Page 8-The Michigan Daily-Thursday, November 5, 1987

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Talk to Us encourages discussion

By Brian Bonet
In response to the current need for
increased social awareness comes the
creation of Talk to Us, a 13 member
theatre troupe sponsored by the
University's housing division and
Hillel's Hill Street Players.
This unique, issue-related
company "acts out" pertinent social
problems in brief, researched skits
that are followed b y
character/audience dialogue in an
effort to stimulate discussion of the
portrayed issue. For example, the
troupe's simulation of a date rape
would be momentarily frozen to
allow a moderator to enter and field
questions from the audience that are
directed to the different characters.
After each question period, there is a
short monologue expressing the
troupe's views of how the conflict
should ideally be resolved.
Actor/director Scott Weissman
views Talk to Us as a catalyst for
students to get more directly

involved in campus-wide social
issues.
"I'm concerned about people
getting involved in an issue," he
says. "To feel something rather than
intellectually understanding that the
issue is an issue. Out of feeling for
something for an issue, sensitivity
for an issue begins."
"We want to move people to be
compassionate and more
understanding; to be less
condemning and less judgmental,"
Weissman continues.
This Sunday night in the West
Quad Wedge Room, Talk to Us will
be performing and discussion four
issues: sexual assault prevention,
stereotyping and prejudices,
interfaith dating, and gay awareness.
Weissman, who received a
Masters of Fine Arts from the
University in 1985, views Talk to
Us as a valuable source of awareness
that all University communities can
benefit from. "We can customize a

show for any group," says
Weissman, whose troupe prefers the
familiar setting of a cramped,
dormitory lounge over a more
spacious theatre stage. "For
example, if a resident advisor is
having a problem on a hall, we can
set up a scene to address that
problem."
Weissman describes the troupe
relationship with the University a4
reciprocal as well as mutually
beneficial. "We have had, in the
development of the scenes, experts
(from the University) come in and
work with us," he says. "We will
continue to use the University as a
resource to help us and they can use
us as a resource to help them."
The troupe's 13 members were
chosen from a field of 60 who
auditioned in September. The troupe
was selected for a "combination of
genuine commitment to social
issues a well as acting ability and
spontaneous creativity," says
Weissman.
Spontaneous creativity plays an
important role when the members of

Talk to Us are forced to improvise
quick, valid responses to questions
within the psyche of their character,
says Weissman. "We go over and
over the scenes and possibilities.
They are a very spontaneous group
who are prepared to take that on."
Although Weissman is optimistic
about the troupe's service to the
;ommunity, he also realizes its
,oundaries. "I don't think we're
oing to solve the Arab-Israeli
i -flict," he says. "But we can make
a white student feel or understand
how a Black student feels."
Weissman adds, "I'm looking to
help people change rather than effect
policy... I want individuals to
experience internal change."
TALK TO US will be performing
on Sunday at 8 p.m. in the Wedge
Room located on the second floor of
West Quad. Admission is free and
refreshments will be provided.
Organizations and student groups
who are interested in working with
Talk to Us should call Scott
Weissman at 663-3336.

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Mustard's Retreat
Local musicians Michael Hough (left) and David Tamulevich (right) are
Mustard's Retreat. The duo has just released a new album, 'Midwinter's
Night,' which features guest musicians Claudia Schmidt and Mr. B.
They will play in support of that record tonight at the Ark, which is
where they got their start In the '70s. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are
$5.50 for members and students.
O Rr l RiOn
Congratulatios
The Daily would like to take this space to congratulate staff writer
Mike Rubin. Mike has been awarded the Rolling Stone National
College Journalism Award in Essay and Criticism for his article "Death
of Guitarist Cut Short Minutemen's Heydey" (Daily 3/13/87).
Said Mike, upon news of the presitigious award, "It's great but it
still doesn't get my film paper in on time or wax the kitchen floor."
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BOOKS


