THE MICHIGAN DAILY T.TxTn A 1W QP iAY, Arts and Letters Dirty Shirt Program Notes STARTING DIAL N By CAROL LEVENTEN A ,rhinocerous and meaningless dlots characterize the contempor- ary French theatre. Yet the art of the proscenium in Prance ,is in a better state now tihan at any time since the 17th entury, the age of Cornele and Racine, Jean Carduner of the omance languages department de- elared recently. Tracing. the development and peculiarities of modern French drama, he cited a return to "the ssence of theatre," a movement bn which Giradoux and Claudel are tow'eing far above any other dra- natists of this era." Many Currents But many currents of influence mark the modern scene and it is hard to attribute one prevailing school of thought to the Gallic amalgam. Claudel, for example, belongs to he generation of Gide and the symbolist poets; although he wrote nost of his plays before the first World war, none were produced un- il the forties. His diamas are narked by a completely new poetic style, highly symbolic and in- ensely religious and, although the symbolists whom he followed en- Ioyed a great public, a large gap appeared in that tradition, not to be closed until Claudel was ac- ;ually produced. As a reason for this' Carduner gave the end of Positivism, the noment of writing coinciding with he moment of separation of rhurch.and state, and a total lack of interest in religious drama. But, o understand the recent apprecia- ion (and almost deification) of Claudel, it is necessary to examine he influence of Giradoux on the ontemporary scene. Giradoux, Carduner said, is in a arge part responsible for the E'rench revival of drama. He, in urn, was influenced by Pirandello nd, although basically non-re- igious, shares with Claudel the dea of theatre as religious essence and non-realistic style and poetry; 'they both worked in the same lirection," Carduner commented. Wrote for Theatre More important; Giradoux wrote lays with the object of having hem produced, something not ontemplated by Claudel, who had io sense of the proscenium. Where 3iradoux created his work for the tage, Claudel wrote all his plays efore he had an audience, before. mny of his plays were produced and hus had no knowledge of what ould be done in an actual presen- ation. Because Giradoux plays were asy to produce (he was aided by rouves in developing a technical racticality) and 'because of the ime in which he wrote, poetry was nce again brought back to thea- re. By the forties the influence of he symbolist poets was completely ncorporated into the theatre. The eligious and spiritual atmosphere tad changed and Giradoux' talent timulated an interest in poetic nd symbolic ratier than realistic rama. Claudel continues to be erformed today. Not Performed Carduner suggested that if Clau- el had been performed, he might ave written for production and, Become the Shakespeare of the 1th century. "He was definitely ifluenced by Shakespeare and red the same thing from a Chris- ian point of view." He and Gira- oux tried to create modern trag- edy; their efforts are illustrated in "L'Annonce Faite A Marie" and "La Guerre de Troie N'Aure Pas Lieu." The "intellectual theatre" of Sirtre" and Camus appeared in the later forties',opening with Sar- tre's "Les Mouches" which was written in answer to Giradoux' "Electra." Giradoux' approach to drama included the revival of Greek myth and "Les Mouches" is the same story with a different philosophy opposed point by point. , The third main current of French theatre is rooted in the avant- garde dramas of Beckett, Ionesco and Adamov, who started writing before the influence of the Claudel and Giradoux tradition. The new theatre is based on voluntary ab- sene of technique and totally ab- surd or meaningless plots and characters; "it corresponds to the existential philosophy of the ab- surd, although it is different from Sartre," Carduner explained, Prospect Solitude "Ionesco, whose plays were at first to tally unsuccessful, is espe- cially good in projecting the mod- ern feeling of solitude," Carduner said. As an example, he said that Ionesco's "The Rhinocerous" will strike people as absurd and ridicu- lous. It takes place in a city where all men are changed into rhinoceri, and one man keeps fighting, refus- ing to be changed. "It brings