The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, December 4, 2009 - 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December 4, 2DD9 - 5
"The Two Couple Play and Other Short Works" requires many students to play multiple roles in one evening.
A 'Couple' of laughs
This weekend, Basement Arts showcases an
anthology of entirely student-created plays
By Carolyn Klarecki I Daily TV/New Media Editor
The lights come up on a small.
stage, illuminating two student
actors dressed as a geriatric
couple in a spar-
ingly decorated
doctor's office.
As they start to Couple Play
bicker in Yid- and Other
dish accents
with interstitial Short Works
sighs and eye Today at7 p.m.
rolls, the few and ay A7. and
people in the a m.and
intimate the- Tomorrow
ater laugh and at7 p.m.
ndd approv- At Studio One
ingly. Even in the Walgreen
I Stoma Centet
though opening Free
night was 24
hours off, the
atmosphere pervading the dress
rehearsal for Basement Arts' lat-
est production, "The Two Couple
Play and Other Short Works," was
more than promising.
From the professionalism of
the directors to the dedication of
the actors, it's natural to assume
the show has been in rehearsal
for a while or it's under the direc-
tion of an experienced faculty
member. In actuality, rehearsals
have been in progress for only
three weeks, and the cast and
crew of the project is composed
of students with a varying ranges
of theater experience.
"The Two Couple Play and
Other Short Works" consists
of three one-act plays written,
produced, directed and acted by
students. Though the three sepa-
rate works bear similar styles of
humor, aesthetic and theme, the
variety of characters and sto-
ries should appeal to a large and
diverse audience. The title piece,
"The Two Couple Play," has suc-
ceeded in relating particularly to
college-aged audiences.
"I've been hearing a lot of real-
ly positive feedback I didn't really
expect from 'The Two Couple
Play,' which is.. about what it is
like to be in your 2Os in 2010,"
said LSA senior Zach Smilovitz,
writer of all three plays and first-
time director of one. (Smilovitz
also serves as the Daily's political
satire columnist.)
"It's very difficult ... It feels
like a lot of theater today is not
about what our age group is going
through," he said.
This production has allowed
those involved to explore and
experiment with multiple facets
of putting on a show. With actors
taking very different roles in mul-
tiple plays, directors acting as pro-
ducers and writers trying their
hands at directing, this produc-.
tion has been a learning experi-
ence for the entire cast and crewi
"I'm in the acting program. I'm
also a film director even though
I haven't directed a play since
my freshman year here. It's been
four years since I've directed a
play," Liam White, Music, The-
atre & Dance and LSA senior said.
White is also the show's producer
and director of one of the plays.
Naturally, these crossovers
lead to some complications. Nico
Anger, Music, Theatre & Ounce
senior and lead actor in two of the
plays, says that instantaneously
switching roles between an old
Jewish man and a young aspiring
20-something has been his big-
gest challenge.
"I literally go off stage and come
back on 10 seconds later and have
to do the next thing," Anger said.
"It's difficult jumping from
one rehearsal to another with
all of the lines ... and having to
keep them all straight. A lot of
the times I start saying lines
from other plays or I mix it up
and start going into the Jewish
accent while I'm in the car. It
gets confusing."
Though producing three very
different showsiin, huih a Ishort'
amount of time presents some
obvious challenges, the dedication
and talent of everyone involved
will be visible come show time.
"The Two Couple Play and Other
Short Works" will be performed
tonight at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. and
tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Studio One
at the Walgreen Drama Center.
Admission is free.
Friars woo
listeners one
lady at a time
By DAVID RIVA boundaries."
Daily Fine Arts Editor Among these YouTube sensa-
tions are "North Face Girl" and
"And now, due to circumstances "Freshman Girl." Both tunes
beyond my con- exploit the subject matter the Fri-
trol, I present to . ars most frequently revisit.
you the Friars." The Fnars "It's no secret, girls are usu-
For 54 years, Tomorrow, ally our target demographic."
that's how the 8p.m. Morris said. "The unisex versions
University's old- At Rackham of 'North Face,' 'Freshman' and
est a cappella $6 'Buckeye Girl' didn't make the cut.
group has been Eight guys singing a cappella have
introduced. It's to assert their masculinity some-
an appropriate warningto the audi- how."
ence that a group of eight young These satirical songs are all
men are about to take the stage examples of what the Friars are
armed with silly songs and danger- best known for: writing original
ous dance moves. lyrics to familiar tunes.
