lw .vll.. .. . _ _ .r ft firwttnBugg Dance Away Tonight and Tomorrow The Dance School will present its MFA Concert tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Graduate students will be giving their final performances in pieces choreographed in conjunction with the concert. Tickets cost $5 and will go on sale at the Betty Pease Studio (behind the CCRB) at 7 p.m. If you're not interested in that, check out the hippie rock of Leftover Salmon and Little Sister at the Blind Pig tomorrow at 9:30. Page 9 Friday, March 31_ 199-5 AI 5 1 1 1.7.7:, Hear the sour sound of 'Sirens' p By Melissa Rose Bernardo Daily Theater Editor If there is something positive to be said for "Sirens," it's that the play means well. Darrah Cloud's play, which is re- ceiving its third-ever performance this weekend and next in the Trueblood. Theatre, deserves recognition and a certain amount of praise for its treat- ment of the sensitive, timely issue of domestic violence. But the script is such a wreck that it becomes almost impossible to appreciate the play's good intentions. The play revolves loosely around -thelives offive women who experience domestic violence in different ways. Cloud attempts to introduce the women, outline each of their backgrounds, present (to a certain extent) their re- spective abusers, display the pattern of - abuse in which each is trapped, and bring each to a climactic action (like murder)-- all in the first act. And if you're confused now, just wait until the ghosts come in. After the half, Cloud's tactics get more and more farfetched and the script sounds more and more like an episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210." What's even more amazing is the amount of genuine emotion the actors manage to wreak out of such shoddy material. The characters for the most part are underdeveloped, but what's there gets played to the hilt. Guest di- Sirens Trueblood Theatre March 30, 1995 When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.; April 6-8 at 8 p.m., April 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets: $12 ($6 students) general admission. Call 764-0450. rector Lynn Thomson has assembled a stellar cast from beginning to end--the one glaring exception being Jared J. Hoffert, who I'm convinced was cast more for height than acting ability. Rebecca Winston gives a digni- fied performance as Eileen, the most, sorely underdeveloped character in this play and probably in the top 25 in all of contemporary American drama. Elif Celebi is quite good as Margo, the pathetic shell of a woman who learns to take care of herselfonly after she's dead (?), and Cadi Sutter does well as the spirited Brooklyn girl Teresa. (Sutter also holds her accent for over two hours, unlike Hoffert, whose accent traveled around the globe and back again.) It's hard to assess what Cloud in- tended with the character of Gertrude, but let that pass; it's always a pleasure to see Lakeisha R. Harrison. Though her character is not quite rooted in the rest of the script, Harrison creates a place for herself, and gives a perfor- mance that left many audience mem- bers wanting more. The most well-written character also yields the evening's most excit- ing performance, in the form of Heather Dilly. As Sparky, a woman whose identity has been shaped by various forms of violence, Dilly's performance goes for thejugular; she is hard-hitting, unrelenting and genu- inely emotional-everything Cloud's script wants to be. Thomson's methods are almost as obscure as Cloud's. Apart from some well-choreographed fight scenes, Thomson's staging is cluttered and confusing. Of course, Thomson was working around a strange conglom- eration of transparent movable walls, which complicated things even fur- ther. Fortunately, Beth Turomsha's lighting does wonders to cover the unsightly blemish of Karen Lim's set. Wispy white cur- tains are tough to light, and Turomsha does it quite admirably. But the overarching prob- lem with "Sirens" is still the script. Cloud's dialogue is unrealistic - those water metaphors are just out of hand - her situations un- natural (the exotic dance scene?), and her conclusion shaky. But the larg- est and most mad- dening flaw in the "Sirens" runs th script is the flagrant lack of sympathetic male characters. In an interview preceding the show, Thomson argued that "Sirens" was not a "male-bashing" play; she even main- tained that the script went out of its way to depict sympathetic men. But the only male character whom Cloud shades with any amount of sympathy is the gay neighbor/lawyer. (Howeverhateful his character may be, Paul Molnar turns in a wonderful performance as Dennis.) In Cloud's favor, Hoffert's po- liceman friend does take a turn to- ward the positive, but that revelation doesn't happen until 10 p.m. (Some- one should send Cloud back to Playwriting 101 and tell her that two hours into a 2-hour and 15-minute show is not a good time to begin character development.) Another puzzlement: Thomson is the dramaturglliterary manager for Circle Repertory Company, one of the country's most fertile breeding grounds for new scripts. Can such an accomplished dramaturg not recog- nize the sorry state of this script? The tragedy of domestic violence needs to be brought to a more enlighten- ing level, such as the theater. But the success of the theatrical expression be- gins with the script. Fine performances can - and do, in many ways - aid that representation, but at the end of the evening, the state of Cloud's script emerges as the larger tragedy. Percussion ensemble making noise around the world By Mark Carlson Daily Arts Writer The University of Michigan Per- cussion Ensemble has something for everyone. "One of the really cool things about the Percussion Ensemble con- UNIVERSITY PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE Where: McIntosh Theater in, the