Nazi- ism to mind," Carduner reflected. "Anyone can be reached by this type of evil; even those who reject it are more or less corrupted by the dominant philosophy. The public is the French thea- tres major problem today, accord- ing to Carduner, and it is more vital to theatre than to any other art. Also he gave an experimental theatre to Camus and somewhat. freed theatre from the task of money-making. The problem of "audience .determinism" of what was to be produced was getting so bad as to be comparable, to the situation on Broadway,'j he as- serted. .'But all the best plays achieve a certain poetry of their own, wheth- er through style, plot or imagina- tion." Ionesco's flat style and Clau- del's poetry on the extremes, Sar- tre and Camus in the middle; the main currents of French thought all come together in a dynamic and reevitalized theatre. By MILDA GINGELL This weekend's attraction at the Ann Arbor High School Aud. will be the noted Spanish Gypsy fla- menco guitarist, Carlos Montoya. The Ann Arbor Folk and Jazz So- ciety is presenting the show at 8 p.m. Saturday. Montoya will play flamenco mu- sic which is based on the folk mu- sic originating in the provinces of southern Spain. With his guitar, Montoya can suggest the presence of singers and dancers although his performance is completely solo. * * *. Choral Union Series opens Mon- day, Oct. 12, with the celebrated young Canadian pianist, Glenn Gould. "Gould is the possessor of a tre- mendous pianistic technique. . . He also has the kind of authority that indicates a, profound knowl- edge of the art of music... ." said Winthrop Sargeant of "The New Yorker." Now students can listen to a complete Shakespearian play with- out leaving the comforts of their room. Atr1:30 p.m. each Sunday, the University radio station, WUOM, will present a performance of one of Shakespear's plays. "Measure for Measure" is scheduled for toe day. Next Sunday "Much Ado About Nothing" will be broadcast. Each of these productions are preceeded by a brief commentary on all aspects of Shakespear's life and work. * * * At 4:15 p.m. today and next Sunday the University organist, Robert Noehren, will give an organ recital at Hill Aud. Today's recital will feature some of the composi- tions of Johann SebastianpBach. * * * Season tickets to Playbill will be available until Oct. 28, the opening night of "Horse Eats Hat." Meanwhile, the speech depart- ment is preparing a Playbill extra, Sean O'Casey's "I Knock at the Door," which will be presented as a concert reading; on Oct. 16 and 17. Theatre goers may purchase tickets by mail (Playbill, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre) or from salesmen on the corner of North U. and State St. STARTING iADIAL TODAY 2-3 136 THE SCREEN EXPLODES DIRTY SHIRT-Lynn Bartlett, State Superintendent of Public Schools, congratulates Bill Schultz, the first of the Gomberg men to wear one white shirt. Every day the shirt is passed on until the only one left brave enough to wear the shirt wins the pot that was chipped in when the contest began. JOURNALISM SEMINAR: Lindstrom Discusses Trends By KATHLEEN MOORE The trend toward one-newspaper cities and ever-expanding chains of papers with a single owner re- flects an "erosion of freedom of choice"' in all aspects of American society, Prof. Carl Lindstrom of the journalism department said last week. Prefacing the Student Govern- ment Council Reading and Discus- sion program seminar on ."Jour- nalism: Its Social Relationship" with a glance at our mass-produc- tion economy, Lindstrom said, "you've got to be average, whether you like it or not." This pattern of the public get- ting mainly what the producer wants to give it is also found' in the realm of journalism, he de- clared. "A redefinition of what makes the news" frequently results, the journalist commented, when a newspaper monopoly is established in a city. The result, he admitted; may be a sudden decision to print only important people's obituaries or social items, with the news- paper deciding who is important--. a situation fairly nonexistant when two or more papers compete for a city's readership. Lindstrom found it "kind of pathetic" that the "local press is frequently the oldest piece of ma- chinery in town." Characterizing the linotype machine for type- setting