THE MICHIGAN DAILY,__ O f
>ertory Group
To Offer Seven Plays For Summer Seas
17
1
rns
And
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Teachers Wield Mean Hammer
As Students Construct Play Sets
?torI
Anued from]
try,' Milne
s Summer
Vednesday
Page 1)
ich makes a
the forces of
and injustice
e personal lib-
e today, forms
be given Aug.
f Gilbert and Sul-
I comic operas,
to a close. This
dnesday, Aug. 9
Aug. 12 and also
day, Aug. 14 and
th the Players in
will be the School
University Sym-
n here in the 1939
s the Canon Matt
Thite Steed" and
bered for his part
oting the part of
Rich in "Excur-
in October, 1937.
entine B. Windt,
roduction and in
rtory Players.
few years, Kane
Mercury Theatre
rk under Orson
hicago Fine Arts
director of the
n Chicago and has
ion" and "Shoe-
both of which he
Arbor after the
New York runs;
c," "Yellow Jack"
ion." For the past
with the Maurice
nd has been seen
amlet," "Richard
er as well as an
of drama and has
:vrsities of Syra-
>rk and Washing-
dichigan.
of the directing
ric O. Crandall of
rent and Claribel
instructor in the
onnected with the
seasons.
aff includes Prof.
,nd W. Oren Park-
eech department,
distinguished cos-
, and avisiting
eech faculty.
iresented for par-
>art of this theatre
in the dramatic
the speech de-
By MALCOLM LONG
Twenty to thirty school teach-
ers and dramatic students, all armed
with hammers, nails, saws, hatchets
and other tools, will descend on the
Laboratory Theatre this week and
begin construction of the sets for the
plays to be given during the summer
by the Michigan Repertory Players.
Accidents, smashed fingers and
the like, are at a minimum, too, ac-
cording to W. Oren Parker of the
speech department and art director
of the summer season, although a
band saw and several other power
tools are in constant use. These
teachers wield a mean hammer and
make good carpenters Parker said.
Students in two of the speech
classes, intermediate and advanced
stagecraft, take over the construc-
tion of the sets, lighting, technical
equipment and properties of the
plays. These classes, composed large-
ly of persons who in the winter are
teachers of dramatics, speech and
English, are under the direction of
Parker and Prof. William Halstead,
also of the speech department and
technical director of the Players.
Primary consideration in set con-
struction must be lightness of weight
so that they can be easily and quick-
ly moved on and off the stage; sec-
ondly, they are made for function,
so that the actors can move through
them easily; and then is considered
period detail, locale and creation of
background and atmosphere.
The hardest job has been making
the four sets for the first play,
"Michael and Mary." These had to
be completed even before the stu-
dents arrived, so Parker with his
staff of assistants, Nancy Schaeffer,
Robert Mellencamp and Robert Cor-
rigan and one student who arrived
early for the Summer Session have
successfully completed a corner of
the British Museum, a third floor
room of a Victorian rooming house,
another of a second floor apartment
in 1919 and a modern house interior.
However, the number of sets usually
constructed for a summer have been
reduced to 14 to 16 this year since
one play, "Our Town," requires no
scenery but a few props and another,
"Two Gentlemen of Verona," which
has been given before during the
past year and, whose sets are al-
ready prepared.
One thing to be seen in "Michael
and Mary" is a long radiator under
a window. Although it looks like a
real one, it is constructed out of
wood and then painted. The reason
an actual radiator is not used, Park-
er explained, is that it would weigh
over a ton and require three men to
move it at a time when neither the
men nor time could be spared. So
a model is made.
The whole Lab Theatre is full of
scenery used in former plays. Some
of it is used over and over; it is re-
done each time to make it fit the
period and also to make its appear-
ance different for each play. The
basement is full of trunks with cos-
tumes and' also of bins containing
properties, all sorted out, as one
which has weapons and contains
beaverboardcopies of two blunder-
busses, several ponairds, lances,
scimitars, swords and anumber of
rifles. and pistols; another contains
china, dishes, cups, kerosine lamps,
glass chimineys and the like.
Parker is returning to the players
after a year of study at the Yale
Drama School as Rockefeller Foun-
dation Fellow. He first came to
Michigan in the days of the Union
Operas. When this activity col-
lapsed, he joined Play Production
with whom he worked for six years.
He intends to reenter Yale next
year after which he hopes to obtain
a job on the professional stage or
teaching stage design.
Dr. C. A. Fisher Chosen
N.E.A. Vice-President
Dr. C. A. Fisher, director of the
University Extension Service, was
elected vice-president of tho Na-
tional University Extension Associa-
tion at the concluding session of the
three-day, parley Saturday in Berke-
ley, Calif.
B. C. Riley of the University of
Florida was chosen president of the
organization.
Mystery Of 21,480
Play Tickets Solved
Authoritative Daily sources dis-
closed last night the whereabouts of
the 21,480 tickets for the series of
plays to be given by the Repertory
Players this summer. Despite cur-
rent rumor, the tickets were not
stored in a five room suite on the
upper floors of the League. All tickets
are contained in a small cabinet, two
feet by three feet, kept at the right
hand of the man in the box office
window.
With seven plays, six of four per-
formances and one of six perform-
ances, and the theatre containing 716
persons each time, the grand total
reaches the amazing figure of 21,480
small yellow, blue, pink, white, and
purple cardboards.
Seven Plays Listed
"Michael And Mary" by A. A. Mil-
ne; Wednesday, June 28 to Saturday,
July 1.
"The Good Hope" by Herman
Heijermans; Wednesday, July 5 to
Saturday, July 8.
"The Two Gentlemen of Verona"
by William Shakespeare; Wednes-
day, July 12 to Saturday, July 15.
