arts The legendary jazz and blues artist, Ray Charles, gave a rousing perfor mance last night in Eisenhower auditorium. “Busted,” “Don’t Change on Me” and a rockin’ version of “Some Enchanted Evening” highlighted his show. The Raelettes joined him in singing “I Want Your Love,” a hit from the 70s. French sees the theater as a communal activity By MICHAEL ROSS DOMINICIS Collegian Arts Writer As the trumpets sound, the cour tiers file into position and the palace comes alive. The fanfare peaks and the king and queen of Denmark appear high on a plat form amid the warm and hearty reception and acknowledge the •faithful court in the University Resident Theatre Company’s pro duction of Hamlet. Offstage the “queen” is much more prone to simplicity in her life and work. Sitting in her office, she has been transformed into actress Peg French, who plays the part of Gertrude in the URTC’s produc tion and also serves as an instruc tor in the University’s theater arts program. An initial interest in acting led French to several roles in high school and college productions. French then took a 20 year sabbat ical from the theater in order to raise her family, but when her children had grown, she again returned to the stage. Boal Barn was French’s initiation into State College theater, and from there she then went on to earn a grad uate degree in acting from the University and has since become a member of Actors’ Equity Asso ciation. Her roles have included: Goldie in Fiddler on the Roo/with the Marriott-Lincolnshire Resort Theater in Chicago; Amanda in The Glass Menagerie with the Camden Shakespeare Company; and Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our, Teeth with the URTC. French said that though many people dislike her character, she finds Queen Gertrude a favorable part. “I do like Gertrude. I don’t think she’s evil. Some people think that Gertrude was in on the killing of her first husband, but I don’t be lieve that, and I think the script justifies that,’’she said. After her husband mysteriously dies, Gertrude marries her late husband’s brother and then at tempts to convince her son Hamlet to return to the kingdom to live. Yet, Hamlet is told by his father’s ghost that he was murdered by his succeeding brother and demands revenge. The action becomes in tense as Hamlet plots to kill the new king who in turn is trying to murder him. Gertrude gets caught in between the rage of the two men, which results in tragedy for everyone concerned. “Gertrude knew in her heart of hearts all the time that she shouldn’t have married that soon or that man,” French said. “She knew she should have mourned longer, but her need was so great at the time that she didn’t think of the repercussions. Ger trude is very pragmatic,” French added. “She never dwells on the past; she just deals with the mo ment.” One of the strongest scenes in Collegian Photo I Michael Houtz the play is when the queen tries to discipline her son, who has just offended her new husband. In stead, Hamlet takes control of the situation with violent tantrums and harsh words for his mother. While the scene is one of French’s favorites, she admits that it could have been dangerous if precau tions had not been taken to ensure the safety of the actors. “The fight choreographer showed us how to do it so that it looks like he (Chris Howe) is throwing me, but I’m actually throwing myself. He gives me the momentum, then I throw myself back as if he threw me,” French said. “Even when he shakes me, he only grabs my arms, and then I throw my head forward and back ward so it looks like he’s shaking me, but I’m doing it. Otherwise there would be real danger to the actor,” she added. French said that one of her concerns onstage, beyond that of her artistry, are technical mistak es, which can sometimes disrupt the actors and their rapport with the audience. “I hate it when technical things go wrong because it destroys the moment and there’s nothing that you can do as an actor. You just have to work and work to get the audience back into the world of the play and hope they’ll come with you,” she said. “You need an audience there with you and you really know when they leave you it’s scary. “When you know everyone is in it together it’s amazing what that does for the actor. I wish audi ences today knew how valuable that is to the actor. It’s hard to explain unless you experience it. It’s like a gift from the audience,” French said. The tedious process of acting is one that begins long before the actor walks onstage. French maintains that as an actor one must strive to get to the core of the part. “You have to make a lot of personal connections. I have to make contact with the concerns of the character every night,” she said. And while French works hard on refining her craft on an individual and interpersonal level, she recog nizes that it is an art form that involves an aspect of sharing as well. “I think I’m a creative person and this is my venue