PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY THURSDAY. QEPTKIVMIF*R. q!1 74a«t' PAGETWOTHE ICHGAN AIL TWm Qf A Q~?'rv~m,~u, LA JUUK%, a, P9 X j AJ*o- I iVKDk~t&7. 1 1 "il i theatre APA's P By ANDREW LUGG The APA Repertory Company has opened its new season with Michel de Ghelderode's "Panta- gleize." This play is a difficult play to perform in, to direct, to watch and, not least, to review. It is not difficult as far as its content is concerned (indeed it has a simple storyline and a very thinly disguised thesis). The prob- lem lies in the manner of dealing with this content. The APA pro- duction was too good to allow a rigid criticism of John Houseman's and Ellis Rabb's direction. It would be presumptuous to suggest a radi- cally different conception than the one that they presented. On the other hand it was not so good that the problems were mask- ed. Toward the end of the per- formance when the play really came alive and presented some so- lutions it also high-lighted the difficulties which the directors seem to have encountered with the earlier sections. The story develops along the following lines: Pantagleize makes a casual remark which sparks off a revolution; he becomes, through this chance statement, the leader of an odd band of revolutionaries --an anarchist, a professor of po- litical science disguised as a waiter, a poet, a Jewess and a Negro-who constitute the hier- archy of the insurgent forces. He then falls in love 'with the Jewess, steals some (fake) treasure from the State Bank, is found out by the authorities who are also duped into thinking that he is the leader and is executed. All this has taken place withni a day, the play starting as Pantegleize gets up at six in the morning and ending at midnight with the government forces celebrating the return of the status quo. During these eighteen hours Pantegleize, the philosopher-im- becile, is made by the Gelderode to prance through a whole set of incongruous roles. At one time he is in "vaudeville," at another in an activity bordering on the "haute-melodramatic" and during a third he is expected to be no less; than a Beckett-like Cartesian Cen- taur. Thus we have Pantagleize ~on revolution: all successful causes; are good causes. In love: I shall shear sheep and you shall make butter. On philosophy: I shall re- quisition eclipses. Pantagleize has to move con-1 sistenly between two impossible states-of-being. When he con- fronts the Jewish girl, who he thinks is asleep, Pantagleize says, "I will place the butterfly of my kiss on the flower of her brow."' But then he realizes that "there is7 a smell like a butcher's shop," thatI she is dead "My deepest sym- pathy. I hope we meet again." ' The problem of Pantagleize, which is also the problem that is antagleize Uneven, 'Schizophrenic' Conolly, in her hysteria, attempts to disprove this. She plays the stereotype in such a brash fashion to build up a dichtomy between character and "flesh-and-blood" that her tirade (and her acting) become unacceptable. The integrity of the scene has been sacrificed for effect. A direc- tion for this scene might be to play it within its own "reality" so that the absurdity flows from that real- ity and is not forced onto it. .X *The second example comes from the same scene. Ellis Rabb, who plays Pantagleize, indulges in a hackneyed "bit" in order to get a laugh. Rachel, who is on his lap, Smoves slightly and this prompts "the - hand - mechanically - grab- k bing - at - thigh sequence." This "reference" further broke up the scene, because the "burlesque" had no relevance to the play, at that particular moment. This expected, Rabb played Pantagleize with great honesty and hence, remark- able success. Trimester Support Wanes Among Faculty Members (Continued from Page 1) The conclusion of both reports was that the University should return to a two semester program with an enriched summer session. Variations of these plan were dis- cussed by both schools. A plan with the semester be- ginning before Labor Day and ending before Christmas was slightly less popular than