"Our Town" by Thornton Wilder;
Wednesday, July 19 to Saturday,
July 22.
"Androcles and the Lion" by
George Bernard Shaw; Wednesday,
July 26 to Saturday, July 29.
"Judgment Day" by Elmer Rice;
Wednesday, Aug. 2 to Saturday, Aug.
5. ,
"lolanthe" by Gilbert and .Sulli-
van; Wednesday, Aug. 9 to Saturday,
Aug. 12; also Monday, Aug. 14 and
Tuesday, Aug. 15.
Safety Course
To Be Offered'
Education School To Give
New Graduate Subject
An eight week graduate course in
safety education is being offered by
the School of Education during the
Summer Session to aid in framing
more effective programs for safety
education.
The course is designed for ad-
vanced students who are prepared
to make intensive studies of the
aims, content and methods of safety
education. Enrollment has been lim-
ited to approximately 40 students,
with preference given to those who
have some responsibility for pro-
grams of safety education or' are
preparing for such duties. The whole
field of safety will be considered.
An extensive collection of recent
textbooks, courses of study, teach-
ing units, community programs, re-
ports of 'special investigations and
similar materials have been made
available in the Transportation
Library in the East Engineering
building.
Courses will be conducted by Prof.
Thomas Diamond of the vocational
education department and other
faculty members.
Scott Nears Track Title
CLEVELAND, June 25. - P-
Bronzed Joe Scott of Western Re-
serve University cut another notch
in his bid for Olympic recognition
by winning . his second consecutive
National Decathlon Championship
today from a field of ten other all-
around athletes.
First Summer Drama Is Domestic Comedy
"Michael and Mary," the first of-
fering of the Michigan Repertory
Players, will probably prove the sea-
son's closest approach to high comedy.
The play traces the domestic ad-
ventures of two young people who
marry despite the fact that one of
them is already married. Michael and
Mary rear their son under these un-
conventional circumstances and in
face of a threat of danger that may
at any moment bring disaster upon
them and their home.
This play was first produced in
t. -
New York at the Charles He
Theatre on Dec. 10, 1929, an
for 232 performances.
Alan Alexander Milne, the a
is a Scotch dramatist and es:
well known to American audi
Produced here have been his "1
da," which Ethel Barrymore i
ed in her repertoire "The
Road;" "Mr. Pim Passes," and
Ivory Door," both of which act
a year's run in New York.
Playing the leads will be
Klauser and Mary Jordan.
I
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l
0.0D. MORL
Since 1908
Phone 6615
314 South State Street (Opposite Kresge's)
TYPEWRITERS OFFICE MACHINES ADDING MACHINES
Office and Portable Mimeographs, Manual and Electric
Models of 'All Makes Duplicators, Portable and Heavy Duty
L. C. Smith, Corona Checkwriters, Barrett,
Royal, Underwood Calculators, Corona, Burroughs,
Remington, Noiseless Supplies Remington, Sunstrand.
The u that Cools!
In the Allenel taproom you will find the
"cooling-est" drink you ever tasted -
fine beer with that full flavor. We'll ex-
pect you any day in the good old-summer
time!
Large
Stationery
All makes, Bought, Sold, Rented, Exchanged, Cleaned, Repaired
Special Rental Rates to Summer Students
Stock New and Reconditioned Convenient Terms if desired
Student and Office Supplies Fountain Pens Greeting Cards
"If You Write, We Have It"
ALLENEL HE
Downtown on Huron
I
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I
HE
MICHIGAN
REPERTORY
PLAYERS
0
DEPARTMENT
OF SPEECH, UNIVERSITY
OF MICHIGAN
Present Their Eleventh
Season
June
28
through August 15
MICHAEL AND MARY
OUR TOWN
ANDROCLES AND THE LION
a
O This play is typically Milne in its delicate and under-
standing treatment of a man and woman whose great,
and unusual love is lived in the shadow of fear.
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OP VERONA
* For most audiences this play is a new experience.
Though rarely done, it is most actable and entertaining.
The Chamber Orchestra of the School of Music will ac-
'company this production throughout with selections
from Mozart.
THE GOOD HOPE
O With masterly strokes the Dutch dramatists Heijer-
mans paints his tragic picture of the lives of the humble
fisher folk in this modern classic of the world theatre.
It is marked by superb charatterization and a profound
insight into social values.
The Good Hope
* Our Town was both the Pulitzer Prize play and a popular sensation
of the New York season of 1938. Through its gentle, sensitively told
story one experiences a whole epoch of American life
Seven Outstanding Plays
OPENING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 8:30 P.M.
1st Week
MICHAEL AND MARY .
I In this buoyant comedy the satirical George Bernard
Shaw deals with the problems of the early Christian mar-
tyrs and those of their persecutors. He uses these two
groups as symbols of their kind in all ages. It is Shaw
in his gayest and wittiest mood.
IOLANTHE
0 Because of- the charm of its book and the sheer
beauty of its score, lolanthe occupies a high place in the
affection of those who love Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
t is presented as the Grande Finale of the Eleventh
Summer Season in association with the School of Music
and the University Symphony Orchestra.
JUDGMENT DAY
0 This exciting melodrama is a powerful protest
against the forces of tyranny, intolerance and injustice
that are destroying the personal liberties of so many
nations in our world today:
2nd Week
THE GOOD HOPE .
Milne
Heijermans
Shakespeare
3rd Week
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
4th Week
OUR TOWN
5th Week
ANDROCLES AND THE LION
Wilder
Shaw
Rice
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
6th Week
JUDGMENT DAY
7th and 8th Weeks
Gilbert and Sullivan
IOLANTHE
SEASON TICKETS . . . . $3.75 $3.25 - $2.50
- SINGLE ADMISSIONS . . . . . 75c - 50c - 35c m aimf.y