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Show Park Messenger - Enterprise, Thursday, July Serves Pageant Attenders Tenth Manti City Park accommodates many during Mormon Miracle Pageant. These groups were photographed last year. The Magnificent Macksene ... . Annual Pageant Imminent (Continued from Page a perfect 1) home-cooke- teen-ager- ' ' ' ' , , kzT Y ( are, advice to the players: Suit the action to the word and the word to the action. the hill usually go through the action, first, to show them what I want. I explain the scene and tell the actor how to react. It is often necessary to paint a to create a motivating mood. A novice needs stage business. . . to keep him busy, she smilei. I 7. re Gestures in a pageant, she explains, must be somewhat exaggerated and grandiose because of the distance between actor and audience. But she says that she often finds her WAv uIWsi and actors most inventive stage on-goi- dispenses Hamlets famous word-pictu- initimate are actually speaking their lines while, as a matter of illusion, they are spoken by a professional voices on the life-lik- e tape recording. Each character is given a script in the early stages of rehearsal. Each memorizes his lines word perfect. When it comes time to speak from their position on Mormon Miracle Macksene relies heavily on the Bard, William Shakespeare. She often west, California and Arizona groups, he said. Something new this year will be the opening of the Manti Temple for ordinance work July Two morning sessions will be held daily, starting at 8 and 10:30 a.m., during that period. President June Black said. the principal pageant characters Eager, willing and, typical summers night. It doesnt disturb the people of Manti, though. As a matter of fact, they have become accustomed to hearing Macksene directing into the night . . . and into their bedrooms. Now, like the crickets, Macksenes voice has become part of the familiar sounds of early summer. A live Angel Moroni appears white clad and bathed in all the As director. Miss Rux employs an ingenious gimmick which convinces a major part of the audience that the 30 above all, teachable. In directing the 41 different scenes which make up The on a This strikingly attractive nuances of a young mother burying and leaving her child in a shallow prairie grave. But Miss Rux seeks .out those who town during rehearsal thespian is as much at home with the direction of a crowd sequence as she is in bringing out isnt everything, Ive often broadcast across the entire Midway through the pageant, Miss Rux showman that she is has arranged for a s, performance. been received from the North- at the park. remaining been surprised by people who didnt look the part turning in an outstanding and convincing advanced reservations have Family sets up a tent and enjoys casual atmosphere and symmetry in tune with timing, costuming and mass movement. The innate artist that Macksene Rux actually is comes forth. In describing many of the scenes in the pageant, she refers to them as Peopled portraits. she admits, like someone portly and stout to fill the Brigham Young bill. But stature and physical likeness Temple grounds. This is our principal source of revenue for Mr. financing the pageant, Dyreng explained. By means of the money raised from sale of the souvenir program, we are able to constantly upgrade the production. For this years 10th anniversary performances audiences totaling about 110,000 are expected, Mr. Dyreng said. This number wont set a new record, because an estimated 120,000 attended in 1974. He based his 110,000 estimate on the number of inquiries being received and other information. A number of requests for employing balance picture The entire cast of 342 amateurs this year is representative cross . section of farmhousewives ers, even a college president from Central Utah, Miss Rux says. I look for types, of course," A new edition of the pageant program, featuring a Bicentennial theme, will be sold at the in the park. she says. polish during the four weeks. grounds. camped out job, Casting The Mormon Miracle usually takes the first two of the six weeks I am in Manti, she says. We rehearsh and Mr. Dyreng said. The Manti Center and South wards will again provide d meals each evening during the pageant. In addition, Manti Utah Stake wards will operate food and drink concessions in the near vicinity of the Temple grounds. However, pageant goers are reminded that food and drink are not permitted within those Group of Girl Scouts who resourceful in supplying convincing pageant action. Macksene Rux is a master at directing crowd scenes. And the pageant has many. With each, she tries to create a (Continued from Page 1) audience, Miss Rux had instructed Gordon. He performed a herculean task, but he did each actor has reheased so well and so often, that they merely affect appropriate facial expression, and mouth the words in synchronous