4 1~ _____________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________ __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _________ The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - January 28, 1993 - Page 5 Costuming her way up by Melissa Rose Bernardo For years, the University's BFA pro- grains have been producing many tal- ented artists and actors. The theatrical design program is no exception. Senior Karyl Newman recently took first place in the costume design category at the prestigious American College Theater Festival, and is in contention for a na- tional honor. Newman iscurrentlypursuing aBFA degree in theatrical design, a newly established program that combines sce- nic, lighting, and costume design. A student takes classes in all areas, but concentrates on one in particular. Cos- tume design is Newman's concentra- tion, and she is very happy in the pro- gram. At present, she is the only student in the program. "They sort of roped me into it," she admitted. "I came here like everyone else - not knowing what I wanted to do. Then I took agraduate class called 'History of Dress,' and figured out that I could get a degree and make a career out of it." Why design? "Design is such a great challenge - when you're working against a script, you have parameters." She added, "This is exactly what I want to do." Surprisingly, the theater was not her inspiration foracareer in design; rather, Newman immersed herself in the his- tory of design. "Instead of doing a his- tory paper, I would put together little exhibits about whatpeople wore during the war-I thought it was a fascinating way to look at history." At the University, Newman has as- sisted many graduate costume design- ers and faculty members, besides doing a few shows of her own. She was the head costumer for "Lysistrada" and "Mary ofNimmghen" (for the RC play- ers), and for the Theater department's "The Resurrection ofLady Lester." You may have seen her "U of M Historical Costume Collection," an exhibit of pe- riod garments dating back to 1810, on display at the Power Center during "Trelawny of the 'Wells."' (There will be another display at an upcoming Power Center production.) Newman's designs for "Lady Lester" won her the award. How do they distribute the awards? Newman explained that adjudicators from the American College Theater Festival attend college productions "to feel out what's going on at University theaters across the country." For ex- ample, "The Birthday Party," "Lady Lester" and "Trelawny of the 'Wells"' were all judged last term. The adjudica- tors then invite portions of the produc- tion (or the entire production) to exhibit their work at the festival. The costumes from "Trelawny" went, along with the costumes and sets from "The Birthday Party"and "Lady Lester." (Incidentally, U of M Flint's production of "M. But- -terfly" also went to the festival.) The work must be done by graduate or un- dergraduate students. On January 6 and 7, the actors and designers gathered at Southern Illinoit University in Carbondale, Illinois ("4 party town," Newman joked), the hot of the Midwest region of the festiva: Newman's costumes won over 12 othei designs. She will now compete against seven other regional winners in the National Festival at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, April 18-25. She could win an all-expense paid trip to New York City to meet designers and mae' contacts. How does Newman feel about this honor? "I'm thrilled to bits! Most of the students at the festival are graduate stu- dents, and I'm just an undergrad." She is currently in the process of applying to MFAprograms across the country. "I'm applying to Yale, NYU, Boston U., Brandeis, U-Texas at Austin - all of the programs are so different." Youmar wonder why she is not applying to U df M. "Well, I've already taken alot of thp graduate classes... the [BFAand MFAf programs are pretty similar ... I want more exposure." Newman's goal is to design profes- sionally for the theater and film. From the looks of it, she is well on her way: Oyam0's "The Resurrection of Lady Lester" was a winner for Karyl Newman and her costume designs. MTV Sports makes the big screen ,,, Director Hasburgh can't keep his Tom Cruise fetish a secret in By Alison Levy Usually when a film is remade, it is obvious in the title, such as "Home Alone 2." Or, like "Cape Fear," the original title remains and the two are compared. Even with the upcoming . Sommersby", the preview is straight- forward about being a remake of "The Aspen Extreme Written and Directed by Patrick Hasburgh; with Paul Gross, Peter Berg and Teri Polo. Return of Martin Guerre." However, with aname like "Aspen Extreme" and 'apreview that looks like a feature from * TV Sports, first-time writer/director Patrick Hasburgh (the genius behind Fox classic, "21 Jump Street") makes ,no mention of his Tom Cruise fetish. Nowhere, except when caught in un- comfortable theater seats, is the audi- ence warned that "Aspen Extreme" is the result of three parts "Top Gun," two parts "Cocktail," a dash of "Days of Thunder" and a sprinkling of terrible Michigan jokes. The familiar story stars Paul Gross as Maverick, no, TJ. Burke, a Ford truck autoworker who dreams of leav- ing Detroit for fame and fortune as a ski instructor/ gigolo/writer in glitzy As- pen. But, he has to bring his hapless but lovable best friend Dexter (Peter Berg) whose sole purpose is to make all the jokes. So, after honing their talents on the challenging cliffs of Mt. Brighton, the pair leaves for Aspen. Once there, they easily become ski instructors and meet Robin Hand (Elisabeth Shue. Scratch that. Her name is Teri Polo. This is very confusing). She is a local who is sick of ski instructors, but falls for TJ. anyway. But TJ. has another problem, the rich and beautiful Bryce Kellogg (Finola Hughes) is after him too. So he must decide between them while trying to win the Powder Eight contest to prove he is the best skier on the