Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 26, 1989 Playwright's fame came quickly BY MARK SHAIMAN TO win a Tony Award for Best Drama of the Broadway season is an achievement of a lifetime. But at the age of 31, David Henry Hwang has al- ready accomplished this with his play, M. Butterfly. This evening, Hwang will be on campus to lecture and read from his work as part of the UMASC Asian American Lecture Series in con- junctipn with the Asian American Law Students Association. While the Tony is Hwang's most prestigious award, it is not his first. In 1980, he won off- Broadway's Obie award for F.O.B., which he wrote as a college senior while studying English literature at Stanford University. F.O.B. is a light-hearted look at how newly arrived Chinese assimilate to American customs. After a year of study at Yale's Drama school, he moved to New York to continue his writing. In the following years, The Dance and the Rail- road and Family Devotions were both produced. Again these plays dealt with Chinese in America, although Hwang himself was born in the U.S. and grew up in a family that distanced itself from its Asian roots. Because of the theme of his works, Hwang was labeled an expert on Asian-American-ness, a role he never realized he was creating for himself. In response, his next play, Rich Relatives, was about a non-Asian, and it was not well received. Next came M. Butterfly, a story of a French diplomat who has a 19-year love affair with a paramour who turns out to be a spy - and a man. It may sound unbelievable, but it's based on fact. And more than just shock value, this play provides insight on East-West and male-fe- male relationships. And it earned Hwang his Tony. Hwang's newest project is1000 Airplanes on the Roof, a multi-media production he worked on with composer Philip Glass and designer Jeremy Silbin.1000 Airplanes was performed in Ann Arbor last November, selling enough tickets at the Michigan Theater to add a second show that evening. This work is a science-fiction opera, and on alternating nights the sole character is played by either a man or a woman in order to show that it is an Everyperson. Hwang's work has come incredibly far in ten years. Tonight's appearance will be a chance to see what he will bring to us in the future. DAVID HENRY HWANG will lecture and read from his work tonight at 7 p.m. in Room 100, Hutchins Hall, Law Quadrangle. 01 Author voices conflict of Arab in Israel BY JAY PINKA AUTHOR Anton Shammas leaves behind him a type of Dead Sea Scroll turned modernist in his latest novel Arabesques. Bridging the gap between two conflicting cultures, and crossing to our continent, Shammas rivals James Michener in his saga of his family's fortunes from the 1830s to the 1980s. Shammas, a Christian and an Arab, lyrically interweaves his experiences in an Arab village with fiction in the biblically allusive He- brew of Arabesques. The book be- came a best-seller after its 1986 de- but in Israel. Shammas' sardonic tone, reflec- tive of his sense of alienation as a Palestinian immersed in Jewish cul- ture, broke through in various newspapers, such as the Jerusalem weekly Kol Ha'ir. An example of his strength of viewpoint is his at- tributing the terrorism of Arabs by Jews to the 1948 Declaration of In- dependence, which claims "the Jew- ish State in the Land of Israel... will maintain the complete social and political equality for all its citizens, irrespective of religion,race, and sex." In his article protesting the Law of Return, (which states any Jew may immigrate to Israel, gain- ing immediate citizenship), Sham- mas argued that a mononational Jewish State will result in destruc- tion of democracy. But through his mastery of both Arabic and Hebrew, Shammas demonstrates his desire to integrate the two cultures. He has published several volumes of poetry in both languages. Born in Israel in 1950, he graduated with a degree in English Literature from Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Shammas' diverse societal and artistic experiences are dramatized in Part Three of Arabesques, in which he develops a second narrator, who stops in France en route to a writer's workshop in the United States. The conclusion results in a confusion over authorship as the new character, "Bar-On," and Shammas' cousin, claim to be the authentic authors of the narrative - much as the ele- ments of his divergent background each claim shares of Shammas' own life. ANTON SHAMMAS will speak at 5 p.m. today at the Rackham East Conference Room. Look Your Best! - 6 Barber Stylists For MEN & WOMEN!!! DASCOLA STYLISTS Opposite Jacobson's 668-9329 John Minock (left) and Jack Adalist perform in Georg Buchner's Woyzeck, the story of a soldier who tries to make sense of his life