Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, October 16, 1968 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY The theater of great discontent The following article is, admittedly, flackery put out by the San Francisco Mime Troupe in behalf of itself. But there is actually no better way to understand radical theatre and what it attempts to accomplish, then to hear about it from those who practice it. The Mime Troupe opens its commedia dell' arte presentation "The Farce of Patelin" at Canterbury House on Friday night. They will appear there through Sunday.-Editor. "Radical, theater in its practitioners' sense of the term- -radical not only in political content but in its rejection of con- ventional theater methods and economics ("How you do it is maybe even more important than what," says Mime Troupe director R. G. Davis)-is a recent phenomenon: the Mime Troupe, founded in 1959, may be the oldest surviving example. Others are several New York groups, particularly The Bread and Puppet Theater, The Gut Theater, and The Pageant Players. All these companies operate without permanent premises, without box offices, and without the government and foundation grants that subsidize established "serious" theaters. They are supported by their audiences, who are the young, the poor, the man in the street, as opposed to the affluent middle-aged who buy ticlets to the plays. The Mime Troupe's home ground is the public parks system of the San Francisco Bay Area, in which the Troupe has per- formed updated comedia dell' arte plays every summer since 1962. The company survives on the collections taken after each performance. The idea is to abolish walls, including the fifth wall, money. Outdoor performance heightens the challenge to the actor: sky, dogs, and ball games compete for the attention of the audience which, having invested nothing in advance, will not hesitate to leave it bored. Evidently, there are no color TV's in the Mime Troupe. Actors received $5 per show, the balance goes to pay expenses. Some live on the $25 a week this afford them, others have part time jobs. The Troupe's growing reputation (in May it received a special "Obie" award for Off-Broadway excellence) enables it to supplement its park earnings with engagements, but it still labors under an accumulated debt (most of it the result df expensive legal hassles with an affronted Establishment) that is larger 'than the Troupe's annual income. Despite its contention that the "total spectacle" (perform- ance which is continuous with the world around it) is the mes- sage, the Troupe's productions are specific, and, radical, in social-political content. Their political preoccupations have earned for the Troupe labels like "cheerleaders of anarchy" and "bludgeon-wielding' propagandists." Their answer is that "art which does not speak to vital concerns is soulless; it is not worth seeing if it has nothing to say." theatre O'Casey's favorite closes APA season CINEMA II "MY NAME IS IVAN" Russiii 171] What Irish playwright Sean O'Casey regarded as his favor- ite play, Cock-a-Doodle Dandy, previewed last night as the final production in this year's APA Repertory season. The play, termed "farcical and fantastic" 'by director Jack' O'Brien, opens officially tonight at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre for a two-week run. Donald Moffat, considered by many to be the company's most versatile actor, plays the leadingsrole. Also featured in the cast are Philip Minor, Katherine Hal- mond, and Richard Wgods. I ' Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor. Michigan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. i 14 Bes CSIPcture, Ven ice Film. Festival FRI.-SA T., OCT 18-19, AUD. A 1.D1 es. Try DaiyClassif ieds n _ il1 -J. Edw. Bailey Moffat, Miss Helmond, Woods, and Minor work for O'Casey - musc 'Premieres and magnetic tape UNDERGROUND RETURNS TO THE By MARCIA ABRAMSON The latest In music-includ- ing a nocturne for magnetic tape and two world premieres- will be presented in the music school's annual Festival of Con-! temporary Music which begins Friday. The first three concerts of the series of five will be presented Friday, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. The second part of the festival will be held during the winter term. The University Philharmonia will play the world premieres of "Concerto for Violin and Or- chestra" by Prof. Paul, Cooper at the opening concert at 8 .p.m. Friday in il Aud. Cooper was a member of the music school faculty until this year and is currently composer- in-residence at the University of Cincinnati. The concerto is divided into seven connecting sections of varying materials and tempi with brief periods of quasi-im- provisations, Cooper explains. Pitches are indicated but may be played rhythmically from within a given metered time span. The second concert, in Rack- ham Aud., will feature the world premiere of "Variations" by James Dapogny, a faculty mem- ber of the music school. The six short variations have no theme. Each variation presents one specfic treatment. of the pitch succession whichunderlies the e n t i r e composition, Dapogny says. Traditionally the Contempor- ary Festival has centered around the works of a guest composer who also presented an address on some aspect of his work. This year's guest is not a composer but a performer-Bethany Bear- dislee, who will sing Schoen- berg's "Plerrot Lunaire," Op. 21. The second concert will also present "Nocturne" for mag- netic tape by Jack Fortner, an-, other music school faculty mem- ber. The third concert is part of the music school's Contemporary Directions series. The Michigan Contemporary Directions En- semble will play the entire con- cert, including "Divertissement" by Prof. Ross Lee Finney, the University's composer - in - resi- dence. This concert will also be held at Rackham Aud. The Contemporary Directions Program was b e g u n several years ago by the music school to perform new works. This year the project is being supported by a Rockefeller Foundation grant, which has made possible establishment of the Contem- porary Directions Ensemble as a permanent group. The festival is supported by the music school. There is no admission charge for any of the concerts. " ''r f .By f Y~t + ES e a n OCasey Directed by Jack O'Brien Music by Bob James 4 [r :Il Vth Forum Thur., Fri., Sat. & Sun. 11:00 P.M. Expanded Cinema is a revolution. A new way of see- ing. A new way of thinking. A new way of being. The image is the idea is the word is the act. Expand- ed awareness. A taste of the essences. Expanded Cinema says it. It says: Revolution! R: H. Philipp, Owner 1031 E. Ann, near the hospitals DELICIOUS SANDWICHES, SALADS, SOUPS 95c DAILY SPECIAL Open 1 1:00 a.m. 'til 8:00 p.m. Daily CLOSED SUNDAYrS 11 GRADS... F' UNDERGUADS .. o Run for SGC Nov. elections VAW MADALYN MURRAY speaks on ATHEISM Petitions now being accepted at SGC offices for six seats on Counci I 4 I File Now.! HOMECOMING 1968 PRESENTS DI ONNE WARWICK Sunday, 2:00 P.M., October 20 Hill Auditorium Petitioning for Nov. 12, 13. Election closes 5:00 p.m. Oct. 28. I 1E THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1968 48:30 P.M. TICKETS ON SALE WED., OCT. 16 $1.00 at Diag (11.12) and Union Desk fall day) TICKETS ON SALE AT DOOR BEFORE PERFORMANCE SHOWS AT 1:00-3:00-5:00 7:10-9:10 NO 2-6264 NEXT: "HEART IS LONELY HUNTER A IMPORTANT MEETINGS of the IFC PLEDGE STUDY COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16: Policy meeting for all interested Rm. 3511 S.A.B., 7:30 P.M. Q A TR T1 A v f CqT 10. #I I* ui I I - H~Inu I Ill~ -IC0 00 tirl