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Show UNIVERSITY Journal PACE 7 Monday, October 4, 2004 ; t K EDITOR l Heather Darata, A L 865-844- 3 L. & Play provides escape from mundane life t t. By RACHEL GLIDDEN rghddensuujournal.com SUUs College of Performing and Visual Arts first theatrical show of the 2004-0- 5 season started slow but eventually won the crowd through witty and amusing antics of the cast. See How They Run, a play by Philip King, is in the being performed now through Saturday Auditorium. Students can see the performance for $3 and can obtain tickets at the Auditorium Box Office with their I.D. cards. Even though I tried to keep an open mind before seeing the play for the first time, I had the high hopes for the performance because of be way it was advertised. The play was said to a comic caper full of wild British wit and promising to have me laughing so hard my sides would hurt. I hoped it would be true. I However, immediately began to be disappointed. The first scene started with Miss Skillon (Michelle Dianne Caldiero) coming to complain to the vicar, Rev. Lionel Toop (Jed Rudd), about the pulpit being decorated by someone else. Penelope Toop (Jillene Stark), somehow unaware of people hollering her name which up the stairs, sang loudly and often made it difficult to understand the conversation on stage. The audience quickly learned that the vicars wife and Miss Skillon didnt like each other, and the vicar thought his wife needed to act more Yet as I sat through the scene, I didnt lady-likthink I would ever care about the characters arguing on stage. However, things began to get a little interesting when Penelopes friend and previous acting companion arrived on the scene. Cpl. Clive Winton (Brady Voss) enthusiastically greeted his friends, to the horror of ' Miss Skillon, who seemed to be secretly in love with the vicar. The end of the first act gave me hope for the second, when Miss Skillon, observing Penelope and Clive reenacting a scene from their play, thought Penelope was arguing with her husband. The second act was a little better, with some of the characters getting drunk, and all of them Many foolishly. acting scenes interesting developed as Penelopes uncle, the Bishop of Lax (Kevin Rollins), arrived early for a visit and came to believe that Penelope was married to Clive; a Russian intruder (Brock C. Williams) stole the vicars clothes, causing the vicar to run around in his boxers; and the maid, Ida (Lillian Castillo) tried to keep the inebriated Miss Skillon hidden away in the closet. The third scene had to straighten everything out and introduced another vicar, Rev. Arthur (Jake Corn), and Sgt. Towers Humphrey (Elijah Eskelsen). The first half of the act was entertaining, but the ending seemed drawn out and fairly weak. Stark, who played the vicars wife, and Rudd, who played the Rev. Toop, were supposed to lead the show, but their antics were overshadowed by the maid and Penelopes visiting friend. Castillo had great character on stage and enthusiastically took on the role of a slightly ditzy maid who just seemed to want a relationship with someone male. Her accent was the most pronounced of those on stage, and though at first it seemed awkward and out of place, her perfect use of it throughout the production helped it seem completely natural at the end. Voss was the most hilarious to watch, and he was able to make every moment on stage a comical one. He easily stole the show from Stark and Rudd and was the favorite to watch throughout the show. The actors did not use microphones, but their voices carried well. The sound system was only used for some slightly odd music that played before the show started and during intermission. A CD skipped during intermission, distracting from regular conversation, but the music was one-line- rs off-ke- y, e. otherwise good. The stage was well done except for the walls with ugly wallpaper that seemed unnaturally tall. This probably could have been fixed by adding a couple of large portraits. Because of the height of the walls, everything else in the room looked too small. However, the furnishings were nice, especially the tablecloth, curtains, chairs and telephone. The lighting was also good, except for one light bulb on the left side (stage right) that shone over the edge of the wall, breaking the reality that they were trying to create. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the evening was the empty chairs in the Auditorium. Not counting the two ushers, only 34 people were in attendance for opening night, a disappointing number by anyones standards. Students who complain of a lack of things to do should shell out the three bucks and go enjoy the show. Everyone else should go to support SUUs theatre department and fellow students. It may not be the best show ever, but See How They Run is an entertaining diversion from the monotony of life. CHRISTINA Left: Nathanial McLee, a freshman theatre arts major from Vernal, and Will Lindsay, a junior chemistry major from Atchinson, Kan., Off the Cuff pretend they are fishing Friday night during the communication a major Middle: Greg Bartlett, junior performance. MEIER UNIVERSITY JOURNAL from Richfield, and Tiffani Mills, a sophomore theatre arts major from Lehi, hug during one of the Off the Cuff games Friday night. his Right: Ian Durant, a junior theatre arts major from Vernal, shows stuff Friday night at The Grind. Off the Cuff expands, hooks audience By KRISTY CUTLER kcutlersuujournal.com TV shows such Improvisational as Whos Line Is It Anyway? and Saturday Night Live have grown in national interest and made their way to Cedar City. Off the Cuff, an improv comedy group consisting of six SUU students, has the same witty, humor as these hit TV shows, but it stands on its own with original ideas and personalities. Its founding members envisioned the group two years ago but did not receive enough initial support to get it off the ground. It was not until January that Off the Cuff was formed, and since then, it has literally gone off the cuff, with performances not only in the Cedar City area, but in St. George and Parowan as well. Tilt Jerame Tyree, a senior communication major from Compton, Calif., has been an Off the Cuff member since its first show. When people kept coming, I was like What the crap is going on? Tyree said. The founders expected about 15 audience members for