through violence. What exactly is a oyzec. BY CHERIE CURRY WOYZECK!" "A what?" "You mean who. Woyzeck is a common soldier in Georg Buchner's anti-romantic comedy and starkly realistic tradgedy with expressionist overtones." "Oh. His character is put into a modern drama?" "You mean Georg?" "No, Woyzeck. It's about the life of Woyzeck, right?" "Very good, and the story is traced with irony and compassion. Seem- ingly stupid, Woyzeck attempts to make sense out of his life and goes through a series of almost mystic experiences." "How does he make sense out of his life?" "Woyzeck engages himself in some very violent acts, but I can't re- veal anymore, otherwise the whole plot would be exposed. I think Direc- tor Simon Ha would agree." "Who?" "You find it funny?" "You said it was who before." "Forget it." Ann Arbor Civic Theatre (AACT) proudly presents WOYZECK .by Georg Buchner, directed by Simon ha. Production dates are January 26- 28, February 2-4, 9-11 at 8 p.m. Tickets on sale at AACT, and can be purchased Monday-Friday, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m., and starting at 7:15 the evening of the performances. Tickets are $5 each, Two-for-one (2 tickets for $5) for Thursday performances. Group rates are available. A WANTED: STUDENT PHONATHON CALLERS Part Time Employment The School of Education will interview students by phone who will be hired to call alumni nationwide for an alumni fundraising phonathon. . Phonathon held Sunday through Thursday, February 14 - March 24, excluding Spring Break . Callers will be expected to work two of the five nights each week with some opportunity for additional hours - $5.00 per hour, incentives, bonus pay, plus great work experience For interviews, call 763-4060 TODAY!!! The University of Michigan is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. TAMPA s179 Non-Stop, Fri & Sat LAUDERDALE $199 Non-Stop, Sat-Sat Continental Charters CANCUN $280 Non-Stop. Sat-Sat 28 Comp. Pkgs. fr. $469 ACAPUL CD Q28ONon-Stop, Sat-Sat 280Com Pkgs fr469 BAHAMAS FREEPORT Non-StopFlights, Fri/Mon Continental Charters ar from Detroit Metro. Hotei pkg~s quoted based on 3 4/room dbH 0CC avail Prints Continued from Page 7 Ernst and Matta. Ernst, one of the earliest European Surrealists, com- bines many figures and backgrounds in his works, based on the concept of free association. Matta's prints, on the other hand, are entirely imagi- nary, filled with abstract shapes. The artist conveys a surging sense of vi- tality in his etching, "The Far West." Another salient aspect of Surreal- ist art, sexual symbolism, as mani- fested in dreams, is evident in Arshile Gorky's lithograph, "Painter and Model." Several other artists seek emotional expression based on this introspective methodology of exam- ining the self. Moreover, the artists of the exhibit employ numerous stylistic mediums, such as color etchings, lithographs, and color aquatint. The exhibit, co-ordinated by Mu- seum curator Hilarie Faberman, cbn- sists of several prints created by artists from various nations, inclbd- ing Chile, France, Cuba, and the United States. The University Museum of ArA celebrates Surrealism in a broader context as well, by organizing vari- ous 20th century art exhibits displaying the pluralism of art in our present age. The Surrealist Print gallery is an enjoyable and enriching creation that allows us to experience 20th century art to its fullest. The Surrealist Prints will be on disO play at the University Museum' of. Art (West Gallery) for approximately two more weeks. The Museun's hours are Tues.- Fri., 10 am-4 in, and Sat.-Sun.,1-5 pm. For further information, please contact Hilaie Faberman at 764-0395. II I'il INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS FOR: IMIRTl 0 1P, Il Spring-Summer 1989 I II II Study Abroad Programs are as follows: 1U111 i 1 I! I LONDON, SUMMER Thursday January 26, 7:00 P.M. Tappan Hall, Room 180 PARIS, SPRING Monday January 30, 4:00 P.M. MLB 4th Floor Commons FLORENCE, SUMMER Tuesday January 31, 4:00 P.M. MLB 4th Floor Commons 011 Your degree in liberal arts, business mathematiEecutive sttstc cnqaiyyou ora ptnc in M aci n tv statisticsng ~rm Iny our first year,.you w ill be responsible Tann rgaa yrbotfor managing a million dolar bus cninuesCoeparn ab ou our promotional career track that continues preparng you I 1111 r f i SEVILLE, SUMMER Tuesday January 31 MLB Room B-116 4:00 P.M. for future suc Macy's Northeast is the largest divionfro tonnectcut to Corporation. With 45 soe n7sae rmCnetctt Virginia We generate over $3 billion in annual sales. Our Executive Training Program includes every aspect of the business.. from classroom to stockroom . . from showroom to boardroom. It'm chaleging demanding, and rewarding +,L b dt.oi ifnesl success. 10