School of Music When: Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets: Free certs is that everybody who goes will find something that interests them," stated percussionist Andrew Kitchen about the variety of the group's pieces. Director Michael W. Udow selects pieces for the group that vary in culture and musicality, and all are challenging to both the players and the listeners. "Professor Udow really brings a lot of eclecticism to the group," said Kitchen, a freshman performance major in the School of Music. The group is made of 25 to 30 percussionists who belong to the Uni- versity percussion studio, which is headed by Udow. The songs are per- formed by any number of students in the group, playing just about any com- bination of percussion instruments that range from conventional bass, snare and tom tom drums, to stranger instruments such as the Lion's Roar and talking drums. The group is one of the more fa- mous ensembles from the school and has a reputation throughout the world. The group takes several trips each year, including many to the Orient, where the group is well-received. Last month, the group traveled to New York and deliv- ered the world premiere of a work by Dary John Mizelle to the World Music Imagination Festival. The group's per- formance was critiqued by the Village Voice. Other accomplishments of the group include performing with the world-famous solo marimbist Keikoabe and recording several compact discs that have been released on the EQ and Einstein labels. For Sunday's performance, the group has some great songs prepared. Among otherthings, they will be play- ing John Wyre's wonderful "Marubatu." On the other end of the sound spectrum, the group will also be performing some pieces that aren't as rooted in beat. They will be playing the classic "Ionization" by Edgard Varese, a song that has no real pulse but is completely scored and strictly counted. "Ionization has a lot of inter- esting sounds," stated Kitchen, "It's all about evolving textures." Another highlight of the perfor- mance will be John Polito 2's "mm- hmm," an almost tribal piece with a definite pulse that is complicated by everyone's differentpolyrhythms. "You know there's a pulse, but it's there in a way that you're probably not used to hearing it," described Kitchen. Yet another song with a twist that the group will be playing is "Why," a piece by Gernot Blume that was origi- nally intended to be played by a string quartet. The ensemble is certainly one of the best resources we have at the University and theirperformances are definitely worth checking out. It is also a great group for the students who perform in it. Said Kitchen on the matter, "It's been the most re- warding experience I've had at this University." The Ensemble will be playing at the McIntosh Theater in the School of Music this Sunday af- ternoon, and another top quality per- formance is expected. The School of Art and Architecture's Slusser Gallery is beginning a Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibit tonight. Featuring the works of Sherry Lynn Jodway, '24 Hands and A Gallery' will run from tonight until Tuesday. Tonight, the opening reception begins at 6 p.m. and lasts until 9 p.m.; Saturday through Tuesday, the gallery will be open from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. Admission is free. The Dirt Eaters will play the Blind Pig tonight at 9:30 p.m. Their inventive mix of ethereal pop and crunchy rock is an offshoot of the critically lauded 4AD band His Name Is Alive. Fans of dream-pop shouldn't miss this show. Naming Mary and Viola Peacock open; doors open at 9:30. Call 996-8555 for more information. I MMMMMMWM I Jrr Academy Award Winner Best Original Screenplay "TREMNDouS FUN!' - i~murmrnu Acasdmy Award NaminM Best Foreign Film STRAWBERRY and CHOCOLATE 7:00 9:00 Student Organization Sccounts Service [SORS]GeneralFund Rccountrconversion Beginning September 1, 1995, and running through September 30, 1996 SOAS General Fund (GF) Accounts will undergo a conversion. As a result of this conversion, student organizations can either choose to convert their GF account to what is now referred to as a "University Fund" account, or to close the GF account and remove the funds. All accounts remaining after September 30, 1996 will automatically be converted into an SOAS Account (UF). Open forums will be held to provide information, and answer questions on: * March 30.1995. at 3pm-4pm. Michigan Union [Wolverine Room] April 11,.1995. at 4pm-Spm,.Michigan Union [Anderson ARE Room] " September 25.1995. at 4pm-Spm,.Michigan Union [Wolverine Room] 9 September 28.1995. at 3pm-4pm. Michigan Union [Wolverine Room] If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by the SOAS office or contact an SOAS Representative at 763-5767. Our office is open Monday ,through Friday, 8am-5pm. We will be happy to serve you! . 1 natio natalk show. Rocky Horror Picture Show Friday & Saturday 11:45 pm 1:30 Saturday & SundayOnly -11:00& 11:45 Friday & Saturday Only Call Juliet or Jill collect at (212) 582-1722 ext. 21 or 23 or (212) 246-6813 I shades e1 suinmer Please return by best restaurnts/bars for... coffee _ March 31 to , fre"nhg, es rn i men's clothing women's clothing _ thrift/used clothing _ bicycle sales/repair books textbooks used books haircut the Daily at 420 Maynard, 48109. Results will be printed in hot do#$ cheap beer bar drinks ice cream/frozen yogurt chipati sandwiches subs cookies Italian food middle eastern food first-run theater - video store liquor/party store photocopying _ sporting good - fraternity to party with sorority to party with coop ugliest building bathroom lecture hall best (and worst) entertainment local band dancing spot concert in the past year radio station ________________ place to go when in an altered state best (and worst) dating stuff florist traveag ~Iey i I I