Page Diva Tuesday, September 16, 1975, THE MICHIGAN DAILY .usdy.Sptmbr16.175TE..CIANDAL PoaeF , r' Couz ens performs 'Dance' By ANDREW ZERMAN regarded than it appears to be duce good results." The local theatre season will here in the Midwest." This concern for professional- open Wednesday evening with With some experience acting ism and emphasis on discipline the Couzens Ensemble Theatre's in theatres in the Washington, distinguishes CET from Resi- production of Slow Dance on a D.C. area and in a workshop dential College (RC) Players, Killing Ground by William Han- production in New York, Miller the campus group which most ley. had thought of himself more as resembles CET in scale, budget The play, which was well- an actor than a director. Never- and facilities, but where at- received in its original New theless he directed CET's first tempts at professionalism take York production a decade ago, show, The Dark of the Moon, a back seat to experimentation, is being, presented by the new- in the fall of last year and its informality and innovation. est theatre group in Ann Arbor second, Black Comedy, last win- Slow Dance on a Killing and one that differs somewhat ter. Ground is a naturalistic Ameri- in aspirations and principles "I wanted to gauge what kind can play about the improbable from any other. group on cam- of talent I would get. My focus meeting of a neurotic, bitter pus. was on producing a vehicle for young man from the ghettoa "The idea for Couzens En-! acting, not a vehicle for budget. yougemandomthe ghe, a semble Theatre (CET) origin- We pick plays that aren't neces- and an unattractive young girl ated in my mind in the summer sarily well-known, but that are earchin Broklyelate at ni of 1974," said Greg Miller, the excellent. forcangaBoont group's founder and artistic di- "We're small and have little r b rector. money. But I want the produc- "It is a powerful play, it has Miller, who was to be'a resi- tions to be as subtly profession- a small cast and it could be dent advisor at Couzens that al as possible. There should be done early in the season," said year, "was amazed that on a nothing unprofessional, but rath- Miller, explaining the choice of campus as large as the Univer- er, professionalism on a small the play. Only one of the three sity of Michigan there was such scale. actors in the play, Miller him- a limited range of theatres. I "I feel that with talented ama- self, has worked with CET pre- come from the East Coast teurs, hard work, seriousness, viously. where theatre is more highly, and concentration should pro- The other two, Judy Easton and Ray Nieto, have been seen in Theatre Department, Musket and RC Players productions. Director Mark Milkulski ap- peared in both CET shows last - --qfIA Q. t- m year. theatre group of this type to alive. have someone who will take re- Regardless of what ensues sponsibility for straightening next fall, there should be three out these inevitable snags. more CET productions this year. Thus, the loss of Miller, with If the rights become available, his great personal attachment Ann Arbor can look forward to to CET, may be fatal. Remarks a production of Moonchildren, made by Easton, also a resident Michael Weller's poignant in- advisor at Couzens, suggest that dictment of '60s youth, complete enthusiasm at the dorm may not with subtle professionalism and be sufficient to keep the group. one hundred matching chairs. Michigan Daily Doily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS Couzens Ensemble Theatre players, Greg Miller, Judy Easton, and Ray Nietorehearse for Wednesday evening's opening night performance of Slow Dance on a Killing Ground, a play by William Hanley. CET hopes to present more such little known yet excellent plays in the coming school year. NUREYEV, BERNSTEIN PERFORM rts mma Edinburgh By BILL HEENAN Special To The Daily EDINBURGH, Scotland - From its lofty perch, the somber castle glowers at the tourists who dare disturb the old town's cobblestone streets while en route to the 29th Edinburgh International Festival. Thistyear, from August to September 13, over half a million patrons, clad in kilts and levis alike braved the medieval city's baffling network of side- streets, 14th century townhouses, and grimy Gothic cathedrals to witness an awesome display of inter- national talent in Scotland's capital. Though relatively new compared to its prestigious continental rival, the Salzburg Festival, The Edin- burgh event appealed to a wider range of tastes at bargain prices. Festival director Peter Diamand presented a seemingly