11111111-I.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJII FACES And FOOTLIGHTS by Don Garner •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "Junior Miss," "The Glass Menagerie," "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay," "Pro– metheus Bound," "Creatures of Impulse," "You Can't Take it With You," "Princess and the Swineherd," "Ladies' In Retire· ment"-these plays, and more, have been produced at Harding by the Campus Players, Alpha Psi Omega. and th<> High School. I have observed several of the speech and dramatic bulletins that are received' at the library, and believe me, I find these plays, both in number and quality, rank among the best of those produced in larger universities and colleges in the country. I can remember a time when Harding had only two plays a year. It is a rebirth, and what a rebirth! Do you know the directors who have done all of this? A great deal of preparation goes into the production of any play. Talk to Mrs. Armstrong, founder of Campus Players and noted director. Talk to Dr. Jack Wood i Sears and Judy Hogan Miller who direct· eel the two lonely plays the fir.'lt year I was at Harding. Talk to Eileen SnurP, Nelda Holton, Bill Skillman, the present drama directors. Talk to anyone who has directed a play. One of the first things they would tell you is that it is impossible for the director, alone, to carry a wholt> production (even though at times illooks to me as if they have had to. l It takes first of all a play, a cast, stage director and crews, lights, make-up, costumes, ticket·sellers, etc. I could go on fot· hours. It takes more than these sepa1·ate little groups. It takes a combination of them working together for specific purposes. It takes cooperation. Just think ovPr in your own mind what constitutes coopera– tion. You will be supprised what it does include. We have several other productions corn· ing up. "Little Women" by the high school; "Othe1Io;" the operetta, ''Hearts and Blossoms;" and "Claudia" are tht> main productions left for this year. It is going to take a lot of work to put these productions on. How about it kids? How about more team-work and cooperation? You won't have to wait for these major productions to show your willingness to work hard. There is better than an ave· rage of a play a week for the remainder of this term and probably next term: This has been a very feeble attempt to editorialize, but what I say I mean and whether I say it in the right way or not you still know what I am getting at. CURTAIN Seven Given Parts In "Othello" Cast; Others to be Added Partial ca.sting for Shake· speare's Othello was announced last Wednesday by Professor Bill Skillman. Seven of the ten parts in the play have been cast early. The play is not to be given until ne:l<'t spring, probably on March 31, and April 1. The rea· son for the early casting is to allow class time and college credit for the major roles. Fom: hours a week will be taken up with intensive study of the play, one of Shakespeare's best. The actors will be given one or two hours credit for the work, depending upon the length of the roles. Richard Walker Gets Role Keith Thompson is cast in the part of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The leading feminine part, that of Desdemona, will be portrayed by Betty Thornton, associate editor of the Bison. Iago, the arch-villain, will ,be \ played by Richard Walker. Others in the cast are: Cliff Seawel as Cassio, ~rnie Wilker· son as Brabantio, Patti Mattox as Emilia, and Bill Williams as Roderigo. Three minor parts will be cast later on. Original Dialogue Used The theme of the play con· cerns thwarted and misdirected ambition which results in trad– gedy. The play is to be presented and staged as much in the origi– nal way as will be possible. Three acting areas will be used, some scenes to be played on the apron, in an authentic Shakespeareian manner. Original dialogue will be used, with as little cutting as is absolutely necessary. Skillman, head of the speech department, in his statement to The Bison said, "We are looking forward with a great deal of interest to this project, and feel it to be a stimulating challenge. We hope the result will be worthy of the appreciation of the college community." Uof ATo Present One-Act Play In Speech F~stival By Irma Coons A speech festival, centered about a one·act play, is to be held in the Harding College auditor– ium during the morning of Jan– uary 12, from 9 a. m. to 12 noon Professor Bill ':Okillman announced. There is no admission charge, and students may watch the production whenever they have time. On that day, Thursday, chap- 1 el will be held in the Rhodes Field House so that the auditor– ium may be used for the presen- 1 tation of the play. The festival is to be sponsored jointly by the University of Ar– kansas and Harding College. Blair Hart, play production di· rector at the University, will head the g_roup. Speech students from' Arkan– sas University are taking part in the event. It will I?e a drama workshop, with demonstrations showing how behind-the-scenes work, such as costuming and I make·UP application, is done. ] Play Follows Workshop The play, "The Third Man," I translated from the German by Barrett Clark, will be given dur– ing the latter part of the morn· ing, after showing how the stu– dents were prepared for their roles in it. Following the play, there will be a discussion of how 1 and why the play was produced and directed as it was. The aim of the festival is to promote interest in speech and dramatics and other related fields. This is the first year of its presentation, and its success this year will determine whether or not it will be given again. Teachers from ten nearby counties are invited to attend the festival. Similar meetings, sponsored by the University of Arkansas, will be held in the state throughout the year. 112 Register For Speech Clinic-Here Thursd<lyMorning1 U of A. Harding In Joint Sponsorship Of Workshop For HS's Sponsored by the University of Arkansas and Harding College, the Northeast Arkansas Drama Workshop was held on this camp– us Thursday morning, from 9:30 until 12:30. i Open to surrounding high schools, 112 people registered ~or the workshop, representing Bald J Knob, Batesville, Searcy, Harding Academy, and Harding College. : The outstanding feature of the ' program was a one-act comedy, "The Third Man," by four Univer– sity students under the direction of Blair Hart, staff member of the department of drama there. It was a German period play by Roderich Benedix. It was giv– en as a demonstration on the re- 1 lationship of emotional motiva– tion using a relatively simple plot. : Mr. Hart showed how the actors had worked out the pattern o,f motivation from a script which gave no stage directions. Mid-morning coffee was served in the home economics dining 1oom for all attending the meet– ing. Miss Eileen Snure, member of the Harding speech department, gave a make-up demonstration, using Richard Walker as a "vic– tim." She gave advice on charact– er and straight make-up. The rest of the morning was given to open discussion and questions by the students. Mr. [ Hart also gave a demonstration on costumes and advice on how to obtain dramatic materials with limited means. He said that the fundamentals of art should be emphasized always in the edu– cation program o'f dramatics. Professor Bill Skillman, head of the speech department here, was master of ceremonies, and Dean L. C. Sears gave the welcoming address.
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