ARTS The Michigan Daily Thursday, January 29, 1987 Page E Bernstein's 'Mass' for a blessed event By John Ganun For the past few days the stage of the newly gilded Michigan Theater has looked like a contrived scene from a Hollywood musical: dancers, singers, directors, managers, technicians, and designers all working in the same place at the same time. For the for - mal rededication of the Michigan, Pennisula Productions has gathered two choirs (totaling 77 members), an orchestra which serves as a rock band, blues band, and symphony orchestra (another 45 artists), an 8 member dance company, 15 singing actors, and dozens of technicians, directors, managers and assistants to perform a piece not widely known, Leornard Bernstein's Mass. Why a Mass for the rededication of a theater? Well, actually it's not a Mass. The subtitle defines it as A Theatre Piece For Singers, Players, and Dancers . Director Bob Chapel explains, "This is a theatrepiece that I want to treat, first and foremost, as a piece of theatre. We are not attempting to create or The English Composition Board's ACADEMIC WRITING SERIES presents "USING COMPUTERS AS A 2 WRITING TOOL, PART I" With the number of computers on campus ever increasing, more and more students are "writing" their papers on word processors. Maybe you are one of them. But are you really writing with a computer or are you using your favorite Zenith or IBM PC as an ex- pensive correctable electronic typewriter? b d The second Academic Writing Series work- N shop of Winter 1987 will introduce students to writing with word processors. ECB lecturers Jan Armon, Emily Jessup, and Michael Marx will conduct a hands-on demonstration of how writers can easily use computers to assist in planning papers, organizing a text, and revis- ing effectively and efficiently. The workshop will use Microsoft Word and Zenith PCs. Enrollment is limited to 50 participants. Please sign up in advance at the ECB, 1025 Angell. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29 4:10 - 5:30 COMPUTER CENTER 4th Floor, Undergraduate Library recreate a Mass, but a story, abstract as it is, about a young man, chosen by his people to lead them in their faith, who gets caught up in the trappings and ritual of that faith, and thereby drifts farther away from the very people he has been chosen to serve." Beyond Mass being a theatre piece, it is also the work Leonard Bernstein created after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis requested he write something for the gala opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Washington D. C. To use Mass for the rededication of the Michigan is a nice idea-though it's not quite the same event as the opening of the $70 million Kennedy Center. Not only is Mass an entertaining, provocative show, but it is also serving as a unifier of many of Ann Arbor's cultural resources, in - cluding the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, Symphony Orchestra, and Cantata Singers, the J. Parker Copley Dancers, and many area and university performers. The number and variety of performers involved will inevitably draw a large, varied crowd, but it would be hard to top the crowd at the first opening of Mass at the Kennedy Center on September 15, 1971. Mass drew a Who's Who The Dept. of Asian Languages & Cultures Presents A Public Lecture on BUDDHISM Bhavaviveka's Vision of Reality: THE STRUCTURE OF A BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEM by DAVID ECKEL, Associate Professor of the History of Religion at Harvard Divinity School. A specialist in Buddhist Philosophy, he is the author of a study of the Buddhist scholar Jnanagarbha. When: Thursday, January 29 Time: 4:00 pm Where: Lane Hal Commons Room audience of Washington D. C., including President Nixon and, of course, practically the entire "Kennedy clan." The September 20, '71 issue of Time quoted Mother Rose Kennedy's impression of Bernstein's work, "Jack would have loved it," along with other mixed views, including Alice Roosevelt Longworth's (Teddy's daughter), "I liked Hair better." The crowd, and indeed the Kennedy Center itself, attracted more attention than the show itself. All the hoopla did not completely overshadow the controversy created by Mass . Bernstein's excellence as one of the world's finest composers and conductors is undeniable; in 1943 he became one of the youngest men ever to conduct the New York Phil- harmonic. In addition, he has written the scores for several Broadway hits, including On The Town , Candide , and West Side Story , and has enjoyed success writing ballets as well as symphonies. His views on the Roman Catholic Mass are not as popular. With his collaborator Ste - phen Schwartz (lyricist of Pippin and Godspell ), Bernstein has added to the liturgy of the Mass his inter - pretations, comments, and questions, much to the like and dislike of Catholics who question any tampering with the sacred Mass by someone who is not even Catholic. With the added text, Bernstein and Schwartz create a story which reflects on, and is reflected upon, by the traditional Mass. Bernstein's ingenuity in creating a theatre piece from the Mass is the work of a truly creative man whose soul-searching has led him to his own deep feelings on what faith is. His work in Mass reflects his concern for the lack of faith in modern society. Chorus member Jeffrey Donner, a priest and theologian himself, finds Bernstein's views very open not only for believers, but also for non- believers as well. "...He (Bernstein) takes agnosticism and atheism seriously; but in doing so he wonders if there isn't something of faith itself stirring in these positions. Might they themselves serve to protect something vital to the experience of faith? Bernstein's hunch is that they do." The only obstacle for some audience members to understand the show entirely would be not having a basic knowledge of the Catholic Mass. While English is used for the commentary and storyline developed by Schwartz and Bernstein, the actual Mass is sung in the orthodox latin. One can easily comprehend the story without knowing what a Mass is, but without this knowledge its significance cannot be fully understood. This mammoth production of Bernstein's most daring creation promises to be very good. It unfortunately runs only three nights, Jan. 29-31, and most of the desired seats have been sold for all. three performances. For more information, call the Michigan Theater Box Office at 668-8397. 