Their job description, according "We take a popular song, 'Lean
to LSA sophomore Aaron Bindman On Me' for example, and we decide
is to "attempt to be funny, dance what really piques us as college st-
awkwardly, sing occasionally and dents - what do we know so much
be as entertaining as possible." about that we can create multiple
As far as a cappella troupes go, hilarious verses dedicated to it,"
the Friars are about as unfettered, Bidman explained.
free-spirited and footloose as they
come.
"We acknowledge that musical-
ity is not the only factor ina suc- Putting a twist
cessful performance," LSA senior a t*
Dominic Merica said. "The fun we on familiar tunes.
have on stage spreads through the
audience, soI think that having fun
is really the most important ele- "That is (how) we created 'Face-
ment in a good show." book Me,' an original that will
To give credit where credit is debut at this concert," he added.
due, however, all members of the Morris has a similar take on the
Friars are members of the Men's writing process for Friars origi-
Glee Club, an organization that nals.
upholds high musical standards. "The formula is pretty simple:
Even though their ability to be Find an easy target like soror-
showmen onstage takes prece- ity girls, make fun of everything
dence, their capacity to hold a about them and make them laugh
chord and hit a harmony should not atthemselves," he said.
be overlooked. Popular songs with no lyric
In addition towbeing a talented alteration are also performed in
singer, tongue-in-cheek sarcasm addition to these parodies. The
hnd'a healthy dbs f6f self-dhpreca- selection-process forthese num-
tion are essential qualities for every bers is lengthy and arduous to say
Friar. the least.
The Friars' near-celebrity status "We all gather around and play
on campus only helps to illuminate the greatest game ever: Risk,"
these qualities. Bindman explained. "World domi-
"Of course we don't feel like nation becomes song domination.
celebrities," Bindman said. "We We play the game as many times as
prefer to be called educators. We songs needed for the concert with
help people realize that if given the winner of each round choosing
marginally good looks and mini- asingle song. After playing roughly
mal singing talent yet you also can 16 times (approximately 80 hours),
be quite witty, women will actually we have our songs chosen and then
pay attention to you." start the process all over again to
Engineering junior and first- determine who solos."
year Friar Kevin Klinke expressed Past concerts have included
a similar sentiment. songs ranging from Motown ("I
"To be honest, no (I don't feel, Want You Back," "ABC") to mod-
like a campus celebrity)," he said. ern radio tunes ("Better Together,"
"To be not honest, I'd say that I'm "Hey Ya!") as well as hits by the
'kind of a big deal.' I'm sure that Beatles ("Yesterday"), Beach Boys
will change after my first concert ("California Girls"), Barenaked
this Saturday when girls are sure Ladies ("It's All Been Done") and
to start flocking and whatnot. But .Backstreet Boys ("I Want It That
at this point I still wholeheartedly Way").
believe I'm a nobody." Choosing a favorite Friars song
Merica reinforced this endear- is like a parent picking a favorite
ingself-loathing. child for the singers and audience
"I've been told an assortment of members alike. Bidman, however,
nice things about the Friars," he cited "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz as
said. "I believe these comments the tune he's most fond of.
must have all been made by people "We are not credited enough for
who have not attended our con- our soft, sensitive side," he said.
certs." "We are more than the class clowns
LSA senior Sean Morris, how- - we are the class clowns who you
ever, realizes Friars transcend Uni- can maybe see asking out, if no one
versity recognition and have been else is available for that night."
praised on an international level. So whether you're a young lady
"The best feeling is getting ran- looking for a thoughtful guy with
dom emails in broken English from a sense of humor, an a cappella
people in Korea or Germany who enthusiast or someone who likes
'love' our YouTube videos," he said. laughing at white boys trying to
"It's really rewarding to know that dance, be sure to check out the Fri-
our message of abstinence, sobri- ars tomorrow night at Rackham
ety and piety crosses international Auditorium.
