Free 'Life' screening See "A Life Less Ordinary" for free. Starring "Trainspotting"'s Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz and Holly Hunter, the film follows a janitor and his hapless plot to kidnap his boss' daughter, an all-too-willing victim. The screening is sponsored by M-Flicks and UAC and will begin at 9:30 p.m. at Lorch Hall. Get there early because seating is limited. Wednesday October 22, 1997 5 Dan Bern fires up Ark with intense concert A2 Writers Harvest to help fight poverty y Amy Barber or the Daily What a shame it was that the Ark was only half full as hursday to see Dan Bern perform; the concert as absolutely amazing. For those of you who have never heard of this guy, et me try to sum him up for you. Think Bob Dylan verloaded with sarcasm, satire nd despair, but intertwined with R umor and social messages. For those of you who do know an Bern, you know that his nly album, "Dan Bern," is xceptional. So it would seem *etunate that throughout his hree-hour performance he only played three songs rom it. Nothing could be further from the truth. After a suc- essfully mellow and emotional performance by open- -r Martha Wainwright, Bern opened with a humorous -ong about moving to Mars or Uranus to find success. He later sang about his friend whose only goal in ife was to "go down on Madonna, and when he actu- Ily achieved his goal "life was shit from then on." ern pondered whether Charles Manson could have e e what he did if he had not changed his last to Manson from his original, somewhat less ppealing, last name. He suggested that "they should just get Mike Tyson to bite off (Timothy McVeigh's) ears" rather than giving him the death penalty. The audience was beyond entertained. After five songs, he did get to a track from his album, and it was extraordinary. "Jerusalem," in which Bern proclaims, "I am the Messiah" because he doesn't want to keep us all in suspense any longer, was especially great because Bern unexpectedly and won- 'Giovanni' bring By Anita Misra to describe For the Daily was the It's nearing that time of the year Fearless,"v again. Time to pick out a costume, Dario Fo, carve those pumpkins and stock up on The origin th. candy. Halloween is just around named Gi thW corner. Not quite in theR Halloween spirit? GiEvai Checking out the Giovann Residential Feark College's produc- ThursESat. at 8 p.m. Su tion of "Giovanni East Quad Audit the Fearless" will alter anyone's mood. he meetsG Iit don't go to the show expect- him to a c in o see a standard, run-of-the-mill that is. ghost story; this version of So Giova "Giovanni the Fearless," as per- tie, at m formed by the Residential College, encounters is full of singing, dancing, humor Giovanni i and puppets. seeking is d "A fusion of an Italian folktale and he mu and the commedia dell' arte tradi- The Resi tion," were some of the words author is based o and lyricist Carolyn Balducci used "Giovanni derfully improvised during key parts in the song. The other two songs Bern played from his self- titled album were equally impressive. The emotion- al "Estelle" touched everyone and the upbeat "Marilyn," which ponders how Marilyn Monroe's life would have been different had she married bad- boy Henry Miller, had us all itching to jump out of EVIEW Dan Bern The Ark Oct. 16,1997 become offended our seats and dance. Some audience members became offended during Bern's show. Although many fans (myself included) are of the opinion that Bern's question- able lyrics contribute to what makes him a success, others by lyrics like "I wish I had balls as big as grapefruits / Balls as big as pumpkins" and "He'd have tied her to the bed and eaten din- ner off of her." As the highly scrutinized Ani Difranco said, "He's the only guy who catches more flack than me." One thing everyone in the audience loved about Bern was his intimate communication with us. Through inviting fans on stage, asking us questions and prompting us to sing along, he made each of us feel like a friend. The biggest, and perhaps only, problem of the night was that three times Bern broke a string mid- way through a song. Although it took away from the performance, the way Bern improvised made up for it. The first time, he realized he couldn't continue his song, so he suddenly broke into a highly ener- getic version of the Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," minus the third string. He changed his string with the drums and bass still playing as he told a story the second time, and the third time, he By Cara Spindler For the Daily Starving artists - we all know that metaphor quite well. Jack Kerouac, uncooked ramen and an empty apart- ment. That's the romantic view ... star- vation equals art. And then there's our own communi- ty of artists here in Wril Ann Arbor, a com- munity that some- how gets missed in suggested those romantic descriptions. The woman with her Urban Outfitters and/or Speedo bag, which she has had for at least three years, somehow just isn't as cool as Diane DiPrima's auto- biography of starving in an NYC flat. In a reversal of fortune on Thursday, it will be the writers ofAmerica feeding the starving people ... with your help. In Rackham's fourth-floor Amphitheater, the Share Our Strength's Writers Harvest is underway. It's a nationwide event in which local authors share their work with the public to raise public awareness and commitment to the elimination of local poverty. Sponsored in part by American Express, it is presently the largest liter- ary benefit event in the nation. "Writers Harvest gives literary pro- fessionals an opportunity to lift their commitment off the page and into our nation's communities," said Bill Shore, ite founder and executive director of the national organization. More than 2,000 authors will be read- ing across the country tomorrow. "We need to use our literary passions to make a difference in the lives of others," said Andre Dubus, E W author of numerous short stories. ers Harvest One of Dubus' Thursday at 7:30 short stories ackham Amphitheater involves a man who 5 donation at the door conducts a mini-lit- erary class for abused teens, showing how stories