moun- tain. Hmm. Where to begin. Well, the acting is as flat as the back of the moun- tains. After TJ. makes it big, they put him on a poster. He should stay there, because Gross can't seem to act himself out of a box. However, his looks are perfect for the part and should serve him well as fodder for pre-pubescent fanta- sies between the pages of Tiger Beat. Finola Hughes ("General Hospital") is His looks are perfect for the part and should serve him well as fodder for pre- pubescent fantasies between the pages of Tiger Beat. laughable as Bryce Kellogg. Her ice- princess routine is way over the top and not very convincing. Even Teri Polo ("Mystery Date") hands in a bland per- formance as the tough-but-sweet love interest who serves as the town DJ., surgeon and rehab therapist. With all these activities one would assume she had a personality, but she doesn't. The only praises go to Berg ("Late for Din- Aspen Extreme' ner"). His portrayal of the little buddy could be sappy and contrived, butDexter manages to stretch the boundaries by handling himself with grace and a cer- tain amount of dignity. Some of Berg's success must be due to the script, but very little. There is one interesting scene where Dexter must deliver some drugs. The experimental camera angles and Godard-style jump- cutting effectively depict the paranoia feltby Dexter. Unfortunately, whenjux- taposed with the static mainstream shots that compose the rest of the film, it is so blaringly out of place that it's annoying. Even the ski scenes aren' thandled well. With the potential to be the most excit- ing element of the film, Hasburgh ne- glects toexploitthe location, the beauty, the athleticism and the pace of the sport. On the other hand, Hasburgh does a truly remarkable job of ignoring the pace of the story. Characters leave for unspecified time periods. Bryce takes off and comes back frequently. Some- how, Dexter develops a drug habit that Robin easily cures with a cold shower, morning jog and afternoon of skiing. All the while, TJ. has been sleeping with Bryce, but she may or may not be in town. Dexter gets a two-week sus- pension, but never goes back. And the guys are trying to win an annual contest but, at the end, they talk about their two years in Aspen. ASPEN EXTREME is playing at Showcase. Theatre reflects by Jenny McKee The Diversability Theatre is back on stage in their second and newest production, "Reflectuation." Composed ofeightpeople with varying disabilities and four able-bodied members, the cast writes all of the sketches that compoe the troupe's plays. "Basically, it's a series of vignettes which explore personal experiences of people with disabilities," said director Hilary Hamsden. "We've kind of sewn it loosely together, trying to depict the extremes of the reaction and attitude of tle able-bodied community." "I'm always interested in exploring movement before I do text," Hamsden added. "I started being intrigued by the fact that people with disabilitie supposedly don't move normally, so I started doing physical theater workshop with them, partly because I was interested in integrating the kind of movem.' that is in that community into our so-called normal theatrical movem vocabul"y. Last year's company debut production, "The Invisible Elephant," was an eye-opening body of work that was thought-provoking. While light-hearted aci very funny at times, other moments were horrifyingly honest, frustrating and real. The skits attempted to show able-bodied people what it's like to have a disability and how we, as a society, treat the handicapped. They stressed that we shouldn't focus on the wheelchair of one with an impairment, or the way on walks or speaks. Rather, we should see a person that has the same wants and needs that we also have. "Obviously," said Hamsden, "there are differences, but I think the able- bodied community has always had a kind of aesthetic problem with the w$y people with disabilities move." For this reason, the disabled community often feels self-conscious about their body movement; people look at them as freaks because it is different from the accepted norm. With this in mind, Hamsden made a special point of closely integrating all aspects of the play, with special attention paid to physical action. "That's what we've done with this piece," Hamsden concluded. "We've tried to bring together movement, physical expression of feelings, verbal expression and the text itself." REFLECTUATION will be performed at the Performance Network Januarys 28-30 at 8p.m. and January 30 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $9, $7 students/ seniors. Call 663-0681. HERE'S WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT CROW " Crow needed me full-time" - Faye Vincent "Trendsetters. Soon everyone will be sporting the letters AXP" - G.Q. "Eye luv da Crowes" - Dan Quail "Look what those *?!* did to my hair!" - Snide O'Connor "Too many late nights at the Crow house." - Dan & Dave "I had a drink but didn't swallow it at the Crow house." - Bill Klinton "Those guys really know how to wreak havoc." - Hurricane Andrew "I met her at a Crow party." - Woodie Allens "f I could do it all over, I'd be a Crow instead of a cardinal." - the Pope "Party on Crows!" - Wayne & Garth "I'm alive and well and living in the Crow house." - Elvis Presly RUSH CROW For More Information, Call 995-8750 Hey Wolverines! 250 COME CoIN CLEAN UP YOUR ACT 1 WITH US!! .AJNDP U t + |I OFF Each wash (limit 3 washers) ocktail" meets "Days of Thunder" with a dash of MTV Sports. 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Each coupon cannot be combined with any other offer. Expires Jan. 28, 1993 2750 Jackson Ave. A2 Hours: 7am- 11pm Daily 761-1889 SOW r hmurf~b )~84. um I ~ECAW- SUPERBOWL PARTY Come watch the big game via satellite on our gigantic screen T.V. DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS 3 INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM SWIMMING & DIVING MEET (Team and Individual)