The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 18, 2002, Page 6, Image 6
@ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, October 18, 2002
THEY SAID IT
CONTACT I IS JACK HANDEY: “Sometimes life seems
like a dream, especially when
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I look down and see that I forgot to
E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com put on my pants.”
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Monica Wyche, left, who plays Catherine and Larry McMullen who plays Robert, star in “Proof,” a play about the effects of death and emotional conflict*—^
Award-winning Broadway play ‘Proof begins its run at Trustus Theatre Friday night
BY JESSICA MANNING
THE GAMECOCK
David Auburn’s “Proof’, the
winner of the 2001 Tony Award
for Best Play and the 2001 Pulitzer
Prize for drama, is coming to
Columbia’s Trustus Theatre
Friday.
Jim Thigpen, artistic director
„c >»
“Proof’ interacts with mysteri
ous, manipulative and brilliant
characters to produce a plot based
on love, defeat and deliverance.
Catherine is faced with the
death of her father, Robert, a fa
mous mathematician, after car
ing for him for several years.
After the death of her father,
Catherine is presented with nu
WX X X UVX) X V
ceived part of
his theatrical
training at
USC. He re
ceived the
National
Endowment for
the Humanities
Award and has
been named lo
cal and state ed
ucator of the
year.
Thigpen said
he chose to di
rect “Proof’ to
“Oftentimes,... the
highly educated are
thought of as too smart
for the real world. This
play shows that these
people deal just as
humanly with the same
problems as the rest of
us.”
JIM THIGPEN
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF “PROOF"
flicts ranging
from emotion
al turmoil to
an unforeseen
suitor.
With the ar
rival of her sis
ter, Claire, for
Robert’s fu
neral and the
beginning of a
romance with
one of her fa
ther’s stu
dents, Hal,
Catherine
demonstrate equality among so
cietal hierarchies.
“Oftentimes, to the general
public, the highly educated are
thought of as too smart for the
real world,” Thigpen said. “This
play shows that these people deal
just as humanly with the same
problems as the rest of us.”
The four-member cast of
faces a journey of trust and per
sonal growth.
When Hal discovers an im
pressive mathematical proof in
one of Robert’s old math note
books, a debate arises over who
was the mastermind behind the
proof.
As Catherine deals with her
budding romance with Hal’s and
Claire’s plans for her life, she
struggles to discover whether she
will inherit her father’s genius or
his madness.
Cast members include Monica
Wyche as Catherine, Catherine
L. Bailey as Claire, Harold
Skinner as Hal and Larry
McMullen as Robert.
“As an actor looking at the role
of Robert, it’s wonderful to be able
to play such a multi-faceted char
acter,” said McMullen, who grad
uated from USC in 1991 with a
master of fine arts degree in the
ater. “I get the chance to show
several distinctly different sides
of this man’s personality.”
Bailey hopes to convey her
character’s humanity to the au
dience.
“Claire potentially is very
hard-edged, but everything she
does is motivated by love and
concern,” Bailey said. “The chal
lenge is to convey that to the au
dience.”
The audience’s perspective is
restricted to the back porch of a
house in Chicago’s Hyde Park.
Jayce Tromsness, set design
er, wanted to incorporate the set
into a working atmosphere for
the actors.
“I had to create an acting space
that would create enough room
for the actors to have a variety of
movements and stick to the back
porch,” he said. “We expanded
the size to give a sense that some
thing is not right. My intention
was not to get in the way of the
play.”
Overall, the members of the
Trustus Theatre find great sig
nificance in
/
/
community theaters and an out
standing university program, but
there was no professional theater.
We wanted to fill that void and
start a professional company that
would employ high-quality artists
and produce daring, compelling
theater to complement all the
great work that
bringing the
off-Broadway
production of
“Proof’ to
Columbia.
“Trustus’
mission has al- I
ways been
rooted in
bringing the
best of the
newest con
If You Go
WHAT: Proof
WHEN: Friday, 8 p.m.
WHERE: Trustus Theatre
BOX OFFICE: 254-9732
TICKETS: range from $12
to $17.50
was already
happening
here.”
The theater
won the 2000
Elizabeth
O’Neill Verner
Governor’s
Awards for the
Arts in the cate
gory of arts or
ganization.
temporary tneater to tne people
of the Midlands, and ‘Proof cer
tainly does that in that the show
is still running on Broadway,”
said Laurens Wilson, Trustus’ de
velopment and marketing direc
tor.
