Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 10, 1986

I

Provocative

theater

with a minimum

By John Shea
When you come to see the
Residence Hall Repertory theater
troupe perform, don't expect to see
a stage or special lighting or elabo -
rate props because they won't be
there. In fact, nothing here really
rings of "theater" at all. The pefor -
mances are held not at Hill Audi -
torium but rather places like the
Blue Lounge at Alice Lloyd and
wherever else the troupe can find
room to perform; the actors are not
training to become professionals
but are largely rather LS&A fresh -
men and sophomores who simply
enjoy to perform. And their direc -
tor, Scott Weissman, wouldn't have
it any other way.
Weissman, 28, earned his Mas -
ter's in Theater at U of M and is
currently a Residence Director at
Mary Markley. He founded the
RHR theater two years ago after
becoming frustrated with what he
calls "conventional theater." "I
experienced a certain amount of
'disillusionment' in theater," he
said. "I found it to be unresponsive,
dry...I'm more interested in theater
that's different, alive, thought-

provoking."
And while the troupe success -
fully brings together "thought-
provoking" issues and uncon -
ventionality, the emphasis is on
"thought-provoking." Rebecca To -
pol, a freshman, is a writer for the
troupe. She explains, "What we're
really trying to do is get a reaction
out of the people, to make them
think about themselves." The
troupe's first show of the semester,
"The Relationship Show," focuses
on Jim (Jim Berg), a young adult
overwhelmed by the pressures of
the "real world" and tempted to
accept an invitation to the "Card -
board World" where "nothing ever
goes wrong." Jim is given a
pressure-sell from the Cardboard
Dad (Christopher Moore), who illu -
strates to Jim just how bad life is,
through a series of vignettes dealing
not only with the difficulty of
maintaining relationships but the
issues of date-rape, pressure to
perform in school and pressure to
conform to what society believes is
"right." "I want to challenge peo -
ple's perception of things," says
Berg. "To grow a lot as a person."

off rills
One thing that is evident in
watching the troupe perform is that
they work as a cohesive unit and
Weissman sees a lot into this. "As
a director, seeing the growth of
individuals in the show as people as
well as actors and actresses...is in
some ways a model in itself for the
resolve of the very conflicts and
problems in society which the
troupe addresses." Moore echoes the
sentiment. "It's a wonderful feeling
to see the show become greater as a
whole than the sum of it's parts.
It's important to challenge people's
values but the bottom line is it's a
lot of fun."
Unconventional. Thought-provo
king. Yes. Both of them. And it's a
great deal of fun; itwill make you
question your values. The Res -
idence Hall Repertory theater per =
forms on Wednesday nights at
10:00 p.m. and their next show is
December 10 at East Quad. If you
have any questions about the troupe
or would like them to perform for
your orginization or residence hall,
call Assistant Director Susan Bailey
at 668-6534. The Residence Hall
Repertory theater group merits a
look, and perhaps even some
thought.

4

Books

CALlIFORNIA
HERE YOU COME!
SPAE STILL AVAIL- BFI

A Dark-Adapted Eye
Barbara Vine
Bantam
Hardcover, 264 pp.
$14.95
Take one bloody murder, add a
closet full of famityiskeletons,
and a dash of colorful characters.
Pour ingredients into a plot of jea -
lousy, love, lust, hate, and sus -
pense. Watch the action simmer.
Barbara Vine has definitely
cooked up a winner in her latest
psychological thriller, A Dark-

Adapted Eye. Vine is the a -
ward-winning British author Ruth
Kindall, writing for the first time
under this pseudonym. No stran -
ger to the murder mystery, Vine
has written thirteen novels fea -
turing Detective Inspector Wex -
ford, in addition to other works.
She triumphs here, however, in
her striking originality. Al -
though the elements of love and
jealousy are standard novel ma -
terial, they are used here in a
totally different context. The situ -
ations described seem almost
unbelievable. But, Vine's char -
acters are people who are so real

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Tickets and transportation also available for the gameand parade.

NOTICE TO DORMITORY RESIDENTS
Michigan Bell has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission
for authority to offer a new service to colleges and universities
in the state. The application was filed by Michigan Bell with the
M.P.S.C. on August 19, 1986, and Case No. U-8530 was assigned
to the filing. This service, called Optional Dormitory Service, is
designed to provide schools such as yours the ability to custom
design local communications services which meet the individual
needs of each school and student body.
Optional Dormitory Service is a measured rate local service.
That is, there could be a charge for each local call. Calls made
within the CENTREX system using abbreviated dialing are not
counted as local calls (i.e., when you call from one room to another,
one dormitory to another or from a dormitory room to the school's
administrative offices).
However, a school could purchase a call allowance option
where, for example, there would be no charge to the dormitory
resident for the first 30 or 60 local calls made outside the
CENTREX system. The dormitory resident could be billed for
each local call beyond the allowance at the local message rate
approved by the M.PS.C. for Residence Measured Service. That
rate is currently 6.2q per call.
You would continue to be billed, as you are today, for your
directory assistance, interzone and long distance calls at the
rates approved by the M.PS.C.
We'd like to know what you think. If you have any questions
or commentstonOptional Dormitory Service, pleaseucall our
"Let's Talk" Center free of charge on 1 800 555-5000.
Michigan Bell
AN i7MBiTECH COMPANY

they seem familiar. It is this
identification withthe characters
that make even the "hard to
digest" incidents believable.
The novel occurs in a small
English village during the years
surrounding World War II. It
begins when Faith Severn is asked
for her account of Vera Hillyard's
life. A writer is interested in:
writing a book on her Aunt Vera's
life, and Faith reluctantly obliges.
Vera is the infamous murderer,,
whose scandalous act resulted in
her death by hanging over twenty-
five years ago. Faith has lived'
with the public shame of being in
Vera's family all those years, and
decides to assist the author in her
hope of uncovering Vera's moti -
vations for committing the hor -
rifying murder.
What Faith discovers is that
everyone has something to hide.
It is a journey through time for
Faith, who re-examines the Aunt
Vera of her adolescence in a
mature light. Observations from
her youth suddenly make sense as
family secrets are revealed.
Although the reader knows
from the first page of the story
that Vera is the murderer, it is not
until the end that the victim and
circumstances are disclosed. It
does not take much detective skill
to figure out who the victim was,
but the motivation is what builds
the suspense. The reader wants to
turn the page, discover the next
surprising piece of information,;.
and then make sense of it.
Aside from the plot, the chara -$
cters are Vine's strongest achieve -
ment. They are all very complex
individuals who are not always:
who they seem to be. Further -
more, they could all use the help:
of a good psychologist.
Vine's novel is a departure:
from common murder mysteries.-
In most books of the genre, the:
story ends when the crime is:
solved and the murderer:
discovered. But, in A Dark-«.
Adapted Eye, it is after the-
murderer is discovered that the
crime is actually solved. Or is it?:
-Lisa Berkowit

Experienced RN's & Nursing Students
Welcome To Our

Holiday
Open
House
DATE:

Friday,
January

2, 1987

TIME:
1:00 p.m.

You're Needed w
All Overthe
World.
Ask Peace Corps volunteers why
their ingenuity and flexibility areY
as vital as their degrees. They'll
tell -you they are helping the
world's poorest peoples attin
self sufficiency in the areas of food
production, energy conservation,
education, economic develop-
ment and health services. And°:

LOCATION:
University of Michigan
Hospitals, 2nd Level,
Special Dining Room

PROGRAM:
" Informal Discussions
with Head Nurses
" Hospital Tours