Page Six

4 HE MICHIGAN DAILY

tnurscJoy, ~epremi

DnursAay, :eptem

ber 9, 1976

51


Grease paint and goose bumps

Local art
buyer

By GEORGE LOBSENZ
The last touches of grease paint are applied; each costume's
ruffles and wrinkles are smoothed. The crowd murmurs ex-
pectantly out front. A taut, pregnant silence sets in as the
lights dim and the curtain starts its slow but certain ascent.
The performers step out on the darkened stage, a goose-bumpy
moment passes. And then, suddenly, a beam cuts through the
blackness swatching the set in a white brilliance.
Every year, this little scenario is enacted over and over again
as numerous theater groups ply their trade on the various
campus stages. Be it at the Power Center, the Lydia Mendell-
sohn Theatre, the Arena Theatre or the Residential College
Drama Lab, the average University student will probably par-
ticipate in a theatrical production either as a performer or a
spectator during his or her stint on campus.
THE SHOWPIECE for all theatrical activity on campus is
the Professional Theatre Program (PTP). Operating within the
University, PTP offers four varieties of productions.
Perhaps the most popular attraction PTP presents is the
Best of Broadway series, featuring shows that have been on
Broadway but are now on tour. Performed by "truck and bus"
professional traveling companies, productions such as last year's
Man of La Mancha and The Sunshine Boys often pack the house.
A Little Night Music, Sherlock Holmes, and Don't Bother Me,
I Can't Cope are some of the plays tentatively scheduled for
the ;76-77 season.
The other primarily professional program PTP supports is the
Repertory Series. Last year, John Houseman's The Acting
Company was the repertory company in residence. For the
coming year, a troupe called Young Vick will put on a
number of classics including Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew
and Oedipus Rex.
PTP productions open to student participation are the Guest
Artist Series and the Showcase program.

THE GUEST ARTIST Series brings a well-known actor, direc-
tor, designer, etc. to Ann Arbor to perform with young ama-
tuers. Auditions, open to all comers, are held to cast the
roles open to students. PAP management fellow Al Henry de-
scribes the series as having a strong educational bent, profit-
able not only for student actors but often for the visiting
professional, as well.
PTP's strictly amateur series is the Showcase program,
with plays acted, directed, produced, and designed by students.
Again, open auditions are held to fill all parts.
MUSKET, a University theater group sponsored by the Uni-
versity Activities Center, is a student-run organization which.
puts on approximately two musicals a year.
Also sponsored by Musket are two specialized productions.
Soph show, produced every fall, is unique in that only fresh-
people and sophomores are eligible. UAC also sponsors Child-
ren's Plays, featuring such old favorites as Winnie-the-Pooh.
The Residential College's (RC) Players is a theatre group
which caters exclusively to the RC community. Only those
enrolled in RC or in the College's Drama class are allowed
to audition.
PROF. PETER FERRAN, advisor to the Players, sees it as
an "educationally based enterprise." Although the quality of the
plays varies greatly, "from awful to near-great," Ferran notes
that RC, because it receives money from the College, does not
need to produce commercially appealing productions.
Finally, the Ann Arbor Civic Theater is open to all citizens
of the Ann Arbor community. Going into its 47th season, the
Civic Theater troupe comprises everyone from University stu-
dents to former professional actors. This group produces about
five major shows a year - two musicals and three dramas.
Little Foxes, and Arsenic and Old Lace are examples of the
genre of plays put on, while popular large-scale productions such
as Oklahoma, typify the musicals.

Wha'

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---------- -, --
TWO FREE COPIES WITH THIS AD DURING A # T r
FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES SEPT.76 IArt I IIr :

Daiv Photo by STEVE KAGAN
Members of UAC's Hello Dolly cast rehearse for their winter term production.
Pai/ting to poverty

I
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COPY

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COPY SERVICE & OFFSET
WHILE U WAIT
* DISSERTATIONS
RACKHAM APPROVAL ASSURED
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* PROPOSALS FORMS 0 POSTERS
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662-3969 8:30^.M.-10 P.M.
SAT. 10 A.M.-5 P.M.
211 8 So. State-Ann Arbor SUN. 12 NOON-10 P.M.
ON CAMPUS NEAR GINO'S BY APPOINTMENT-
ANYTIME

