The Ark sails on as folk m BY STEVE HOOK The University has become a mid- west icenter for many aspects of the performing arts - Eclipse Jazz attrac- ts the nation's most prestigious jazz musicians, the University Musical Society hosts the world's leading classical musicians, in addition to opera and dance artists. Major Events brings well-known rock and pop musicians to town, and its museums feature many of the midwest's most sought-after collections of paintings, photographs, and sculpture. But for Wfolk music, University organizations take second billing to a quiet, unob- trusive house on 1421 Hill St. Known as the Ark, this stately home is considered the midwest's capital for folk music. It has been drawing the world's most talented folk musicians for nearly 15 years, and remains, to the artists, a highly valued stop on their American tours - like coming home again. THIS IS WHERE David Brom- berg spent his early years as a professional musician, along with Leon Redbone, John Prine, and Steve Good- man. In addition, more traditional, less 'well-known folk musicians are attrac- ted to the Ark: respected English and Irish folksingers like Owen McBride and Lou Killen, instrumental bands like the Red Clay Ramblers, American revivalists like Michael Cooney and Margaret Macarther. Every weekend during the school year, the candle-lit living room of the Ark is filled with ap- preciative music lovers, who consisten- tly are treated to authentic, sincere performances. There is no hype surrounding the Ark - in fact, it has been virtually on its knees financially since it was founded by three local churches in the mid-ยข0's. The small audiences prohibit large profits for the Ark, which has survived the past three years due in part by sponsoring the annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival, held each winter at the Power Center. The Ark is operated by Dave and Lin- da Siglin, who live in the house with their daughter, Anya, their German shepherd, FleetaMay, two cats and a hampster. During the week, the Siglins are busy lining up musicians for future weekends, and promoting the Ark through the local media. On weekends, they open their doors to the folk musicians and their audiences. Known as a "coffeehouse," no liquor or beer is served in the Ark during the perfor- mances. During intermissions, Dave and Linda offer hot coffee and tea to the audiences, and what many call "the best popcorn in Ann Arbor." Activities at the Ark are not limited to Friday and Saturday nights. Musicians often perform on Thursday night, as well as Sunday night, when gospel music is occasionally played. On Wed- nesday nights, known as "Hoot Night," local folk-singers and instrumentalists are invited to take the stage them- selves. Throughout the week, posters announcing upcoming concerts are at- tached to campus kiosks and bulletin boards, and the events are listed in local arts calendars. Sadly, most University students leave Ann Arbor without visiting the Ark. Those who do check it out report memorable evenings filled with emotional, intriguing song and conver- sation - the essence of folk music. The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 4, 1980-Page 9-E / q. usic retea }" < y LE . ww Daily Photo by DAVID HARRIS 4 Ark manager Dave Siglin (center) chats with neighbor's on the folk music coffee- house's front porch. 4- - -- - - - - - -- - - Handgrafted BeSan angel .. . , Qualit -by L ocal.A rtisans 4'., Campus imgoing an adventure (Continued from Page 2) ventilation are enough to drive anyone batty. Add to that the uncomfortable seating, with just enough space between rows to make stumbling past seated viewers dangerous and potentially very em- barrassing, and you have the worst of the main cam- pus screening locations. Another minor but nagging source of irritation in viewing at "Nat. Sci." is its popularity as a lecture hall; it's always somewhat depressing to attempt being entertained in the same place where you might have had all those dull Medieval History lectures or flunked your chemistry exam. There are other film organizations, but they keep a lower profile, screen much less frequently, and are often tucked away in minor locations. Gargoyle and Alternative Action generally show a film per week, always on weekends; their choices are pretty much worth the time and expense. This cluster of four theaters almost invariably gets first pick of new releases, so if you're planning on catching whatever might be the latest Apocalypse Now, The Shining or Star Trek, you'd better plan on spending some time out at the mall. The only drawback at Briarwood's frequent monopoly on the latest biggies is the fact that the theaters themselves aren't particularly large-thus watching Apocalypse can be somewhat disappointing, since the screens are relatively con- fined in size and the sound systems are not equipped for Dolby. As partial compensation, Briarwood has frequent sneak previews (as do several local theaters) to watch out for. These are one-shot showings of new films a few weeks before their actual release, which may interest anyone to whom being able to talk about a particular movie before anyone else is a status symbol. some form of justification in the damned thing by ex- periencing it at Briarwood, where people throw pop- corn and yell things and dress up. Gee, just like you read about in People and Us. Briarwood runs other midnight flicks as well. Dawn of the Dead, that air- bag masterpiece, is a favorite, and often the regular evening features are given midnight screenings as well. At present, none of the local theaters beyond Briarwood and State St. have regular midnight showings, though the success of the idea at those two locations have prompted other theaters to make at least sporadic attempts. The Fox Village Theaters are even Further Out There than Briawood, and definitely require some kind of special transport. This complex was, not so long ago, a single theater with one nice big screen. It got axed into two over a year ago, and just last winter was fragmented even further intono less than four theaters. Why? The question is a legitimate one, because Fox Village is too often concrete proof that sometimes there just aren't enough good movies to go around. When a theater hangs on to '10' for months, eventually pairing it with such gems as Roller Boogie and Guyana-Cult of the Damned, something must be wrong. Still, if this locale doesn't get many