Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Glenn German ^ Expresses himself through Billy Joel's music Spur hold? contest From Staff Reports c - ,.i?i ' :?u. r? c i i tic vjuiucii OJJUI jjaiitcu cm 111 iaai liigiu IUI uiic ui me semester's last flings, and USC junior Glenn German walked away $50 richer from a field of amateur performers. German won the campus bar's Amateur Night competition before an appreciative crowd of about 200 people, delivering a rendition of Billy Joel's music good enough to beat eight other entries in the competition. I Bobby Dossing took the $25 second prize, and a group calling itself Undeclared earned third place and $15. 'Beauty and the beasl Nicks, AC/DC aroi ^hb4.' -. .^^aBr -SBjSPJrj*?? -f g g^B--- ->,? A yfi^PSNMWHPigiMp Intense emotion Ph0,?by Chip lowe" Fills the face of Angus Young, lead singer for AC/DC. Entertain USC staai By John Vaughan Presenting a Bertolt Brecht play at Longstreet Theatre should expose USC audiences to stage concepts they may be unfamiliar with, according to theater professor Richard Jennings. That fact is one of the reasons Jennings wanted to include Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle" in the university's 1983-84 theater season. Now Jennings is directing the show as this semester's final production. Opening last night, "Caucasian Chalk Circle" plays through Sunday at Longstreet. "BRECHT BELIEVED theater should be educational as well as enter taining," Jennings said. "And I think that's important for us to strive for." The director said USC never has produced a Brechtian work before ? another factor in the decision to stage the play here. He called Brecht, a German playwright of this century, "one of the most important modern influences in theater," and described this play as a solid representation of its creator. Brecht wrote "Caucasian Chalk Circle" in 1945. THE BASIC story line is set in ancient Russia, where a governor is deposed during a revolution. Forced to flee when things get hot, the governor's wife worries more about what clothes she should take with her than about her infant hnv Grusha, a kitchen maid to the governor, takes the baby and cares for it until jfears later, when the boy's biological mother decides she wants the child back. The second part of the tale focuses on ancient Chinese legend and the biblical story of King Solomon, as a judge must decide which woman deserves the boy. :s' ise enthusiast! By Robert O'Connor and John Patrick Enthusiasm may have been the only among two Carolina Coliseum crow* Nicks and AC/DC over the Thanksgivi classes. But that factor was not to be overlo Lively throngs were on hand Than popular singer and her partner in a do' Joe Walsh, as well as Sunday evenin group from Australia. AFTER A month of impatient waitir got more than it bargained for with the Nicks and Walsh. On the last stop in her six-month "W simply possessed the stage and the au two solid hours of entertainment. From the moment she whirled onto tl uusi woman unm sne enaea witi "Rhiannon," the enigmatic singer s fresher solo tunes and her established legendary Fleetwood Mac. Continuous rapport with the audi< and energetic dance routines all added NICKS PERFORMED songs rang "Outside the Rain" and "Dreams" Anyone Falls" and "I Need to Know After telling the crowd, "you know delivered an extended version of the dedicated "Gypsy" to "all of the g there." After introducing her band, Nicks phase of her show. Her recent hit sir highlighted by a professional male dai j stage to dominate a sequence with the In a notable difference, the concert ment came when Nicks was joined b spotlight on "Beauty and the Beast." ed for the song being so "corny," the ing her most tender moment. MAr:vinnl'VT vnrAi < 1 R1 1 f VY UI I\ , 3 Lace" and "How Still My Love," ant ed the Thanksgiving show. Although expert session guitarist Waddy Wacht unnecessary, Nicks' performance left menT ss brecntia JENNINGS POINTS out, however, that the playwright was less concerned with the story than with how it was told. "The production is highly theatrical," he said. "1 think the audience will find it very entertaining as well as enlightening." "Caucasian Chalk Circle" embraces many facets of theatricality, from narration to dance to singing to powerful tragedy to highbrow comedy, the director said. USC's production features a large cast, with performers assuming several roles through the play. UNDERSTANDING THE fundamentals of the Brechtian techniques of historification and alienation will help the audience to enjoy the play, Jennings said. To this end, he has included some brief notes in the printed program. Historification stemmed from Brecht's concern that his audience's socially conditioned attitudes could block critical consideration of his staxements. By setting stage events in the past, he felt he could relieve this burden while drawing parallels for the viewer to recognize in his own world. ALIENATION IS Brecht's most famous and most misunderstood technique, Jennings noted. The term describes several devices employed to remind the audience it is in a theater. Because Brecht wanted his audience to think critically about what is played out before it, his work is episodic in nature and presentational in delivery. Tu:~ #u~ u iiiis incdiib uic piaywiigiu up his work with several scenes that "show" the story through different perspectives. Jennings said because Brecht does not sacrifice entertainment for his c Carolina Colis common denominator ds that greeted Stevie ing holiday break from ?111 oked. : ksgiving night for the uble bill, rock guitarist | g for the heavy-metal ig, an packed coliseum |HHB^fcfadi8WBr%| rescheduled concert by j 'ild Heart" tour, Nicks dience's attention with j| ppipjiir: ^ ^ tie stage to begin "Gold |^HB/ 1 the final encore of plit her time between HjHHHHHp songs carved with the 7 snce, costume changes up to a special evening. mUBBm ing from the beautiful to the energetic "If tSBBlMljpfjf ijjWHjjiy y > uch as in "Leather and ^ I on-stage dramatics rul- ?^J|F g|Pi|||!l a lengthy guitar solo by p-ml> el seemed irritating and little room for criticism. Crooning into th See "Concerts," page 12 Stevie Nicks sing; in play :''^K r"::::y-;/ / i?*IV jbK?SB; j^^BnKv^^nNVHKa^^^^wU. JjSB t | ; ffjgj'ftT HBHnHHBHWf'j^^i <>ii^ ; Jennifer Frazee Portrays Grusha in USC play rhetoric, however, his work has enjoyed popular as well as critical acclaim. USC'S PRODUCTION features Jennifer Frazee as Grusha, Jo Ann Fithian as the governor's wife and Andrew Reilly as the judge, Azdak. More than 30 other Derformers fiil the cast. Live as well as recorded music will fill the show, with some original composition by graduate student Claudia Anderson. Joel Mason, an undergraduate student, will play one of his compositions on a Russian string instrument called the balalaika. Performances are at 8 p.m. with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee. For ticket information, call the Longstreet box office at 777-2551. ;eum crowds .,np? "UPW! , 'MMBmSL, v? v-Vi^ -- j Bfr^Kto^>v ^SHmI >j-> # * | v ' * w * t 0 microphone Pho,?b* c?**" H?mmond > of her 'Dreams'