Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Thursday, April 13, 1972


THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, April 13, 1972


images ..*

Mark-Alimond

... y v.}4rBy HARRY HAMMITT
The British group is one
called Mark-Almond. The band
came about as a result of the
union of guitarist Jon Mark
and reed-player Johnny Almond
who both played together in
Mayall's Turning Point band.
'<s. When Mayall's band broke up,
Mark and Almond stayed to-
t gether and Mark-Almond was
born. The two were joined by
Roger Sutton on bass, and
Tommy Eyre on piano. They
have since been joined by Dan-
ny Richmond who used to play
drums for Charlie Mingus.
This is their second album,
and is called, obviously enough,
Mark-Almond H1 (Blue Thumb
BTS-32). The band has one of
-Daily-Jim Judkis the most original sounds of any
'U' 'theteblem

By MICHAEL SAMMUT
University theater faces cer-
tain administrative problems
which should be brought to your
attention.
For example, all theaters used
in these productions must be
rented from the University.
"We're the only school in the
country I know of which must
pay rent for the use of a the-
ater," explained technical shop
manager William Davis.
"We pay $440 a week' for
Trueblood, which is also used
for classes, $770 a week for Men-
delssohn, and $110 a week for
the Power Center."
The renting of auditoriums is
only one of many expenses in-
volved in putting a production
together and the entire produc-
tion must be financed through
box-office profits.
"We receive no additional
funds for productions from any-
body anywhere," explains teach-
ing fellow Bruce Levitt. All the
equipment in the shops is
bought from the box office -
repair work, technical assist-
ants, costume shop assistants."
In spite of the inadequacy of
box office returns, it does not
appear likely that ticket prices
could be increased. University
theater would lose a large por-
tion of their community audi-
ence if prices were raised, Levitt
predicts.
Small as they may be, box of-
fice returns are essential to the
productions. This limits Univer-
sity theater in their option to
make "as many and as wide, a
range of artistic decisions" than
if ticket revenue were not so
important.
Complete freedom in the
choice of production and its ex-
ecution is not, however, always
good. It is important that the
wishes and tastes of the public
be seriously considered and if
theater must depend on box of-
fice money, this insures that, to
a certain extent, they will be.
Is the University theater
forced to rely too heavily on
box-office profits? To answer
this important question we must
consider the functions of the
University theater. According to
Prof. Edgar Willis, Chairman of
the Speech Department, "The-
ater activity is basically a labor-
atory for courses. It's like a
chemical laboratory where you
go to a class, are taught some-
thing, and then you go to the
laboratory and try to put it
into practice."
Thus, University theater in its
productions attempts to educate
and develop people in the The-
ater Arts by methods similar to
other University laboratories -
which are generally financed

through their departments.
It is further pointed out by
Willis that "box office receipts
have no relation to how direc-
tors are judged," since this is
not considered "an adequate in-
dicator of whether an individual
is making a distinguished con-

The Speech Department has
several different sections, which
include Radio and TV, Theater,
Oral Interpretation, Speech
Pathology, Audiology. Can a
chairman with a background in
one area be fair to the other
areas in the department?

"Theater activity is basically a laboratory
for courses. It's like a chemical laboratory
where you go to a class, are taught something,
and then you go to the laboratory and try to put
it into practice."-Prof. Edgar Willis, Chair-
man, Speech Dept.

