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ARTS

WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 28,,2001

michigandaily.com /arts


RC Players hope to attract
diverse crowd with 'Child'

Top ten greatest
dismemberments
in movie history

By Rachel Lewis
Daily Arts Writer
Sure, you've been to Hill Auditorium; maybe
even the Power Center. But a walk down the stairs
to the basement of East Quad will lead you to yet
another theater here on campus that you may
never have even seen, let alone entered. The East
Quad Auditorium has been the home of the RC
Players since the late 1970s and this weekend
they hope to open their doors to the entire Uni-
versity community with a production of Sam
Shepard's "Buried Child."
The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama surrounds a
complex rural family trying desperately to cover
up a past that no one wants to talk about. As the
story unfolds, some unexpected visitors throw off
the balance of this pent-up frustration and in the
process, help to unearth the secret buried past of
the family.
Paul Kuttner, a Residential College senior and
director of the student-run show, chose the drama
for its depth and intricacy. "The show really hits
you hard," he said. "It makes you think." Such a
dramatic script has been quite a challenge for the
RC Players, a group that historically leans
towards comedies and light-hearted fare.
This has been a challenge the actors have not
only embraced, but enjoyed. Susie Schutt, a
sophomore in the RC and the actress portraying
F Halie, said, "We analyzed everything before we

went out and did it, and I feel that was benefi-
cial." The demanding script called for a month of
long rehearsals, but the result is a more layered,
serious show than previous RC performances.
Kuttner promised that all the hard work has paid
off. "Everyone has put a lot into this. I have an
amazing cast," he said.
The RC Players are unique as a performing
group on campus because they are completely
student run. The plays are chosen, directed, acted
and produced by students, which creates the
strong sense of community often associated with
the Residential College. Schutt said that the pro-
ductions are "more of a collaborative effort than
other programs," which is a big part of what
makes the experience fun. Kuttner said that
although rehearsals have been hard work, "it's a
very relaxed atmosphere."
This will no doubt carry over into the upcom-
ing performances, with an intimate audience that
is oftentimes filled with friends and RC peers.
Those involved in "Buried Child" hope to inte-
grate the audience with a more diverse crowd this
weekend. They have invested a considerable
amount of time into advertising to the whole
campus in order to educate the community about
the RC Players. "The RC Players is open to
everyone. I'd really like this play to be a starting
point for the outside community to get their first
view of us," Kuttner said.
,The RC Players' mission statement is "to pro-

-ut Isyof IdI-IInt
Playwright Sam Shepard.
vide a unique, entertaining and educational expe-
rience in an open and collaborative environment
for all those interested in the dramatic and per-
forming arts." With this open, inviting atmos-
phere, the East Quad Auditorium has the
potential to do much more than house and nur-
ture the arts here on campus; it can be the mixing
pot that brings together parts of the University
that may not normally converge.
Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for adults.
The show runs this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 2 p.m.

As we approach the end of the year;
we face the onslaught of top ten lists,
recapping the best and worst of the
year. With the upcoming release of
Miramax's "Kate and Leopold," we
thought it appropriate to count off the
best dismemberments in film history.
10. Reservoir Dogs - "I don't
give a good fuck what you know or
don't know; I'm going to torture you
anyway." The image of Mr. Blonde
(played by a wonderfully grizzled
Michael Madsen) hunched over a
severely worked (and slightly earless)
over cop with a straight razor has been
burned into all of our memories, and
some of us are still cringing.
9. Monty Python and the Holy
Grail - Who knew those Brits had
such tenacity? The Black Knight has
his arms and legs torn off, blood
squirts everywhere, yet the big guy
remains active, threatening to bite off
his foe's knee caps. One of the few dis-
memberments in film history where the
dismembered doesn't miss a beat, yet
this ranks low on our list because
British people don't count anyway.
Seriously.
8. Aliens - Before James Cameron
sold his soul with the succubous that is
"Titanic," he struck upon a brilliant
concept. The only thing better than one
alien is many aliens. And the only
thing better than many aliens is when
the android Bishop is torn apart, send-
ing milky white blood in every direc-
tion and leaving his head hanging by a
thread. That ruled.
7. Friday the 13th - Kevin
Bacon's first film ends with a decapita-
tion of John-the-Baptistian propor-
tions. Jason's loving mother has her
head sliced (sleeeeiced) off by a
machete, and her clawing hands reach-
es out for her surprised visage. You
even get to see the top of her neck.
Super sweet.
6. Street Trash - For those who
have never tasted the "Trash," rush to
your local cult video store to find not
only the manhood-dismembering
scene, but also the lively game ofmon-
key-in-the-middle that follows. Ouch.
5.The Re-Animator - The list
may be saturated with decapitations

but this one takes the cake. Our hero
Herbert West is attacked by his bitter
enemy but skillfully fends off the vil-
lain with a shovel. Herb proceeds to
slice off the head of his victim cleanly
and places it in a tray on his desk. Only
problem is the head won't stand up
straight but the situation is remedied
with a paper spike.
4. The Big Lebowski - Dude. A
bit of trivia, the nihilist missing the toe
is played by Aimee Mann, singer best
known for her work on the "Magnolia"
soundtrack. This started the whole
"kidnap-a-girl-and-cut-off-her-toe"
craze ofthe late '90s.
3. Commando - Following one of
the greatest killing sprees in film histo-
ry, one in which John Matrix kills off'
almost 100 soldiers with machine
guns, grenades and a very unusual dart
gun, our hero finds himself surrounded
by guerrilla soldiers and out of ammo
in a shed. Always resourceful, Matrix
gathers several tools, including a rake,
saw and axe to battle the enemies. The
scene is highlighted by Matrix literally
taking one soldier behind the wood
shed and slicing off his arm with an
axe. The poor bastard can only watch
as the blood gushes from his arm.
2. (Tie) Star Wars/The Empire
Strikes Back - In "Star Wars," Obi-
Wan Kenobi represents for Jedi and
senior citizens alike when he relieves a
walrus faced patron in Mos Eisley can-
tina of his arm with one swift swipe of
his light saber. Damn that's hot. In
"Empire," Vader and Luke duke it out
in the bowels'of the Cloud city, with
the father severing the son's hand
before telling him the truth about his
lineage. "That's not true; that's impos-
sible!"
1. Evil Dead 2 - Groovy. This is
one of the only films in which a sev-
ered hand has a bigger part than most
of the supporting characters. After
stabbing his own possessed hand and
cutting it off with a chainsaw (started
with one pull of the cord with his
teeth), Ash must battle the hand that
went bad (which somehow has a voice)
as it spews gallons of 'fake blood all
over the cabin.
-Compiled by The Daily ArtsStaff

