Mystère Revealed

"Life is an endless mystery. Journey to the heart of it" with Cirque du Soleil's production of "Mystère" at Treasure Island hotel & casino in Las Vegas. The night of July 7th, 2007 was one filled with chaotic color, lights, costumes, make-up, giant puppets, acrobats, dancers, singers, musicians, clowns and actors as I watched a fantastic, mind-boggling performance of "Mystère" by the Cirque du Soleil artists.

For those unfamiliar with Cirque du Soleil, let me give you a brief introduction to this company. Cirque du Soleil mixes performing arts and circus arts, sports, and street performance to create an overall unique and entertaining experience for every show. The company performs many different shows around the world and amazes audiences everywhere with its spectacular display of human flexibility, strength and endurance.

Mystère is one of the productions performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has a cast of 75 world-renowned artists. This show premiered in December 1993, has had over 8 million spectators since its opening, and represents 17 different countries in its cast. The show is about the mystery of life, from birth to maturity, and how it unfolds.

Reinventing the circus tradition, the show is a "dream-like journey," set to an original score and vocals, with fantastic acts of athleticism and acrobatics that seem to defy gravity. This production also features wild, chaotic, and intricately colorful and entertaining characters such as a fiery red bird, a big baby and a mischievous clown. The goal of Mystère is to "challenge limits and explore the imagination," according to the Cirque du Soleil website (see below for link).

The performance I saw was fantastic overall, with only a few slow moments of frustration. As I mentioned before, one of the characters is a very large baby, and it carries a huge orange ball around as well as a bottle tied around its neck. This baby was actually a very large, overgrown man in a diaper and bonnet. He represented the pilgrim starting out as a baby, about to embark on the journey of life, which is represented by the rest of the performance. This baby was funny most of the time, but as all children do, he became frustrating and tedious at times.

The "narrator," or Man in Pink, was also a bit tedious as he strutted about the stage in a magenta suit and top hat, talking in seeming gibberish (which I think was supposed to be French) and pretending to be a ventriloquist with a strange looking puppet. I couldn't say what the puppet was supposed to look like. Maybe a weird bird. But he and his puppet also had their entertaining moments, like when the clown strangled the strange looking puppet and threw it off stage.

Another notable character was the "clown;" unfortunately, he didn't look like one at first. The audience was introduced to him before the show even started when he stood with the ushers and began taking people around to their seats. Mind you, he was dressed in a black-tie suit; however, his white-gray hair was gelled so that it stuck straight out from his head like a mad scientist stereotype. The lighting crew also had him in a spotlight, something only the audience members already sitting could ascertain. I was one of them, thank God.

So, he led innocent audience members around on wild goose chases around the theatre, made them crawl over people, spilled people's popcorn, kicked people out of their seats, and eventually threw all the tickets in the air--leaving audience members baffled and stranded in the middle of rows and in other people's seats. He repeated this routine about five times before people started catching on that their guide was not trustworthy. The rest of the audience, amused and pitying, watched the spotlighted disaster-area passively, displaying a classic case of the bystander effect, or bystander apathy. It was funny for a while, but I just felt really bad for the clueless people under the spotlight who lost their popcorn and got kicked out of their nice cool seats after racing to get to the show in over 100 degree heat. Clowns--funny yet annoying.

There were many acrobatic acts in the performance and I will only go into detail for a few. The most impressive act was called "Hand-to-Hand," a picture of which is located at the top of this article. Two hugely muscular men with physiques of gods come together to astound viewers with their gentle strength and fluid movements that take amazing stamina and discipline to execute. The two men moved so slowly and gently that they exuded a sense of sensuality that was unmistakable. This sensuality, along with the vocal artists singing "triste amor," translated "sad love," made me think of this act as a metaphor for homosexual male love. These two brothers perform increasingly difficult maneuvers as they maintain a delicate balance while lifting and supporting one another in tremendously precarious positions that make the audience clench their teeth and gasp. This act, performed on the rounded surface of a rotating dome, evokes the hardships and delicate balance many homosexual couples must maintain in societies across the globe. The graceful yet powerful exhibition of their strength and stamina shows that they are always there to support one another even though they may be isolated from the rest of the world. Just to make it clear, this was my interpretation of the act and no where did Cirque du Soleil actually claim that his was their meaning.

