0 0* 9 0 v Page 6-Sunday, October 26, 1980-The Michigan Daily SURE HE CAN WRITE.. .A2 1r,; an The Michigan Daily-Sunday "1,.d ma ' ,. -U.,u f f ... But can you dance to him999 IA Ku InU 1x ivat v i s'abu By OWEN GLEIBERMAN Listening to Dave Marsh sound off about Rolling Stone magazine, you'd never guess he was a contributing editor; he's only too happy to shine a light on its faults. This particular chilly October afternoon, just a few hours before Bruce Springsteen takes the Crisler Arena stage to launch into the first show of his 1980 tour, Marsh is lounging around the Student Publications building, sipping Coke and cheerfully biting the hand that feeds.' Chewing it to pieces, in fact. "Rolling Stone sucks," he says blun- tly. "There's a couple of things every issue worth reading, just like any other magazine. But Rolling Stone's not apart from the rock press anymore. In fact, you should want it to be less and less apart, because it's the only way anything new can happen." He's right, of course; gone are the days when Rolling Stone could seriously be considered a "counter- culture" publication. Lately, even its mainstream respectability has been slip-sliding away. This past year's issues have featured a cheesecakey Linda Ronstadt fashion' spread and covers adorned with the likes of Pat Benatar and the Cars (with accom- panying flack-pieces inside)-in short, Creem Magazine for post-high schoolers. This coming January, editor Jann Wenner is even trashing the bulky-newspaper format for Time Magazine glossiness. But if Marsh is bitter about the ab- sorption of Rolling Stone into the facade of late-Seventies hype, he doesn't show it. For one thing, the magazine has been a launching pad for his own success as a rock critic. That success culminated with this year's uncannily well-timed release of Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, an enthusiastic paperback biography of the Boss that's earned a spot on the best-seller charts. BORN TO RUN is an intelligent, ex- tensively detailed account of Br:uce's career, but throughout, Marsh keeps Daily photo by David Harris Dave Marsh holds court for aspiring rock writers in the Daily library. "Kiss my button, peons!"? No thanks, Dave. his own feelings about his subject cen- ter-stage; he's a True Believer, and can barely write Springsteen's name without trotting out allusions to the mythically redeeming powers of rock and roll magic. In person, Marsh is more subdued; he rarely smiles, and for every en- couraging note that seeps into the con- versation there are ten minutes of grimly honest cynicism about rock and roll's future as a popular art. Marsh's righteously conservative musical tastes make him somewhat of a "Classicist" next to most of his rock- critic cohorts. These'days, for example, he's down on austere, hard-edged New Wave bands like the Gang of Four and PiL for being afraid to exhibit the raw, explosive emotionalism central to rock and roll. Marsh believes that music's future lies in infusing its most popular forms with innovative, possibly non- rock ideas, but not the other way Owen Gleiberman is a staff writer for the Arts page. around. Some people see this as reac- tionary, but at least it's a welcome respite from reviewers who are only too eager to lap up the latest in arty, ephemeral trends. "I think what's missing in punk is somebody who's willing to come out and be sentimental," he says. "Rock and roll's problem now is that there's too much emphasis being put on musical novelty for its own sake, from the point-of-view of people who take it seriously and work with it seriously. I'm talking about all this bogus, inept, James Brown/Sly Stone, pseudo- funk, English-intellectual horsecrap,. which I don't get. I didn't get it when they called it No Wave. I don't get it now that it's developed a little bit and gotten a little more rational-which is to say marketable. I don't get it because, first of all, I don't think it's an adequate response to the problem it thinks it's addressing, and second of all, I don't get it because it's not very good." See STONE, Page 14 By ANNE GADON Let's face it, at eight years old which one of us would have turned down a chance to trade places with Shirley Temple? Leslie Winick, producer- manager of the Young People's Theatre (YPT) of Ann Arbor and a recent University graduate, believes that children want to perform. "Kids call me up and ask me 'What kind of classes do you offer and how can I be in a show?' That kind of enthusiasm can't be coming from pushy stage mothers. It's from the kids themselves." And that's what YPT is all about. It's theatre for kids, by kids. From its inception four years ago, YPT has expanded its program from classroom work to a 12-member touring company, studio productions, and workshops. YPT also sponsors visits by professional groups and trips to other theatres for its members.