for creativ ity. I like the communal aspect of acting. All of us make this thing that we hope will turn out to be an object of art that we then share with the audience. There’s some thing terribly exciting about that to me it feeds me. “I’ve learned so much from watching theater; it enriches my life to be in the audience, and it enriches my life to be on the stage. It’s hard work, but it’s very fullfil ling to me,” she said. Charles' concert reveals his genius By NATALIE NICHOLS Collegian Arts Writer It is a rare thing for to perform so well that he receives a standing ovation. Ray Charles took this a step further by getting one before he even began playing. The audience of mostly older people, with some students and even a few children, stood on its feet Wednesday night in Eisenhower Auditorium to pay tribute to a great musician. Mary Wong opened the show, and provided a rather strange contrast with the music that followed. The trio called itself a “transvestite, schizophrenic comedy team,”, because it has a Chinese female name and the members are all black men. Their half-hour performance includ ed several funny skits, including one about a Chinese-run “authenic Italian pizza parlor,” a bit about “old geezers” as an endangered species and a scene from “every karate movie ever made,” complete with poorly dubbed dialogue. Many of Mary Wong’s short skits satirized black stereotypes and games children play, a la Eddie Murphy. Their humor was more enjoyable than Murphy’s, however, as it left out the offen sive language he uses. The audience laughed heartily at the performers’ jokes and acrobatics. A short intermission seemed to last forever as the audience anticipated Ray Charles’ appear ance. Finally, the Ray Charles Orchestra struck up several jazzy instrumentals, complete with trumpet, saxophone and trombone solos, which set the mood for Charles’ performance. The saxophone players were especially talented, wailing out tunes with a flair. The lights dimmed as the fourth swinging melody ended with a wave of the conductor’s hand. From the darkness, an announcer’s voice introduced “the legendary Ray Charles.” A spotlight shone on the famous figure as he entered , looking spiffy in a gray and white striped tuxedo jacket and black bow tie and spotlight Golton uses her dulci By SARAMMA METHRATTA Collegian Arts Writer “I first heard the dulcimer on the radio at one in the morning,” folk singer Esther Golton said. “It was right before I went on a trip to Israel to visit my relatives. Kevin Roth, who’s pretty well-known among dulcimists, was playing, and the sound he created was just so delicate and sweet I was hooked.” Golton is a 19 year-old agronomy major with an interesting hobby: in the Jawbone Coffeehouse and HUB Cellar, she sings and plays piano, flute and the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer. The dulcimer is a long, fretted lap instrument shaped “like a woman”; it sounds like a cross between a harp and a guitar “and sometimes a harpsicord, depending on how you play it.” Recently, such artists as Joni Mitchell and the rock group Genesis have been using the instrument in their recordings. Golton is drawn to the simplicity in folk music. “Folk is all about communicating,” she said, “and I’ve always wanted to share music with people to say, ‘I love this, and I want you to love it, too.’ If I did go into music, it would be folk because that’s the most sincere, least competitive field.” It was her family, Golton said, who introduced her to music. Her uncle is famed violinist Shmuel Ashkenazi, who came from Israel to attend Philadelphia’s Curtis Insti tute of Music. “He was offered the concert master’s seat in the Phila delphia Orchestra, and he turned it down,” she said. “He sort of dis couraged me from pursuing music full-time.” Her parents, however, encouraged her with flute and piano lessons. “I started playing the pi ano when I was six years gld and Hector in Paris brings style to the Scorpion By PAT GRANDJEAN Collegian Arts Writer Music for the moon’s new wave clubs after colonization the soundtrack to a danceable LSD trip little symphonies to orchestrate daily obsessions: all these ideas and more can be used to describe the music of Hector in Paris, a synthesiz er-based dance band that will appear at the Scorpion tomorrow evening. No description is as apt, however, as that pro vided by keyboardist Ron Solo, who suggests that the quartet’s original songs constitute “elevator music for the 19905. I can see our music being played on elevators 20 years from now,” Solo said. “We have a lot of songs with lilting horn and keyboard parts. I can see them being recorded by generic string sections and studio musicians and released on a Ray Conniff album one day.” . Perhaps. For now, the ensemble’s own perfor mance of its material is a good deal grittier than Ray has ever tried to be. Hector in Paris’ person nel combines song titles like “Silent Scream ,” “Pavement