Another act worthy of note was the Aerial High Bar, representing human dreams and hopes taking flight for the new millennium, according to the Mystère website. The fourteen athletes from Russia, Romania, Canada and the United States performed on a symmetrical metal structure 40 feet above the stage. The website notes that the acrobats flying on the high bar like a pendulum evokes the passage of time and shows both risk and its reward.

The Aerial Cube is yet another fascinating act performed by Cirque de Soleil. A single man turns and spins a giant cube structure while performing, in the air and on the ground, a graceful and "gravity-defying ballet of aerial maneuvers." He must have had amazing strength to maneuver the cube while trying to hang onto a wire and still look graceful and in control.

Fourth, the Chinese Poles was a light-hearted act that at first made the audience ask, "are they stepping on grooves," then finally groan, "I wish I could do that." The acrobats, decked out in fantastically decadent costumes, crawled up and down poles on stage that were about twenty feet high. They moved about and jumped from pole to pole in strange contortions and movements that a normal person can only dream about doing. Sometimes they used just their hands to climb up (legs held straight horizontally, mind you), and other times they just gripped the pole with their feet and flipped to the next one with seeming ease. According to the Mystère website, the Chinese Poles act is a symbol of sprouting vines and the acrobats crawling up and down represent organic life "which feeds on itself as it grows."

There are many more acts involved in this production, but it would take too long to go through them all. This is definitely a show you must see for yourself to take in the spectacular experience it delivers. I took some quotes by the cast and crew from the Mystère website so you can get an look behind the scenes of Mystère:

"For me, Mystère is about mythology, influences from Balkan and Greek music. You won't find Ulysses or any gods in the show, but it has a unifying, mythical idea behind it. So, in my music, I put an accent on Greek music and percussion."
--René Dupere, Composer

"With Mystère, we knew we were doing something totally new in Las Vegas, and that meant breaking the rules, doing the unexpected. I remember that, while we were rehearsing the show, someone said the lighting was too heavy, that it made him think of a Wagner opera. Franco and I looked at each other and said: 'All right!' We knew we had to be on the right track."
--Luc Lafortune, Lighting Designer

"Mystère, for me, is about life. We knew we were building this temple in the desert, in Las Vegas. When you see the fragile beauty there, you can't help but ask yourself: how did life come to this planet? Mystère, in a way, is the story of this innocent being who is born into the universe, and then becomes a pilgrim, exploring its history.

"We're always influenced by the latest discussions and dialogues. And we were fascinated by chaos theory: the idea that, when a butterfly flaps its wings in Argentina, it causes a rainstorm in Europe. Everything is connected. Of course, the mystery is never fully resolved, but maybe that is what our pilgrim discovers."
--Franco Dragone, Director

"The Mystère set actually suggests Ulysses, and the mythical obstacles he had to overcome on his own journey. The two towers represent Scylla and Charybdis, two of the perils Ulysses faced. The true journey of life is never easy."
--Michael Crete, Set Designer


Also, here is a brief list of the tremendous cast of characters performing in Mystère. The quoted portions are taken directly from the Mystère website and I filled in the rest myself with my own observations:

1. Spermatos and Spermatites: "The Spermatos and Spermatites are like viruses, contaminating the world of Mystère with infectious folly. They are the seeds of life, moving about frantically to fulfill their destinies." These characters wear blue and white spandex jumpsuits with a long, pointy appendage attached to the top of their heads. It shouldn't take your mind too long to imagine what these characters are supposed to represent.

2. Firebird: "The Firebird leaps ever higher in his futile attempt to take to the skies. Still convinced he can fly, he struggles against his fate." This part is played by a very flexible woman wearing a fire-engine red and black costume with a mohawk of feathers on her head. She danced around the stage most of the time, weaving in between many of the other characters. To tell you the truth, I really expected the performer to do more dancing and acrobatic movements. She was dressed so that every eye in the auditorium would follow her while she was on stage, but she didn't do anything special with the attention granted to her.

