Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE HEIGHT OF DRAMA BY BRANDON COOPER THE GAMECOCK Columbia’s downtown region is graced with three hard-working dramatic theatres. These integral parts of the area’s artistic com munity all have great shows to of fer area students and provide good starting points for someone look ing to get involved in art. Trustus Theatre - 520 Lady St. in the Vista ^ This is the place to go to see cut ting-edge dramatic and comedic plays in a comfortable social set ting that explore the full spectrum of race and sexuality. Known for bravely portraying the risque, Trustus’ late night theatre selec tions include this summer’s pro duction of Charles Bash’s “Lesbian Vampires of Sodom.” “Students will not be bored by our offerings, “ said Paul Kaufman, the director of market ing and development for Trustus. Kaufmann said Trustus sets itself apart by offering a stocked bar and comfortable seating to ensure a pleasurable and entertaining ex perience and further evolve its in clusive, communal atmosphere. The theatre offers student dis I counts, but in general one should expect to pay between $12 and $18. On the first Sunday of each month the theatre holds an I Pay What I Can special in which patrons lit erally pay what they can for tick ets. The theatre also holds an an nual playwriting contest and will begin accepting applications, which you can download from I " * their Web site on Dec. 1. The best playwright wins full production of the winning script. Last year’s win ner, “Kudzu,” by USC Honors College graduate Sarah Hammond, will be showing Aug. 8 through 16. Actors are encouraged to pre pare a two minute contemporary monologue and try out at the the atre’s general auditions, held Sept. 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. For further infor mation check Trustus out on the Web at www.trustus.org or call 254-9732. High Voltage Theatre - 914 Pulaski St. High Voltage is not a mis nomer. The theatre prides itself on featuring thrilling, action packed stage performances by a I PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Sundance Cast: Patrick Kelly, Charles Whetzel, Christopher Cook, Tuck Lunan. tight ensemble of players. Director and screenwriter Chris Cook promises the theatre’s shows will be “something Columbia has not seen before,” featuring actors that could easily be dubbed “stage combatants.” Don’t expect anything here to make you yawn. The theatre holds, shows Thursday through Saturday nights as well as Sunday matinees. On Aug. 7 High Voltage will fea ture the play “Sundance,” a rootin’ tootin’ gun slingin’ Western com plete with high-flying stunts. Also, look out for Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” coming in 2004, an intriguing stage adapta tion of the popular film and book, coming in the fall. Tickets are $10 each and the theatre will soon of fer student discounts. For more in formation call 754-5244. Workshop Theatre - 1136 Bull St. The Workshop Theatre features quality comedies, dramas and mu sicals put on by local actors. Tickets are generally $12 to $14 each and the theatre also offers students a discount package, which, includes tickets to five shows for $35. Executive Director « Nancy Brooks assures students that they will get “exciting enter tainment for less than a movie and a coke.” The_Workshop Theatre is of special interest to those who want tb get involved as well. Offering various volunteering opportuni ties, the theatre welcomes those who would like to lend a hand or learn areas of production. Available positions include set construction, costume construc tion, light operator usher and stage manager among others. If in terested, people could do as little or as much work as they desire. The theatre also has an acting school, which offers a wide range of classes available for all who want to learn. Their upcoming shows include “Ragtime” by Terrance McNally, running from Sept. 19 through Oct 1 as well as Broadway favorite “The Man Who Came To Dinner” by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, running Nov. 7 to 19. For more information, call 799 6551 for the box office and 799-0227 for the acting school or go online at www.workshoptheatre.com. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Bill’s CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 as well as teaching lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bill’s Music Shop and Pickin’ Parlor is “about the only place in the Carolinas where you can have a good jam,” said Woody “Rabbit” Myers, who plays (or “murders”) the rhythm guitar. “This is true American music,” said Harold Lucas, who came with his five string and his son, Randy, the 1997 national banjo champion. Also on hand were Harold’s brother Claude, Randy’s twife Diana and Claude’s son Jimmy. All performed together in the back room with listeners clap ping to the beat, or playing along in their own chairs, working to improve their technique. Essentially this is the only place to play with other musicians without it being a performance or a show, said Roger Brock, a recent USC graduate. “It’s the place to be,” he said, busting out some country-fied Hootie and the Blowfish. “You’ve got to be in a band to be able to play like this.” So what’s so great about blue grass, anyway? “It gives you a good feeling,” said Harold, who delighted ev eryone with Johnson’s Old Gray Mule on his 100-year-old fiddle, the oldest “and best” of his six. The brothers, who perform throughout the state and were scheduled to play a wedding the next day, said the jam session is a good place to make contacts for future shows. A big part of the attraction is the practice and experience that comes from being regularly sur rounded by the music. “You learn new songs, and get to meet peo ple,” said Brock. The Pickin’ Parlor isn’t just for jam sessions. Weekly shows from both local performers and na tional stars are showcased. Ticket prices for shows range from $6 to up to $20 for big names such as Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, who is scheduled to perform January 4. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Roger Brock plays the guitar as high school sophomore Andrew Irvin plays the mandolin. I wm •LASCKVN^mm ■ •CARNIVAL SAMCSJb '■ •SAND VOlUmU *" •DOO ■ •F/tee NtZZA ANN SONS ■ •WATCR BASKCTBAU •SNO CONCS 1