Deaf actors endear,
By KAROLYN WALLACE
Children are often the most receptive audiences with which en-
tertainers come in contact. Just as any performer finds doing their
work fulfilling, it is equally rewarding to watch the dedicated five-
member cast who make up the company of The Little Theatre of
the Deaf.
Sponsored by Ann Arbor's Young People's Theatre Company,
the Little Theatre is a part of their "parent company," The
National Theatre of the Deaf, founded in 1966. Most of the perfor-
mers are college graduates, all are deaf. This energetic group lit up
the stage as they used their limber bodies to form letters and objec-
ts with which to tell stories.
ENTERING FROM the wings, in their bright harlequin-like
Little Theatre of the Deaf
"Sense and Nonsense"
L vdiaMende/ssohn Theatre
Rita Corey
David Fitzsimmons
Shanny Mow
DorsiaSkorobogatov
Gary Theiler
David Hays, scenery; Fred Voepel,
costumes; Betty Beekman, stage manager
costumes, the actors and actresses carried in three life-size letters.
The young audience immediately quited down as the cast explained
that the enormous letters, L, T, D, represented The Little Theatre
of the Deaf.
The cast proceeded to introduce themselves by spelling out
their names, forming letters with their bodies. Though each
sequence is narrated aloud, it is captivating to watch these perfor-
mers work together; bending and twisting, synchronizing their
movements to form objects which represent complete ideas.
Ideas sprung both fromg the audience and from the company. A
striking dimension was added when, midway through the program,
the house lights were turned up and the audience was invited to
participate in "Your Game." This was a series of improvisations
based on suggestions offered by eager audience volunteers.
PARTICIPATION was also encouraged during the presen-
tation of Shel Silverstein's story, "The Giving Tree." The cast
taught the audience symbols for the words - happy, apple, boy,
and tree. Mesmerized by the sensitive story, children followed
along, occasionally mimicking the symbols as they heard the
familiar words within the context of the story.
Surprisingly enough, many young people are familiar with the
American sign language system. It is important to recognize the
prominent usage of this language and the need to encourage this
unique group of performers.
When asked how he liked the performance, one young boy
proudly exclaimed, "I thought it was just great. Mom taught me
the alphabet to earn a badge in cub scouts. I know the whole thing
except for 'Q' and 'R'." Patiently, his younger brother turned to
him and refreshed his memory by demonstrating the two symbols
that had temporarily escaped him.
The Michigan Daily-Saturday, January 20, 1979-Page 5
POET REXR 0TH DISCOUR SES:
Buddhism over scrambled eggs
By PAT GRAY
"Poetry is in a state 'of flux," said
Kenneth Rexroth as he pronged a
ruminant forkful of scrambled eggs
Thursday morning at the Michigan
League. The 72-year-old poet, anar-
chist, and iconoclastic man of letters
who read at the Hopwood Awards on
Wednesday afternoon is in a very good
position to sound off about American
poetry.
Rexroth, who wields influence on the
international poetry published in this
country with his translations from the
Chinese, Japanese, and French, was
part of the Chicago renaissance, the
San Francisco renaissance, and has
long been a champion of the so-called
Beat poets.
AN INTERNATIONALIST and a_
scholar, the graying poet is a self-
taught linguist. "I learned Japanese by
working crossword puzzles," he admit-
ted. "Then records, and, of course, I
was living in San Francisco and had
Japanese friends. I also lived in Japan
for three years, and, as any world
traveler will tell you, the best place to
learn a language is in bed."
Rexroth's reading Wednesday con-
sisted of Japanese poems, translations,
and his own recent work, "On Flower
Wreath Hull," written in classical.
Japanese style. "The principles of
Japanese verse are the same as those I
evolved for my own poetry: Clarity,
comparative simplicity, and close
relation of man and nature."
The poet is currently working out of
Santa Barbara, where he runs a poetry
workshop of about eight women. He
considers himself an active feminist, is
a modern goliard, and often alienates
members of academia. He scoffs at
their stuffy ways and lack of first-hand
knowledge. He is very widely read, and
doesn't limit his interests just to poetry.
Politically, he is an anarchist and
neither believes in or needs the state:
"I am much more a Buddhist. I am not
an atheist in the Bob Ingersoll
materialistic sense, and never have
been. I believe the religious experience
itself is an end, unqualifiable, inex-
pressive."
NEVERTHELESS, Rexroth is a
leading authority on poetry, and is quite
opinionated about other poets. Jean
Toomer, he says, is doing some of the
very best work in black poetry these
days, and Carolyn Force of San Diego is
a leading young poet who has avoided
the drug scene which has played a large
part in the decline of Beat poetry. "Af-
ter all," Rexroth says, "you can't write
with your brains in a Mixmaster."