uninterrupted three weeks of Tatoo, Leon- ard Bernstein, Rudolf Nureyev, are exhibits, film festivals, and over 200 "Fringe" performances by professional and amateur groups. In order to experience the festival fully, one must understand the rugged character of its stage, the city of Edinburgh. Framed by the Firth of Forth to the north and Mary, Queen of Scot's ornate Hol- lywood Palace to the east, Edinburgh is the cul- tural heartbeat of Scotland. The festival centered around the Castle Esplanade where the awesome pageant of the Tatoo was dis- played. Thousands climbed the Royal Mile to wit- ness the combined efforts of the Massed Bands of the Royal Marines, the kilted pipes and drums of the Australian police, the Royal New Zealand Army Band, the gaudy British Columbia Beefeaters Band, the' Maori tribal dances, and the Evel Knie- vel antics of the Royal Motor Cycle Team. Prokofiev, the Russian composer who died in 1953, was the theme of this year's festival. A controver- sial figure, he was often criticized for yielding to the Soviet government's eriticisms of his "neuropathic" works. His first and second violin concertos, seven sym- phonies (including the famous fifth), five piano con- certos, nine sonatas, and three operas including fAOQI dpo"Isio cOE iffI L&Wa (filMcuhI &t54t51& Alexander Nevsky were performed. One - evening program of the London Sy Orchestra was devoted to his works. The o conducted by Claudio Abbado and accomp renowned Russian cellist Mstislav Rosti portrayed the stark horrors of winter wa Battle on Ice. Jack-of-all-musical trades Leonard Berns ducted the London Symphony, and also p his Mozart piano concerto with the Vienn Boys assisting with the Chichester Psalms days later he conducted the Orchestra Na France and performed a piano solo in an al program. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, c by Rostropovich, lifted the audience to new of perception in Mussorgsky's Night on Bal tain. The Orchestra was conducted in laterT ances by Carlo Maria Guilini. Highlighting the festival's drama prese the Prospect Theatre Program's Pilgrim n dehbt. Not intended for hard-core Puritans,1 in a contemnorary, sensual performance Bunvan's second Bible of the British ho grim's Progress. Set to the music of Carl Davis, the perf was resplendent with glittery vitality, as hurtled down ramps into dazzling Celestial cringed before God's "dark and cloudy we electronically synthesized music. "Whoever loved that loved not at first wondered Shakesneare's Rosalind in the ham Plavhou se Company's high-performan sentntion of As You Like It, Indeed the Pe directed company lived up to its lofty reput (J'aickly capturing its audience with the e-rthv wit. Sold oat month's in advance were the s Rovyl Ballet performances, starring Rudoli vev, His solo of sharp. whipning turns, c with Lynn Sevmour's fluid movements pro glittering disniay of Raymonda Act III. In Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene, t co-ined his series, of flying leaps and h ymphony orchestra, sionate whirling to produce a breathtaking scene. Vivyan Lorrayne concluded the night's performA ance with Prodigal Son as she danced through tales CET's future is uncertain since Miller is graduating in the spring. So, too, the problems of small theatre companies can be overwhelming. f+...,... .ac wt P ia SUAvi lnn ;511G l nd 1 tw111n~,oh td1 j anied by of corruption debauchery, and seduction. On a random day, the week ropovich bubefore opening, Miller was try-} rfpovich The Edinburgh International Film Festival pro- ing, unsuccessfully, to get hold rfae an vided over 40 original films, including the indepen- of a truck in which to pick up a dent cinema which overcame the restrictions of jukebox, an apparently vital teri con- the commercial circuit, the avant-garde flicks and piece of scenery. a Choir the hard-hitting cinema of social issues. In addition, one hundred fold-! na Coiring chairs (matching, Miller in-~ s. Three The United States and Canada were represented sisted) had to be moved into tonal de by the films of Michael Snow, Yvonne Rainer, and Couzens Theatre by opening -French leading woman cinematographer Babette Mongolte. night. It is imperative in a Catherine Gayer, "America's gift to German Op- onducted era," took the lead role in the Deutsche Oper Ber- v heights lin's production of Lulu. She also appeared in the Id Moun- Edinburgh Festival Opera's Hermiston, Robert L. perform- Stevenson's unfinished novel Weir of Hermiston.TA ntations, The personal possessions, memorabilia, and man- made its uscripts