'Lord of the Rings' soundtrack features
dark sounds of Tolen' s Middle Earth

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Howard
Shore and Enya; Reprise.
By Jim Schiff
Daily Fine/Performing Arts Editor
Howard Shore's score to "The Lord of the
Rings" invites you into the world of Middle
Earth, but it's not all about cute little elves and
enchanted forests. In fact, there's.nothing cute or
non-threatening about this soundtrack. The lis-
tener is instead treated to a larger-than-life,
sweeping dark sound that is only punctuated with
pleasantness.
Composing music to "Lord of the Rings" was
probably not an easy task; like the adaptation of
"Harry Potter," legions of 'Ring' fans are expect-
ing nothing less than a spectacular soundtrack.
Shore's orchestration delivers in a big way; he
manages to portray the multi-faceted Middle
Earth with a variety of sounds. The score opens
with "The Prophecy," which introduces the goth-
ic, dark choir chanting characteristic of most of
the tracks. This sound, when fused with the grad-
ually loudening strings and brass, creates an
intensity that is rivaled in few other scores.
Shore seamlessly alternates between these war
themes and a lighter, airy violin sound. He often

begins a track, such as "The Shadow of the Past,"
with a minimal flute melody, which suddenly
escalates into an orchestral powerhouse. Shore's
scoring indicates a large number of battles or
fight scenes in the film. At the same time, Shore
balances this ponderous sound with some more
esoteric work. "Concerning Hobbits" pays
homage to Renaissance music; its flute sound is
both playful and charming. Tracks such as
"Many Meetings" evoke a romantic feel with
sweeping strings and an angelic choir.
A crucial difference between "The Lord of the
Rings" and the other major holiday soundtrack,
John Williams' "Harry Potter," lies in maturity of
sound. While Williams' arrangements are com-
plex, they often feel too childlike and quaint for
the film. "The Lord of the Rings" score feels
more epic and retains a full orchestral sound
even in the more tranquil tracks. Shore's empha-
sis on certain instruments, particularly the horn
and trumpet, portray an adventuring spirit for the
film. Based on the trailers, his music already
appears to capture the essence of "The Lord of
the Rings."
While Enya's presence alone is enough to put
this soundtrack on the charts, her work fits well
with Shore's themes. Her ethereal voice, layered
to multi-part harmony, is particularly suited to
the warm, environmental feel of Shore's orches-

trations. The closing track, "May it Be," com-
posed and performed by Enya, will probably be
the film's signature song. We'll have to wait for
the film to see what connotations it carries, but if
"Lord of the Rings" the movie is as strong as its
soundtrack, we have a lot to look forward to.
Grade: A-

Pops leaves Bach behind this weekend
By Melissa Gollob Engineering sophomore Steve of the performance, "POPS: 613 represent the new age musical th
Daily Arts Writer Skripnik is the business manager of miles from Broadway," is well suit- ater. Performing these well-know

e-
wn

The Michigan Pops Orchestra,
the only completely student-run and

Michigan
Pops
Orchestra
Michigan Theater
December 2, 2001

directed orches-
tra on campus,
performs this
Sunday at the
Michigan The-
ater. Unlike
conventional
orchestras that
p e r f o r m
Beethoven and
Mozart, the
Pops Orchestra
traditionally
performs popu-
lar music. It
was founded on

the Pops Orchestra and said, "I love
the music and love to perform."
Skripnik, like many others, devotes
time out of his already packed
schedule to rehearse and flex his
musical muscles to bring instru-
mental music to the University. .
This semester the orchestra
focused on the musical theater
genre with hopes to attract people
who otherwise "would not touch
symphonic music with a ten foot
pole."
With this goal in mind, their new
director Karl Shymariovitz put
together Sunday's concert. The title

ed for the show's theme. Shy-
manovitz put this program together
with inspiration from his past expe-
riences. He came to the orchestra
from MUSKET, another student-
run organization, with a back-
ground in musical theater.
Sunday's program includes selec-
tions from successful musicals such
as "Evita" and "Les Miserables."
These classic stories will come to
life inside the audience's mind
when they hear the Pops Orchestra
narrate the plots with selected
music. Newer hits, such as "Rent"
will also appear on the program and

tunes generate a bond between the
players and the audience so that
they feel each other's emotions, just
as an audience feels the emotions
of an actor on stage.

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. F Sa
v~weC&'te

the basis of entertaining a broader
audience and exposing more indi-
viduals to the culture of instrumen-
tal symphonic music.
The Michigan Pops Orchestra
consists of members from all
schools across campus including
Music, LSA and Engineering.
Mostly undergraduate students
audition at the beginning of both
Fall and Winter semesters. They
rehearse once during the week to
prepare for their end of the semes-
ter concert.

Michigan Pops Orchestra gets ready to groove.


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