BRIARWOOD
FOR
ENTERTAI NMENT

By JENNIFER MILLER
During those hot and hazy
days of summer, when the
beach has lost its early',appeal
and the thought of school is too
much to bear, a diversion
awaits you. For four days you
can escape the boredom of your
nine-to-five and lose yourself at
the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
Next to the Michigan-Ohio
State football bout, the fair is
M the largest community attrac-
Ition of the year. Artists from all
over the country flock here to
sell - and sell they do - every-
thing from painting to pottery.
"IT'S THE biggest art fair in
I the country and itscollectively
earns the most money in the
United States," says Ann Roth
of the University Artists and
Crastmen Guild which sponsors
the Summer Arts Festival on E.
University and Main streets,
which is just one of the differ-
ent fairs which springs up dur-
ing those four hot July days.
Others include the Ann Arbor
Street Fair on S. University and
the E. Liberty Art Show.
The fairs are sponsored by
various groups of merchants,
some of whom rent the space
from the city. They in turn can
charge the artists either a per-
centage of their profits, or a
flat rental fee for a booth.
The sponsors look for origin-
ality in the works, and set a
criteria for the art. But some:
feel that a major problem at
past fairs has been the number
of unregistered artists, who set
up booths or blankets wherever'
there is room, and sell often
unoriginal works.
BOB FOSTER of the S. Uni-
versity Merchants Organization
expressed concern that "we re

worth?
By PHILLIP BOKOVOY
Ann Arbor is thought by many
people to be one of the cultural
centers of the midwest-acity
where aesthetic tastes tend to-
ward the sophisticated. The
musicians, actors, and writers
of the world come here every
; year to perform or lecture.
Many of them are innovators in
their fields and find the com-
unity responsive to the me-
lange of ideas that issue from
the collective national brain.
' It would seem then that this
, same enthusiasm would carry
E over into the graphic arts. It
doesn't. According to local art
dealers, the typical Ann Arbor
art buyer purchases works that
w xill appreciate in value, not
what pleases his or her eye.
DAVID Brininstol, manager of
Ann Arbor's oldest gallery, the
Forsythe Gallery, believes many
of the people here tend to be of
the academic mold and think
too r a ti o n a l lyabout what
they're buying and don't let
their emotions guide them.
"The tastes here still aren't
as contemporary as people think
they are," he said, adding that
the Ann Arbor Art Fair is a
good example of that. "There's
so much bad art (at the Fair),
you can't see the good. It's gone
from bad to worse."
Marty Reesman, director of
the Union Gallery which ex-
hibits mainly local and student
art, concurs.
"THE ART FAIR has gone
down a great deal. You get a
lot of crap," she said.
Both Reesman and Brininstool
Ifeel the only way to bring the
Art Fair backyto respectability
is to return to the practice of
having a jury decide what gets
to be exhibited.
Alice Simsar, owner of the
Alice Simsar Gallery, believes
the fair should also be a crafts
fair. She says there are many
local artists that are very good
and that ceramics and weaving
are Ann Arbor artists' speciali-
ties.
THREE OF the City's galler-
ies, tlh Union Gallery, the For-
sythe Gallery, and the Alice
Simsar 'Gallery all have differ-
ent groups of artists to choose
from.
The Union Gallery specializes
in the art of local artists and
that of students in the art
school. No other gallery-in town
has such an extensive display of
local talent. "We can take more
chances," says Reesman, be-
cause the gallery is University
subsidized.
The Forsythe Gallery concen-
trates mainly on artists that
have "notoriety in the Mid-
west," says manager Brinin-
stool. They also exhibit works
by faculty members from the
EMU and University art
schools.
THE SIMSAR Gallery deals
with artists of national renown
and relies mainly on the tradi-
tional methods of gallery ad-
vertising - the direct mailing,
the opening, and the preview.
Simsar suggests that these prac-
tices should be discontinued, as
many New York galleries have
done, but claims the antiquated
method must be used in Ann
Arbor in order to survive finan-
cially.
She believes that Americans
are afraid to collect art because
for many years it has been the
preserve of the wealthy. She
says many people are surprised
they can pick up arlithograph
or etching by a relatively fam-
ous artist for anywhere from
$100 to $300.
Outside of; these galleries the

Art School maintains its own,
the Jean Paul Slusser Gallery,
in their building on North Cam-
pus. The exhibits there, unfor-

I



r


Take a bus to Briarwood!

Restaurants, more than 100 stores,
movies - and special events for fun!
A favorite spot for U. of M. students!
HOURS: 9:30 A.M./9:30 P.M. MON. THRU SAT.
NOON TO 5 P.M. SUNDAY

Daily Photo by KEN FINK
It's hard to tell who's appraising who, as these two Art Fair specimens exchange glances.