the old plan of beginning in mid-Sept. and ending with a lame duck session in January. Considered unfeasible along with the current trimester system were a four quarter system, and a two semester and a quarter system. The LSA report objected to these systems on the basis that a large number of faculty would have to be brought in to teach the summer session. The report felt that the University had neither the space nor the money to do this. In regard to the compressed term claim, Smith pointed out that actual class time has been cut by only one week. To him this was not a significant cut espec- ially since a number of other schools such as Harvard Univer- sity operate successfully with even fewer weeks per semester spent in the classroom. Smith also emphasized that the trimester seemed to be very pop- ular with the students. Although he could give no specific figures, he felt certain that the majority of the student body liked the pres- ent system. He cited the Hay committee re- port on the calendar, which poll- ed a section of student body and concluded that, students preferred the plan. The Hay report recommended that trimester be retained with alterations. It also concluded that both faculty and students felt that "students get significantly less out of taking a course" now then under the old semester cal- endar. Smith felt that any investigat- ing committee should give heavy weight to student preference when considering any calendar. He welcomed the investigation of the problems of trimester by SACUA, although he has no plans to consider the problem in depth at this time. If the results of the SACUA study call for further ac- tion, he would consider taking measures. Smith felt that the trimester had not been given a sufficient trial period to prove itself. He thought that five years should be the minimum trial period., After this time he thought that a com- mittee for a review of the system should and probably would be es- tablished. Across Camp us, Prof. Wells Goodrich will lec- ture on "Four Patterns of Early Marriage" at the second psycho- logy department colloquium at 4 p.m. Friday in Aud A. Violinist Gilbert Ross and pian- ist Marian Owen will give a free public concert at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Rackham Lecture Hall. The duo, faculty members of the School of Music, will fea- ture works by Mozart, Prokofieff, and Prof. Paul Cooper of the music school. The University of Michigan Blood Donors Association will hold its fall clinic on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. in the small ballroom of the Union. The association is open to all regu- larly employed University staff members, full or part time. Staff members wishing to join the association should obtain an application from the personnel of- fice, 1028 Administration Bldg., 764-7286. I I -Daily-van Williams WORLD CHANGE and revolution ushered in by a vaudevillo trio and the most casual of remarks, "It's a beautiful day." Disunity and confusion characterize this play about a revolution led by an imbecile. written into all the other parts, is simply that there is no consist- ent level on which the drama can be played out. It has elements of the burlesque, the farce, the melo- drama. It has at times a very real seriousness, but this is soon to be followed by the banal, the un- natural, the trite. Each small sec- tion appears disjunct from what preceeds it and from what we are expecting it to develop into. And here the problem becomes much more explicit: namely, how many events which differ in tone and importance can be welded into a unit. To integrate the pieces in- to a whole, the director must find a center or a structure on which to build. A handful of iron filings sprinkled over a magnet at random all tend to line up in one direction. What is required in the play is a magnet. The APA, creditably, has made things even more difficult for themselves than Ghelderode him- self intended. They add to the disjointedness of the play by using some props that are modern and others which are pre-World War I. The