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Show Wednesdoy, April 11, 1984 Vemfll Expf6SS 1 3 'Camelot ' opens ipni , hi.- The culmination of the efforts of the cast and crew of Utah State University's Universi-ty's Community Theatre production of "Camelot" were viewed by the public beginning Friday evening, April 6 in the Uintah High School auditorium. Nels Carlson, USU theatre arts department head and producer, feels that "Camelot says something to the masses, to the common man, to people peo-ple in high and low places, that it has a universal theme." Although it has a sad ending, it has an uplifting ending of hope for mankind. King Arthur is played by Carlson. He doesn't feel Arthur is a character as much as he is an ideal. He sees the character of Arthur undergoing a change, an emotional growth and aging ag-ing during the play. He feels that there is a moment when Arthur changes from being a light-hearted character to a pensive, moody and much heavier character. Carlson says he doesn't memorize the lines, he learns them and internalizes inter-nalizes them. He may not say the lines 100 percent perfect, word for word, but they are close. This is the Stanislavsky Stanislav-sky method. Stanislavsky was a director direc-tor and actor in the Moscow Theatre around the turn of the century. He influenced in-fluenced a lot of American actors of the time. "I tried to use this method so I could feel the way I need to to portray Arthur. Ar-thur. I feel I have to cry at one point, that the role requires it. This is the only on-ly way I can get involved enough to cry," said Carlson. Queen Guenevere is played by Karlene Young. "I picture Guenevere as a spoiled young princess, and when she is given in marriage rather than be wooed, she is overwrought," said Young. "She has waited for the time when she would be courted and would choose a man. But she is charmed by Arthur and decides she loves him. Then when Lancelot comes along, he happens to be the knight in shining armor ar-mor that she has always dreamed about. "The play is about an ideal and shows how easily ideals can be thwarted and our lives can be disaster if we let it, but life can go on," said Young. But she feels the idea of Camelot can exist again. Young doesn't think she has much in common with Guenevere. She said her life hasn't much resembled that of royalty, but she has felt special occasionally. occa-sionally. She said it is fun to play royalty, royal-ty, but she relates better to the simple folk. But, she has learned that as it says in the song, "what do other people peo-ple do to not feel blue..." everyone, no matter what their station in life, has up and down points in their lives. Doug Barlow, who plays Lancelot, thinks the story of Camelot is very much like everyday life. Although the story takes place a long time ago, the situation happens often today. As for Lancelot, "He was pure and conceited, and naive in that fact," said Barlow. Barlow said that it has been hard for him to get into this character and be serious. He usually plays happy-go-lucky characters. "I have been in five of the six last shows directed by Carlson or Kathy Jo Tucker, the director of 'Camelot,'" said Barlow. "I feel like I have been able to do this because of what Nels and Kathy have taught me." When he auditioned, it was not for any part in particular. "I feel very privileged that Kathy and Nels would see the ability in me to play that part so that I could learn from doing it," he said. Philip Walton feels that he and King Pellinore, the character he plays, have some traits in common. He thinks they both look past some things. "We are both naive, but in some things we are not, we know what is going on," said Walton. He adds that King Pellinore was a good judge of character. Walton likes "Camelot." He understands Arthur's frustration, but likes the fact that Arthur realized that what he had accomplished in Camelot was more important than his own feelings. feel-ings. Arthur could not be caught up in his own feelings, being king; he must do what was best for the kingdom. In the play Pellinore eases the ten-son ten-son that builds up. Walton said he likes to do the same thing in his life. Walton said he loves doing the play. "The audience has been fantastic. It is a pleasure for me to give the audience au-dience what they are after even if it is milking the role, or hamming it up," he said. Blaine Pierce, who plays Merlin, said this is a very exciting character to play because he offers almost a supremacy over the king of Europe. He teaches him how to think. Merlin feels like he is teaching Arthur to enable himself to make the decisions he will need to make in the future, or be able to recognize his future when he stumbles upon it. It is almost a father-son father-son relationship. Merlin is the court magician, the wizard. Arthur is like his boy, his student. "I think the thing that hits home to me in 'Camelot' is that everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings because forces are there to take away your happiness if you allow them to," said Pierce. He added that this has made him take a look at his own life and that it has strengthened his relationship rela-tionship with his wife. "I would never do a play if I didn't feel I could learn from it and make it benefit my life," said Pierce. "This is my hobby and my thing to do. I have always said that when the fun starts going out of the play, when I stop having hav-ing a learning experience from it, that is when I will stop doing plays. It is not just acting, it is learning how to deal with a character. Learning how to develop a character is also a learning how to deal with a character, and the world is full of characters we have to deal with." He feels he can look at people he deals with in life with a better understanding. Pierce appreciates the audiences they have had. He said that it is interesting in-teresting to feel the electricity of the audience. It transforms all that work done in preparation for the production into a fantasy. "You can actually believe that the character you are playing is who you are," he said. He said that it is just as important to have a good audience as it is to have good actors. He added that Vernal is well known for tremendous support of the arts. Not only have the actors put a great amount of time and effort into the preparation for "Camelot," but also people who have been on the sidelines. The stage manager is Gail Bentley. She takes care of the logistics of the production, and, in fact, runs the production pro-duction from the final dress rehearsal through the actual performances. The costume and set departments of the USU community theatre depart- !4 f i ' ' - ' ".'.'"..V'.vf - '-si? '"'" I I If - -I i as. a - I ' 1 J I I i I .k WHEN GUENEVERE meets Lancelot for the first time, she believes he is conceited and plots to see him humbled before the court. ment in the area is sizeable, especially especial-ly considering the population. These departments have grown with each production. The people who design the costumes and sets put a lot of time into in-to their research and design to make the costumes as authentic for each production pro-duction as possible. Melinda Barlow designed the costumes for this production. Leland Gibbons designed and constructed most of the armor and weapons for "Camelot." The armor is fitted to each actor and is made of sheet metal, and also includes pieces made of leather that have been tooled and painted to match the armor. Paul Hendricks designed the lighting and the sets, and Steve Mortensen, the lighting technician, and Darryl Jones, the main grip, make sure the sets and lighting run smoothly. Susan Anthon, the prop mistress, gathers, constructs, fixes, assigns the setting and striking of the props on the stage and makes sure they are all ac- i 1 - -T ' ; '-fetes- A i :V & sS XLH 'iff f KING ARTHUR and Guenevere are spending an evening at home as Arthur contemplates forming a brotherhood of knights which became the Knights of the Round Table. The reason for a round table was that since no one sat at the head of the table, all knights were equal. counted for at the end of the play. So, with the efforts of the cast members and the many people in the background, the production of "Camelot" opens to the public. "Camelot" will also play April 13, 14, 16, 20, 21 and 23. i ' y." I ' ' AS LANCELOT DU LOC (played by Doug Barlow) travels to find King Arthur to become one of the Knights of the Round Table, he sings of how extraordinary he is. 76 KING ARTHUR lands in a most unkingly fashion as he loses a joust with the French knight, Sir Lancelot. |