
Artists Series.
Prime time
crime on TV
By NORMAN BLACK .
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON Although it
may not be surprising from an
entertainment standpoint, the pic
ture of crime in America painted
by prime -time television bears
almost no relation to reality, a
study released Sunday asserts.
The study, by Linda and Robert
Lichter of George Washington
University, concludes that crime
pervades television entertain
ment; that TV crime is much
more violent than in real life; that,
television lawbreakers tend to be
middle-or upper-class white
males; and that on TV private
eyes and private citizens are more
likely "to bring evildoers to jus
tice" than police.
"Television entertainment
largely ignores most aspects of
real crime in America, focusing
instead, on the most serious, vio
lent and life-threatening of
fenses," the authors write. "By
sensationalizing crime in this way,
TV misses its opportunity to edu
,cate the audience about the true
dimensions of America's crime
problem."
The Lichters' study is based on
an examination of six weeks of
prime -time TV aired during the
1981 season by ABC, CBS and
NBC. It reviewed a total of 263
entertainment programs and
found a total of 250 criminals who
committed 417 crimes, "or almost
one criminal and 1.7 crimes per
show across the entire evening
schedule."
"Just as striking as the sheer
number of crimes are the types of
crime portrayed," the study says.
It notes that murder is "by far the
most common crime on tele
vision," while FBI statistics show
that in terms of arrests far
fewer than actual crimes mur
ders accounted for only one-fifth of
one percent of crimes in 1980.
The findings "suggest that, after
an evening spent watching tele
vision, a trip to the precinct house
might be something of a letdown,"
the Lichters said.
They also said that the por
trayals of lawbreakers and law
enforcers on TV are distorted.
According to The Media Insti
tute, the research has been kept
confidentiaFand the television net
works have yet to see the findings.
Clarification
In Joe Englert's column in Fri
day's Daily Collegian it was inad
vertantiy reported that local radio
station WQWK was insincere in its
choice of radio playlists. The
statement should have read "the
lack of sincerity displayed by mu
sical groups promoted on such
local pop outfits as WQWK is ap
palling."
comics, etc.
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6•Er A tetle
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State Zip- 1
Across
1 5,7, with 21, 39 A and 1, 27 D
Soliloquy start
12 "I knew him, —"
14 Foppish courtier
15 Slender finial
16 Joint
18 Nuclear org.
19 Close a letter
21 See 1 A
22 British princess, for short
23 Shipworm
26 Extraordinary
27 Two pts.
29 Unclosed, archaically
30 Island group
32 Father of Titans: var.
34 Scattered
35 Kind of fisherman
Down
1 See 1 A
2 Exession of c
3 Kin p d of cheese hagrin
4 Per unit: abbr.
5 OPEC commodity
6 Purloined
7 Women's org.
8 Bone
9 Refrain syllable k
10 Fastened securely
11 The West
13 Transport telekinetically
17 Lang. reference
20 Make up for
24 Legßl thing
25 Frequently
*********************-* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* "CANCER CLUES"
Q's and A's about the various forms of cancer that most frequently afflict young adults
HUB Main Lounge
TONIGHT
* SROI
********************* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2-3 yr. FULL TUITION
Through Army ROTC '4 - 0)
(Current ROTC Participation Is Not Required) g
36 Dislike
37 Bib. half
38 Wind dir.
39 See 1 A
41 Boob tube
42 Finite form of 1 A
43 Form
46 Number in 28 D
48 Stan's partner
50 Water: Fr.
52 Fiber name
54 Military standards
56 "Like , all tears"
57 Preposition
58 Sailing
26 Bauxite, e.g.
27 See 1 A
28 Roman trio: var.
31 I am not! You
33 English beverage
34 Kind of exam
36 Subject of Crossword
40 Man's nickname
44 Gangster Diamond
45 Victor Borge or 36 D
47 UN org.
48 Number of speakers of 1
49 Daughter of Cadmus
51 Natn. in 11 D
53 Soviet river or gulf
55 Hawkeye state: abbr.
Presented by the
Office of Student Activities
in cooperation with
The American Cancer Society
SCHOLARSHIPS
Application
Period:
Eligibility:
Selection
Criteria:
Crossword
The Play's The Thing by Doug Micklo
(answers In Tuesday's Classifieds)
Spotting It & Stopping It
Informal Discussion
of the
Prevention and Diagnosis
of Cancer in
Young Adults
with
8:00 p.m.
Freshman
and
Sophomores
O 2-YR SCHOLARSHIP - JAN 15-25 FEB 83
• 3-YR SCHOLARSHIP - JAN 15-25 FEB 83
• Scholarship begins School Year 82-83
• In Good Academic Standing
• Full time student
• Be less than 25 years of age on
30 June of graduating year
Based primarily on academic achievement, leadership
potential and degree of success in college. Subjective
evaluation will include consideration of extracurricular
and athletic activities, leadership abilities as evidenced by
degree of success in activities and/or work, work experi
ence, recommendations from two instructors and the
Professor of Military Science recommendation.
CONTACT
UNIVERSITY PARK CAMPUS
MAJ PERRY DENNISTON
814-863-0368
ARMY ROTC
BE ALL•YOU CAN BE
The Daily Collegian
BRIAN WALKER, M.D.
Oncologist
Internal Medicine Associates
of State College
American
Cancer Society 0
Monday, Jan. 10
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