'The Maids'refresh A 2 theatre By Amy Koch Art thou weary of the traditional five-act, four-scene theatre that hatit frequented Ann Arbor as of late? What thinkest thou of casting aside the burden of flowery soliloquies and Shakespearean jargon for a tad o' French existentialism? Yay? Great! At last, Ann Arbor is spicing up her theatrical menu with productions that replace the cumbersome theme of hubris with more modern dilemmas and, thank goodness, current speech'patterns. Presently, such cultural savor can be experienced at the Performance Network's production of Jean Genet's The Maids, a complex, one-act play that premiers this week. Cast members Elisa Surmont, Maureen McGee, and Johanna Borman will create the whirl of unreality so accredited to Genet's work. The plot, based on a true story, revolves around two sisters who work as maids for a wealthy young woman. Night after night they enact a chilling fantasy ritual in which they murder their The Mac Truck is Just Around the Corner...... MacTruck/Computer Weekend Saturday, February 7, and Sunday, February 8, 1987 The Michigan Student Assembly is accepting applications for & Associate Treasurer to conduct MSA's financial activities for 1987-88. MSA has a budget of approximately $400,000 for four programs: Student Legal Services, MSA, Ann Arbor Tenants Union, and ADVICE (course evaluation guide). Applications available: January 22 Applications due: January 30 Position starts: February 15 For applications and information contact: MSA, 3909 Michigan Union. 763-3241 mistress. But one night their game merges with reality. The fact that this play has not been performed in eight years hasn't frightened director Shawn Yardley, a University graduate. Dealing with the difficult themes of unreality vs. reality, identity, and false reasoning, Yardley states . that though the play has an "unusual style" and the acting "a very different emphasis", the challenge of making this a success is very attractive. Yardley will present Genet's philosophy uniquely, though she plans to stick to the script. Because of the unusual structure and symbolic content of the play, she discourages actresses' use of overt "psychological factors" to convey their significance. Instead, such a "meta-theatrical" production requires the actress to "go for the theatrical, fake, non- realistic effect" by directing questions to the audience and commenting on their own character through role reversal. In keeping with the theme, Yardley has constructed a box set of Paris in the, late 40's. This setting is crucial so as to contrast the reality of the set with the unrealistic actions. So, Fare thee well Ann Arborites and get thee to the Performance Network to face this dramatic challenge! Old Main Hospital ICI I 177 7 I- -,FI 'I ~~JF~CRz: IL I I i " ( Get your own: lLv U"S If you really want to know how to improve your grades, your career, and your life there's an upcoming lecture you shouldn't miss. Macintosh" Plus computer with an 800K external disk drive and Microsoft Word.. .......$1,420.00 Macintosh Plus computer with a 20M SCSI hard disk drive, (cable and terminator included) and Microsoft Word...$2,120.00 An ImageWriteF' II printer, plus cable, can be purchased with either package above for an additional $430.00. Not sold separately through this sale. There is guaranteed availability of a limited number of systems at the MacTruck prices plus the $50.00 late fee. Walk-in orders will be accepted at Photo and Campus Services, 542 LS&A Building before noon on Friday, February 6, 1987. For more information, pick up a supplementary information packet at: *Any Computing Center public facility, such as UNYN, NUBS or the Undergraduate Library; : The Microcomputer Education Center, School of Education Building; *Photo and Campus Services, LS&A Building; " Campus Information Center, Michigan Union. His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Founder of the Transcendental Meditation Program Dear Student, There's something you can do for a short time each day that will im- prove every aspect of your life- your grades, your future career, your rela- tionships, everything-all at the same time. What's more, it's easy to do. Over 1;000000 students have experienced the benefits. And you can too. You'll learn about it soon at a special free lecture on the Transcendental Med- itation technique. This lively, entertaining talk may well change your life. My name is Kevin Blair. I'm president of the student government at Maharishi International University, where students. faculty, and staff all practice the TM technique. I want to tell you three things about the upcoming lecture: iAt the lecture, you'll learn how the simple, natural TM technique, which is practiced 15-20 minutes twice a day. brings profound benefits to mind and body, and how these benefits automatical- ly improve one's social behavior, school and job performance, and much more. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 2 You'll also learn that more than 350 scientific research studies have been improved comprehension, concentration, and memory improved academic performance reduced stress and anxiety increased happiness improved interpersonal relationships improved athletic performance You can have these qualities growing in Your life too, simply as a result of prac- ticing the TM technique. 3 Finally, you'll learn that the TM tech- nique doesn't just help the individual. Research has shown that when as little as the square root of one percent of the population of a city or nation practices the TM program and its advanced aspects, the entire population becomes more orderly. peaceful, and progressive. This brings great hope towards solving the age-old problem of world peace. IT WORKS! f you're wondering how one simple technique can bring so many benefits to mind, body, behavior, and even the world as a whole, then attend the lecture. The explanation you'll hear is at once simple, scientific, and profound.. You'll hear, for example, about the unified field of all the laws of nature as described uvrks. I know from my own experien ce. I've been practicing the technique ir 6 years, and it's made me more relaxed, yet more dynamic and productive. As a result. I'm enjoying greater success-both in and out of the classroom! That's why I'm urging you to attend this fre lecture. If even ten percent of what I've said about TM proves to be true, think what it could mean for your achievement and happiness for the rest of your life. The date and time of the lecture are given below. I hope you'll he there. And don't hesitate to bring your friends: you'll be doing a great thing for them as well! Wishing you success in all that you do. Kevin Blair President. Student Government Maharishi International University ithe single most im- .U portant part of being a peak performer. It gives you the ability to excel in an environment of stress, to make rapid decisions I ii I I I