3. Laquais: "In perpetual servitude, the Laquais are the footmen of Mystère. Their objective is to serve and support others in their pursuit of happiness." These guys were really boring. They just stood around in off-white spandex suits and made sure none of the performers fell and also steadied others on their landings. Like those people in real life who stay out of the spotlight to keep others in it, they play extremely necessary and significant roles for the survival of the show and their coworkers, but they don't get to do anything exciting themselves.

4. Brain (the clown): "Brian looks relatively harmless as he sprints through the audience, but remember: he does not belong to this magical world. He is a troublemaker, always doing things he shouldn't, always in the wrong place at the wrong time." This is the character I mentioned before who took people to the wrong seats in the beginning of the show. Funny and annoying, his shinning moment was when he took a man from the audience, locked him in a box on stage, and took a bottle of champagne back to the man's seat to hit on his wife.

5. The Baby: "Always in search of warmth and food, the babies represent the primitive human state: selfish and hungry." The big baby was also a strange combination of funny and annoying, both traits that real babies have; however, he was lacking in anything I would call cute. I think they stretched out the baby's scenes throughout the show to give the acrobats a breather. He really wasn't needed to carry on the symbolism after the opening scene.

6. Vache à Lait: "The Vache à Lait sounds his ancient horn, it heralds a rebirth, a new beginning. The Vache à Lait is the protector of babies and a symbol of fertility." Mostly there for his symbolic value, this was another boring person in a cool costume who stood around and did nothing.

7. Man in Pink: "The Man in Pink is the narrator no one listens to. He takes himself very seriously, and gets very angry and disagreeable when others don't." Enough said.

8. Chameleon couple: "This chameleon can completely disappear before your eyes. But when it skitters about in its reptilian dance, the lizard shows off its shiny green skin with flashes of scarlet." The chameleon couple had the most impressive costumes, although they just crawled around the other performers feet on stage and never actually did any acrobatics. They were pretty to look at, but if you weren't concentrating, you might miss them.

9. Double Faces: "The Double Faces hide behind haunting masks. In constant search of their own identities, they seldom reveal vulnerability." Acrobats with face masks attached to the back of their heads crawled up and down the Chinese Poles and moved about simultaneously on stage, showing both of their faces repeatedly while unnerving the audience with their eeriness.


If you enjoyed this review, most of this information and more can be found at www.cirquedusoleil.com if you are interested in learning more about Cirque du Soleil and "Mystère." If you don't believe all you've read of this chaotic, fantastic spectacle, I urge you to check it out for yourself. Actually, you don't have to go to Las Vegas to see Cirque du Soleil! Just open your eyes and look around you.

The picture is courtesy of www.cirquedusoleil.com.

Lauren Mietelski
English, Secondary Education
Senior
"Be careful, a mojito may bring on unexpected ice cream cravings!"

MAMMA MIA! Talented Performers, Boring Show

The Las Vegas performance of the famous broadway musical MAMMA MIA! on July 5, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Theatre was entertaining for most of its 2 and a half hours but lacking in many ways.

This musical, designed for family fun, interweaves famous ABBA songs such as "Dancing Queen," "I Have a Dream," "Voulez-Vous," and "Take a Chance on Me" with a story about Sophie Sheridan, a young woman living on a Greek island with her mother, trying to uncover the identity of her father on the eve of her wedding. After reading her mother's diary, she narrows it down to three possible candidates and secretly sends them all invitations to her wedding. Her independent, still single mother is shocked when three men from her past, who each last visited the island exactly 20 years ago, arrive at her hotel. One of the men in particular sends her reeling back to the past.

The music, originally composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, was a disappointment at the Las Vegas production because the man in charge decided to try something new. He took all the original songs and put his own spin on them. Normally, change is good to spice things up. However, his changes meant slower, droning tempos, unrecognizable songs, and bored audience members. The musical number "Mamma Mia" was probably the most enjoyable. It's hard to mess that one up.

