Wednesday, August 27, 1969
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
'Dionysus
In
69':
Indecent
exposure
for
'U
By JUDY SARASOHN
The Performance Group was
warned that they would be ar-
rested for performing in two
nude scenes of Dionysus in 69
in Ann Arbor -- but they chose
to accept the challenge of cen-
sorship in order to create a test
case on the basis of Constitu-
tional guarantees of freedom of
expression.
And in many ways the circum-
stances surrounding the entire
Dionysus incident became a test
case for the attitudes of the
University - supposedly a home
for freedom of expression --
and the surrounding commun-
ity.
Richard Schechner, director
of Dionysus, says he chose Ann
Arbor for "frontal exposure" be-
cause the University atmos-
phere was better than that of
Detroit. But the reaction from
the University, state politicians
and the local police was either1
hostile towards the play or at
least very guarded.
The controversy began days
before the Performance Group
set foot in Ann Arbor w h e n
police notified University Ac-
tivities Center President D a n
McCreath of the possibility of
arrests in conjunction with the
performance. UAC was sponsor-
ing the play as part of the Crea-
tive Arts Festival, and the police
had received a complaint about
the nudity.
Those responsible for bring-
ing the Performance Group to
the University -- the UAC of-
ficers and the boards of direc-
tors of the Union and the
League - were immediately
forced to take positions c o n-
cerning the coming perform-
ance.
After intensive debate and
controversy among the s e n i o r
board of UAC, the officers re-
leased a statement defending
the production.
"Dionysus in- 69 is a serious
dramatic effort and should be
accepted as such," they said.
"The production was brought to
the University community as
legitimate, topical, experimental
theatre."
But final authority for t h e
production still rested with the
boards of the Union and t h e
League. After a hastily called
meeting, the board agreed to al-
low the production to go on.
However, conflicting state-
ments by different members in-
dicated that some believed the
Performance Group had agreed
to perform clothed as they had
in Minneapolis and Detroit
during the preceding week.
Schechner justified the cloth-
ed performance in Minneapolis
as "artistic experimentation."
The Performance Group de-
pends on spontaneous expres-
sion and thus no two perform-
ances are exactly alike.
The night of the perform-
ance, the Union Ballroom was
An jinocent bystander at lireaIDionysus
peCrforman(11ce
eg,.where the Uis
By TOBE LEV
Often criticized for overem-
phasizing "straight" big name
entertainment, the University
Activities Center this year h a s
promised to open the way for
a greater variety of performers.
Many students became disil-
lusioned last year when UAC
feature concerts provided no
major rock or blues groups but
instead stuck to such establish-
ed performers as Bill Cosby,
Johnny Carson, Dionne W a r -
wick, Judy Collins and Aretha
Franklin.
"Next year UAC will try to
provide the opportunity for dif-
ferent types of kids to do t h e
things they want to," says UAC
president Wally Stromberg, '70.
As a result of this new atti-
tude, UAC supported in August
what may be the biggest blues
festival ever held in the Mid-
west. Organized by an inde-
pendent group of students, the
festival brought 25 different
groups and performers to Ann
Arbor for concerts, workshops
and seminars.
However, Stromberg promises
that the straight entertainment
will not be cut down, because
UAC believes it is this most stu-
dents want.
In addition. UAC also re-
deemed itself in cultural circles
somewhat last year with t h e
major creative arts festival
whlch brought theacontroversial
Dionysus in 69 to Ann Arbor.
The arts festival brought
many other avant-garde and
experimental performers to the
University with its theme of
"Experiment in the Arts" and
was widely praised for the var-
iety and depth of the programs.
The Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre, the Believers,
the Theatre of Cruelty, and the
Committee were some of the top
attractions, not to mention
Dionysus. Critic Clive Barnes,
Greek sculptress Chryssa, and
Les Levine's Total Environment
were also among the many fea-
tures of the festival.
Although last year's festival
was jammed into two weeks,
this year the program will in-
clude more fall activitiesStrom-
berg says.
The major portion of the
festival will still be winter term
and will feature a series of
weekends, with each weekend
specializing in a particular form
of the arts.