time with the taped voice. The effect, though simulated, is most convincing and persuasive. Macksene has two very capable pageant associate: assistant directors Helen Dyreng and Jane Braithwaite. Miss Rux directs via a hand microphone, sitting in a chair at the base of the hill. Her directions are inadvertently sensational show-stoppe- r. lights the pageant electricians can generate, high above the darkened temple atop the 169 foot west tower heralding the restoration with his trumpet. It is a moment of pure dramatic impact. A moment for stark audience reaction Miss Rux in LDS circles 1 wears her family heritage proudly. She is a descendant of Hyrum Smith, who with his brother, Jospeh Smith, was martyred in the early days of the Mormon church. She is the daughter of and gets her name from Apostle Hyrum Mack Smith, eldest son of the late LDS church president, Joseph F. Smith. Her brother, the late Prof. Joseph F. Smith, was drama director of the University of Utah for many years. 1 , Page 3 1976 . annual summer event in Manti feel fortunate and grateful to have a prime-movbehind the pageant with the quality and rich experience of Miss Rux. She has done special work in drama production and direction at the University of Wisconsin, New York University and the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Canada. She was managing director of the Valley Community Playhouse in Gare-mon- t, California. She also produced and directed the first dramatic presentation to go out over educational television, for the Hancock Foundation. I became a professional, she says, the day 1 received my first paycheck from KDYL the old NBC station in Salt Lake. . . where I produced costumed radio plays at the age of 20. er Macksene likes to remember her local association with The late, great Utah director, Lila Eccles Brimhall and Maud Mae Babcock of the U of U. Nationally, she identifies with such top names as TVs Raymond Burr. They acted together at the Pasadena Playhouse. And, for a long, long time I was dubbed in as Loretta Youngs voice on the Loretta Young enduring Show, she recalls. She vividly recalls her mother reading Aesop and Grimm. Macksene Rux has created of The Mormon Miracle a real Spiritual Spectacular. . . in pure pageantry. Just why has The Mormon Miracle been so progressively successful across the years. . . growing steadily in attendance to a projected estimated attendance of 125,000 this summer? , aloud. Thats where it all started, she says with affection. People associated with this The secret, succinctly stated by the actor who played the role of General Mormon last is simply because it year, SMACKS of MACKSENE! Macksene and her brother, Joseph, were introduced to great classic literature and drama early in their childhood. Father, she remembers, often read Shakespeare STVfcr 3 fyMtnc, Only a IBnidc, Oace, ( 'Klatk, tt f&o, ynca&M qcma&m O ) ia yam Ufa. FOR A MEMORABLE Breakfast is served morning following pageant performance. Named Cub Scout of 1977 Allan Stevens, 9, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stevens, Ephraim, has been named Cub Scout of 1977 by the Utah National Parks Council. Allan will now compete with the Cub Scouts of 1977 of the two other councils in Utah for the Utah Cub Scout of J977 award. The selection will be made by a committee of Scout executives. Allan was chosen as the nominee of the Palisade District (Manti Utah Stake) on the basis of his achievements in the Cubbing program, according to Mrs. Geaneen Blauer, stake Cub Scout director. He is a member of the Ephraim South Ward pack. Gary Ray is the Cub master. Allan was chosen as our nominee because of the excep- He first completed the 12 achievements required to earn his Wolf badge, then the 12 04 achievements for the Bear badge and has since earned six arrows, requiring 10 achievements each, beyond the Bear. -- UMkg (foxrfmt act pnicu and qualify 01 bedding Cab oWopfetos tional advancement he has made in the Cubbing program since entering it 15 months ago, Mrs. Blauer said. t bedding 0W2 Have eatkeit Breakfast with The American Legion - Eggs - Pancakes START SERVING AT 7 Family Individual Children - Beverage a.m. 6 - 150 75c Plates Furnished American Legion Hall Manti CJou cAlotes witabons Cowls i3:arc Bacon . . Glides Qoofe TW Cub Allan Stevens Talent for Spending The federal government is spending at least $92,836,927 a year for 3,990 persons whose talents would fall under the general heading of publicity expert, according to a recent survey of 12 federal agencies conducted by the Washington Star. The Star also reported that the government now hs access to roughly $1 billion worth of audiovisual plant and equipment. A General Services Administration survey indicated that the governments audiovisual activities cost taxpayers approximately $500 million a year. OtUrfWt SdUvUfitOxn w&h fasti yottn MESSENGER 35 twtdUot4' dt ENTERPRISE ypttu, HIcmu |