An audience member who had seen the show performed last year in Texas said the music was almost completely unrecognizable. When the music started, she asked herself if she bought tickets for the wrong show. She remarked that the music was supposed to have more of a "disco" beat and told me to go listen to the original soundtrack to compare it to the show we saw.

Although the show used its trademark bright colors and crazy costumes, the performance was lacking in charisma because the stage direction, also known as blocking, and dancing were not up to par. Musical performers are supposed to have both song and dance skills under their belt, but these performers were lacking in the latter. While they all had pleasant voices, with the exception of Sophie's mother Donna (played by Carol Linnea Johnson) whose was extraordinary, there was hardly any dancing going on. When the actors playing minor roles stepped up to do their dance numbers, there was indeed nothing special about their steps. One performer proceeded to do a jump about eight times where you are supposed to do the splits in the air and touch your toes--but he couldn't reach his toes! I have to say, that was rather embarrassing to watch as an audience member. The other performers basically stood still during their song numbers and made a couple of facial expressions.

"These people are both dancers and singers; they could have done more," said an audience member.

On a lighter note, a few of the individual performers were interesting, entertaining, and actually deserved to be up there on stage. First, Carol Linnea Johnson, who plays Donna, really stole the show. Of course she wasn't dancing, but her spectacular voice and humor made up for her lack of movement. Her daughter, played by Kelly Anise Daniells, is supposed to be the protagonist; however, the performer was lacking in both those song and dance skills I talked about earlier. She hit all the notes, but her voice reminded me of a complaining child. The character is supposed to be 20-21 years old, not 5. The baby talk was definitely put on for the show, and I think this performer should consider taking it off as quickly as possible. Her fiance was even worse. Sky, played by Patrick Sarb, had a bit part to begin with and didn't do much with it. His character and voice were definitely replaceable fillers.

Donna's two sidekicks, Tanya and Rosie, played by Vicki Van Tassel and Robin Baxter respectively, were hands down the most entertaining part of the show. These performers were definitely not dancers, but they did the best they could with their humorous dialogue. Their blocking was by far the best as they moved about the stage with attitudes that fit their characters' personalities--something that all stage performers are supposed to do. Without these two ladies spicing up the stage, the show would have been a complete bust. They added all the humor and their rock solid routines really kept it together.

Although this particular performance of MAMMA MIA! was less than spectacular, the overall show has been an international hit and is worth seeing at least once.

Picture is courtesy of http://www.mamma-mia.com/gallery.asp?sec=show.

Lauren Mietelski
English, Secondary Education
Senior

Outside at the UI Research Park

Summer greetings to all KCSA members! The Marketing Department sent out this press release and it is posted here for your convenience.

For Immediate Release
June 20, 2007

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
For More Information Contact:
Bridget Lee-Calfas, Visiting Public Information Director
Phone: 217/333-6282
Fax: 217/244-0810
E-mail: bklee@uiuc.edu

Photography is available upon request.

KRANNERT AND FOX/ATKINS PRESENT
OUTSIDE AT THE UI RESEARCH PARK
July 7 and 20, August 17 at 7:30pm

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has joined forces with Fox/Atkins Development LLC and the U of I Research Park for a new three–show series of summer concerts in a welcoming new public venue. OUTSIDE at the UI Research Park is a joint project that plays upon a simple concept: great music, fresh food, a green state of mind, and an open, relaxed environment. The performance space and seating area are located just south of the Motorola building at the corner of First Street and St. Mary’s Road in Champaign. Over the last several months, crews from Fox/Atkins Development have been regrading and replanting the area to create a shaded, grassy seating space that will accommodate about 500 people on a sloped area and additional seating in the tree-lined perimeter.

Laura Frerichs of Fox Development says that the site will offer an opportunity to share the amenities of the park with the greater community and will also provide a diverse cultural outlet for those who work within the facilities. Krannert Center director Mike Ross calls Fox Development, which has been a long-time sponsor of the Center, “a valued partner” who “understands the importance of collaborative enterprises across community sectors.” Ross added that the Center was “pleased to provide programming and marketing support to the new site in order to share the communal experience of live, outdoor music with others.”