-Says Winick, "Through their experience in theatre the kids learn to work with others. They gain discipline and become part of a team. They've got to learn these skills sometime and it's great if they can learn them while they're young through theatre." DORIS SPERLING, an elementary school teacher at Bryant Grade School in Ann Arbor and one of the founders of YPT, recalls a comment made at one of the first meetings of YPT in 1977 by a senior at an Ann Arbor high school. "He said that he had taken the same drama class three times over because it was the only acting class he could take. Our feeling for kids who have this love of theatre is that there should be an oppor- tunity for them to act." Meryl Miller, another co-founder of YPT, felt that it was important to give children an op- portunity to begin acting at a young age. He once told Winick, "If I find a junior in high school that's interested in acting, it's already too late for him. He already has too many inhibitions." Winick describes first through third graders as "real creative. By catching them so early they have no inhibitions, E EChJ they're ready to do anything." Winick points out, "the least opportunities for participation in drama exist during the pre-high school years. YPT never has a problem filling up our classes for the younger grades, because there is no place else for the kids to go." YPT-OFFERS CLASSES in varied aspects of theatrical production, in- cluding acting and technical work. The performed for more than 50 groups in southeastern Michigan, including the Performing Arts Festival of Detroit's Attic Theatre and the Furray Festival of Community Theatre, a statewide competition for amateur theatre groups where YPT won the award as the most outstanding group. The studio productions provide an opportunity for YPT members who are not in the repertory company to prac- tice their art. Each year the group produces two studio shows. Last year's studio production for the fourth through sixth graders, "Little Ki and the Ser- pent" (which was directed by Janiszewski) had to be cancelled because of a power failure. Although YPT wanted to reschedule "Little Ki," they did not think it would be finan- cially possible. Janiszewski recalls, "But at the last minute a woman from FREE DELIVERY; WE / DELIVER: < Mon-Thurs 5 pm-1am Fri-Sat 5 pm-2 am Sun 5 pm-11pm Breakfast Served Anytime Free Hash Browns B With Any Eggs or Omelettes 338 S. St For fast pick-upc the com the shov In th become "Like a on Tis< passes, Arts bud mean r hopes t coming "Huma: provide for the f "HUI professi product Anne the Ara supplen 7 PA Y "GAR! ate StreE orders call: two major acting classes are Creative Drama and The Actor and Production. Creative drama stresses im- provisational skills while the produc- tion class focuses on working with scripts. YPTers can also take classes in interpretation, voice technique, make- up and stage management, to name a few. The group also sponsors shorter workshops throughout the year. Past workshops have included mime with noted area performer 0. J. Anderson, and a costumer. Improvisation is the "strongest point" of YPT's repertory company ac- cording to Winick. Two out of the three- shows performed by this year's com- pany-"Merlin" and "The Three Musketeers"-were formed by im- provising on a general outline. "The kids tend to freeze up with scripts," says Lorel Janiszewski, a former YPT instructor. "They think they have to act in a certain way." Janiszewski, who graduated from the University last year with a B.A. in Theatre Arts, had one of her first experiences in theatre with the now defunct Junior Light Opera (JLO), an Ann Arbor children's theatre group similar to YPT. Accor- ding to Janiszewski, "Working with JLO was one of my best learning ex- periences as an actress. There was a much tighter structure to the work that I did with the University. I was urged to experiment a lot more at JLO. And groups like JLO and YPT encourage 'kids to get involved in technical aspects of theatre earlier, such. as running lights and making sets." LAST YEAR the repertory company Whatever Your Phot Needs May Be M 1 r Y ........^r . ....+.nw.. Danskin to the music Or exercising, or yo, or swimmin.. . We have one of the best selec- tions of versatile leotards and tights in Ann Arbor, at prices well within student budgets. Stop by and see them. I? wFJ4 -T}qz'oe. Y/ Sptort Skjp 711 N University 668-6915 HAVE DINNER WITH Charley THIS WEEK A bowl of chili, a slice of corn- bread & house beverage for $1.50 Special Is from 6-8 pm, M-F ' Good Thue CharleyS 1140 South Universlty--4-8411 Bring us your KODACOLOR Films.,.. P ' cO.R L 7+FOR QUALTY COLOR PROCESSING BY KODAK We offer Kodak quality processing for all your KODACOLOR Films. Stop in today, and ask for details. ASCOOR dcoR PROCESSING . K4ak D Co Mai withc File _ _ , . ' '"