"To write lasting-poetry, you have to
write about nature, love, the mysteries
of the universe: Things that never
change, so you can repeat yourself.'
Alan Ginsburg, he continues, hasn't
written any good poems lately because
he writes on the same tired topical
theme .
BLa Sparrow Press's bright young
star is Charles Bukowski, but he draws
only sarcasm from Kenneth Rexroth.
Rexroth draws himself up, adopts the
stance of a literary stuffed shirt, and
says, "My favorite poem of his is and
here he makes up a title, which goes
like this." He then recites a prosaic piece
involving dirty sheets, sex, clogged
toilets, and washing up, all from the
hyper-macho perspective which is per-
feet Bukowski.
Currently Rexroth is at work on the
sequel to his first book, Aa
Autobiographical Novel, the story of his
early life in Chicago.
-- -'w"
P-
L
- Iddo
rn
I
To the Freshmen;
DEKEIIO0USE.
If there weren 't some rumors about it.
Just for the record,
Here are some of the things we're not:
TEKES & QUARANTINED
Entirely GROSSE POINTE ARISTOCRATS
In the bar 24 hours a day, and so forth.
Come down and see us during Fraternity Rush Week at our
mysterious century old DEKE Chapel, 6111 E. William Street,
next to White's Market.
DELTA KAPPA EPSILON, a Michigan tradition
since 1854, is back on campus.
It wouldn't be the
A
%44 1 1
I
Associate housing director under scrutiny
(Continued fromPage1) everyone talking." friend, sources said. measures have been takenat North-
"Someone is out to discredit me Disclosure of the apartment came When the Black Action Movement wood Apartments to prevent a
eause I'm black." Finn charge~d."It about when a printout from a new com- (BAM) took control of the Ad- recurrence of another such incident.,
the Collaborative
winter
art & craft
classes,
Classes and workshops including:
DRAWING & WATERCOLOR
.REGISTER NOW-CLASSES BEGIN JAN. 29
U-M Artists & Craftsmen Guild
763-4430
2nd Ftoor, Michigan Union
be
- - -1 I-.-'l-1,.
has racial overtones. Some people's
motives are racial."
HUGHES SAID that "a lot of vicious
and ugly rumors (have been) cir-
culating" about Finn. "It's a personnel
matter and that is my concern ... It's
unusual for a key to be checked out that
long."
Finn said he did not inform Hughes or
other housing officials because he felt
such action was unnecessary. "I didn't
go to Bob Hughes because I didn't feel I
had to go to Bob Hughes," Finn said.
"At my particular level, at certain
positions, you make decisions. Unfor-
tunately, the decision I made has
puter showed the apartment was unoc-
cupied for one year even though its keys
were missing. A check of records by
housing officials showed the missing
key was in Finn's possession.
JOHNSON ADDED he believes Finn
did not keep the apartment for his own
personal advantage,but offered it to
students as a place to stay when they
needed it.
FINN WAS hired by the Uriversity
as an assistant housing director in 1969.
He was one of the first blacks to hold a
University administrative office.
Minority students, particularly blacks,
have relied on Finn as a personal
ministration Building in 1970, Finn was
one of the few University officials with
whom the group was willing to
negotiate.
CURRENTLY, stricter security
"I look at it as helping someone and
nothing else," Finn said. "I did
something that wasn't appropriate. All
I want to do is go on working and do my
job."
ay z
71 'A
Ypsi couple evades taxes
i
Rep. Pursell lands
Appropriations spot
(Continued from Page 1)
be more on appropriation impact on the
state, rather than on the local level.
KERANS TERMED Pursell's ap-
pointment a "definite accomplish-
ment," and predicted it will be ap-
proved by the House next week.
As a new member of the House, Pur-
sell said he will probably be assigned to
two subcommittees, one "major" and
one "minor" in terms of impact on
Michigan. The congressman declined to
go into detail on his choices, and stated
"I want to look at personnel on the
various subcommittees."
Kerans indicated that Pursell would
like to serve on the Public Works Sub-
committee, "which is a long shot," or
the Interior Subcommittee. Pursell did
note that the HEW Subcommittee
would also be powerful in terms of this
district.
Subcommittee assignments will
probably not be completed until the end
of the month, Kerans indicated,
because of present jockeying for the
Appropriations Committee chairper-
sonship.
"I will try to serve as a catalyst to
bring extreme points of view together,"
Pursell declared. "I am a team
player."
(Continued from Page 1)
trustees.
Eliot, a research assistant at the In-
stitute for Social Research (ISR), said
the money would go into "peace
research and solving problems of con-
flict rather than military gamesman-
ship."
