8- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 15, 1993 L;9 z Crunchy, tasty tfins premiere By JOHN R. RYBOCK Since it is a month with a vowel in it, you can bet there is an animation festi- val going on in Ann Arbor. And sure enough, Spike & Mike and their Sick & Twisted gang are back. But before they arrive, there is going tobe rarity forAnn Arbor - a short film festival. Your doubts are understandable, since out- side of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, short films are virtually unheard of, but there really is one coming to town. Yes, the short film. To most people, they are an Oscar category that they have to sit through in order to watch Master Thespian Marisa Tomei win. Ever look at the nominees and wonder "What the heck is this 'Childeater' thing?" Well, here it is, in the aptly named "Festival of Short Films." Besides being notably shorter than full length features (hence 'short' film), there are other differences between the two. Short films do not need plots that canbemaintainedforanhourandahalf. Plus, character development and evolu- tion are not needed. They can be little tales that can amuse or teach or both. And in a good collection of ten, which this is, there is something for everyone. What you get here is a Kellogg's Variety-Pak. Like those boxes of cereal, not every one will suit each audience member's tastes. Some of the features are like Honey Smacks, sweet and en- joyable, and you hate to see the bottom of an empty box. "The Lounge Bar," the opening short, is one such piece. A tale of fate with three people, it seamlessly weaves distant times together. Other shorts, however, are Raisin Bran - there isjust no room in the little space available to put enough of the raisins in. "Stealing Altitude" is one such case. A documentary on BASE (Building, Antenna, Spans,Earth)jump- ing, the ten minute time frame used by the filmmakers is too short a period to really get into the heads of people who voluntarily jump off skyscrapers. "An Urban Tragedy," to continue the metaphor, is Lucky Charms. Its strange shapes and colors set it off from the corn flakes that big studio Holly- woodmakes. Then there is the nostalgia, of Fmuity Pebbles which can be found in "Safari Holiday," the. longest of the * films, and the one anyone who went through an awkward adolescence can easily and painfully identify with, though I mean that in a good way. And of course, after all that healthy, sugar-poweredcereal, you need to wash it down with a cold brew. "Tom Goes to the Bar" is a witty piece in which Tom, who is "hanging out" at the bar, tries to make sense of his life. All the while, as in the real world, life continues going on around him. In the end, it is a sugar high. You'll probably have to have eaten some box that you loathe, that doesn't seem to end soon enough. But the compilers of this festival, like the folks at Kellogg's, have intelligently put together a wide vary- ing assortment. And while you may have to bear a couple of Grape Nuts, the rest is all Honey Nut Cheerios. Lisa Marja Alach and Michael J. Cox star in "Rushes," a movie premiering at the "1st International Festival of Short Films." INTERNAiONAL FESTIVAL OF SHORT FILMS is playing Sept 17-23 at the State Theater. Ir .1 Take your odd roommate to see 'The Nerd' Pint Night Wednesdays $1.00off Pints of the "Best draft beer selection" in town 9:00pm-Close 338 S. Stae 996-9191 $2.99 Cheeseburger. & Fries 1/3 lb of lean ground chuck, charbroiled and served on our homemade French Bread. 11:30am-3:00pm r By KIMBERLY GAINES Remember freshman year? Remem- ber dorm food, going to all your classes, R.A.'s and rooming blind? If your expe- rience with your roommate was not most favorable, then you will easily relate to Larry Shue's comedy, "The Nerd" about the roommate from hell. Directed by Charles Jackson, "The Nerd" opens the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's 1993/94 Main Stage season Wednesday, September 15. It is the story of a young architect, Willum Cubbert (Larry Rusinsky) who is not really happy with either his social or his professional life. His life takes a drastic change, however, when he gets a surprise visit from the man who saved his life in Vietnam but whom he never met, and the man is quite different than how Willum imagined. His savior, Rick Steadman (Tom Underwood) turns out to be a hopeless "nerd." "This is lighthearted, it's situational, it's a predicament we all find ourselves in at times where we have a roommate or house guest from hell and you can't get rid of him, but you don't want to say 'Get out!,"' Jackson said. Through a series of events Rick destroys Willums's life, but Willum is reluctant to do anything because he feels a sense of obligation to this man who saved his life. Jackson commented, "This is about dealing with relation- ships - these are real people - it's hilarious, but they're human beings that find themselves in situations. It's not a play where we go for laughs, it's not a Neil Simon full of jokes kind of a play." Some of the interchanges in the show even remind Jackson of that SNL duo we know so well, Wayne and Garth. "'The Nerd' would appeal to college students because they would under- stand the humor, it's not just slapstick humor, there's some intellectual quality there," said Jackson. Jackson is an assistant professor in theater and drama at the University. He has done quite a bit of directing includ- ing "Long Tune Since Yesterday" by PJ. Gibson and last yearhe did OyamO's "The Resurrection of Lady Lester." . Later this fall Jackson willbe direct- ing a big University production, "The Lion and the Jewel" by Wole Soyinka which features music, dance, mime and literary elements of prose and poetry. "This is the most complex and compli- cated and elaborate production that I have been associated with since I've been at this University," Jackson said. He will be holding open auditions