costuming is also schizophre- nic. The anarchist looks for all the world like an Hell's Angel. The poet comes on like a flower child. The policeman, Creep, looks like a second-urate gangster from a Bogart movie, and the Jewess is resplendent in a mini-skirt. No you are probably saying (as does some "study material" that the APA sent me) that all this adds up to no more than what we should expect from "absurd" drama. But this is not so. The writ- ing of Beckett, Lonesco or Pinter has a built-in structure. Consider Pinter: the language, the char- acter-types and the mise-en-scene all add up to give a single direc- tion or pattern for the play. No, rather than foreshadowing these playwrites (the play was written in 1929), de Ghelderode is merely closing a period that began' with Jarry. That is not to say that Pantagleize is an "Ubu Roi." Only that it has a similar discontinu- ous sequence of events. We remove from our considerations reference to more dramatists for helpin get- ting to the bottom of de Ghelde- rode's style. As I have said, the first half of Tuesday's . performance was un- satisfactory. Let me give three examples to illustrate why this was so. At the end of the first act, the Jewess, Rachel (acted by Patricia Conolly), counters Pan- tagleize's overtures of love with hysterical "revolutionary" slogans such as "action first, words later" and "before anything else I love humanity." In "The Essence of Theatre," Henry Gouhier says something like: the stage welcomes every il- lusion except that of the physical presence of the actor. Patricia Lastly, at many points in the play scenes were played "too hard," and this was emphasized by music paralleling the action. Lyrical mu- sic accompanied "tender" scenes. Perhaps the music should have been a counterpoint. This would have enhanced the continuity -be- tween scenes and enriched the dis- continuity within the scene. Above all, the actors must act as though they meant what they are doing and the action cannot drag. It was these two factors that made the last quarter so worth while. The absurdity of the events developed out of the total thea- trical spectacle and was only in- directly in the acting. The fault of the early sections was that the actors tried to be absurd. The absurdity became apparent from the events in the play and was not imposed by acting. The actor played out. his reality, the audience added the slogan "ab- surd." Lacunary threatre works when the actors respect the inte- grity of their parts. This gives unity and structure to the play. V NOW NATONA. GENEALCORPRTO NW ~ SHOWING FOR VILLaGE 375 No. MAPLE RD.*769.1300 TIMES DAILY 2:00-5:10 8:25 James Aicheners novel reaches the screen .4 . . W*kM.' CINEMA II PRESENTS HAROLD PINTER'S THE GUEST (British title: The Caretaker) ALAN BATES ROBERT SHAW DONALD PLEASENCE "A fascinating, funny, eerie film."-KAUFFMAN -THE NEW REPUBLIC "BRILLIANT!"-N.Y. POST "BRILLIANT "-N.Y. TIMES FRIDAY and SATURDAY 7 and 9:15 P.M. Auditorium A Angell Hall 50c 4 I1 Ma I 9' ."r.. ..".swa ?a . . v ," Y"f'.r' "t.., . ,,..?..."r. :" . ;r ; ".v. ...s.... ORGANIZATION NOTICES ;Y.;":{..YLrr ti r. . ..;"r,,,4y}.,:? tr';' ":.;'C"Y:Y.:::}jr7,:?;'r r':;fi;::\: i"..'.+iy"rsY.;"::?:;;:i'?};i 'F.5:+":"; Y"Y'.itifit THE MIRISCH CORPORATION PRESENTS JULIE ANDREWS MAX VON SYDOW RICHARD HARRIS in THE GEORGE ROY HILL-WALTER MIRISCH PRODUCTION of "HAWAII" USE OF THIS COLUMN FOR AN- NOUNCEMENTS is available to officially recognized and registered student orga- nizations only. Forms are available in Rm. 1011 SAB., Baha'i Student Group plans Informal discussion Fri., Sept. 22, 8 p.m., 520 Ashley. Call 662-3548 if you need trans- portation. All interested welcome. Concert Dance Organization is hold- ing modern dance classes every Tues., day 7:30 p.m. and Thursday 8:15 p.m., at the Barbour Gym Dance Studio. Classes are held for men on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. * * * Christian Science College Organization weekly testimony meeting every Thurs- day, 7:30-8:30 p.m., 3545 SAB. * * * South Quad Council, Smitty's Tea- tures Peter