of the more interesting new releases, you never know when one might slip past Briarwood and somehow make its way to Fox Village, like last year's All That Jazz. The remainder of Ann Arbor theaters are all, happily, simple single-screen deals, though they rarely get anything first-run beyond the latest Adven- tures of the Walton Clones, Sun Classic duds, Disney re-releases and cheap horror flicks. The nicest of the second-run houses, and indeed probably the pleasan- test theater in Ann Arbor, is, of course, the Ann Arbor itself. Located about a ten minute walk from central campus, this is a terrifically comfortable place, even if most of the time it features little more than second or third-run commerical flicks (The Rose, Animal House, etc.). The Ann Arbor is too large to earn a solid living off these throwaway bookings, and rarely holds a film for more than a week or two-unfor- tunately, because lately it has been showing oc- casional new foreign films of some interest, including Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, the Italian To Forget Venice, and Bertolucci's ravishing Luna. The Campus, located just a couple of minutes from the Diag on South University, offers a similar diet of second-runs and delayed or minor first-runs. Its prices, however, are a dollar lower than the com- petition's, and there have been some welcome recent attempts to start up weekend matinee series' of notable older films. The Wayside, on Washtenaw, is a fair distance away, which matters little because its films are rarely worth checking out. They usually run. along the lines of family flicks and other cheap thrills. You might just as well wait and see such items on cable TV in a few months. The Michigan Theater is Ann Arbor's last surviving memoir from the days of grand Hollywood movie palaces, complete with a large balcony section, a classic lobby with the perfect old-movie staircase (one envisions Marlene Dietrich making her Big En- trance, sliding down the steps so slowly in a Von Sternberg film.. .), impressingly baroque carvings on the wall and ceilings, and a nice general feel of mossy nostalgia. For better or worse, it also has a magnificently well-preserved, enormous theater organ, which rises up mechanically from the depths of the orchestra pit to subject infrequent audiences to organ music (does anyone really like this stuff?) before screenings. Films have been limited lately to occasional nights rented out by the campus co-ops and other organizations for special showings. The rest of the time, the Michigan sits empty, or is oc- cupied by various concerts and miscellaneous events (most notably the 16mm Film Festival in the spring). Read ?tf 764-0558 119 W. Washington 761-1110 11:00am to 9:00pm M-F 10:00am to 6:00pm S Daily Classifieds Get Results Discover CANTERBURY'LOFT' -a center for the performing arts sponsored by the Episcopal Campus Ministry 332 SOUTH STATE STREET (two doors south of Nickels Arcade on the second floor) FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES THAT YOU CAN AFFORD DESIGNED TO LEAVE YOU MOVED AND THOUGHTFUL Call 665-0606 for information All events at the Loft are listed in the Michigan Daily Episcopal Chaplain: ANDREW FOSTER Producer: BILL SHARPE .1 .4 I I 4 4 .4 a 4 Y y "t a14 Daily Photo by MAUREEN O'MALLEY For Cinema Guild patrons waiting in line before a film, unusual window displays provide much- needed diversions. The movie-goers don't always have the chance to see a live mannequin, though. middle-of-the-road. Dorm groups occasionally show films, often for free and most often at the beginning of the school year, but these are not frequently very well publicized or very interesting. One exception, if a minor one, is the Weekend Por- taculture Film Series, which is run by some East Quad students and tends toward neglected camp masterpieces (i.e., Gidget Goes to Rome, Plan Nine from Outer Space, etc.) which are shown roughly every other weekend in E.Q., usually for free. Area commercial theaters have been doubling and quadrupling into multitheater complexes a lot lately, leaving Ann Arbor with more than enough outlets for new Hollywood and foreign products. The State Street Four, the Campus and the Ann Arbor are within easy walking distance of central campus. All the others can be reached fairly easily, though not awfullyfapt, by taking various city buses. Be warned, however, that most of the bus schedules do not run far into the evening, so other forms of transport may be necessary to attend evening shows-a car, if available, or a taxi, if affordable. Prices for all of these theaters are pretty much the usual dismal for- tune (offering further incentive to scan those co-op schedules instead), with the usual matinee discounts, and often further reductions for those with student I.D., etc. Since ticket prices and policies are always being changed, it's best to check a newspaper or give the theater a call if you're uncertain. Briarwood is the archtypical shopping-center theater complelx, slick and impersonal, but often The State Street Four is another four-theater com- ples, though better located and somehow more com- fortable than Briarwood. It gets pretty much the second-best as far as first-run films go, though there are worthy offerings from time to time. The theater's main attraction for most students is its Friday and Saturday midnight shows-four, count 'em-which are just $1.50 with student I.D. The midnight of- ferings here are a variable mix of concert-footage and musical-collage documentaries (usually more a matter of musical taste than anything else), a few certified midnight staples (Eraserhead, Harold and Maude), and assorted oddities. Among the latter, try to avoid movies that just sound very funny, because they generally aren't. Sure, it is possible to make dull movies with wonderful titles like Linda Lovelace for President and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. When watching some of these items, being in a druggy haze isn't just helpful, it's required for survival. Briarwood started the area's midnight trend with the unavoidable Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is still playing and just won't leave. If you're one of those people (like me) whose first reaction to Rocky Horror was a polite retch, you may finally discover nC aldld nakrs nals Donalda Are you living in an apartment next year? WHAT ABOUT MEALS? 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