The arts festival, however. is
not a typical UAC program. The
UAC year centers around ma-
jor social weekends, Homecom-
ing and Michigras, Homecom-
ing includes the football game,
a big parade with floats, alumni
events, a major artist concert,
filled to capacity - publicity
surrounding the controversy
had made the production a
major attraction. And along
with the students, faculty mem-
bers and residents of the con-
nunity who attended the play,
there were a host of newspaper
reporters, a delegation of police,
and two state legislators.
But despite the controversy-
and despite the ommission of
the nude scenes in Detroit and
Minneapolis - the play went on
as it was usually performed in
New York and other cities.
In the first nude scene, five
men and four women stripped
off their clothes on stage. With
the four men lying on mats, the
women formed an arch over
them.
A fifth man was shoved
through the gap to the sounds
of groans in the symbolic birth
of Dionysus, the Greek god .of
wine and fertility.
Following the birth, the ac-
tors - all still nude -- per-
formed a frenzied dance.
A similar arch was formed at
the end of the play as cast
members doused each other
with red fluid symbolizing blood.
A man was forced into the arch,
which fell in a heap on t h e
floor, in the enactment of the
death of Pentheus, king of
Thebes.
While an angry crowd of 200
Dionysus supporters waited af-
ter the performance, Police
Chief Walter Krasny informed
Schechner privately that his
cast was under arrest for in-
decent exposure.
Although everyone else was
visibly upset by the arrests the
University administration main-
tained an air of mild disap-
pioval.
In a statement issued the day
before the performance, Presi-
dent Robben Fleming said that
the nudity did not necessarily
constitute obscenity, but reject-
ed the sanctuary concept of the
University, saying, "The law ap-
plies on campus as well as in
the community."
The Regents later issued a
mildly critical statement after a
stormy closed meeting. They
requested campus groups to
carefully consider the contribu-
tions which "invited guests and
performers can make to the
state."
The Regents cited "substantial
public criticism of the Univer-
sity," and said there was "min-
imal value attached to the
performance as measured
against the loss of good will
which the University might suf-
fer."
At the closed meeting, how-
ever, conservative Regents had
pressed for a stronger state-
ment censuring President Flem-
ing for his handling of the in-
cident. Ironically, F 1 e m i n g' s
mild statement drew more crit-
icism from conservatives than
from liberals.
But the major concern of the
Regents was clearly to avoid
criticism for allowing the play
to be performed. One highly
placed University official de-
scribed the Regental statement
as "an attempt to placate the
people of the state."
There was also an apparently
unjustified concern that state
legislators would react unfav-
orably to Dionysus and cut Uni-
versity funds as a result. "There
are many state legislators who
are quite concerned about this
sort of thing," Fleming admit-
ted.
However, one legislator who
did attend the play, Sen. Gilbert
Bursley (R-Ann Arbor) reacted
favorably to the production .
"The dramatic techniques were
most unusual and interesting,"
he said. "I enjoyed it." And
there now appears to have been
little substance to the fears of
legislative reaction.
Krasny met with University
officials, UAC representatives,
and Schnechner before the play
to find out what the perform-
ance would be like. Although
the police reserved judgement
until the play actually went on,
Krasny indicated that action
would indeed be taken.
"I don't feel the moral stand-
ards of the community should
be set by a fraction of the pop-
ulation - the student body of
the University," said Krasny. He
explained that until the com-
munity decides to change its
laws, he intends "to enforce
existing laws."
Schechner insists that the
central issue is "not the simple
question of nakedness, but of
freedom of expression."
The prosecution, however, is
not charging the cast with ob-
scene conduct - for this would
give them the burden of prov-
ing the play appealed to t h e
prurient interests of the aud-
ience. Apparently, the p o 1i c e
felt the charge of indecent ex-
posure would be easier to sub-
stantiate in court.
But Schechner and his play-
ers intend to force the issue and
demand that the state prove
the actions of the actors were
indeed indecent.
Under U.S. Supreme Court
rulings, a community can set
standards like those embodied
in an indecent exposure law --
but only if those standards re-
flect the views of the commun-
ity. And the state many have
some difficulty isolating which
community - the University or
the city - is involved.,
As this supplement goes to
press, the Dionysus case s t ill
awaits a ruling from District
Court Judge Pieter Thomassen
as to whether there is sufficient
evidence to try the ten-man
cast.
