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“ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, October 24, 2003 7 CONTACT US THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? . MARCEL MARCEAU: "It’s E-mail us at good to shut up sometimes.” gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Hanging on by a thread — several of them to be exact — the marionette version of Victor Frankenstein stars in Columbia Marionette Theatre’s version of “Frankenstein.” The production has been reprised for a second season, bringing a Halloween theme to the world of puppetry. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK Recently, Frankenstein has been feeling a little strung out. Not only is Halloween just around the comer — man-made monsters are in high demand this time of year — but Columbia Marionette Theatre has been keeping Frankie on a tight string. Ah, the curse of scream-inducing celebri ty The classic Mary Shelley ^character takes center stage dur ing the theater’s second annual adult puppet show, “Frankenstein.” Combining marionettes, life-size hand pup pets, special effects and live mu sic, the innovative production showcases the talents of pup peteers Lyon Forest Hill, Andrew Quattlebaum and Robert Padley, as well as the mu sical talents of theater executive dir ector John Scollon. Shattering the typical precepts associated with puppet shows, “Frankenstein” does not target the usually youth-centered audience — in fact, only 18 and older will be admitted. The adults-only policy adds an element of maturity to the evening and encourages Columbia’s of-age crowd to get out and experience a unique form of theater. Capitalizing on the produc tion’s avant-garde appeal, Columbia Marionette Theatre is holding the Mad Science Masquerade on Saturday. The theater also is inviting area resi dents to a preshow costumed re ception and following the evening’s performance with a sculpture exhibition at The Art Garage next door. Hill, a visual artist himself, . will judge the exhibit, endeavor ing to single out works that em body the evening’s deranged am biance. A mad scientist squirrels away in secrecy, obsessing over creations that will either bene fit mankind or bring about its end. “I’m looking for artwork that reflects this spirit of creation,” Columbia Marionette Theatre . recreates"Frankenstein ” by hand — hand puppets, marionettes and shadow sequences, that is Hill said on the Art Garage Web site. The event serves not only to en courage area residents to become more involved in the local arts scene, but also as a fundraiser for the theater, a nonprofit organiza tion. president and vice president, re spectively, of the Puppetry Guild of the Carolinas. The group rep resents a growing regional inter est in the uncommon form of the ater, celebrating puppetry as an art form rather than simply as an alternative to Saturday morning * j > Columbia Marionette Theatre plays host to shows for the expected puppet-show au dience — chil dren. The castle shaped building on Laurel Street puts on two shows every Saturday and an afternoon per formance on the Bringing together professional and part-time puppeteers from South Carolina and North Carolina, the guild connects fans from across the region. Bringing to gether profes sional and part time pup peteers from South Carolina and North Carolina, the guild connects theater fans from across the region. Atlanta is the puppetry epicenter of the uiiii u ivxuixuaj' ui each month. Touted as all-ages — “from birth to 90-plus years old” — the theater’s current produc tion, “Space Pirates,” runs through Nov. 8. Pulling strings in Columbia and beyond, Hill and fellow staff member Toni Turbeville serve as uiineu oiaies. The city’s Center for Puppetry Arts, which opened in 1978, re mains the largest puppet-theater centered group in the country. Such recognizable figures as Kermit the Frog have made pup petry a mainstream interest, al beit a lesser-recognized one. Audiences seemingly forget that skilled puppeteers manipulate those Muppets from behind the scenes. Although the eponymous Jim Henson creations may exemplify the public perception of puppets, Columbia Marionette Theatre’s star characters are decidedly un fuzzy. The figures in “Frankenstein” may not be hug gable, but they are indeed works of art. Among his many other puppetry-related skills, Hill sculpted the marionettes himself — one of his constructions of Victor Frankenstein is being auc tioned off Saturday evening in an attempt to raise more funds for the theater. Puppetry as a genre has evolved throughout civilization. Like the ater in general, puppets have changed across cultures and gen erations to reflect the needs and interests of society. Today, they continue to entertain and intrigue everyone from young “Sesame Street” enthusiasts to those young at heart. 'Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Toast and Jam strive to perfect the unexpected BY CARRIE GIVENS THE GAMECOCK w v It’s totally spontaneous, com pletely unplanned and bound to make you laugh and laugh some more. Most of us have seen “Whose Line is it Anyway?” but not so many of us have been in the audience of an improv show. Well, now you have the chance. Tonight and Saturday evening, the theater group Toast and Jam will be performing at USC’s Benson Theatre in a show that will lampoon the sci-fi genre. The group’s nine performers will take on different roles and im provise classic comedic mono logues and scenes. To begin, the audience will suggest a problem for the performers to solve, and from that, a two-act show will un fold. r Improv relies on the audi ence’s reactions. USC alumnus 1 Ben Compton, a veteran of the group, says improvisational the ater is indescribable. In improv, just “walking on stage with noth ing and creating something based on the audience is an empower