University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

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The Playboy of the EVERYBODY k I s w I IB NAME. Annj Brooks, I r . rk, Darryl ( rittenden, Mark Spencei I lampton and I an I ui ker fine- tune .1 pivotal scene during rehearsal AFTER ME LUCKY CHARMS oss snagS I I,

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ake a trip down the rabbit hole ... Photographers felt a bit like All id when they took to the halls of UNA. Their mission: to find out why students are always late for class. With watches syn- chronized, staff photographer Shannon Wells and student pho- tographers Allison Brazier. Justin Michael and Tommy Rowe took to the halls at precisely 12:30 p.m. Their treks took them to the Department of Art. Bibb Graves and Keller Hall, where they- committed their findings to film. The results? These investigators found that students may have at least a little evidence on their side when it comes to explaining con- fusion — and tardiness. ,„

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Western J.M. Synge ' s The Playboy of the Western World, caused a riot when it premiered in 1907. The play, a production of which was staged at Norton Auditorium bv the Department of Communications and Theatre, is about appearances and reality — an admittedly touchy subject that brought the Abbey Theatre of Dublin to the brink of destruction in 1907, but made for an enjoyable evening at Norton nearly a cen- tury later. Poet William Butler Yeats, who helped establish the Abbey Theatre, supported Synge ' s refusal to idealize Irish nationalism. In Playboy, charac- ters claim actions that aren ' t true — or credible or possible or even worth claiming — and are believed only by virtue of their ability to lie charismati- cally. In 1907, it was apparently unwise to portray Irish peas- ants as fawning, treacherous, deceptive and or dim-witted. Irish theatergoers would tear your head off if you called them barbaric or implied they were more interested in the surface of things than the deep. The university produc- tion, which ran on two consec- utive weekends with alternat- ing casts, did not incite a riot but did supply a few hours of entertainment. Instead of being left out in the auditorium sev- eral yards away from the action, the audience was brought onto the stage with the actors. Dr. David Ruebhausen, director of the production, cor- nered his cast by placing seats on two sides of the set, getting audience members close enough to observe subtle facial expressions and body move- ments that would be lost if they had been three miles back in World the usual venue. Also the inti- macy between the actors and the audience allowed perform- ers to play with their vocal ranges. Because they didn ' t have to shout at the top of their lungs (or, rather, from the bot- tom of their diaphragms) cast members were able to concen- trate on the wonderful Irish accents learned for the show. The comedy production included Evan Tucker, Mark Hampton, Anna Brooks, Rachel Scanlon, Jonathon Norris, Daryl Crittenden, Sam Gross, Steven Gross, Krissy Warren, Trey York, Laura Holt, Melissa Braswell, Daniel Tracy, Kristy McCutcheon, J.C. Hester, Mandv Hughes and Kenneth Russell Williams. — Marc Mitchell BETROTHAL. Sam Gross, as Pegeen ' s adoptive father, gives his hard-won approval to Christv. The three actors — Gross, Rachel Scanlon and Jonathan Morris — performed their roles on even days while Evan Tucker, Anna Brooks and Mark Spencer Hampton performed the same roles on odd days. A MAN SPURNED. Steven Gross attempts, badly, to win Anna Brooks. As members of alternating casts. Brooks and Gross spent hours working with their counterparts from even-night produc- tions but had no trouble building characters independently.