of King James I and VI were displayed in Shows at 7 & 9:05 p.m. the play an exhibition commemorating the 350th anniver- Open at 6:45 of John sary of the monarch who was the first to untie Scot- 17th SMASH WEEK me, Po- land and England under one crown. Meanwhile, the "Fringe" performances beckoned ormance from every conceivable nook and cranny. Ware- j players houses and churches alike offered bargain rate per- City or formances by sorte 200 local and world wide groups, ords" of ranging from Purves Puppets and the Hurdy Gurdy b Show to a Scottish rodeo. sight?" "We were taking a big risk," admitted Albert Mc-CA Notting- Green who played Sir Francis Bacon in Rhode Is- nce pre- land, USA's version of Elizabeth: a spoof on the . zr ... -529 ter Gill- life and times of the Virgin Queen. TONIGHT at 8-Open 7:45 ation by "As far as the British audiences were concerned, HURRY! ENDS SOON! Bard's we could have been loved or loathed," he explained. WINNER OF $ ACADEMY AWAROS "But they were the only ones who understood the ACOPONnDt eries of jokes." Blunt and bordering on the obscene, the! rRVIDEANSFILM ph Nure- performance gave history a new twist. D C OR ombined Performing in a secondary school auditorium, rH , INPANA ION( ovided a mime clown Bernard Rolli of Switzerland revealed A UETAOVOLOL the inner subtleties of everyday life, utilizing magic the pair onstage and starkly realistic sound and lighting ef-4s her pas- fects offstage. Another remarkable Fringe event was the "Stir- rings In Sheffield on a Saturday Night", performed r P . 6- by the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School of Mans-; OIH t&p ton, England. As many as 30 young players cram- Open at 6:45 med a tiny theatre to present their amazingly pro- "A cross between fessional program. Love Story and Once again the festival pageantry fades away as LastTango In Parisi" j patrons catch their breath and merchants close their -P/ayboyMagazine shops, hoping that the recent economic boom will carry them through the winter money woes ahead. ] The story I Distibuted byClNEMATIONINDUSTR Buford Pusser wanted told... N UAC Conc Israeli Dancing Tuesday, Sept. 16 8 p.m. at HILLEL 1429 HILL STREET 663-3336 DAILY' KOSHER MEALS at HILLEL MEETING For All Interested Persons TUES., SEPT. 16 8:00 P.M. HILLEL 1429 Hill St. 663-3336 PAT CARROLL IN To'_ )r Fun For the Entire Family Bach's works spaced out' for modern interpretation A Musical Spoof fo Mystery Lovers SEPT. 19, 20, 21, 1975 ALL EVENINGS: 8 P.M. SUNDAY MATINEE: 3 P.M. By TOM J. GODELL ' concept comes in: Producer Nat In the past decade music lov- Johnson has used the well-I ers have been subjected to in- known technique of overdubbing1 numerable tasteless attempts to to spread the harpsichord soundt 'electronify' the music of J. S. out over the two stereo chan-1 Bach, a feeble effort to popular- nels (or four channels in ther ize this music through the mir- quad version), thus producing! acle of modern technology. the effect of a harpsichord or- Thus, it was with some trepi- chestra. As a result, this high- dation that I approached the ly complex, contrapuntal music suspiciously titled Spaced-Out is made more enjoyable and Bach II, (RCA ARLI-1042) hav- understanding. ing somehow missed the first The music is enthusiastically volume. performed by Joseph Payne, a Nevertheless, listening to j 37-year-old virtuoso who has the album proved to be a worth- studied with the immortal Wan- while experience. Instead of syn- da Landowska. His tempos are3 thesizers, one hears a real harp-- brisk, and his ornamentations 3 sichord with no electronic modi- are very colorful, betraying his fication of its sound. allegiance to the new school of But here the "spaced out"; Bach interpretation. This music is never boring in Payne's hands, indeed his inter- pretations -- far from distorting the music - bring to the fore the joy of creation that marked: all Bach's attempts at compo- sition. UM FOLKLORE SOCIETY Get-Acquainted Meeting Thurs., Sept. 16th 8 p.m. Pendleton Arts Center 2nd Floor MICHIGAN UNION PUBLIC INVITED Picking, Singing, and Good Listening Advance s a I e s throuq~h PTP Ticket Office located in lobby of Mendelssohn T h e a t r e Bldq. Hours: Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-5 p.m. PTP Ticket Of- fice (313) 764-0450 Power Center Box Office Open the evenings of per- formance: 6-8 p.m. Power Center Box Office (313) 763-3333 ert Co-op Presents an Evening with PART 2 WHY WALK FARTHER! LEVI'S BRAND Available at Wild's Varsity Shop Ea Showtfines: M"on. -Sat. 7, 9 PG; AAtk" WOW su'i