Naver Cracks,” "I Am Terrified” and “Digital Bit” with arrangements that incorpo rate equal doses of ‘OOs pop, avant-garde jazz, sporting his trademark dark glasses'. A big smile split Charles’ face as he sat down at the piano. He launched right into two upbeat jazz songs, one of them “Busted,” a rueful song about hard times with no money. He then performed a soul-rendifig version of his number one hit, “Georgia,” a slow, sweet, sad song about the girl who’s always on his mind. He seemed to feel every note, every syllable as he sang this beautiful song. In a different vein, “I’ve Got News For You” drew a few chuckles from the audience as Charles sang about a girl who appeared shy, but “I took you to my club and the whole band knew your name! ” He punctuated his demands for her to shape up with growls and bounding feet. Charles bobbed his head and gave the audience his characteristic Cheshire Cat grin throughout the entire show. His body dipped and swayed on the piano seat as every part of him kept time with the music. He joked with the audience a little during an interlude and then sang a rockin’ version of “Some Enchanted Evening,” rolling his r’s Caru so-style. “That’s three weeks of work right there, I’ll tell you,” he laughed. The crowd applauded enthusiastically after each song. “Thank you, fans, I like you,” said Charles. He introduced the Raelettes, his female back up singers, four of them dressed in loud pink floral print dresses and one in red. They opened their performance with “I Want YoUr Love,” a popular disco song from the 1970’s band Chic. The song seemed really out of place among Charles’ jazz and blues tunes, but he enjoyed playing it, to the extent that he even jumped up and down at the end! The Raelettes sang with Charles for the rest of his performance, and although they did not hurt the show, they did not add much either. One of them had an incredible voice, but the others were not so distinctive. Nonetheless, this was a minor drawback in an otherwise excellent show. mer to find the studied for 12 years. I studied flute for 13 years. But I rebelled against the discipline that my parents forced on me, so I didn’t enjoy it at the time. It wasn’t until I discov ered the dulcimer that I found free dom in music and fell in love with it.” After hearing Roth on the radio, Golton rushed out to buy his album. “He’s done 15 albums,” she said, “and that was the one I didn’t like, so I forgot about the dulcimer for a while. Then, after a concert he gave in West Chester, I asked him if he taught lessons. He said, ‘Do you have a dulcimer?’ ” Golton bought a dulcimer for $225 —“my mother thought I was crazy” and began two months of lessons with Roth. “I crammed in'a lot that summer, as far as technique goes,” she added, “but it wasn’t until the past year that I started experiment ing with my own style.” Golton’s current passion is song writing. “When I was younger, I’d listen to top 40 music on the radio and vow never to write love songs. rhythm and blues and David Bowie/Talking Heads. “Picnic On The Edge,” the A-side of a single released in July, is highlighted by a skittery instrumental line, creaky horn sounds and a lead vocal that sounds like it was phoned in. Dark washes of synthesizer make the mood of “Pic nic” ’s flip side, Vi*‘Silent Radio,” much more ominous and edgy. Both tracks hook the listener’s ear and feet thanks to a relentless, rubbery bass line. Hector in Paris music does indeed play in Pittsburgh, despite that city’s reputation as a blue collar, R & B stronghold. The group’s main venue in their home town is Graffiti, a new-wave club that guitarist Phil Harris described as “the best place for us to play. It’s a new club about a year old, and we attract our biggest crowd there, people who won’t come to see us at other clubs.” Their “crowd” tends to include a wide range of humanity. Solo noted that “our audience consists of hardcore fans, people involved, in the intense arts scene here, architects and lawyers. We’ve even been hired to play weddings, for some rea son.” They’ve also shared bills with other popular Pittsburgh bands, including the Cynics, Kids After Esther Golton Now the most important thing for me is to be original.” The ideal song, she said, would combine poet ry and music that complements that poetry “and that rarely happens today, especially in pop music.” Determined to avoid the “soupy, generic” sound of top 40 music, Golton tries to vary the tone and subject matter of her songs. “Pat Baxter’s Song” is a response to the white South African woman who spoke against divestment earlier this year in the HUB Fishbowl. The song’s refrain: “You’re full of bullshit.” Golton strums the dul cimer with a pick to give the song a rhythmic, driving sound. “I was so mad after hearing Pat Baxter speak,” she said, “that I came home and wrote the words in five minutes. It took me 10 more min utes to do the music.” “Andrew,” a song inspired by a handicapped