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Show DAILY Wednesday, July )0, 2008 Advances in human Sundance reproductive medicine Continued from B8 Human together to bring back the old favorite. It was an easy call for UVU to make. Dave Petrie, who's serving as a producer on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and teaches theater at UVU, said that most theater departments at U.S. colleges have ties to professional companies. This was a really nice way for our students to have that experience," he said. infertility has a sordid history back to the beginning of the species. Marriages have been broken over the issue, kingdoms have been altered, women have traditionally been blamed and many have paid with their lives for their alleged inability to produce an heir. A thousand techniques were employed to solve the problems, but for millennia no real advances were made. Then, just 30 years ago July 25, the first truly effective technique was proven successful On that day, Louise Brown was born in England, the product of a new technique called in vitro fertilization (hereafter I VF). The technique involves removal of eggs from the mother and sperm from the father. Formal fertilization is then carried out in an artificial medium. After the resulting embryo develops to about the eight-cel- l stage, it is implanted into the uterus of the prospective mother. Under the best of conditions the success rate approaches 70 percent, though commonly it is only about half that. 'And it is not cheap, either financially or emotion- Duane Jeff ery Science & Society implantation those that are both free from the genetic disease and are immunologically compatible with the older, affected sibling. Tissue transplants from the younger, healthy sibling to the older one can then assure both of them a normal life. And with today's capabilities for genetic analysis, scores of new possibilities can be imagined. But obviously these techniques generate a multitude of ethical and legal questions. The July 17 issue of the British science journal Nature discusses a number of these. Deservedly, England is held up as the nation that has dealt most adroitly with these issues, with its establishment of a special panel, the Human ally. Fertilisation and EmbryolBut it has been responsible for more than 4 million births ogy Authority. This group of since 1978. That's 4 million about 20 persons, half of them human beings who would not scientists and half of them drawn from the knowledgeexist, and at least a couple million couples who would be able general public, governs basis both on a childless, were it not for this medical advance. It has been what applications may be successful far beyond the exemployed for specific couples and what experiments may pectations of its developers. be conducted in the name of Further refinements have further research. No other been made in the 30 years nation has any system even since the initial advance. One can remove a single cell from comparably effective, though an early stage embryo and the state of Calif ornia has refreeze the embryo while the cently set up a system similar excised cell is permitted to di- to the British. vide further to a stage where Regrettably, no organizait can be assayed for what sex tion is tracking the children born via IVF to see whether the embryo will be (a rarely detrimental used option), or for whether any long-tereffects will occur. Nature reit is free from genetic abnormalities known to exist in the views the fledgling systems that do exist and calls for family. If everything is positive, the frozen embryo can designated improvements. be thawed and implanted and The journal also has a section on what developments we permitted to come to term. This has also led to the promay expect in the future. One that will surely generate more duction of "savior siblings." If a given child produced controversy is the fusion of of human DNA into other spesuffers from any normally cies' embryos, to study mecha variety of genetic diseases, anisms of the first 14 days of the parents can produce further embryos and choose for development. I I A D ing to it art k up again. Linebaugh said that many visitors to the resort still ask about the old summer shows. And he thinks that the un- Hip-polyt- The sequence with the amusingly inept performers is crowd pleaser every time, Fossen said "You just spend the last chunk of the play laughing at the mechanicals being idiots." Back in business There's another advantage to doing Shakespeare one that won't be seen by any of the play's audiences. As Tin-ne- y put it, "Shakespeare is royalty free, so we can concentrate most of our finances and most of our resources on the production itself." Linebaugh said that resort management's commitment to Redford is that reviving Sundance Summer Theatre would be no worse than a "breakeven venture." Part of the cost can be defrayed through sponsorships. Linebaugh said that the Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau recently agreed to be a general sponsor of Sundance Summer Theatre. The resort is still taking a risk, Linebaugh said, but "we're sleeping comfortably at -- night." Some of the confidence is doubtless because the Eccles Outdoor Stage has been a popular theatrical venue in the