band today. Most of the mater-
ial is written by Mark, with one
composition by Sutton. Mark is
an acoustic guitarist, and more
specifically, a classical guitarist.
As such, most of the music is
acoustically-oriented; Mark does
give in once or twice to the pop-
ular market and switches to
electric guitar. With Mark as the
guiding force behind the band,
their music comes out as a blend
of classical and folk, with just
a touch of flamingo.
Mark's songs are usually com-
prised of classical guitar lines
strung together with a slight
hint of folk influence that pro-
vides the melody. Mark does the
lead vocals, Sutton sings the
composition that he wrote. Mark
is far from an exceptional sing-
er, but his songs never call for
strenuous vocal gymnastics and
his vocal ability is quite ade-
quate for the songs. The main
complaint is that Mark's lyrics
are sometimes embarassingly
trite and this is very evident on
the first few hearings. But after
the pieces have fallen into place,
the lyrics are no longer very ob-
vious and just become a part of
the music. Mark is sometimes
capable of nicely melodic folk-
songs such as "Friends" and
"One Way Sunday." More often,
his songs are classical and have
a melodic quality all their own.
The best example of this is a
selection from "The Sausalito
Bay Suite", "The Bridge." The
song starts as an acoustic, clas-
sical thing and then in the mid-
dle, the drums come roaring in
and there is a very tasty jazz
section. The contrast between
the two sections makes them
even more stunning. Possibly
the best song on the album is
"Ballad of a Man" which runs
through the gamut of styles:
folk, rock, classical, abstract
jazz, and straight jazz.
This band just has one of the
nicest, most original sounds
around. The strength of the
band lies in part with the fact
that the various band members
have diversified musical back-
grounds and the band as a
whole is able to assimilate all
these styles into their music.
There is an abundance of talent
in this band, but they never
stretch their talent further than
their capacity. The band thinks
nothing of tossing out vocal
harmonies that are every bit as
good as Crosby, Stills Nash.
The singing isn't even one of
their strong points. Mark and
Sutton are the two who under-
pin the music, sometimes aided
by Richmond, while Almond and

release,
Eyre are the soloists. One of the
notable exceptions to this gen-
eralization, is Mark's fine solo
on electric guitar in "Ballad of
a Man." Eyre's piano work is
very satisfying; his chording in
"Solitude" and "Ballad of a
Man" helps to propel the song
along and adds some beautiful"
contrast to the basic melody.
His jazz runs on electric piano
show him to be a sens-itive mu-
sician. Almond is, of course, al-+
ready well-known for his work.
with Mayall. Almond has worked'
in the background for a long
time and he deserves credit for.
his playing.
This album is really worth-
while. It demands your atten-
tion, and if that attention 1s
given, the music is its own re-
ward. Mark-Almond are taste-
ful and beautiful, and their type
of beauty is hard to find these
days.
presents
The Theater
One night only:
Science fiction, h o r r o r,
and comedy Let your
imagination run wild.
Saturday, April 15
7 and 9 p.m.
Modern
Languages Bldg.
Auditorium 4
on THAYER and HURON
across from the
Frieze Building
ADMISSION
ABSOLUTELY
FREE!

OPEN 12:45
SHOWS AT
1 p.m., 4:30, 8 p.m.
Mon.-Sat. $1.50 until 4:30
Mon.-Thurs. eve. $2.00
Fri. and Sat, eve. $2.50
All Day Sunday $2.50
603 E. Liberty
DIAL 665-6290
Read Daily
Classifieds

ml


Markley Council Cinema Weekend
presents
CASNOROYAL
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
i ~April1 14-15
MARKL EY DINING ROOM NO.3
ADMISSION 75c

_____ ii

TH ESELIGSON PLAYERS
THE PRESENT
RUDENS or THE ROPE
A ROMAN COMEDY BY PLAUTUS
"Basis of all modern comedy"-Erich Segal
Residential College Aud.-701 E. University
in English-Thurs., April 13-8 p.m.
in Latin-Fri., April 14-8 p.m.
in both-Sat., April 15-3 p.m.
CONTRIBUTION 50c
I Ii1

I


the ann arbor film cooperative
YUL BRYNNER, STEVE McQUEEN, and JAMES COBURN in
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
directed by JOHN STURGES, with HORST BUCH HOLZ and ELI WALLACH
Based on a classic Japanese samurai story and film, this spectacular, epic tale of seven professional
western gunmen hired by the farmers of a small Mexican village to protect them against a roving gang
of marauding, murdering bandittos is packed with action, thrills, excitement -and solid, meaningful
drama.
TONIGHT !-Thursday, April 13th-only !
aud. a, angell hall-35mm Color & Cinemascope-7 & 9:30 p.m.-75c
COMING TUESDAY-Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece, THE SEVENTH SEAL