Krannert Center’s senior associate director Rebecca McBride notes that another important facet of the OUTSIDE at the UI Research Park series is the effort to focus on “lightening the environmental footprint of the site. Krannert Center has, for some time now, been exploring ways to reduce waste, decrease energy consumption, and provide environmentally friendly services to patrons. OUTSIDE will further this initiative by offering locally grown, organic food at the concessions; utilizing biodegradable containers and utensils; and printing marketing materials on recyclable paper. They are also employing eco-minded planting and in the future, hope to explore eco-minded land management techniques and alternative energy sources.”

Performances:

Saturday, July 7 at 7:30pm
Funkadesi
This eclectic group integrates East Indian music with reggae, funk, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The Chicago-based Funkadesi cooks up a delicious musical stew that intoxicates with its joy, warmth, and vibrancy. Krannert Center audiences may remember this group from the 2006 Corporate Night Party or their 2006 noontime lobby performance that had the crowd up and groovin’.
Corporate Sponsor: Caterpillar Champaign Simulation Center

Friday, July 20 at 7:30pm
Patty Larkin
This Midwestern singer/songwriter fuses Celtic flavored melodies with soulful folk and pop punch to take audiences on an enlightening acoustic journey tinged with beguiling wit. On her latest album, Red=Luck, Larkin easily slides from serene ballads like “Inside your Painting” to a jammin’ Celtic rock final track, simply called, “Louder.”

Friday, August 17 at 7:30pm
The Greencards
This fiery international acoustic trio mixes bluegrass jams, English folksongs, and the sweetest melancholy ballads. The Greencards’ latest recording, Viridian, debuted at number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart, which was a first for an international group. The combo of mandolin, electric bass, and fiddle might not be traditional in the bluegrass world, but with dashing reels, poetic lyrics, and Carol Young’s angelic voice, they’ve now carved their own niche and continue to gather new audiences with must-sing-along tracks like “When I Was In Love With You” and impressive finger picking numbers like “Mucky the Duck.”

Location, Parking, and Services:

These concerts will be held near the southwest corner of First Street and St. Mary's Road, south of the Motorola building.
Free parking is available in research park lots (not on First Street).

All concerts begin at 7:30pm and are free.

Spirits and locally grown, organic food are available at concession stands located at the northwest corner of the SAIC/Caterpillar building.

Restrooms are available inside the Illinois Natural History Building at 1816 South Oak Street.

Sponsors:

Presented by Krannert Center, in association with Fox/Atkins Development LLC, the University of Illinois Research Park, and the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Additional Information:

Visit KrannertCenter.com or call 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX (527-2849).
Patrons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech-impaired may also contact via TTY at 217/333-9714.

"Hit the Road" for Callboard

This summer, Callboard's theme is "Hit the Road." Some of you may remember this section from our previous newsletter. Now, it is an on-going theme for the next three months. Traveling KCSA members, whether heading to downtown Chicago or Italy, are welcome to share their stories (hopefully related to theatre in some way) and show reviews, which may include performances of music, drama, opera, musicals and more.

If you would like to share your experiences and show critiques, please contact Lauren Mietelski at lmietel2@uiuc.edu or Eric Gordon at egordon3@uiuc.edu. You can submit completed works to us through email (we will edit and post them), or you can talk to us first about your ideas. Also, please send us digital pictures along with your contributions. These pictures can be of the theatre (or the actual performance if you are sneaky), the town/city you visited, as well as friends and family on the trip. If you can't take your own digital photo, please find a relevant picture on the web and send it to us with the citation (website address is fine). So, "Hit the Road" KCSA members!

For those KCSA members staying in the Champaign-Urbana area this summer, we are still interested in collecting and posting show reviews and news from the Krannert Center, so please send either Lauren or Eric your submitions.