for all students and community members the week of September 20, 1993. "The Lion and the Jewel" is an Afri- can play set in Nigeria, and although Jackson has directed quite a few Afrocentric plays he doesn't want to be limited to this area, which is one reason he likes the universal appeal of "The Nerd." Jackson commented "I don't want to be pigeonholed into doing only the Afrocentric stories, but I don't want to deprive the African-American stu- dents on this campus to have something, some vehicle to express and examine their culture and their heritage." Jackson's background is in classical theater and with all of his directing experience he saidhe believes that com- edies can often be more difficult than dramas. "'The Nerd' is lighthearted, a sort of living room comedy, and simple in that respect but still complicated in the sense of timing, comedic timing," said Jackson. From one surprising event to the next in "The Nerd", the normally mun- dane Willum findshimselfplotting dras- tic action to get rid of Rick. Jackson commented, "This play is like when you watch a sit-com on TV that makes you laugh and it's funny and it seems so easy, the people in the show seem so right for the part, seem so natural, and you say, 'This is Trivial Pursuit! Their lives are sotrivial and the things they're involved with are so simple!"' THE ERD L wi be perf ored Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and also at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Mendelssohn Theatre. Tickets are $12 -$16. Call 763-1085 for reservations and information. I University of Wisconsin-Platteville "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. That is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." -Henry Oavid Thoreau 1... Learn Your Way Around The World " Study abroad in London, England or Seville, Spain, for a summer, for a semester or for a full academic year " Courses in liberal arts and international business " .Fluency in a foreign language nI required " Home-stays with meals " Field trips " Financial aid applies (except for summer session) Program Costs: f For tuition, room, board and field trips per semester " In London, England $4,225 for Wisconsin residents/$4,475 for non-residents " In Seville, Spain $4,725 for Wisconsin residents/S4,925 for non-residents Application deadlines: " April I for summer session " April 30 for fall semester " October 20 for spring semester For a program description and an application, call toll free: 1-800-342-1725 Los Lobos Just Another Band from East IA -A Collection Slash/Warner Rarely has there been a group so rich in its diversity as Los Lobos. Born in raised in the barrios of Los Angeles, the members of Los Lobos began playing traditional Mexican songs at weddings and neighborhood parties, playing rock & roll at night. In almost no time, all of the members developed an amazing in- strumental proficiency and were able to play both rock & roll and Mexican music with equal skill. Los Lobos' music is roots music in the best sense - they are comfortable with all the music they perform and are able to not only perform within the specific genres of folk, country, rock and Mexican, they are able to combine all of them into a singular, powerful style. Sure, their hit version of "La Bamba" was great, but it doesn't have the distinctforce of originals like "Don't Worry Baby," "One Tune One Night" and "Angels With Dirty Faces." With only five proper albums to their credit, it might seem a bit too early to compile a double-disc retrospective yet "Just Another Band from East LA" works against that conventional wis- dom, providing a splendid portrait of the band. As the compilation progresses, it becomes clear that David Hidalgo is one ofhis generation's best songwriters; 60 -a, his folky, lyrical style is often matched by bandmate Cesar Rosas' gritty rock & roll. Rare tracks from their 1978 inde- pendentdebutand the out-of-print"And a Time to Dance" EP, live tracks; soundtrack work and album tracks rep- resent both aspects of the group equally well; in many ways it is a model comp4 lation, portraying all of the group's> strengths with no filler. Simply pub there is no better introduction to one of America's most original and best bands - this is some of the most timeless music of the past decade. - Tom Erlewine Unrest Perfect Teeth 4 AD "Perfect Teeth" is super-indie band Unrest's debut on the hyper-cool art label 4 AD. This trio, a fixture of the Washington, DC scene, recently per- formed on the second stage at Lollapalooza, and none other than Duran Duran god Simon LeBon produced this* album. All the evidence indicates this album is a hopelessly arty, pretentious effort; yet Unrest manages to rise above it all and create one of the finest, most subversive pop albums of the year. The best thing about "Perfect Teeth" is that it works, even though it shouldn't. Unrest's jangly, unique pop sound takes equally from Sonic Youth's artsy punk, Peter, Paul, and Mary's gentle folk and the torchy jazz vocals of such greats as Julie London. The best cuts showcase theirdiverse influences:"Cath Carroll," a tune about a heroine of Brit- ish indieculture, is aloud, driving rocker that's perfect to pogo to; "Light Com- mand" is a fast, bouncy ode toovercom- ing a breakup; "Make-Out Club" is a tribute to "the very first one;" and "Breather x.o.x.o." sounds like a choir of heartbroken altarboys. On the whole, "Perfect Teeth" is an improvement on last year's "Imperial f.f.f.r." It's smoother, more consistent, and bassist Bridget has two tracks to adom with her satiny voice and wry lyrics. Though this is a highly creative and individual work, it ironically opens and closes with the two weakest songs of the album, "Angel I'll Walk You Home," and "StylizedAmpersand."These tracks .2_:__ w _ -3 L-. __ / * ,i 9rc8 (s //e9-e 1Pin &G !I+'s yor/ocPc#. lAS 'Y01 r F .ivre ifs /ovr F"iP'r, e...4,....L.... 4 '47 ~ ii -- m m