ing thing.” Performing without a script isn’t always easy. Performers nev er know what is going to be said next or what someone might do. As Compton said, “Sometimes there’s nothing to do but shut up and go along with it.” He said it helps that all the cast members are friends because fel low performers “can save you on stage in a bad scene.” First-year computer science student and cast member George Pate said, “Toast is challenging, but I am very prepared” for what ever the audience might suggest. In prepa is strictly improvisational. Compton described performing improv as “an immediate adrenaline rush.” In fact, Compton said, Toast and Jam performers “are not re ally theater kids ... most of us have fallen in love with the audi ence connection. ration for the show, cast mem bers have been practic ing for over a month. “Every night we come up with a sug “Walking on stage with nothing and creating something based on the audience is an empowering thing.” BEN COMPTON use ALUMNUS AND VETERAN OF TOAST AND JAM fun, humor and in timacy of improv.” Only tviro per formers are actu ally theater stu dents. The others are majoring in such subjects as English, business and chemistry. But that does not gesuon aim uu a 1 un-unuugn, explained Pate. The audience suggestions can range from mild to racy. It is “ev erything from sex toys to fuzzy bunnies,” Compton said. Pate says that sometimes “it can be hard to keep a straight face” and that he has to find some thing else to focus on to keep from laughing on stage. This is the improv troupe’s fourth year at USC. Just last year, it switched from perform ing short-form improv — such as that performed on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” — to long-form improv. Toast and Jam shows are nor mally a combination of sketch and improv; however, this show mnaer the actors connection with each other or the audience. The players have developed an al most innate sense of how to act on stage. “Most of us cannot even re member specific points of the show because we’re operating on instinct,” Compton explained. The improv show will start at 8 p.m. at Benson Theatre, across from the Bates House parking lot. Student and faculty members tick ets are $3 and general admission is $5. Compton says this type of im prov is “fairly unheard of in South Carolina.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockm ixedi tor@hotmai l. com CD REVIEW O A.R. grows beyond its roots "IN BETWEEN NOW AND THEN” O.A.R ★★★★ out of BY SHAWN ROURK THE GAMECOCK It’s a grass-roots band that has a grass-roots following. It travels around America, coming straight out of Rockville, Md., rolling through Ohio State University with a sound that is filled with both infectious pop riffs and laid-back reggae. Its songs contain ska beats that make you get up and dance, fig uratively floating you down to the beach to watch the sun set on the Caribbean islands. O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) is a quintet with a very unique sound. It recently released its major-label debut, “In Between Now and Then,” a great mix of several musical styles that the band describes as “island-roots rock with pinches of ska and reg gae.” Each song on “In Between Now and Then” is complex in na ture — combining the quintet’s three guitars, saxophone and drums — into a sound that is sel dom heard in pop music these days. All the while, it recalls some of the great songwriters of the past, telling stories through its songs. Lead singer Marc Roberge works themes such as love, wan derlust and freedom into his songs. One of the new release's strongest points is that each song has its own feeling, yet they all come together to give the whole album a very different vibe. Many of the tracks seem like a sonic train wreck — the band likes to switch musical styles halfway through its tunes. Songs such as “Dareh Meyod” and “Revisited” change from more typical, straight-ahead rock tracks into reggae-tinged breakdowns. Such switches can be unset tling to the listener; however, the individual talents of the members whine through the somewhat-confusing shifts in sound from measure to mea sure. The changes in musical styles are also so sudden and sometimes so subtle that the lis tener does not get the chance to really notice that the song has changed before it progresses into the next verse. Tunes like “James” and “Old Man Time” capture more of the band’s rock sound, showing off the talent of the guitar players, Roberge and Richard On, who in corporate jazz and blues struc tures in their playing. Their riffs are somewhat complex and re semble much of what is heard from artists like John Mayer. However, the tones they choose on each track maintain the play ful manner of the songs. Such stylings drive the songs while keeping a light feeling to the music. These types of pro gressions are also found in the songs “Anyway” and “Road Outside Columbus,” a song writ ten by Roberge about leaving his home in Maryland and moving to Ohio State University with the other band members. Overall, O.A.R. seems to have done things right on its major-la bel debut. It had four indepen dent albums under its belt before it made its latest release, and songs such as “Hey Girl” and “Risen” were in fact borrowed from previous albums. On the group’s new disc, it managed to avoid over-producing anything, staying true to the sound that has garnered its grass-roots follow ing. The band’s latest release also features a DVD, giving people some insight into its live shows and offering fans a little some thing extra. The DVD features three live songs as well as a be hind-the-scenes documentary. Not only do dedicated listen ers get a good album in “In Between Now and Then,” but they also get a healthy dose of O.A.R. concert footage. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@notmail.com