BRIARWOOD
Take State Street
to 1-94, Ann Arbor

getting art-faired to death."
He noted that although 300
artists were accepted to this
year's 17th annual Ann Arbor
Street Fair, many others were
turned away "We just don't'
have room for them," Foster,
said. "If it gets too big the qual-
ity drops, the people stop com-
ing, and that's when you die."
But the people have certainly
not stopped coming yet. The
W ooly

Chamber of Commerce esti-
mates that 150,000 people wind
their way through the downtown
streets during the fair, and both
the Campus Inn and Bell Tower
Hotel were booked up over
three months before the event.
TO DEAL w i t h increased
crowds and automobiles, the
University offers use of it's
parking structures at a special

rate. Nevertheless, parking dur-
ing the Fair is next to impos-
sible, and many an irate driver
will return from browsing only
to find his or her illegally park-
ed car towed away.
But the Art Fair is worth it,
whether or not you wish to buy.
For those without funds-a com-
mon malady among University
students-entertainment, includ-
ing live music and plays, is

offered.
It's also a good opportunity to
pick up some good bargains'
from store-keepers who pull
their merchandise out into the
street f o r Summer Bargain
Days.
Whatever your tastes, the Ann
Arbor Art Fair should havet
something for you-perhaps a'
stained glass bong, or a pair of
quilted shoes.
Wvarhol

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ANN ARBOR'S
PREMI ER
ROCK & ROLL
NIGHTCLUB

mammoths to

FEATURES: LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT
6 LEVELS FOR PERFECT VIEWING
NIGHTLY DRINK SPECIALS
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APPEARANCES BY NATIONAL RECORDING STARS:
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DANCING TO THE MIDWEST'S BEST LIVE EN-
TERTAINMENT AT

By TIM SCHICK
It is not often that you can walk into a building and find
yourself half a billion years in the past, on another planet, in an
Egyptian burial crypt or studying a mind's creative output.
But all of these luxuries abound at the campus museums.
The Natural History Museum, best known for the sculptured
twin pumas gracing the building's entrance, offers the widest
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variety of museum exhibits. Once inside, the visitor can stand
face to face with a wooly mammoth, or be dwarfed by a tower-
ing Alossaurus.
THE MOVIE Jaws will seem like a cartoon when one sees the
choppers the museum has to offer. One set, belonging to a
Dunkleosteus, stands a good four feet high.
But prehistoric esxhibits are not the only ones filling the Geddes
Rd. museum - various species of Michigan plants and ani-
mals dot the building, one section of the museum takes the
viewer beneath the surface of the earth to view rocks and
minerals which fill shelf after shelf in glittering array, and
down the hall you can moon and star gaze at their planetar-

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11m- tunately, are mainly works by
One display also reveals the inner workings of the human the faculty and an occasional
body. A life size manikin named TAM (Transparent Anatomical undergrad show. Reesman feels
Manikin) shows various organs of the body and describes their it is a shame that the Art School
function. doesn't give more recognition to
ACROSS CAMPUS, the State St. Kelsey Museum chronicles its budding Picassos.
history in a different light. Displaying artifacts from civiliza- IF YOU'D like to become an
artist yourself and you're not
tions gone by, the museum allows you to stand beside a 6,000- in tht Art School ,the Ann Ar-
year-old mummy coffin, or see the glassware used by the bor Art Association offers class-
ancient Romans. es in almost all possible media
The museum also sports a display of Greek, Roman and -clay, drawing, etching and
Parthian coins, as welt as a textile-lined hall which leads to a many others.
gallery filled with Greek statues. The 66-year-old group has
If painting is your passion, then the Art Museum is the place provided residents of Ann Arbor
to visit. Resting on the corner of State St. and S. University, this the years and was the driving
building is distinguished by the colossal columns marking the force behind the establishment
entrance. Once inside, a unique variety and array of art of the University Art Museum.
blossoms. The Association was also the
IN TWO alcoves Oriental art is displayed, while the long initiator of the Art Fair but at
chamber just inside the door offers a selection of American least one of its teachers won't
paintings and sculpture dating from the last century. display his work there any more
On the second floor gallery, products from the Dutch, Flemish , because of the fair's declining
quality, and indeed the Associa-
and Italian schools of art hang, as well as entries from the tion no longer has any ties with
modern genre, including Andy Warhol's "The Electric Chair." the fair.
THEY HAVE a small gallery
that offers works done by their
o . ~students and these works are
P ,Im 4'n * a +m m ,,u a mainly tapestries and various