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MIX
THEY SAID IT
DAVID HUME: "It is seldom that liberty
of any kind is lost all at once."
Preston
takes
on the
movies
BY BEN ANGSTADT
THE (IAMECOCK
It's 10 on a Saturday morning.
Students all over campus are still
in bed, sleeping late, trying to keep
warm while it's cold outside.
Pierce Cook, however, has been
awake for hours.
Cook is outside in frigid tem
peratures and drizzling rain to
make last-minute
preparations.
He and
his
cast and crew are about to begin
shooting their latest film.
A second-year media arts stu
dent from Irmo, Cook is an aspir
ing filmmaker who started his
work early. "I got started in mid
dle school," Cook said, but he was
interested in film even earlier.
"I've wanted to be a director since
fourth grade."
Cook is at no loss to name his
major filmmaking influence.
"Spielberg," he replied, with no
hesitation. "I saw
Jurassic Park 21
times in the the
ater."
At Preston,
Cook and his as
sociates are
putting on make
up, arranging
light fixtures, set
ting up a boom mi
crophone and running
cables in the utility
shed of Preston
College, the setting
of Cook's latest
film, "Preston
College: Search
Jimmy Griffin plays Smeagol, a cl
O BY BEN ANGSTADT/THE GAMECOCK
from "Lord of the Rings."
PHOTOS BY BEN ANGSTADT/THE GAMECOCK
Pierce Cook, left, films Michael Chajewski in a scene from Cook's original film "Preston College: Seacch for the One Ring."
for the One Ring." The story, a par
ody of an entire host of contempo
rary films, is the work of third
year history student Will Lewis.
Lewis is one of the more expe
rienced members of Cook's crew.
After meeting Cook in an inter
mediate French class last year,
Lewis said Cook "mentioned a sto
ry idea for me and I wrote some
thing up for him. He liked it, so
I've been trying to write things for
him ever since."
Lewis' script is a spectacle of ec
centric humor. When the evil Dr.
Claw — of "Inspector Gadget"
fame — wishes to resurrect the
dark Lord A1 from beyond the
grave, he must call upon
Catwoman and her evil minions to
do so. Unfortunately, for A1 to suc
cessfully return to life, Catwoman
must first track down the leg
endary "one ring" that is being
held by the creature Smeagol, a la
"Lord of the Rings." Then, as Cook
says, "chaos ensues."
Fortunately, heroes James
Bond, Anakin Skywalker, Zorro,
and Lara Croft are wise to Claw's
evil plot and join forces to stop Al's
unholy resurrection.
Lord Al, the film's supreme bad
guy, is played by Alfred McNulty,
who also does the film's visual ef
fects. McNulty, a second-year com
puter-engineering student, has
been Cook's best friend since
fourth grade and his "long time
movie-making associate."
McNulty plans to continue work
ing in the film industry with a ca
reer in 3-D animation.
Cook's passion for his work in
spires his cast to endure less than
comfortable circumstances for the
film's benefit. As first-year art-shl·
dio student Jimmy Griffin, who
portrays the character Smeagol,
sits off camera, he says, "It's hard
wearing so little clothing." Griffin
huddles in the corner, wearing
only a swimming cap and a pair of
shorts-turned-loincloth in tem
peratures around 45 degrees.
As Cook calls out scenes, metic
ulously sets camera angles and
films take after take of his scenes,
both his passion and his experi
ence are evident. His love of film
making has possibly driven him
to the point of self-detriment; He
says, "I overdrafted my bank ac
count for this movie."
Fortunately, Cook has enough
experience so that "Search for the
One Ring" is no insurmountable
challenge for him. "I worked on
an independent film in Charleston
when I was in 10th grade," Cook
said. "A lot of the experience I
have is from that."
This, however, is not his first
film at USC. "We did something
similar last year," he said.
He's also lent a hand to some
other filmmakers he knows. "I've
helped some people with some of
their projects," Cook said.
His crew also sees the benefits
that stem from participation in
Cook's films. "Given what he's
done in the past, it's a nice oppor
tunity," says first-year history stu
dent Will Rogers, the film's exec
utive producer and boom-micro
phone operator. And Cook is open
with his invitations to participate.
"We've included most of the peo
ple in the dorm here. Pretty much
anyone who wanted to participate
has their bit part in it," Rogers
adds.
Although Cook is not sure yet
exactly what he plans to do after
graduation, be it grad school or
another option, he is certain he
wants to become a professional
filmmaker. Cook's ambition and
expertise seem likely to take him
far, though he still has a few years
left at USC. What projects does he
have lined up for the rest of his
college career? "I'm not sure yet,"
he said. Only time will tell.
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PLAY REVIEW
'Black Bottom'reigns at Trustus Theatre
"MA RAINETS BUCK BOTTOM"
Directed by Craig Miller
★ ★★★OUt (>{'☆☆☆☆'&
BY CHRISTINA ORR
THE (1AMECOCK
Imagine that a black female
blues singer in the roaring '20s
has power over her white man
ager. She says and does whatev
er she pleases, while he does any
thing for the sake of her satisfac
tion. In a way, he is serving her.
Is this situation likely for this
time period? Of course not. But
in August Wilson's powerful and
witty play, "Ma Rainey's Black
Bottom," the situation is exactly
that.
Being a black woman in the
1920s was challenging because
of discrimination and unequal
rights, but Ma Rainey demand
ed equal treatment with her
"It's-my-way-or-no-way" atti
tude.
For instance, when Rainey
wanted her nephew Sylvestor,
played by USC student Drey
Wigfall, to introduce one of her
performances, she was deter
mined that he was going to be in
her song — even though he had a
stuttering problem and had a
hard time getting his words to
gether.
