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

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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.

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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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Digging for history Geoli Mississippian Period a section ol ruscumbia limestone formed on the North American plate IM.it section « t earth was 1 l K l ROM [HE MASTER Wayne i anis points out .1 kc element to geologj stu dents Brett Woodward, Ryan Baile) and Karen Anglin. GEOLOGY ROCKS. Class mem- take .in overview ol the site where they .ire about to dig M.lHIPI ISO : in B.lilr ' ' l. ' la right) holds up .i slab ol granite tor everyone to examine ROCK HOUND. Geology major Karen Anglin (below) digs through the dirt and i;r.iss to find items tor her class proje I eventually to be ome home to an institu Hon ol highei learning thai would beai ten . vt l it i names before it took the name we use todaj I ew students may know about the sedimenl and other aspet ts nt the pre% ious em iron- menl thai covered the ground we now i .ill in s hool. I hose w ho might happen to v now w ould likelj be the geologj majors ol the uni orsit Webstet s ( ollegiate Diction- ary defines geologj as a s ience thai deals with tin- historj ol the earth and its life, especially .is recorded in rex ks. Stud) ing ro maj nol seem espe iallj interesting to | e erj one, but tor the students u ho i Moose to involve themseh es with sediment, .i gash in the ground is like an adventure park. Each year during fall break, Dr. ,i no 1 .mis and Dr. Terry Richardson take geologj and bio logj students to I auphin Island to learn aboul the marine environ- ment 1 he trip features group acti ities on a resean M essel, looking .it items dredged up from the bottom of the Gull ol Mexico .is well as a walking tour ot the island. I pon returning to I lorence, the geol- ogj students piece together information garnered from tMe expedition in a joint assignment with biology students. We basicallj reinforce know ledge we have learned in the classroom, said senior Jamie Sharp about the Dauphin Island trip. In addition to the yearly Dauphin Island experience, geology stu- dents take Held tups to road cuts where tlie stud the layers ol sediment and colle t fossils. For professional geologj majors, an additional expedition is required in order to graduate. Students must attend a field Limp during summer through any uni- versit) thai otters such a program.