Coming in July:
VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

I am visiting Las Vegas for my 21st birthday the first week of July and, while trying to avoid Lindsay Lohan's poparazzi, will be attending two famous shows. So, two show reviews from the infamous Las Vegas will be posted to the blog sometime in July, so keep your eyes open! The first will be a review of "Mystere" by Cirque Du Soleil, performed at the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island hotel & casino. A critique of a live performance of "MAMMA MIA!" at Mandalay Bay Theatre will be soon to follow. For those of you who haven't seen "MAMMA MIA!," it is a Broadway sensation playing around the world. The performers supposedly sing and dance in the aisles at every show, and it sounds like a great time. According to www.mandalaybay.com, "MAMMA MIA!" is "the must see show in Vegas!" So check the blog in July to catch both Vegas reviews.

(Picture courtesy of http://images.google.com)

Lauren Mietelski
English, Secondary Education
KCSA Ad Board member for Callboard
Random fact: I am in love with William Shakespeare

we had a yardsale. it was funny and we made some money.

Profile: New Ushering AdBoard Member

Meagan Roloff

Major: Flute performance

Where I'm from: St. Charles, IL

Interests/hobbies: Music, both playing it and listening to it. I also practice obsessively. As far as none musical interests, I love reading and going to see movies.

Future career plans: I want to play either flute or piccolo in a major symphony or opera orchestra. I also want to teach private lessons, maybe at the collegiate level someday.

Why you joined KCSA/Adboard: I joined KCSA because my first semester I was not a music major and it seemed like a good way to keep connected to the arts. Now, I've joined Adboard because I think this is a great organization and I wanted to be more involved.

Favorite food: Anything that didn't come from the dining hall that I don't have to pay for!

Favorite color: blue

Favorite music: Oh dear don't get me started. The short list is anything flute related (especially 20th century sonatas and concerti), 20th century symphonic music, and anything by a dead Russian composer.

Other clubs: Well they aren't really clubs because technically I get course credit for them but I'm in Symphonic Band I and Women's Glee Club.

Personal quote/favorite quote: "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven."
~John Milton

Profile compiled by Lauren Mietelski

Profile: New Tech AdBoard Member

Preeti Korvadi:

What's your major/minor?
Economics

Where are you from?
Vernon Hills, IL

What are your interests/hobbies?
Eating pineapples, sharpening my mad gift wrapping skills, & big BALLIN'.

Describe your future career plans:
Uhhh... I'll get back to you on that one.

Why did you join KCSA and/or Ad board?
The comp tickets for life, duh... =)
Actually because KCSA is awesome. Represent.

What's your favorite food?
Couldn't tell ya.

Favorite color?
Red

Favorite music?
I really don't do favorites.

Are you in any other clubs?ΦΣΣ, ISA, IBC

Personal quote/favorite quote:
"People aren't listening, they're just waiting for their turn to speak" - Fight Club

Profile compiled by Lauren Mietelski

Profile: New Tech AdBoard Member

Rachel Goldfarb
New adboard member: TECH DEPARTMENT

What's your major/minor?
Elementary Education with a concentration in history

Where are you from?
Skokie, Illinois

What are your interests/hobbies?
Soccer, clarinet, theater

Describe your future career plans:
teaching little kids, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade

Why did you join KCSA and/or Ad board?
I love being involved with theater and producing seemed like fun!

What's your favorite food?
Waffles

How about favorite color?
Lupine (a light shade of purple)

What about favorite music?
Musicals! (right now it’s “Avenue Q”)

Are you in any other clubs?
Hillel, Band, intramural soccer

Personal quote/favorite quote:
"Were all different but in the end were all fruit."
~My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Profile compiled by Lauren Mietelski

Meet the President!

KCSA's elected president for next semester is the fabulous Amanda Jablonsky. Callboard would like to extend our congratulations to Amanda as her hard work and dedication to KCSA has definitely paid off. We've included a question/answer profile of our new club president so members can get to know the big cheese.

