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Show 8 B The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, August 2fi, 1973 Care in selecting plays pays off, says director Continued from Page involvement, said v4. y V 'I X, A i A Lf v l iX ; v - Z- average person V must keep m touch with professional theater It is essential for an instructor to be in touch with the professional world Dr Call said he prefers directing classics and new Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints, they keep away from subjects that are anti to what we believe adultery, abortion, profanity , said Dr Metten v lately become a popular student entertainment he added while Shakespeare appeals to the older audiences anti-Chris- t, How does a director know if he s chosen the nght plav cast and staged it effectively , Weber State Colleges Dr I )hn Elty puts himself m the audiences seat. We cant touch 99 percent of the contemporary scripts, he added Audience of One they isfy mg A - Other Musicals McGrath has directed other successful musicals at the university including "Man and numerous of LaMancha, Giovanni." Don operas. a Mr X 7W f V rn 57 Carmen, drama Instructor Byron McGrath said directors make or break a play. lniersity McGrath take a leave from LSU to do acting or directing elseA director where," he said "Some playwrights are deliberately disturbing audiences in a negatiie sense . . . Audiences enjoy the Directors sometimes make the mistake of not drama dancing and music one he all s in it vehicle," respecting their audiences; the audience is "Musicals are what said a participant in the play's action, not just opera has always dreamed of an onlooker," says Utah State University becoming Musicals appeal because they come close to the Director Dr. W. Vasco Call. are sat 4 1 a Mr 1 Musicals, on the other hand, have been so popular that plays have been extended sometimes up to two weeks Mr director of McGrath, "The Music Man, produced at Pioneer Memorial Theatre in May, said musicals, while somewhat harder to direet, are a tremendous American contribution to theater - , E of Utah - : . V , if if Y Jr J V Negative Sense Crucible " Musicals and light comedy rate our most contemporary choices for several reasons, Mr McGrath said Some playwnghts ate deliberately disturbing audit aces Its all in a negative sense nght to disturb an audience positively but not negatively Playwngnts of any era often try to reflect the age m which they are bung 1 sup- Then1 same directors, according to Dr. Call, pay down to an audience they term He said he enjoyed directing experimental theater, but often plays were too absurd for audiences to relate to are too eccentric "Some They present life no-in extreme life is going where. This is a bitter pill for the average person to swallow Experimental theater is an interesting experiment, but often satisfy mg only to the actors. Theater Changes Theater has changed considerably since Mr McGrath, a native of New York, first began acting Before World on War II he performed Broadway with such notables as Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine After four years in the ..my he came back to find mechanical, very acting more crowded, new people, and almost a different profession " Television became popular soon after he went back to the dage and acting unions After four gamed power years, I left for South America It was on a visit to Salt Lake City two years later that I decided to stay here Veber State College drama director Dr. John Elzey tries to anticipate audience reaction. to find usable new ones New playwnghts dont really know the craft," he lamented The pose one reason for the unpopular contemporary plays is that todays playwrights are trying to reflect a fumbling, are They age complex searching some way to sav what they leeL" A & $ and senpts but he reads so many bad senpts that it is ditficuit While on Broadway, Mr McGrath did numerous Shakespeare plays. And he still The man cnioys the Bard he had enormous talent, said He also named other favorite playwrights, Ibsen, Chekhov ard Peter Weiss a con- temporary author We are contemplating boonsh "Directors," said the professor. sometimes make the mistake of not respecting their audience; the audience is a participant in the plays action, not jud an onlooker For our major season on campus we have primarily a student We give them a audience broad theatrical experience classics such as Shake- speare, musicals, and maybe something like Chekhov We dont do the kind of thing seen on TV or in films. We want to and emotease thoughts tions learning experience for the students BYU has sought to remedy the good script snortage by encouraging student and alum m play vv rights have a student program that we feel is so important we have required it for graduation, the professor said Students also are taught directing as in most colleges We plav-wng- m an audience of one. As I watch a he explained 1 rehearsal I anticipate what the audience's reaction will be Each production is geared for the type of audience expected to attend At WSC our audiences are mostly from the community The di rector mu4 bo aware of what not offend will or will I have a great rethem sponsibility to entertain and educate them but the audiences object if they aie jarred too extremely I don t play down intellectually to audiences but a director must remember that the average playgoer wants to be entertained. He is seeking escape from the everyday world, said Dr Elzey Fnjoy Shakespeare But, as Dr Metten poirted out, directing and play w righting are emphasised from an LDS point of view "This doesn t mean that everything we want is about the church " he explained It means writ mg with LDS ideals in mind Alter Script Olten BYU directois alter a senpt before presenting it As in the case of the musical 177b presented last season by the university m Provo and at Promised Valley Playhouse in Salt Lake City, the profanity was toned down and the sexual connotations deleted because both detracted from the major conflict of the It play," the professor said was a good script The auSelecting Plays to thors added undesirables "In summer, our drama is New A or1 please audienour and recreational Musicals and operas are alces are pnmanlv rural We educate them to theatrical ex- most a community project at BYU, Dr Metten said Howperience by entertaining ever, a high audience rating Care in selecting plays doesnt necessarily mean a he concluded pays otf. muscal is a good theater proUSUs summer troupe1, lyric duction must Repertory Company, Seldom Offer Plot have the secret to selecting and operas are Mays as last years season netted them a fitly percent in- an awful lot of work and selhe crease in audience attend- dom offer a plot, explained ance They have few dramatic qualities, he added Directors at Brigham A oung Directors at BA U dont sealso carctullv University We arent limit themselves to standard lect their plays Dr classics, musicals amt melocensored, explained Charles L Metten. professor dramas Dr Metten enjoys No directing most when doing of dramatic arts at BYU one tells us yvhat to present Shakespeare and experimental theater We choose our own senpts They are more challenging Remedy Shortage to the dramatist and both mvobe the audience mentally But because their selections as well as emotionally, he must cater to a predominantly said audience and beMormon BYUs experimental theater cause they, themselves, are members of The Church of and abstract productions have I like the theatricality of theater Shakespeare is what I enjoy most he added I like the pageantry and language of The Bard It thrills me to watch voung students learning ur. Charles L. Metten, BYU dratrz professor and experimental theater. enjoys Shakespeare the history of their language and performing Shakespearean plays If an actor can handle Shakespeare, he can do anything Shakespeares characters have to use swords, dance, do comedy and dramatic scenes W hat about audiences in the bv watching lntermountatn area According to Dr Elzey, They tend to go to see what they've heard about New titles are hard iO sell People m theater must keep audiences thinking of plays The more theaters there are, the more play going there'll be Wallace sterling harvest sale of flatware open-stoc- k opportunity s Weiss' The Investigation for this next vear. he said Its an enormous drama Blend Elements director must have a knack for blending diverse elements into a single artistic unit Hed better be able to establish an atmosphere to A good stimulate this cooperative effort," said Dr W. Vosco Call managing director at Utah State Imvcrsity This family style cooperation can mean success and the lack of it. the failure of a show 0 'vd -- r ' Vv . Dr. W. Aaxco Cal!, USUs managing director, maintains directors establish atmosphere. As university theater, we are aesthetic developing taste," he continued W e educate students and entertain the community Dr Call began his career as an actor and professional director before entering the acaI occasionally demic field When your purchase totals $50 or more, buy it on the Club Plan with no down payment, no finance charges and up to 24 equal monthly installments while you enjoy it. your very best traveling companion The field is wide open any piece or any number of p:eces, yours for the choosing ot a full 20 saving. And so many patterns are included. For a little while in Silver Room. ... is found in this lightweight dress. 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