Thomassen has indicated that
he would consider the relevant
community in the case as a
cross-section of the University
community.
Thomassen's ruling - and a
trial, if one is held - could be
significant in defining just what
constitutes the University com-
munity and whether there is
any basis to Fleming's state-
ment that the same laws apply
both within and outside the
University.
Obscenity cases are not new
to the University community --
in a sense, the controversy is
only a re-run of a similar dis-
pute which began in 1967 with
the confiscation of the f 11 m
Flaming Creatures during a
Cinema Guild showing.
But those arrested -in con-
junction with the Cinema Guild
case were unable to put up a
strong court challenge because
of lack of funds. One student
was eventually convicted of a
lesser charge.
Although the Flaming Crea-
tures case was a disappoint-
ment, Dionysus will also be de-
fended on the basis of First
Amendment rights - if the
case ever goes to court,
"We are not trying to win
the Dionysus in 69 case on a
technicality," says defense at-
torney Peter Darrow. "It's
simply a question of the First
Amendment's ability to protect
people nude on stage for an ap-
propriate artistic performance."
One of the questions that
might be answered if the case
goes to court is what is "good"
art and who should judge it.
According to Schechner,
Krasny confirmed a statement
he made on television to the ef-
fect that Dionysus was "bad
art." But Krasny also told him
that he never saw the perform-
ance.
"The evils of hypocritical and
oppressive and fundamentally
unethical law-making system
are being challenged," s a y s
Schechner.
And he believes that It is
good that it is Euripides' play
in question. "For no one knew
better than Euripides the com-
plicated relationships between
community, art, personal com-
mitnient and tryants who used
'democratic processes' to op-
press those who might choose to
dissent."
Dionysus cast leaves the arraignnents
--DtIIy-Eric Pe.,'e' ux
jIohn niy (ICarsiS it the Evencits Iiltg.--iie Cepitome 11*of j"straighst' (JAC shows
games on the Diag---you name
it. Michigras is a similar event
in the spring which features a
skit night.
Homecoming last year pro-
yoked an issue which has not
yet been resolved when 1967
Homecoming Queen Opal Bai-
ley, a black student, refused to
crown her white successor on
grounds that the selection com-
mittee discriminated racially.
A black candidate for queen
had charged that the committee
asked her questions overly-
oriented towards race. The com-
mittee said its criteria were
beauty, poise and charm.
No decision has yet been made
on whether a queen will be
chosen this year.
UAC also sponsors a lecture
series and an international
week. The popular lecture series
last ycar featured such speak-
ers as Sen. William Fulbright,'
Julian Bond, and Francois Mit-
terand.
A winter symposium featured
lour major events, including an
experimental film festival and
sleep-in led by Robert Rimmer,
author of The Harrad Experi-
ment.
International Week sponsored
an Arab-Israel debate, a Ravi
Shankar concert. and a discus-
sion of American economic imi-
perialism. Stromberg says In-
ternational Week this year will
be held in conjunction with the
UAC World's Fair, which fea-
tures exhibits and entertain-
ment in a fair setting at the
Union.
UAC has about fifteen staf
committees concerned with
overall operations. It also has
tour coordinating committees
for homecoming, Michigras,
Soph Show and Musket.
Soph show is a UAC spon-
sored theatrical performance,
usually a musical comedy. It is
performed and produced by
sophomores.
MUSKET stands for Michi-
gan Union Show and Ko-Eds
Too and is a musical production
open to all students. Last year's
production was Camelot.
UAC is entirely student-fin-
anced and student-run. The or-
ganization receives an alloca-
tion from the Michigan Union
which conies from student fees
of 50 cents per semester for
each enrolled student.
Budgeting for all UAC activi-
ties in the course of a year runs
around $300,000. "We're never
in debt but we never "make a
fantastic profit," Stromberg
says.
"We usually wind up about
$3,000 in the black. Creative arts
festival was the big loser,
Homecoming always makes
money, the speakers programs
break even and Michigras just
about broke even," he explains.
Although UAC has been ac-
cused of domination by frater-
nity members in the past,
Stromberg says the group is
working to involve more Inde-
depndent students.
"Michigras for example work-
ed very hard for independent
groups to enter its skit night
and carnival," he explains.
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II
I