The progress toward legislation has
been .slow. "The chances of the bill
passing are small but growing,"
speculated Bassett, who worked with
University Law School faculty mem-
bers and students to draft the bill in
1972. There are now 28 House members
.,ponsoring the bill, including Michigan
Democrats Charles Diggs, John
Conyers, and Robert Carr. Rep. Daiel
Glickman (D-Kansas).'will reintroduce
the bill in April. Senator Mark Hatfield.
(R-Oregon) first introduced the bill in
the Senate in 1977.
BASSETT, a University Medical
School professor, stressed the need to
inform taxpayers and legislators, citing
"general numbness of citizens" as the
greatest obsti'cle.
If the bill is passed, Bassett ex-
plained, "Its first effect will not be a
decrease in the military budget, but it
would have an educative effect." Only a
small part of the military budget would
be affected at first, he said, because it
is estimated that only four to ten per
cent of the population would use the bill
to transfer half their tax payment to the
peace fund. Bassett said he hopes that
"people will realize that they have a
right not to pay for killing. This is a civil
rights issue."
Ruth Graves informed the group on
the prospects for a hearing of the 1973
tax case before the Supreme Court.
"We don't have much expectation of
success," she explained, after detailing
the problems she and her husband have
had with the U.S..Tax Court and Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals. "They haven't
come down and answered us, they just
give us legal jargon," she said. Bassett
added, "The Supreme Court turns
things down on technicalities and
doesn't look at issues."
T HE GRAVES resolved to keep
trying, "while there is any controversy,
the money that we claim can't be used
by the government for war making."
The Graves are an example of those
actively resisting paying so-called war
taxes. Others deliberately live on in-
comes below the taxable level or claim
extra withholding allowances on their
W-4 forms.
Wladyslaw Narowski, a Vietnam War
conscientious objector, advocates tax
resistance. "There are a lot of ways
people can make a statement. . . one of
the most powerful ways is our money."
He emphasized the urgency of action.
"If nuclear war happened in a minute,
we wouldn't have time to withhold
taxes."
PRESENTS
PTP A SUPERSTAR WEEKEND!
Nicholas Pennell
Tickets at PTP Office-764-0450
and at Hudson's Stores
AN ALL SHAKESPEAREAN
PROGRAM
ABOUT
PAR ENTS
AND CHILDREN
Marti Maraden
in THIS FAIR CHILD
OF MINE
Friday & Saturday
Jan. 19'& 20,8:00 p.m.
Trueblood Theatre
Tom Wood
iMM
Regents veto proposed
food consolidation
(Continued from Page1)
the Washington, D.C.-based company,
be granted the contract. Yesterday,
however, the committee reaffirmed its
belief that its prior recommendation
should be approved.
A resolution was also passed
unanimously commending the present
and past members of the Michigan
Union Board of Directors "for their
dedicated efforts on behalf of the
students, faculty, and alumni of the
University.'
Control of the Union was transferred
Thursday from the Board of Directors
to the Office of Student, Services,
headed by Vice-President Henry John-
son.
MANN THEATRES ADMISSION
VLLA EwN Adult $4.00
MAPLE VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER -
769.1300 Child $2.00
SHOWTIMES
Mon-Fri
6:30
9:00
Sat & Sun
1:45
3:45
6:30
9:00
Tickets on Sale
IUVB0S of f>15 minutes prior
"-,<,: toshowtime.
NO PASSES
DON'T TAKE CHANCES WITH
YOU R PA RA LEGA L CA REE R -
NOT ALL LAWYER'S ASSISTANT PROGRAMS
ARE THE SAME
A Roosevelt University Lawyer's Assistant rep-
resents the mark of quality and acceptance in
today's legal community.
If you are a college graduate and qualify, why not give
yourself an advantage by attending Roosevelt Univer-
sity's Lawyer's Assistant Program which is fully ac-
credited by the American Bar Association.
Since the Fall of 1974, 1,250 graduates representing
over 230 colleges and universities have chosen Roose-
velt's Lawyer's Assistant Program for their career training.
Specialize in: Corporations - Estates, Trusts and Wills
.-Litigation -Real Estate and Mortgages - Employee
Benefit Plans* - or become a Genera list*.
Over 325 law firms, banks, corporations and govern-
mental agencies throughout the United States have
hired Roosevelt graduates.
* evening program only.
SESSIONS
Q Spring Day/February 12-May 4, 1979
Q Spring Evening/March 13-August 25, 1979
Q Summer Day/June 11-August 31, 1979
Q Fall Day/September 24-December 17, 1979
Q Fall Evening/ September 11, 1979-March 1, 1980
Recruiter in Placement Office. January 30, 1979
-------- SEND TODAY -- -
Lawyer's Assistant Program
41
"I
MASS MEETING
For Major Events new ushers
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