Thigpen founded Trustus
Theatre in 1985 with his wife,
Kay.
“After kicking around the
country as an actor, director and
teacher, Kay and I decided that
Columbia was where we wanted
to live and work,” said Thigpen.
“Columbia has several very good
performance times include 8
p.m. Friday and Saturday and
7:30 p.m. Wednesday and
Thursday. Matinee performances
on Sundays begin at 3 p.m.
“Proof’ will run Friday through
Nov. 9.
For ticket reservations, call
Trustus’ box office at 254-9732.
The box office hours are Monday
through Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m.
Tickets will also be available at
the door if seats remain.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
2002 Battle of the Bands
PHOTOS BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
Top: Blake Rogers, left, a first-year graphic design student and guitarist, and bassist
Lee Player perform on the Russell House Patio during the Battle of the Bands. Their
band, Don’t Tell Dick, won the competition Thursday night. “I think this is going to
open a lot of doors for us when it comes to the scene in Columbia,” Rogers said.
Left: Charles Riley, a second-year mechanical engineering student, plays guitar for the
runner-up band, Exit 101.
I CD REVIEW
Emcees
discover
their own
identity
“THE CHOSEN FEW”
Boot Camp
★ ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY TITAN BARKSDALE
THE GAMECOCK
During the early ‘90s, which was
the tail end of rap’s most creative
period—the golden era—the Boot
Camp Clik had not released a col
lective album, but the group’s
members were individually mak
ing history. Using the gritty sound
of the Beatminerz, their in-house
producers at the time, four sepa
rate tandems within the BCC at
tacked whatever track they rapped
over demonstrating the group’s
lyrical Dreaam.
Blackmoon got the ball rolling
in 1993, and Smif-n-Wessun, Heltah
Skeltah and OGC followed. This
wave of critically acclaimed al
bums culminated in 1997 in the1
first BCC collaborative effort, “For
the People,” which featured mel
low tones that seemed to contradict
the aggressive style and rugged de
meanor the group once flaunted.
Since then, the group has been
struck with a bit of an identity cri
sis. The second wave of records
left the group’s core fans nodding
off instead of nodding their heads.
But its most recent effort, “The
Chosen Few,” alerts the listener
after the first full track that the
group is returning to its roots.
Once the pounding drums and
tickling acoustic strings of the first
track, “And So,” blare through the
speaker, traces of the group’s glory
days are evident. Ruck, half of
Heltah Skeltah; Buckshot, half of
Blackmoon; Top Dog, one-third of
OGC; and Smif-n-Wessun recite
rhymes that reflect the importance
of the group’s redemption.
With an energized delivery, Top
Dog slightly reworks his familiar
line from 1996 and asks: “You for
got who we are/Have you lost all
your respect for my squad?”
Buckshot builds on Top Dog’s
rhetorical questioning as he
mocks the inquiries of many fans:
“What’s up with Boot Camp Clik,
son they ain’t knockin?/They ain’t
droppin’ the now topics.”
Every member on the album de
livers his verses as though he has
something to prove. Midway into
the album, however, it becomes,
obvious that the signature bari
tone of the gravel-voiced Rock, the
other half of Heltah Skeltah, is ab
sent. He left the band for a solo ca
reer on Lethal Dose Records, the
label started by Limp Bizkit’s DJ
Lethal. But the void left by Rock
is not detrimental to the group.
With wit like OGC’s Starang’s
on display over the chopped
chords of “Let’s Roll,” Rock isn’t
sorely missed. Starang arrogantly
spits: “Steppin’ outta UConn like
Khalid El-Amin/Know what I
mean?” There certainly isn’t a
shortage of engaging lyrics on
“The Chosen Few.”
Heavyweight producers such as
the Alchemist, Bink, Hi Tek and
Beatminerz provide the musical
canvas for the album and lace the
group with bangers.
“Ice Skate,” complete with an
unimaginative crooned hook, and
the lethargic “Whoop His Ass,”
however, are the less inspiring
tracks on the album.
Aside from those two mishaps,
“The Chosen Few” promises not
to disappoint the listener. This al
bum should start a new wave of
Boot Camp hits because the group
seems to have finally found its
identity.
Comments on this story?E-mail,
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