as a "rube goldberg" affair, he emphasized , how little it and the rotary printing press, the staples of the printing process, have been improved since their in- vention in the 1870's. More research (only $200,000 was spent last year) into improve- ments of current equipment and the possibilities of totally new techniques such as photocomposi- tion rather than typesetting meth- ods of reproduction could lead to drastic cost reductions with an accompanying resurge of competi- tion, he pointed out. Lindstroni predicted a journal- istic "revolution" in the near fu- ture to pave the way for modern- izing techniques, subsequently countering the spread of monop- olies and generally revising 'some of the newspapermen's standard ideas. An'"optimist at heart," he sees the present journalism schools as a more likely spawning place of revolution minded newspapermen than those currently on the job. Describing journalists as "pretty thin-skinned," he claimed they re- serve the right to "no holds barred" criticism of everybody else but re- fuse to accept criticism of them- selves-an indication, according to Lindstrom, of a "lack of self-as- sessment" within the newspaper realm which will eventually lead to reexamination by reforms. To clarify his stand, he delved into the way newspapers are cur- rently "kidding themselves" that competition from other communi- cations media does not exist. As evidence of its existence andi potency, he turned to the raft of magazines now focusing moreonI interpretive and analytic news articles than on their old stand- by, short stories. Newspapers, he explained, "left a vaccuum and the magazines simply moved in" to fill it with closer looks at the world. of news. j Watch this Page for an FXCITINLI NEW FEATURE I ORGANIZATION NOTICES (Use of thin column for an- nouncements is available to offi- cially recognized and registered or- ganizations only. Organizations planning to be active for the fall semester should register by Oct. 10. Forms available, 2011 Student Ac- tivities Building.) Alpha Phi ty), Formal 5, 7:15 p.m., Omega (Service Fraterni- Piedging Ceremony, Oct. 3524 SAB. * * * Am. Chem. Soc.-Stud. Affiliate, Week- ly Luncheon Meeting, Movie "Death in thegArena," Oct. 6, 12 p.m., 3003 Chem., Bldg. * * * Congregational, Disciples, E & R Stud. Guild, Morning Seminar "SymboI, Sign and Myth" at 9:30 a.m., 524 Thomp- son; Speaker: Preston Slosson, "What Made You. That Way?" on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m., Congregational Church, Mayflow- er Rin. * * * Congregational, Disciples, E & B Stud. Guild, Guild Council, Oct. 5, 9 p.m., 524 Thompson. * * * Graduating Outing Club, Hiking. Oct. 4, 2 p.m.,! Meet in back of Rack- ham (N.W. entrance). * * * Kappa Phi Club, Rose Tea, Oct. 4, 2- 4 p.m., Wesley Lounge, 1st Methodist Church. * * * Luth. Stud. Center and Chapel (Nat'l Luth. Council), Stud. Supper at 6 p.m., Program at 7 p.m.-"A Study of the Luth. Liturgy, Its Origin, Theology and Use." Rev. Stanley Yoder of Toledo assisted by Win. Osborne, Chapel Or- ganist. Location: Corner of Hill St. and S. Forest Ave. Mich. Christian Fellowship, Oct. 4, 4 p.m., Lane Hall. Speaker:. Dr. G. Mac- Donald, "Can Christians Change His- Unitarian Stud. Group, Meeting, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.,. 1st Unitarian Church. Speaker: Dr. Redmond, "What Is Re- ligion?" Ginema j~dW TONIGHT at 8:00 Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart ACADEMY AWARD ARCH ITECTURE AUDITORIUM 50 cents e Subscribe to The Michigan Daily _ U. of M. Platform Attractions. 0 Distinguished Celebrities ST JDENTS! A JL TI IS 1oRI * Great Entertainment O NLY $300 (2nd:Balcony OI'UiJ.Unreserved) OR-30% REDUCTION ON ALL RESERVED SEATS BET TE DAVIS and GARY MERRILL With William Wintersole and guitarist Clark Allen in an exciting stage presentation "THE WORLD OF CARL SANDBURG" . November 19 JULIEN BRYAN JOYCE GRENFELL Noted world traveler & photographer presents his new motion picture England's top comedienne In her hilarious one-womar "POLAND, THEN AND NOW"... October 22 "AN EVENING WITH JOYCE GRENFELL" SIR DONALD WOLFIT and ROSALIND IDEN Two of Britain's greatest Shakespearean actors present, in costume "SCENES FROM SHAKESPEARE" . . . . . . . January 9 W-AI LJIlDw"1CV "A SIXTH ATTRACTION show Feb.12