Amanda Jablonsky:

What's your major/minor?
Molecular and Cellular Biology major (not pre-med)
Russian Literature/Language minor
Chemistry minor

Where are you from?
Chicago, south side.

What are your interests/hobbies?
Theater -- acting, directing and producing rock.

Describe your future career plans:
I'd like to work in a lab the rest of my life. I'm going to discover something, but I'm not sure what yet.

Why did you join KCSA and/or Ad board?
I honestly have no idea how I got started working with community outreach -- I got the emails about meetings, but it's shocking that I actually went to them. After Taste of the Arts my freshman year, I somehow found out about On the Rocks, I applied to direct and loved it, and the next semester one of the graduating Tech Department girls emailed the old directors and encouraged us to apply for AdBoard. The rest is history.

What's your favorite food?
I could live on any kind of potatoes for the rest of my life, preferably with salt and butter. Also, popcorn followed by caramel apples.

Your favorite color?
Clear

What about favorite music?
Rock and roll. My two biggest favs these days are T00L and Nine Inch Nails, but I'm really all over the map http://www.last.fm/user/DirtyHair/

Are you in any other clubs?
Nada. School and KCSA are for serious my life.

Personal quote/favorite quote:
"Love your fate." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Arguably the Stoic manifesto, as well.


Profile compiled by Lauren Mietelski

Summer Schedule & Sign-ups

For those KCSA members who are going to be in town this summer, I wanted to share the summer schedule with you.

Krannert Center will again host the Summer Studio Theater Series with three plays running throughout June and July. There are also a few musical performances scattered throughout including the popular summer Jazz concerts. I’ve included a brief description of the summer plays below.

This summer, we will do manual signups by email only (for both ushers & supervisors). So please review the schedule and send me any shows you would like to add. Since many of the performances run multiple dates, please give me a couple of backups in case the date you request has already been filled. When submitting requests, please give me the show numbers (e.g. 802), as this is the easiest way to make sure you get the correct assignments.

The summer shows fill up fast, so the sooner you get your requests to me, the better your chances of getting those you want. As always, you can always add shows later in the summer as well, as long as there are openings. I hope to get a summer schedule on the KCSA Ushering website (www.kcsa.uiuc.edu/Ushering) as soon as possible so you can see what shows still have openings.

If you have any questions, or would like to submit your request. Please email us at

kcsa-ushering@kcsa.uiuc.edu

Thanks again for all your hard work, and if you will not be here for this summer, we look forward to seeing you again in the fall.

Happy Summer everyone!!!

KCSA Ushering


The Lion in Winter

By James Goldman

William Martin, director

Ostensibly, the family of Henry II has gathered to celebrate the Christmas of 1183 at a castle in Chinon, France. In reality, each family member is there to promote his or her own interests in determining who should rule England. This classic comedy/drama has served as a magnet to attract great actors to the roles of Henry II and his estranged wife, Queen Eleanor – everyone from Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn to Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close to Summer Studio favorites Anne Shapland Kearns and Steven M. Keen.



Pasta (aka The Carmone Brothers Italian Food Products Corp.’s Annual Pasta Pageant)

By Tom Griffin

Sue Lawless, director

Best friends Artie and Doober work at the Carmone Brothers Italian Food Products Corporation, where each year they have entered and have lost the company’s annual pasta pageant talent contest. But this year will be different because the pair will be dressed as singing-dancing boxes of pasta! How can they lose? However, Slimy, the henchman of Artie’s bookie, is breathing down Artie’s neck for a payment he doesn’t have… will he be able to make it to their performing pasta debut? The suspense could kill you… or Artie! (This performance contains strong language.)



Bus Stop

By William Inge

Peter Reynolds, director

Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright William Inge’s classic comedy about the vicissitudes of love and life is played out in one day at a remote Kansas diner. A group of disparate and somewhat desperate travelers are held hostage by a raging blizzard. During their journey together, some find compassion, some find understanding, and some even find love.



Chad Stroud
Ph.D. Candidate
Division of Nutritional Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
905 S. Goodwin Ave.
MC-182 Bevier 468
Urbana, IL 61801
217-333-7371