friend, proved more difficult to write. “It only has four chords in it,” she said, “and when I was trying to write it, I couldn’t get The Daily Collegian Friday, Nov. 22, 1985 In the funky “Don’t Change On Me,” Charles used many images of sunlight to convey his happirifess with being in love. Although he has been blind since age six, Charles plays a lot of songs with much visual imagery. Besides the references to seeing the sur shine in “Don’t Change On Me,” “Georgia” says of the girl he loves, “her eyes smile tender ly.” ' His next number, the famous “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” was a country tune with jazz/blues undertones, about happiness that’s gone but not forgotten. “I would hope you forgive me for this,” Charles said of his next song, “But I want to give you just one page in my life.” He launched into a rollicking country tune, “Three-Four Time,” in which he just wants to live.fast, play music and find a woman who will "make love in three-four time.” The atmosphere in the auditorium changed again as Charles slipped into a soft, tender love song, “Born to Love Me.” His mood changes from song to song were abrupt at times, but each was so complete that it did not detract from his performance. After his final song, Charles stood up, removed his glasses, wiped his face, smiled at the audi ence’s applause and said, “Thank you, I appre ciate that.” He invited the audience to participate in a “shout-along,” saying, “I guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun with this ’cause you can ventilate yourself, know what I mean?” He chuckled. The audience wholeheartedly followed him in wailing and “whoa”-ing. Charles laughed and hugged himself in almost childish delight, waved to the audience and grinned appreciatively. The announcer once again proclaimed him a legend in soul and jazz as he was led off the stage to thundering ap plause. merit in music excite those chords out of my head.” The result was a song that centers around one basic line: “I’m 23, I’ve got my life ahead of me. Can’t you, see that I’m still smiling.” Said Golton, “The simplicity of the mu sic allows the emotions of the words to penetrate.” Golton’s favorite piece remains “She Dances on Broken Glass” because “it’s the one that combines music and poetry best.” Golton wrote the song, about a woman who feels like a freak and an outcast, in response to a friend’s poem. “As I was writing, I was thinking about perfection and levels of emotional pain for different people. The song doesn’t go over well with audiences because it’s subtle and depres sing.” Yet it offers a vision of hope: “The woman dances on broken glass and cuts her feet, but the glass itself continues to shimmer like beautiful jewels.” If there is a theme in her music, Golton said, it is the idei of growth “either people growing them selves or me helping them grow through commentary.” Who helped her grow musically? “Janis lan, who wrote ‘At 17,’ was a major influence especially the songs she wrote when she was 16 and 17. They gave such a poignant rendering of what it was like to be 17. Janis introduced me to music with meaning.” Arlo Guthrie was another influ ence. “He’s not the most poetic person, but he has so much love to give, and he combines humor with message something I try to do.” Despite her love for music, Gol ton said she wouldn’t completely devote her future to it. The ideal life, she said, would combine music with agronomy. “I’d like to live on a farm and still perform music infor mally. Dark and The Spuds (Special People Under Doc tor’s Supervision). Each band member exhibits an individual sense of style, from Alexander’s cool androgyny to saxophonist Jim Laugelli’s bluesman-cum-M.B.A. look. Harris believes that Hector’s visual appear- ance has helped its outreach. “We’re not standard in our looks, but we’re not threatening either. We put people at ease, but give them something to look at rather than tee-shirts and jeans.” Solo added, “We provide an allernative to the stream of spandex and suits that look the same.’.’ The members of Hector in Paris want to main tain a similar balance of invention and accessibili ty in their music. Harris sees the best way to relate to a listener is radio talk shows. “I find it exciting when you hear people get heated over an issue and yell at each other over the air. It’s the ultimate audience participation, with all the barriers meited away. That’s the best part of music, when it comes down to a writer successfully sharing a mood, because sometimes your most personal ideas are totally meaningless to another person. This band’s danceable beat is the unifying element that opens pedple’s minds to our ideas.” Zoller exhibit features realists By VICTORIA JAFFE Collegian Arts Writer FIGURATIONS showcases three realistic artists. Robert P. Kinsell, Langdon Quin and Caren Canier each demonstrate a different medium of expression in Zoller’s Gallery A. Kinsell’s paintings are the