Archives 1995-96

Graduate Student Performance Hour

September 26

An eclectic evening concocted by our eclectic mix of graduate students, aptly illustrated by Gary Reevess performance of "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Gretchen Steins performance of "Serata: a Futurist Manifesto."

2040 Performance Hour

November 30

. . . more like two hours in this case as fourteen students in the introductory course stormed the stage with a vigorous assortment of pieces. Of particular note was Danielle Searss performance from "The Hope Chest" by Jean Stafford.

Graduate Student Performance Hour

February 8

Implicit in the title of their pieces, a graduate student drift: "Devon and Demon Dobbie from Hell" by Bucky Sinister, "My Dada Way," "The Yearbook . . . by people who knew Gary," "ORIGINAL performance ART," and Heinrich Blls "The Laugher."

Roswell: The True Story?

Adapted & directed by Jacque Burleson
March 8-10

Busted balloon or alien spacecraft? Burleson re-opened the famous case in her adaptation of the multiple accounts that comprise the Roswell mystery. In the manner of a docu-drama, Burlesons version included the provocative eyewitness accounts of local residents, the chilling report of the mortician, tense scenes of a military cover-up, and special effects that ranged from cheesy to parodic to spine-tingling.

Edith Wharton: Her Life and Art

Adapted & performed by Barbara Becker * Directed by Peter Amster
March 13-16

Former professor of oral interpretation at LSU, Barbara Becker returned to perform Edith Wharton. Set admidst an elegant drawing room, Becker as Wharton spoke to the audience of her life and work, drawing on excerpts from A Backward Glance, House of Mirth, and "Xingu." Her engaging portrayal received direction from Peter Amster, a professional theatre director based in Beckers home town of Chicago.

On Broadway: Poetry in Motion

Directed by Iresha Dillon
March 29 & 30

As in April 1995, "The Performing Poets" of Scotlandville Magnet High School brought their current show to the Black Box. Once again, Dillons innovative choreography highlighted the body in voice and in text. In addition to performing their own poetry and that by Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovani, and Ntozake Shange, the students paid tribute to Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King, Jr., and offered a comic rendition of Jackson Five songs.

Detecting the Maltese Falcon

Adapted & directed by Gary D. Reeves & Lisa Swartzel
April 18-20

Applying Augusto Boals Joker System, Reeves and Swartzel adapted Hammetts classic thriller into discrete scenes of diverse styles such as a 007musical review, repetitive imagery (Spade rolling a cigarette), a drag show, and hypnotist act. Periodically, a Joker figure (the Maltese Falcon) intervened to ask questions of the characters, cast, and audience. As with Boals practice, the aims of the show were to simultaneously represent and interrogate the text (and its performance) while also making it referential and entertaining for the audience.

2040 Performance Hour

April 30

Our industrious TAs (students, directors, performers, family members as well as instructors) closed out the season with select performances from their various sections of the introductory course.