The Harvard Guide to
Careers
By Martha P. Leape and
Susan M. Vacca
Harvard University Press
$8.95/paperback
For many seniors, thoughts of
LSATs, GREs, resumes, and
interviews are already overshadowing
their current academic concerns: the
Real World is in sight.
While some students may already
have well-defined career plans, the
majority of seniors, especially
LS&A students, are more likely to
experience fear and uncertainty about
their future. Many of them will,
after a brief and frenzied search,
stumble into a career which they
may well find unfulfilling or totally
unbearable. Not knowing how to go
about finding a new career, they may
find themselves trapped in a job
which becomes a dreaded "daily
grind." The same fate may await

you eventually as well - unless
you prepare yourself to conduct an
intelligent career search. The Harvard
Guide to Careers by Martha P.
Leape and Susan M. Vacca can help
you develop the skills necessary to
identify and break into a career field.
that interests you.
The Guide provides a broad and
thorough framework in which to.
conduct a career search. It begins by
examining some specific career fields
and gives advice on how t o
investigate these and other career
fields of possible interest to you.
The authors then take you through
all steps of the career search process:
resume and letter writing,
interviewing, evaluating job offers,
and managing the first few days.
Other sections discuss graduate
study, overseas experience, and
internships. The book as a whole is
well-organized in short, readable
sections and contains loads of
detailed information and advice (i.e.
don't eat with your fingers at a lunch
interview). The sample letters and

resumes included are also helpful,
although the resumes, which are
mostly by Harvard honors students
with almost godlike qualifications,
may be somewhat intimidating.
The primary aim of the book is
to provide the student with the basic
skills necessary to conduct an
independent career search; the book's
extensive bibliography provides a
starting point. The authors see career
development as a "lifelong process";
it is never too early or too late to
investigate career options. It is for
this reason that seniors and graduate

students, as well as younger
undergraduates, will find this book
informative and helpful. As stated in
the book's introduction: "Careers can
be like the digging of a canal, steady
progress along a well-defined and
predetermined channel. Or they can
be like trees growing and developing
into unique shapes as they reach for
the sun." I especially recommend
this book for the growing trees
among us.

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- Jeff Allen



IAV
7ib

Records
Martin Kierszenbaum
My Thing
Imagine calling Domino's and
ordering a large with fifteen
toppings, a different one on every
slice. That way, almost everytime
you took a bite it would be like
tasting a whole new kind of pizza.
Martin Kierszenbaum's cassette,
My Thing, is not a dissimilar
experience.
Kierszenbaum, a local musician
who performs at clubs as Martin
with the Kites, has put together an
impressive debut that showcases a
multi-faceted musical personality in
the rough. Peppered with area
references like the Arb and
Briarwood, My Thing features
Kierszenbaum on guitars,
keyboards, vocals, and everything
else.
The cassette has something for

all tastes, from the Eurobeat
electronicism of "We Don't Have to
Rock," to the giddy but strange
Monkees-esque pop of "Cemetary,"
to the Nashville noodling of
"Artificial Heart." This tape revels
in its own diversity. "Ann Arbor
Slow-Down" is a terrific beat crazy
reggae number that features a rap.
"Crazy" is an experimental
excursion along the lines of Tom
Tom Club.
Above all, what this music needs
is a real studio. The production is
understandably rough, but it just
makes one wonder what My Thing
could have been if the percussion
did not sound like a $50 dollar
Casiotone, and if the voice weren't
buried deep in the mix on some df
the numbers. Luckily, these songs
stand up, regardless of presentation.
My Thing is available at area
record stores.
-Mark Swartz'

6
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*1

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The seven-time Grammy winner .A Jazz tradition is borne and reborn
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new spirit. Featuring "Caravan," saxophonist Branford Marsalis.
"Foggy Day," "April In Paris" and Guest players include Herbie
"Autumn Leaves." Hancock and Tony Williams.

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JANE IRA BLOOM
"MODERN DRAMA"
Using daring electronic techniques
to enhance her distinctive style,
Jane Ira Bloom emerges as a
modern master of the soprano sax.
HARRISON/BLANCHARD
"CRYSTAL STAIR"
The critically-acclaimed duo of
Donald Harrison on sax and
Terence Blanchard on trumpet are
in perfect step with jazz tradition.
Featuring "God Bless The Child."
CARLOS SANTANA
"BLUES FOR SALVADOR"
The signature guitar style of Carlos
Santana is strong and true as he

JEAN-LUC PONTY
"THE GIFT OF TIME"
A pioneer of the electric violin,
Jean-Luc Ponty continues to break
down musical barriers with
breathtaking skill.
HARRY CONNICK, JR.
"HARRY CONNICK, JR."
Crisp, clean piano technique on
standards and original
compositions highlights the self-
titled debut album of this New
Orleans-based keyboard
sensation.
STU GARDNER
"TOTAL HAPPINESS-MUSIC
FROM THE BILL COSBY SHOW VOL. II"
Tune in to this all-star event.

COMEDY
FALL 1987
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