most emotional and touching pieces in the exhibit. His oil/primed paper of The Red Overcoat shows a woman clad in her red coat, walking down the street. The color is “alive” in the parked blue car she passes; even the win dowsill on a background building has living color and texture. Morse Ave. Beach is a ,depiction of a sunny vaca tion spot inhabited by characters to whom everybody can relate. A bald ing man with a protruding tummy and little striped bikini smoking his cigarette, is a sight most beachgoers have experienced and reacted to. Another person in that painting is a woman, with her back to us, casually adjusting the bottom of her swimsuit as she gazes into the ocean. Return from the Beach and The Breakwater atDiversey Harbor, Kin sell’s other seashore creations, have the reality and familiarity of family snapshots, yet the beautiful artistry that only fine paintings can encom pass. His oil/Masonite Panel, Tag, illustrates two older boys playing tag under what appears to be a steel bridge. Kinsell has captured playful, childlike abandon in the midst of an overpowering city environment. I would almost swear that Kinsell went to my hometown, city and beach to find the characters and predica 0 in Iclta, iitj Bella 3im Dslta, Wo Delta Meg • B | Helta ®au Selta! jy | » fjouTe alright ub, » S V. Won't qou Bing for üb? J, » 8 Sclta ®au Iclta, “ & » Thanks for the fun and new friendships! & S And a great job at capturing 3 rd PLACE! $ Love, JJ ft PHI MU |f 1 0154 VS W 16-foot tall ghost of Christmas Future are just.some of the spectacular special effects that will delight young and old alike. A Joyous Gift for the Entire Family. Everyone from children to grandparents is sure to enjoy this story of the loving spirit of Christmas. Sunday, 2:30 & 7:3opm 1 Three more da; ments that he paints. He employs the interesting technique of never letting us see anybody’s face; most portraits are of a person’s back. His work brings the audience close to his peo ple and their situations and provokes questions about their lifestyles and personalities. Langdon Quin uses pencil and char coal on paper to bring several sketches of figures to life. They are realistic sketches; but seem to serve as studies in figure-drawing, rather than completely finished projects. Figure, Half Length, done in pencil, is a close-up of Quin’s Seated Figure, H 5. The close-up shows a thoughtful looking woman lightly drawn, with interesting shadowings and lines. Portrait of Caren depicts a peaceful woman gently closing her eyes, as her long hair rests on her right shoul der. The third artist’s work in this ex hibit is a sharp contrast to Quin’s sketches. Caren Canier uses bold colors and clearly defined geometric shapes to create her realistic oil and acrylic paintings. In Canier’s View of Olga’s House series, she presents four pictures with the same back ground rolling hills, mountains and grass yet places different objects in the foreground of each. Canier also uses djfferent colors to indicate va rious seasons of the year at Olga’s house. Her most engaging portraits in clude Afternoon Bath and Game of Checkers. Afternoon Bath reveals terrific personality, as a man sits in his bathtub while his two cats frolic by the tubside. December Eisenhower Auditorium ;et your tickets! 22 Nov. Friday 23 Nov. Saturday 24 Nov. Sunday “El Salvador: Nowhere to Run” “El Salvador: A Country in Crisis” “The Hidden Holocaust” Video on persecution of Slide show on the Video on the massacre ' Salvadoran refugees in Honduras Salvadoran Civil War of Guatemalan Indians STARCHASER In 3D re NIGHTLY: 7:45, 9:45 SAT. SUN.: 1:45, 3:45, 5:45, 7:45, 9:45 SAT. SUN.: $2.00 Before 6:00 p.m. GODZILLA 1985 ,o NIGHTLY: 8:00,10:00 SAT. SUN.: 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00 SAT. SUN.: $2.00 Before 6:00 p.m. TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. r NIGHTLY: 7:50,10:00 SAT. SUN.: 1:30, 3:40, 5:45,.7:50, 10:00 SAT. SUN.: $2.00 Before 6:00 p.m. STATE JAGGED EDGE rWEEKNIGHts: 10:00 SAT. SUN: 8:00, 10:00 RAINBOW BRIGHT qWEEKNIGHTS: 7:00 SAT. SUN.: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 ONCE BITTEN NIGHTLY: 7:45, 9:45 SAT.SUN, 1:45, 3:45, 5:45, 7:45 945 SAT. SUN.: $2.00 Before 6:00 p.m. All showings at 7:30 PM in the HUB Gallery Lounge Sponsored by Friends of Latin America 127 S. Pro»«r 236-6005 128 W. Coll*q« 237-7666 '3<2-1888 Arnold Schwarzenegger COMMANDO r NIGHTLY: 7:15, 9:15 Thank a farmer until. NOV-5' jjl St Elmos Fire □ 119 Osmond Fri. & Sat. 7,9 and 11 Sun. 7& 9 g PRESENTED by the Student Union Board □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□a □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ GH OST BUSTERS mi uamx ®@@i Fri. &Sat. 7, 8:45 & 10:30 _ Sun. 7 & 8:45 □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ today The Daily Collegian Friday, Nov. 22, 1985—19 TEACH-IN ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA
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