The black all-male blues band
gives the audience an idea of
what it was like to be black dur
ing the '20s. The characters
Cutler, Toledo, Slow Drag and
Levee provide a serious yet amus
ing tone to the play. They discuss
racial identity, values and past
family history.
Levee reveals that when he
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
Drey Wigfall, left, who plays Sylvester, cowers while Darlon
McCloud, who plays Levee, talks down to him In "Ma Rainey."
was younger, white men took
over his household, stabbed him,
heckled his mother and later
hung his father.
Through and because of his
life experiences, Levee becomes
disillusioned about God. He
gives a powerful monologue as
serting that God works for the
"white man" and even curses
his name. It disturbs his band
mate Cutler and silences the au
dience.
In addition to his altercation
with Cutler, Levee loses his job,
which pushes him further over
the edge. The play culminates in
a shocking climax as Levee de
scends into madness.
After one particular perfor
mance, the audience left Trustus
Theatre in bewilderment. August
Wilson's compelling and evoca
tive play left the audience fulfilled
by highlighting Ma Rainey's de
termination and success. "Ma
Rainey's Black Bottom" comes
out as a brilliant play.
It will be showing at Trustus
Theatre through Sunday.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
State Museum honors King Tut's pet cat
BY CAITLIN COKER
THEOAMECOCK
Despite dismal weather, young
and old alike packed the South
Carolina State Museum for the
"feline festivities" it held on
Saturday.
As part of the King
Tutankhamen exhibit, the muse
um organized a daylong event
honoring his pet cat. (Early
Egyptian religions placed mysti
cal importance on their feline
friends.)
One hundred twenty-six repli
i cas of the artifacts found in
Tutankhamen's tomb will be on
display at the museum until Aug.
15.
The exhibit includes replicas
made by
skilled artisans
in Egypt; the
originals are
displayed in
the Egyptian
Museum in
Cairo. (One
can imagine
the possible
damage that
the originals
would sustain if shipped and sub
jected to excited children.)
The feline festival was like a
cat lover's carnival. A large
board with pictures of "the
world's greatest cats" — domes
"Egyptians treated cats
very well. They were
almost considered as
spiritual
intermediaries."
K.C. GRIER
use PROFESSOR
tic shorthairs
named Barbie,
Jasmine and
Dixie — greet
ed festival-go
ers. Next, cages
of adoptable
cats wearing
handkerchiefs
lined the corri
dors. The
Clemson cat
mascot roamed the hallway ges
turing t'Shake my paw" and
"Thumbs up" while Bomber the
Mouse inexplicably paced back
and forth.
Pam Jackson, a USC alumna,
is the founder of Carolina Cats,
the organization that encourages
the adoption of these stray cats.
Jackson said the museum came
up with the idea of mixing the
Tutankhamen exhibit with a fes
tival about cats.
Regardless, it's a "good way to
get attention for the kitties,"
Jackson said. "There's so many
(cats) behind every restaurant,
behind every Dumpster."
Children visiting the exhibit
V
♦ CATS, SEE PAGE 7
PLAY REVIEW
'Kiss ' transcends
typical love story
"STOP KISS"
Directed by Dewey Scott-Wiley
★★★*★ out of
BY CARRIE PHILLIPS
THE GAMECOCK '
Theatre South Carolina, you
have outdone yourself.
Friday night's performance of
"Stop Kiss" was tremendous.
USC's resident company has tak
en a challenging and controver
sial play to bed and risen with a
spectacularly moving production
that outshines every other pro
duction this season.
"Stop Kiss," by Amétican
playwright Diana Son, made its
debut in 1998. It is a modern tragi
comedy about two women in New
York City.
It's hard to share much about
the plot that won't give away the
entire story, but suffice it to say
that the audience watches Sara
and Callie's friendship blossom
into love.
nieir ursi kiss teaus iu
unimaginable consequences, and
their lives are changed forever.
The story follows a nonlinear
format in which the scenes alter
nate between present and past,
creating suspense and fear.
Son's dialogue is snappy and
smart, and the actors have cap
tured the timing and humor per
fectly.
Dewey Scott-Wiley's direction
makes the time jumping easy to
follow and puts the actors and the
audience at ease in the some
times-difficult theater-in-the
round stage in Longstreet
Theatre.
As the main characters Callie
and Sara, Pamela Vogel and Kay
Allmand, respectively, are phe
nomenal. They have a remark
able chemistry onstage.
Both actresses rise to the de
manding occasion with flying col
ors. The dressing seen»; is heart
breakingly poignant, and their
comic timing throughout the play
is perfect.
Their story is complemented
by a strong supporting cast that
features Zach Hanks as Callie's
on-again, off-again lover, George;
Richie Gross as an "NYPD Blue"
ish detective; and Beth Hitesman
as a sympathetic woman who wit
nesses the consequences of that
first kiss.
Robert Eubanks' lighting de
sign is a testament to his bur
geoning skill; it was smooth and
clean.
He probably also had his
hands in the most technically
impressive part of the play —
the use of video footage on the
stage to supplement scene
changes.
The combination of the video
and the accompanying sound and
music was brilliant; Scott-Wiley
and technical director Eric Rouse
should be applauded for this
move.
scott-Wiley and Theatre bourn
Carolina are to be commended for
bringing this play to USC. The
subject matter and dialogue are
tough, not just for the actors but
also for certain segments of the
audience.
The play tackles the homosex
uality debate head on, and it
doesn't hold back. The lesbians
are the heroes, and those who
would get in their way and think
worse of them are the villains.
While it is controversial, "Stop
Kiss" is also a touching and funny
love story that transcends homo
sexuality — this could be any
one's story.
"Stop Kiss" runs through
Sunday at Longstreet Theatre.
Tickets are available at the
Longstreet Theatre box office and
by calling 777-2551.
Comments on this story?E-mail
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