The Michigan Daily-Friday, October 31, 1980-Page 7


A group has

By ANNE GADON
Playwright Sam Shephard whose one
act play Action is currently running at
the Canterbury Loft, is being hailed as
the next great American playwright
and rightly so. His views of post-
apocalyse society are as topical in the
80's as Miller's portraits of the shat-
tered American Dream were in the 50s.
Shephard's people are rural America,
cut off from everyone and everything,
not knowing why they're alive. In his
words, they are dancing bears. They
moove the way they've been taught but it
never feels right.
Action is 50 minutes of stream of con-
sciousness ramblings. Four unrelated
souls are confined in a cabin for
Christmas Eve. Shephard never clues
us in on their pasts or how they came
together. They tell stories to each other
that none of them hear: A tale of a
mother consumed by flame, the
memory of a man whose body rejec-

ted him because he refused to bathe.
Under Shephard's Kerouacian sur-
face, some serious philosophisizing is
going on about the isolation of
Americans. "I was active in the com-
munity once," says Lupe. "What's a
community?" Jeep replies. Shephard's
characters are so conscious of them-
selves that they can't conceive of
uniting with others. This self-
consciousness comes not from in-
dulgency, but from their individual
struggles to determine the reason for
existence.
SAM SHEPHARD'S view of the
world isn't kind. In their struggles to
find their reasons for living his charac-
ters have been shattered. Now all they
can do is pace the cabin floor, talking
nonserisecially to each other. Their
lives are reduced to "action." As long
as there is still life in them they 'll keep
moving but their existence is clearly
futile.

good
Sheperd's script is short of motivation
but Ted Levine as Jeep has somehow
managed to make his tortured mur-
murings about Walt Whitman and his
violent outbursts of chair breaking into"
a mesmerizing and cohesive perfor-
mance. In the obligatory moment of
gore (all of Shephard's plays have at
least one-in Buried Child, which won
Shephard the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, the
carcass of a dead baby is brought on
stage), Levine hypnotically plays with
the entrails of a fish he finds in a nearby
well. Shooter, as played by Kerry
Milliron, alternates between rabbit-like
timidity and coltish enthusiasm, an ap-
propriate contrast to Jeep's world-
weariness. And Ilene Moskowitz as Lize
buzzes about the stage in a blur of ac-
tivity, as if by running she will escape
the futility of her labors.
The only thing amiss in this produc-
tion is Carol Hollander as Lupe, the
quietly tormented dreamer. The other
three performers have found some
meaning in Shephard's dialogue, some
motivation for their bizarre behavior,
but Hollander is just going through the
paces. Her performance is somewhat
breathless, as if she is surprised that
her fellow performers can make sense
out of Shephard's fragments while she
is groping for a character.
Action is the admirable first produc-

C~iO
Actions
tion of the It's All One Players, a
theatre group headed by Levine and
Gonzales. Wisely, the company is star-
ting out small. They plan to follow Ac-
tion with other one act plays by
American writers and would like to
serve as a showcase for local produc-
tions at some point in the future. This
new group may be the answer to the
University theatre department's
anathema of American theatre and
predictable casting.

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SHOW ASE
presents:
Alan
Ayckbourn's
TABLE'Q
MANNERS
Nov.S,-8
8pm
Tickets at the
Professional Theatre Program
Michigan League
764-0450

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'Despite warnings,
some favor Tisch

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Trueblood

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Theatre

(Continued from Page 1)
Louisiana it is $172," he noted.
Graham suggested the University
could have better allocated $11,000 he
said was spent on postage for anti-Tisch
literature mailed to alumni and paren-
ts.
An employee of the Center for Foren-
sic Psychiatry who asked not to be iden-
tified said that although she has been,
told she could lose her job by voting for
Tisch, she plans to do it anyway. "I
work in a state institution myself and I
see a lot of wasteful spending right
there," she said. She said the Center is,
constantly undergoing renovation.
"They spend thousands installing car-
peting and slick offices only to tear it all
up six months later to expand it into a
new ward. It's an example of very poor
planning," she said.
Retired farmer Emory Mulholland
said the main reason Oe is voting for
Tisch is to "teach the people in Lansing
they. aren't giving us a fair
shake-they're living too high on the
hoof." Mulholland said his taxes have
tripled in seven years. "I don't think
senior citizens have to be given
everything," he said, "but they
shouldn't be penalized." He said he
meets with other seniors at a coffee
shop where Tisch is the main topic of
discussion.
York county Tisch proponent Charlie
McCarthy said he believes the Tisch
amendment would allow a lot of people
to keep their homes who would other-

wise have to sell them.
Saline resident Vida Radovici said
her property taxes have become too
much for her to bear. "I went to City
Hall and cried over there, but they
didn't give me no break," she said. "I
may have to borrow from now on to pay
the taxes-I may even have to sell my
house."
GORDON ANITA
MACRAE DARIAN
In
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the music of
Rodgers and Hammerstein
OPENS TONIGHT!
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Sun. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
POWER CENTER
Tickets at PTP--M-F-10-2, 2-5
Power Center Box Office opens at
6:00 (763-3333). Visa/Master Charge
by phone-764-0450

In the Frieze Building

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Fri. & Sat.
Frida The ~...12:30 AM
Friday The 13thRadR
17T30oAM
RollingStones Rated PG
ROCKY HORROR 12:00 Mid.
2:00 AM
BIRTH D Y PARTYFri. & Sat. Nites
BIRTHDAY PARTY2 a.
Rated R
Prizes for Best Costume

\4/
APay1
Kl

CAN'TYPAY?
/re WONTAY!
rNOV 11 21


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David Bowie
Scary Monsters

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Includes: Fantastic Voyage
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Did you know that
Johnny Got His Gun
is not in favor of draft registration?

Also Includes:
Includes: or row " Here Comes the Ni~ Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly 0
See Emily Play Anyway, Anyhow, Anywr Janine " Memory Of A Free Festiv<

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