past. Fossen, who's also done Shakespeare with companies in California and Idaho, said that the Eccles is "my favorite outdoor space I've ever worked in." The woodland ambience is an obvious positive he said, but he's also been pleased by how weO the stage and the amphitheater seating are designed. "It feels very intimate; it feels like nobody's back, far away from you," he said. "You dont have to really blow out your voice. I really dont have to work that hard for even the people in the back row to hear me." Tinney said that patrons will appreciate the Eccles as wefl. "Every seat is a good seat," he said. "Every view to the stage is a good view." The Eccles combines lawn-styl- e seating in its upper bowl benches with bleacher-stylcloser to the stage. Waters said that the production will be general admission (no assigned seating), so patrons can decide what's most comfortable to e them There's also a food option that's more enticing than your typical concession items: The resort will have a BBQ dinner available prior to each performance. Fossen's wife, April, is also as Titania acting in the play and Hippohta, she's both of his queens and the couple has taken their two children, ages 5 and 8, with them to rehearsals. "It's not a bad way to spend the summer," said Fossen, "being up at Sundance with Shakespeare." Sundance and UVU are hoping they find out that there are a lot of other Utah Valley residents who feel that way. te Some more worthy of hospitality than others? DEAR MISS MANNERS I think I have discovered a phenomenon that is even tackier than cash bars at wedding receptions. Apparently, some restaurants have begun offering a service called a "half open bar" to customers who wish to hold private parties. This means that the hosts are allowed to select a set number of "VIP guests, designated with visible wristbands, who are allowed unlimited free drinks. The rest of the guests must pay for their beverages. I'm not necessarily faulting the businesses that have made this service an option; they are hardly forcing anybody to participate. I am, however, trying hard to quash my uncharitable H f Judith Martin Miss Manners feelings about the hosts who would employ such a service. As for how this sort of thing reflects on the culture as a whole, I am completely at a loss for words. You, however, rarely are. are in trouble, even if the visitor does not turn out to be a to share sustenance freely, even if one has little, is a test. Those who turn others away postal mail at United Media, deity in disguise. However, Miss Manners does admire the modern efficiency. What you bring to her attention is a method of insultThoughts? Can civilization put the kibosh on this nonsense? ing guests by making them Are we too far gone? pay to be entertained, while GENTLE READER at the same time making it Although she is not quite ready to give up clear that the insult is personal on civilization, Miss Manners rather than general. admits that what has happened to hospitality is an evil portent. Readers may write to Miss Manners at MissManners In secular society, as in many religions, the willingness unitedmedia.com, or via 200 Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016. 4 great product can determine the size of your business, U but it's the foundation of customers that keep it standing Your for Theseus and his lady, planned theatrical outage may even have been a bit of a blessing. "Because there's been an absence he said, "I think people are more interested than ever." Sundance and UVU are also relying on the durable appeal of William Shakespeare to bolster the comeback production's drawing power. "We wanted to do a play that was suitable for everybody," said resort programs Fond memories manager Tracy Waters. "It's The new arrangement was a great story, it's entertaining, given an enthusiastic approval it's accessible." "A Midsummer Night's by Redford, Linebaugh said: "He loved the partnership with Dream" has something for UVU. He loved the fact that we everyone, Fossen said. "With were going to be doing theater the fairies, you've got some of again and using that stage for the most beautiful language what it was originally intended that Shakespeare wrote," he said. The play follows four for." What remains to be seen, is mismatched lovers who folwhether local theatergoers are low each other into the forest, equally excited. Computer pro- where Oberon gets up to some mischief grammer and actor Mark Fosincluding at the sen, who will be appearing in expense of his wife, Titania the new production in the dual with the help of his chief attenrole of Oberon, the Fairy King, dant, the merrymaking Puck. and Theseus, ruler of Athens, Everyone finds true love said that he moved to Utah Val- one way or another and, as ley about six months after Sun- is often the case with Shakedance Summer Theatre began speare, there's a contingent of its hiatus in 2002. buffoonish characters whose Yet Fossen, 38, said that, primary purpose is to inspire within local theatrical circles, giggles and snorts. With "Dream," it's the he's heard nothing but praise of the former company and its "mechanicals," the lowborn menials who form an acting productions. "It's sort of legendary," he said. 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