their first show, and when 101 attended, the group gained an idea of how much support it actually had. Large audiences have continued to follow, averaging around 90 people per show. We tell (other improv groups) that we get 50 people at a show and they freak out, Tyree said. And lately, we have doubled that number. Performing together not only brings fun to the members of Off the Cuff, but money as well. Members would not disclose how much the show brings in, but they said it was not a huge amount. Some of the money is used to pay The Grind for the use of its building. The remainder is put into savings and split among the group members. If the group continues to save and expand, it may soon be able to acquire a business license. Tyree said if it is gets the license, the group and show will be used more for organizational purposes than for financial purposes. It isnt about money; we just love improv, Tyree said. T.J. Penrod, a senior undeclared major from Sandy, is one of the groups founding members. Starting out, Penrod and his comrades began looking for places in Cedar City to perform their act. The group talked to The Grind, a Cedar City coffee house on Main Street, and The Grind allowed them space to perform weekly shows. On any given show night, it is not unusual to see coffee house filled with loyal fans. People come for the first time every Jerame Tilt Tyree, a senior from communication major Compton, Calif., pretends to be a nervous bank robber Friday night 8 at an Off the Cuff performance. See CUFF, Page I A V A T . 1 A : I v .. jpl t CHRISTINA The members of Off the Cuff, which was formed in MEIER UNIVERSI FY JOURNAL January, stand up and introduce themselves to the audience Friday night. Dean brings arts background, establishes new goals By HEATHER DARATA hdaratasuujournal.com With more than 30 years of experience in the arts, SUUs new College of Performing & Visual Arts dean is bringing with him new goals and ideas for the college. Bill Byrnes, dean of College of Performing & Visual Arts, said he came to SUU because he saw in place a strong commitment to try to build the arts programs on campus and also because he was atti acted by the masters degree program. With the College of Performing & Visual Arts being relatively young (in the beginning of its seventh year), and it Byrnes being only the second dean has seen, he said he is looking at where the college is currently, where people want it to be in the future and how to get there. One of his primary goals is to increase visibility. He said the theatrical productions the by produced college aie not just for enteitamment they are purposes; also designed to train the students as part of their education. Theyre not just something to do on a Friday night, Byrnes said. Theyre part of our educational mission. Theyre part of the training and development of future artists. So they need those experiences. And the other thing that they need to "I'm still learning, still figuring out makethatexperience meaningful is an which audience, means weve got to get the attention of the SUU student body. He said students is must be notified of cultural events can see Bill Byrnes so they whats going on and take advantage of activities happening on campus. If you want to take maximum advantage of the fact that youre in a how this place works and who everybody and what they do. small university where you have more access to the faculty and you have faculty teaching you also want to take advantage of the cultural offerings that are here, Byrnes said. These are things that are designed, yes, to train and educate our students in the arts and craft, but there are also things to be learned about human experience, about life. He said piojects to increase the programs visibility include develoyng a press plan, making graphics and logos foi the College of Performing & Visual Arts and improving its Web site. The Web site is being redesigned and to make it more student-focuse- d more accessible. See BYRNES, Page 8 old-sty- Rachel Gliddcn is a senior staff writer for the University Journal. She can be reached at rgliddensuujournal.com. ew music professor comes to SUU By ERIN BARKER ebarkersuujournal com SUUs Music Department has a new assistant professor, Grace St. Pierre, who replaced Gerard Yun as professor of voice and director of choral activities. St. Pierre said her duties as choral director will include taking care of all choral functions, teaching voice lessons, directing a full studio of students and teaching vocal skills. She said she has three primary goals as the director of choral activities, including maintaining the high standards her colleagues have already established, reaching out to the community through choral ensembles and providing the highest quality of choral experience for students. She said one of her future goals is to take the with 30 years of experience concert choir on a national tour within the next few years and see it perform in some of Europes beautiful cathedrals. St. Pierre said she is excited to teach in southern Utah because of her love of the area and because of what she has heard about SUU and its music program. I chose to come here because I loved the area and have never lived in the west before, she said. The school has a good reputation, and I knew there was a lot of talent here. These are the future artists, and it will be neat to see them grow. St. Pierre said Utah compares well with other areas of the country in which she has taught. Kids come from all across the state so well piepared, she said. It is wonderful that the arts are held in such high esteem in this state. St. Pierre came to SUU from Indiana University Southeast, where she was the director of choral activities, director of opera and a professor of voice. According to her professional information listed on SUUs Web site, St. Pierre has had more than 30 has years of conducting and vocal experience and soloist and of a member as world the around sung in the United States Air Force Singing Sergeants, an elite chorus of professional musicians based in Washington, D.C. She received a doctorates degree in choral s conducting from the University of Missouri and Conservatory of Music in Kansas City, Kan., has done extensive doctoral studies in voice at the s University of Texas. St. Pierre received a master in music degree in voice and undergraduate degrees See MUSIC, Page 8 |