can bring people of different experiences together. The idea is to mobilize the entire community to fight hunger and poverty. Sponsored by Borders and the University English Department, all of the donations will go toward a Michigan anti-hunger and poverty advocacy group, The Hunger Action Coalition, based in Detroit. The English faculty's Thylias Moss, who spent last year writing "Last Chance for the Tarzan Holler" and "Tale of a Sky-blue Dress" on a MacArthur grant; and new additions Wendy Hammond, recent debut-novelist Brenda K. Marshall and Nicholas Delbanco, 17-book giant (most recently the author of "Old Scores"), will all be reading. Head on out and help fight poverty in your neck of the woods. Dan Bern brought crazy lyrics to the Ark last Thursday. humored us by throwing down his harmonica, throwing up his hands and saying, "That's it, I give up. The other two members of Bern's group are to be commended. The drummer, a man who was more into his job than anyone I have ever seen, did an outstanding job, as did the highly talented bassist. Whether you want to laugh, sing, philosophize or be purely entertained, go see Dan Bern in concert. It is an utterly remarkable experience. ;s Halloween spirit to East Quad her version of the play. It original "Giovanni the written by political satirist that was her inspiration. al tale ovanni w the ess nat2 orium features a peasant who takes on a rather risky endeavor. He sets off to seek for- tune at a time when peasants cannot leave their employers. Giovanni travels undergone a transformation into a com- media dell'arte musical with twists and turns galore. At the hub of the production is Carolyn Balducci, a writer of chil- dren's books, screenplays, poetry and plays, as well as a Creative Writing professor at University's Residential College. Balducci's list of credits includes many translations of Italian works and one Greek work, most of which have been performed and some published. Balducci has translated five full-length Italian comedies, including one for director Carl Terron, which was per- formed off-Broadway in late November. Hard at work since the early 1970s, Balducci has acquired a reputation for comedies among colleagues. "Being funny is difficult", Balducci said. No one can argue with her there. As a recipient of many awards and recogni- tions, it is obvious that Balducci is indeed a pro at what she does. into town, where an innkeeper who directs astle ... a haunted castle, anni ventures off to the cas- idnight, of course, and a giant who is a ghost. s told that the fortune he is deep down in the basement, st go there to get it. dential College's production n the original folktale of the Fearless," but it has In Balducci's version, Giovanni comes across a wandering troupe of vagabonds who have also encoun- tered hostility on the road and were thrown out of town. Among this troupe is the fair Colombina who falls in love with Giovanni, to the dismay of the group members who are her male relatives. The men put Giovanni up to a test of courage to see if he is good enough for Colombina and also to see if they want to take him on as an actor in their troupe. Besides singing, dancing, an ordeal of love and "slapstick college humor," the production also includes the use of masks and puppets here and there, an aspect of the commedia dell' arte style. The commedia dell arte prevailed from 1500-1800, when plays were performed in the piazzas of Italy and included the use of masking and puppetry techniques in perfor- mances. The cast consists of 15 Residential College and LSA students, including Charlie Jett and Kristin Braun in the lead roles. Martin Walsh, head of the Residential College Drama Program, will play the giant. The production is directed by Kate Mendeloff with musical direction by Ben Cohen. "Giovanni the Fearless" opens Thursday and runs through Sunday Nov. 2. Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. To celebrate the Residential College's 13th anniversary, chamber music students of professor Maria Kardas Barna will perform a short recital of music by Hadyn, Boufill and Cui before the play begins on this Thursday and Friday. An old-fashioned ghost story and then some ... perfect for the Halloween season. Seventeen-book giant Nicholas Deibanco will read at Ann Arbor's Writers Harvest. I LAST CHANCE TO REGISTERI! MinoriUndergraduate Career Forum MIDWEST Su . November 21, 1997 3, 9inte Westin O'Hare Hotel - Chicago, Illinois / " Opportunity for selected juniors and seniors to attend first-round interviews! * Network with top firms in consulting, finance, high tech and more! * Free transportation for University of Michigan students selected for interviews! TO REGISTER: Send, fax or email your one-page resume and application. Applications az.ilable in your Placement Office. II EXTENDED Deadline: OCTOBER 22, 1997 CRIMSON & BROWN 201 Broadway Cambrid e, MA% 02139 tel (617) 577-77 fax (617) 577-7799 candidate services@cba.kaplan.com 1 11 1. Partial List of Employers; Abbott Laboratories, American Express Financial Advisors, Bank of America, Bear Stearns, Central Intelligence Agency, Citibank. D.E Shaw & Co., L. P., DMB & B Advertising, First Chicago NBD, Hewitt Associates; Kraft Food, Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Mars lncorporated, Merrill Lynch, Piper Jaffray Companies, Inc., Procter & Gamble Score 'it Kaplan, Siemens Business Communication Systems Inc.. The May Department Stores, The St. Paul Companies, Thomson Financial Services . . . and many more' L IN U Charlie Jett (Giovanni, left), Martin Walsh (the giant) and Krista Braun (Colombina, right) star in "Giovanni the Fearless." .Read it. MICHIGAN THEATER WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22 Intel on on Campus You've learned what it takes to compete in school. Now, check out what it's like to compete in global markets and advanced technology arenas. Representatives will soon be on campus to. provide information about careers with Intel. As the world's largest chip maker and a world leader in everything from PCs to the Internet,.Intel offers a variety of exciting career opportunities. rft*Mb AfU0 l 1