Augustana College - Rockety I Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

Page 29 text:

A constant tension grates between Stanley and Blanche who find themselves both attracted to and repelled by each other. In this scene, Stanley has mined Blanche's illusion by shouting, There isn't a goddam thlng but Imagination! And lies and conceit and trichI . Blanche faints and Slanley carries her to hls bed where he pre- sumably rapes her. Cast Goldie Charletta Young Eunice Hubbell Ann Townsend Myra Christine Schlenker Stella Kowalski Susan Stopoulos Stanley Kowalski Todd Frampton Mitch Brad Church Blanche Dubois Kimberly Esop Steve Hubbell David Bryson Paper Collector Jeff Wichmann Pablo Gonzales Fred Ricaurte Mexican Woman Lisa Evans Sailor Paul Seeman Nurse Jane Watson Doctor Leif Johnson Left, Stanley Is a physical being. and a brutal one. not only does he treat his wife Stella violently. but he also rapes her sister Blanche. Above. Pablo and Steve try to restraln Stanley after their card game erupts.

Page 28 text:

Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire Like the blues characteristic of its New Orleans' setting, Augustana's production of A Street Car Named Desirejust kind of began. Ho curtain opened. The lighting didn't Change. The characters just started doing what they'd do on any other hot, lazy aftemoon .. reading, drinking. re- laxing. It is summertime, and as Goldie affirms, the living is easy. Everybody is more or less content with their present situation. Then Blanche Du- Bois shows up. The living isn't easy for Blanche. She's distraught. She had not imag- ined 632 Elysian Fields, her sister's home, to be a lower income hovel. To the audience it is apparent that Blanche is insecure and trying to hide something. She must assert that she is not a drunkard, hasn't been fired, and hasn't gained a pound in ten years. Blanche attempts to hide her ap- prehensions by creating an illusion. Even though her family's plantation. quently resorts to drinking and hot baths. mingle by the front door. Above, faced everyday with an ugly reziity, Blanche fre' Set in steamy New Orleans, much of the play's action occurs outside. To the n'ght, Stanley. Mitch. and Steve the Belle Reve, is lost, she tries to live her previous lifestyle. She dress- es and behaves like the rich south- ern aristocrat she no longer is. Blanche's illusion threatens the previously happy reality of Stella and her husband, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche places Stella on the defen- sive and Stanley on the offensive. She criticizes their home and their marriage. Blanche insists that Stella must leave Sunley: that she must escape from her base, sub-humah, ape-like husband. In the end, everybody seems to win. Blanche gets to live her illusion, albeit in a mental institution. Stanley and Stella get to return to their prior reality, the reality they had been so content with. Yet, it isn't an uplifting conclusion. In another sense every- body loses. Everybody but the audience! The Augustant Theater Department cre- ated a superb production of Tennes- see Wiliiams' A Street Car Named Desire. A 24 Streetcar Insecure, Blanche repeatedly tries to prom that she isn't aging and that she still retains he former beauty. Here she tries to seduce a young paper boyi

Page 30 text:

another? ttFrom Scottish bagpipes to Irish leprechauns, From Belgium chocolates to German Bratwurst. we soaked in one culture aRer E xperiencing Europe For eleven weeks during fall quarter 140 of us found ourselves immersed in culture and surrounded by new ex- periences. As two groups of 70. we became a family that teamed to live and grow together. However, it was not until we arrived back in the States that many of us fully understood the dose bonds we had developed with our Feilow travelers. Anxious to share our adventures. we suddenly realized that no one could quite understand what we had experienced unless they had been there with us, unless they had been a part of our European family. Blight, dazzling lights and historical architecture surrounded us in Lon- don, our home for five weeks. Pubs lined the streets. Plays and musicals called out their names and excite ment. Big Ben peered over all, never losing track of the ticking timet West- minster Abbey awed us with its ornate sculpture and beautiful stained glass. The pageantry of Buckingham Place and the Changing of the Guard opened our eyes to a city tilled with history and tradition. Baroque art and English history came to life through field trips to the National Art Gallery and an all day trip to Saffron-Walden and Cambridge. We even found ourselves learning the true English ianguage as we were inte- grated into a world of conservative tradition. The French language took overdur- ing two weeks in Strasbourg, France. On the border of France and Ger- many, this city's traumatic history in- volved many struggles between the two countries. The older German gen- eration contrasts strongly with the younger French generation. Through all its hardships though, Strasbourg has survived. The people of this re- gion are proudly Alsacian and don't hesitate to share their difficuit strug- gles. Lastly, there was Munich, Germany e Bavarian country from the word go, In this city of diversity we exper- ienced the lively, fun-loving atmo- sphere of southern Germany. We shopped along Marianplatz, listened to the Glockenspiel chime, ice skated at the Olympic Village ice arena. and prosted with the locals at their festive beerhalls. Our three weeks in Munich were celebrated in true German style Learning of Arthurian literature and the history of Christianity came alive with integrated class Field trips. Medi- eval days became more real in Roth- enburg, Germany. a medieval walled city and home of itchitty-Chitty-Bang- Bang. The Nazi era was felt on our sober- ing trip to Dachau, 3 Concentration camp not far from Munich. Here World War II hit heart and home We viewed pictures and a restored barrack. The crematorium and graves that read Do Not Forget and Never Again only began to symbolize the terrible suffering. Our Munich stay suddenly had a sobering effect. Before arriving back in the States both groups of 70 met in Coppenha- gen, Denmark to tour the city and spend the night. The Little Mermaid, a Statue of Hans Christian Andersen's storybook, and the Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace were the highlights. We even succeeded in get- ting the guards to crack a smile for us, a no-no in royalty. Throughout our eleven weeks abroad we had the opportunity to do some extensive traveling on week- ends and a ten day break. Families separated and smaller groups each went their own way. From Scottish bagpipes to Irish le' prechauns, from Belgium chocolates to German bratwurst we soaked in one culture after another. From the Palace of Versailles t0 Heuschwen- stein Castle and from the Eiffel Tower to the Colosseum in Rome we lived surrounded by history. From the sandy beaches of the French Riviera to the Alps orSwitzerland and Austria we gaped at the beautiful scenery. The Rose window of Home Dame Cathedral, Paris. 26 Europe n.