William Jewell College - Tatler Yearbook (Liberty, MO)

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LC fli its f--..-,r .,,fz.. .,...:.:4.:-1 Y if 'A ' ' ' ' ,..,.4.- Above: Mother Courage, lSr. Shannon Thomasl and her children make their way across war torn Europe. Right So Chris Lacquement accom panies Sr. Shannon Thomas on the harmonica. The production combined music and drama effectively. , , .- S+' .,- 1: Above: Portraying a variety of roles in the production, Jr. Jeff Lewis got his first taste of theater in Mother Courage, Right: Thomas and Lacquement perfect the scene involving Lacquement's death. .i

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'Sw-,rr Left: Soph. Eddie Mos and Jr. Susan Huff share a quiet moment on stage Below: Fr. Joni Bishop portrays the young bride Emily Webb. ggppnuulll' :.'4'?',2,2ir22i 1 f ' 2'f:'4f Yffr .msnxw wrap: Q -ed Q '? if EPI :ETL 6 ai 'I Nw. , f ff.f i i 5 Nm A , 1 ' g 'cq' Img J 1 vi 'Mn ...Mm Troupe Shows Dlversnt n theatre at William Jewell excellence means diversity. Following last fall's The Jester and Spring's Romeo and Juliet, with Thorton Wilder's Our Town, Kim Harris, director of theatre, served the campus a smorgasbord of dramatic styles it will not soon forget. This wide variety of styles was intentional. Harris asserted, If you do one type ot play, it bores the audience. Our Town was certainly a change of taste, not only from recent campus productions, but also from the bulk of dramatic literature. While other playwrights' works are usually classifiable, Wilder doesn't fit easily into any one category. Harris explained, It's very individual. Wilder had his own in- dividual style like no one else's. Glenn Snowden, sr. Communication major, agreed with Harris's evaluation. A lot of playwrights write according to the style of the period. Our Town is unique to him. lt is completely Wilderf' said Snowden. A wide selection of students protrayed roles in Our Town, ranging from senior to freshman and Communication major to Nursing major. Although there were a number of freshmen in the cast, including two of the leads, Harris had no trouble directing them. While less experienced actors obviously benefited from working with experienced cast members, veteran actors also improved their skills during the production. The benefits worked both ways. lt's really very positive, said Snowden. Actors had a chance to sample dif- ferent stages of life in Our Town. Emi- ly Webb fJoni Bishop, fr.j and George Gibbs fDavid Langton, fr.i aged twelve years during the span of the play. Por- traying Mrs. Gibbs, Susan Huff, jr. music major, had the opportunity to view life from the perspective of the dead and gain insight into the human experience. The world doesn't understand what's going to happen. We never understand the value of life until it's gone, explained Huff. Combining insight and imagination, Our Town cast members developed the rich characterizations Harris en- couraged. I found in directing student actors that they do much better if you give them the basic set and let them work with it, said Harris. Huff and Eddie Mos, so, who played husband and wife, worked off-stage to deepen their relationship. We talked about our lives and the motivation of the author. We looked beyond what the author wrote down, explained Huff. William Jewell theater-goers have developed a taste for the excellent. Excellence that was served up regular- ly, regardless of the form it took. 1, 77731. , .- A- -Y, ....--...iv-af.. -. ff i all Play f 25

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Below: Sr. Wendy Abbott served the function of narrating Mother Courage. The play spanned the greater p tion of the Thirty Years War. Modern Play Presented A major work of the twentieth century came to William Jewell Col- lege this year. The theatre department presented the modern classic, Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht. It was presented April 15-20. The play is an excellent example of dialectical drama. This is a drama that poses questions and leaves the answers to the audience, said Dr. Kim Harris, director of the play. He went on to add, The play is a very tough play to perform because it does not sugarcoat how peo- ple react to tough situations. The play dealt with the struggles of a woman during the Thirty Years War, as she attempted to make a profit off the war. The play was not meant to be taken strictly on the literal level, said Dr. Harris, it poses some strong questions for modern audiences about war, peace, inter- and intra-denominational strife, loyalty, heroism, nationalism, and love. According to Dr. Harris, there was a personal reason the play was performed. He stated, The center of Christianity is love. lt seems that Christians commit themselves to a tremendous amount of waste by devoting their lives to warring over law, and that creates a wasteland where there should be fertile land. The play vividly creates a picture of that. The play was also unique in that it was a play of epic theatre and in- volved epic acting. Epic acting is a style of acting in which the actor is in constant, conscious control of his or her performance. The play combined acting and singing quite effectively. A full musical ensemble accompanied the performance. The ensemble included two flautists, one trumpet, one synthesizer or accordion, one guitar, two percussionists and the piano with thumbtacks on the keys to give it a unique sound. Mark Hijleh conducted the ensemble. L up - - -f-,- -f-----+V--lin.,-,avr-.YY ,,