St Francis College - Franciscan Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 25 text:

TO PLAY WELL Paul Ferlazzo, President of the Troup¬ ers and author of Fireworks. Mr. Michael Kirby, Instructor of Speech and author of Hap¬ penings. Vic Barranca tells the Troupers how to act in front of Brother Anthelm. Maureen Lynch, Paul Ferlazzo and Tom Laquercia listen as Mike talks to mike in John Brown’s Body.

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WORK HARD Would you believe ... a birthday party? Brother Anthelm Drowne, O.S.F., Moderator of the Troupers and per¬ former in Room 706. The dramatic organization of Saint Francis College has completed another successful year. The activities were initiated at the Freshman Smoker with a presentation of Jean Kerr’s short play, John Browns Body. Though a major production was not scheduled for the Fall, the Troupers used that term for enlarging their repertory by undertaking a closed production of Eugene O’Neill’s lie. The Troupers also sponsored two “happenings” early in March. The evening began with a production of Mr. Michael Kirby’s happening titled Room 706 which, oddly enough, was staged in Room 706. For those who know not the term “happening,” Room 706 was a demonstration in this relatively new art form by the authority in the field. Consequently, it drew an audience of avant-garde artists from far away Manhattan as well as the usual culture-conscious group of students and friends of Saint Francis. For the second half of the program the audience was invited to stand in a misty rain in the parking lot to watch and take part in Fireworks, a first time effort in “happenings” by Paul Ferlazzo, president of the Troupers. Within a week of these productions, tryouts were held and the ground¬ work was laid for the major production in April of Sidney Kingsley’s Detective Story. Mr. John Clifford, in his second year with the Troupers, directed this starkly realistic play of powerful dramatic impact. Though the original plan of renting a theater for this production was never realized, the diligen t co¬ operation and combined efforts of moderator, director, actors, and stage technicians overcame the challenges of the lecture hall. 20

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Heads of Student Council Dan Clancy Chairman S.A.C. John Donohue Parliamentarian Bill Walker President of Student Councils Tom Cuite Vice President John Lawless Senior Representative Student Council Another successful Carnival. Where was Joey Heatherton? With the dawning of the new academic year of 1965-66, the Student Council under the leadership of Bill Walker held, in their view, new horizons of real democratic government for the students of the college. The reason for the greater “democratic represen¬ tation” was due to the fact that only class representatives were seated, while the club representatives were seated on the newly formed Student Activities Council. However, as the council found out, the new machinery did not entirely settle all its old problems. There was just too much of the old council lurking in the college. There was a cry of “foul” and “power play” when the time came to give final approval of the ‘Who s Who Awards” late in October. It was probably at this time that the president, vice-president, and secretary had to meet their greatest internal crisis. Whether they came out of the crisis vic¬ toriously is questionable. Again in another thorny issue, the question of whether St. Francis should stay in the National Students’ Association or not was decided. The Council finally voted to keep affiliation with the national organization; and once more, the question of which side was victorious was clouded in smoke-filled oratory. But the Council did have its moments and it rose to the oc¬ casion as required. In January the Council met to hear several representatives involved in the Saint John’s Academic Crisis. The final conclusions were written and submitted by the Council to the parties involved. We expressed our “dissatis¬ faction with the manner of re¬ moval of the faculty members” due to the “problems and ob¬ stacles it placed on the stu¬ dents.” Another important action taken by the Council in Febru¬ ary added further intrigue to an already exciting year. The Council agreed to a re-evalua¬ tion of itself and of the entire “power structure” of the vari¬ ous classes. The meetings held on this matter were of vital importance for they were hon¬ est, forthright, and aimed at the achievement of specific goals. Whether this re-evalua¬ tion was successful remains to be seen in the future. Allan, Muchnicoff, Rodriguez, and Dukois listen while President Walker makes his point. 22