4.

of

tribution."
Thus, the University theater
is, in many respects, an educa-
tional laboratory. And if box
office receipts do not determine
a director's capabilities, then
why should the University the-
ater have to rely so heavily on
the box office for its support?
This seems unreasonable. Cer-
tainly, the box office should
contribute to the support of pro-
ductions - otherwise we would
have a very artificial theater.
But on the other hand, there
should be some compromise. Per-
haps the University could waive
the theater rental charge . . .
A second administrative prob-
lem concerns the Chairmanship
of the Speech Dept., a position
currently occupied by Willis.
Asked about his ability to
fairly administrate the Speech
Dept., in view of his background
in radio and television, Willis
explained that "I also have some
background in theater. I've
studied directing, and I've
taught acting, and so forth; and
I don't think that an individual
has to be an expert in the field
to be an administrator of the
department."
While this is admittedly true,
several students raise objections
to Willis' fairness.
"The department head does
not have to be in theater. In
fact, he might be better in, busi-
ness. But Mr. Willis has a vested
interest in TV, so he's going to
talk for TV before anything
else," explains Artee Young, a
doctoral student in theater who
recently directed Ceremonies in
Dark Old Men.
Davis has similar feelings:
"Our shop equipment is 20
yearsold-the major shop tools
are to some extent dangerous.
It's difficult to convince the de-
partment ot give us enough
money to replace the tools, while
they easily do so for areas like
radio and TV and film."

Related to this is the question
of whether or not University
theater should, in fact, be part
of the Speech Department.
"I think the main reason peo-
ple are interested in a separate
department, I presume, is be-
cause of the identity it gives
them," Willis says.
To Levitt, the reasons go
much deeper. "We have people
from Debate (or Radio and TV)
making artistic decisions for us
in the theater area, because
they ultimately do the hiring of
faculty theater directors. Usual-
ly they follow our recommenda-
tions, but they do not have to."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Michael Sam-
mut is a graduate student in phys-
ics currently serving as the presi-
dent of the Goddard House Play-
ers. The complete interviews taped
by Sammut during a more extensive
study of the University Theater
department will be available in the
Speech library next week.

_________ - .......4.... ~ _____-- -.


9.



YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE
Mance Lipscomb
"a great artist in the tradition of Mississippi John Hurt. 76
years old. A Texan who spent most of his life working in the
fields and playing juke joints, developing a vast repertoire for
his rich baritone voice and exciting guitar style. For those of
us whom have been fortunate to know Mance Lipscomb and to
hear him in person, the privilege Is a rare and valued one; for
all of us with who he shares his music the experience. of hear-
ing him is infinitely rewarding."-Paul Oliver



^11
'T\>Ji .
... ':i1 "

MANCE LIPSCOMB

SHOP TONIGHT UNTIL 9:00 P.M.
FRIDAY 9:30 A.M. TO 9:00 P.M.

*I

See him in concert with the great SON HOUSE and ROBERT PETE WILLIAMS
April 15, 8 p.m., at the Power Center
Tickets now at Salvation Records (330 Maynard)
and the Michigan Union 11 -2 P.M. or at the door


SHOWCASE FOUR!

i'I

henrik ibsen

A DOLL'S HOUSE
FRIEZE ARENA THEATRE

Thurs.-Sat., April 13-15

Curtain 8 P

.M.

Box Office Opens Daily at 2:00

El - __ _ _

DR. CHICAGO
is back
"the underground film classic"
Special Benefit Sponsored by Students for
Walter Shapiro, Candidate for U.S. Congress
the original DR. CHICAGO

SPRING--SUMMER
HOUSING
Housing applications for the Spring
-Summer and Fall Terms are now
being -accepted at the H o u s i n g
AMF-+- (\4; A C ..I+

r Miss J takes the cape
for her most dramatic
move this spring.
Ours swings wide in
white basketweave
polyester with a belt
to keep it close in
front. 5-13 sizes. $38.
~~AA TAng

$1

Friday, April

14

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AND 1

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