DO YOU LIKE MUSEUMS?
BOOKS? FOOD?
ART GALLERIES?
SYMPHONIES?
YO %U SOUND LIKE A
GOOD FIT FOR DAILY
FINE ARTS.
E-mail join.arts@umich.edu for
information on how to apply.
The war in Iraq's human Grim Reapers
By ANDREW LAPIN
Daily Film Editor
There's something absurdly alienating,
and maybe even dehumanizing, about hav-
ing to break the news of
someone's death to people
you don't know. The ordeal
forces you to boil down the
complexities of human grief
to a simple science that can Messenger
be understood and manipu- At the
lated. But in "The Messen- .i
ger," the new Iraq war-era Michigan
drama by director and c O Losope
writer Oren Moverman (who
previously co-scripted "I'm
Not There"), that science of grief is played for
pathos instead of cold disconnection.
Ultimately, when the product being shipped
is sadness, it hurts a lot to be the delivery boy.
Ben Foster ("Pandorum") gives a deeply
touching breakthrough performance as Will
Montgomery, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army
who is sent home after injuring himself in
battle and is reassigned to his local "Angel
of Death" squadron. When a soldier dies, it
becomes his job to break the news to the next
of kin, or NOK, as they're coldly called. There
must always be two soldiers present to deliver
the death notice, and Montgomery's partner is
Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson, "Zom-
bieland"), a grizzled veteran of carrying these
Grim Reaper-like tidings.
Tony talks about their job as though it's a
military operation akin to Desert Storm, and
he brings certain rules to their line of work:
Speak only with the NOK. Don't greet them
with a "good morning" - "Ain't nothing good
about it," Tony remarks. And under no circum-
stances are you to touch the NOK. No extended
compassion beyond the government-regulated
amount is allowed.
"The Messenger" isn't really an "Iraq war
movie." It's a film about being in the pres-
ence of death and an exploration of the vari-
ous forms grief can take. Far from making an
overtly political statement, the movie succeeds
because it's a deeply human drama with touch-
ing performances, including Steve Buscemi
("Fargo") in the most heartbreaking three-
minute role you'll ever see.
Foster and Harrelson both play tortured
Gotta love a man in uniform.
souls whose spirits were broken long before
they became Angels of Death. Foster is par-
ticularly devastating. The young actor is in
every scene, and his stoic silences speak vol-
umes about the intense pain that's hiding just
under his skin. He begins a tentative and ethi-
How two men deliver
the message of death
in the military.
cally questionable relationship with a newly
widowed recipient of his message (Saman-
tha Morton, "Synecdoche, New York"). This
story could have gone into territory too grim
for even this film, but the two actors are so
delicate with each others' emotions that their
scenes together are some of the most effective
in the movie.
In his first directing job, Moverman proves
himself as an ace at navigating the whole spec-
trum of human emotion through superb cam-
erawork that never shifts its focus away from
the drama. He knows when to use extended
single takes for blistering emotional effec-
tiveness, and keeps a morbidly aware tone
throughout. A homecoming scene where a
returning soldier mocks-the song "Taps" is fol-
lowed immediately by the funeral of a different
soldier, where, yes, "Taps" is played. No need to
dance around the subject of death like a more
cautious filmmaker might have done: Here the
subject's always right there in the open, invad-
ing every frame, the true star of the film.
There's no hope in "The Messenger" in the
traditionally melodramatic sense, but ulti-
mately an uplifting spirit does prevail in the
characters that has nothing to do with the hor-
rors of war. Here is a film that is deeply rev-
erent to and understanding of our military.
The fact that it was made by a veteran of the
Israeli Defense Forces, not the U.S. Armed
Forces, is demonstrative of the universality of
the themes on display here. There is death in
war, just as there is death in life, and films like
"The Messenger" can help us to live and learn
alongside its presence.