Bowen, Sept. 22, 8:30 p.m., G103 South Quad. * * * Southern Asia Club, Bag lunch meet- ing today at 12 noon in Room 1 of Lane Hall. Prof. Roger Smith of the political science department will speak on "Research Problems in Southeast Asia." Anyone interested is invited to attend. * m Voice Work committee meetings: Draft-Sept. 22, 2 p.m., Guild House; Labor-Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Union MUG; War Research-Sept. 21, noon, Union MUG; Internal Education-Sept. 21, 8:30 p.m., voice Office; Mobilization and War Protest-Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m., Guild House; High School Organizing- Sept. 22, 8:30 p.m., Union MUG; Dorm -Sept. 27, time and place to be an- nounced; JJC to be announced. Infor- mation, 663-6610 or 761-7613. WOIA 102.9 F.M. ACRES OF FREE-FREE PARKING I ROBIN BROWN Broadcasting "MUSIC FOR MODERNS" Mon. thru Fri. 9 P.M.-1 2 Midnight bTATE Program Information NO 2-6264 41 1 SHOWS AT 1:00-3:00-5:00 7:05-9:10 Dial HELD OVER "ONE OF THE MOST GRAPHICALLY EROTIC FILMS EVER MADE FOR PUBLIC SHOWING! -Playboy Magazine From the makers of "DEAR JOHN' adifferent kind of love story. x Sigma ill . SHOW TIMES: Mon. thru Thurs. 7:00 & 9:15 Fri. & Sat. 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30-Sun. 6,8:15 & 10:30 Dial -~i ~ u E J r 5 62 90 ease ENDING THURSDAY r' I Phone 434-0130 EntaKceOnCRPNTE R0RA0 OPEN 7:30 P.M. NOW SHOWING "An amazing poignant film! It is beautifully balanced .. . excellent performances." --N.Y. Times Shown at 8:15 Only TONY FRANCIOSA RAQUELWELCH CINE AcPE SCOLOR by DELUXE Also... X ~Shown at /1 10:00 Only of the COLOR BY DE LUXE .r PLUS-"RIVIERA REVELRIES" COLOR CARTOON Stardin AcaemifardSANDYDENNIS7 { / THE CRITICS SAY: "TRIUMPH? Naturalism - in characters and background - is the mark of this film in its technical perfections. Saturated in time and place, we are left with the universality of the theme and its particular contemporary revelance. And this is the triumph of 'Bonnie and Clyde'. Warren Beatty and Arthur Penn firmly establish themselves as one of the most excitingly creative teams in American moviemaking!" -"'u;"" "A JUMPING UP AND DOWN RAVE! A WORK OF CINEMATIC ART! The screen is strewn with violence, but the violence is meaningful, vital to an understanding of these real people. UNFORGETTABLE! HOMAGE TO ALL!" - .,fet' H.... .Je.. "I HAVE NEVER SEEN A GANGSTER FILM LIKE IT, AND IT WILL BE HARD TO BEAT! This film should live in the national folk history. Warren Beatty gives a tremendous performance. Wonderfully authentic. The film as a whole is tight and constructed with wisdom as well as skill. It rushes to a bloody climax, which hits hard! A MAJOR ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENT!" -o. ...s.a "AN AMERICAN WORK OF ART-POSSIBLY THE BEST FILM OF THIS YEAR?'Bonnie and Clyde' has been brought perfectly to the screen! The action stuff is simply overwhelming. Warren Beatty gives the greatest performance of his life. JUST GO SEE THIS PICTURE. YOU WILL NEVER FORGET ITS" - C.s.p.pta.m "FROM START TO FINISH THE FILM WAS ENGROSSING, FASCINATING AND MAGNIF- ICENTLY MADE!" Hnda "VIVID, VIOLENT TALE! UNUSUAL! FASCINAT- INGS Captures a sense of the period and attempts to understand the twisted motives of the young man and his girl who went on a prolonged bank-robbing and killing spree. Exceedingly well made-astonishingly good performance by Warren Beatty." Ao .,rday h.,ew w, ELI SUGGEST VERY STRONGLY THAT YOU SEE IT? One of the finest films I have ever seen coming out of Hellywood!" f t- Women's Wear Daffy "'****2 BOLD AND BRASSY, BRUTAL AND BRILLIANT? The pace - furious. The cast is perfect. No one can help but marvel at the film's technical virtuosity!" . N..qv Ny we .-.. -....~..a... -- '-gE UEE AW|VE' FRIDAY Hayley Mills John Mills in "THE FAMILY WAY" 1 F Also Showing "WILD WINGS" Academy Award Short D, Cl 1111 . Ui .gownilngTouch!J ,.J1 WHAT'S AN 8ATES IERRE BRASSEURj EAN-CLAUDE BRIALY BENEVIEVE BUJOLD ADOLFO CELT FRANCOISE CHRISTOPHE JULIEN GUIOMAR' ICHELINE PRESLE iCHEL SERRAULT I GOING ON HERE? Send i I I w 4