November 13, 2003

Flea is a French farce full of laughter

UNL Theatre's University Theatre continues its 103rd season of productions at UNL with the Georges Feydeau sex farce A Flea In Her Ear. The production, translated from the French by Barnett Shaw and directed by Professor Tice L. Miller, will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, 21 and 22 and Dec. 3, 4, 5, 6 in Howell Theatre, first floor of the Temple Building. There is a sneak preview/final dress rehearsal performance at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Tickets to the preview are $5 at the door.

The play centers on a young wife who is determined to catch her husband in the act of having an affair. She enlists her friend to help write a steamy anonymous letter requesting a rendezvous at a less than reputable hotel. Through a series of misunderstandings, everyone from the friend's hot-tempered, jealous husband to the maid comes for the rendezvous.

The undergraduate cast includes Benjamin Beck as Victor-Emmanuel Chandel, the husband; Jodi Vaccaro as his jealous wife, Yvonne; Erin Dinneen as her friend Lucienne; Joel Egger as Don Homenides de Histangua, Lucienne's hot-tempered husband; and Kelli Chaves as the hotel's maid. Other cast members include: Sean Connealy, Jesse Glasgow, Nathan Lange, Brett Waldon, Ivan Lovegren, Christopher Deaton, Brittany Leffler, Ryan Lueders and Jordan Warren.

The production is designed by graduate students Cate Wieck (costumes), Stori Lauritzen (scenery), and Jeff O'Brien (sound) and by undergraduate Michelle Warner (lighting). Undergraduate Phaidra Reed is the stage manager.

Tickets are $14, $12 faculty/staff and senior citizen, and $10 student/youth. Groups of 20 or more may buy tickets at 50 percent off the regular price. Tickets may be purchased from the Lied Center Box Office and one hour before the performances in the Howell Theatre lobby. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747.

'Last Chance to Dance' is Dec. 13, 14

The UNL School of Music Dance Division will offer its final informal concert of the semester at 5 p.m. Dec. 13 and 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at Mabel Lee Hall, Room 304.

The informal concert, "Last Chance To Dance," will be a showing of student choreography, as well as technique classes that include ballet, modern dance and ballroom. The variety of classes and student works to be presented will cater to a wide range of interests and give the students the chance to show off what they've learned this fall.

Student choreographers will be showing work that has been developed while participating in a Composition II class.

Along with their efforts in dance technique and composition, the dancers' studio experience has included an intense period of work this fall in Dance Performance with guest artist Bill Hastings. Hastings has been teaching the work of Broadway choreographer Bob Fosse in preparation for the Spring Dance Gala in February 2004.

See performers at Culture Center

The concert is a fund-raiser for the Orchesis Dance Club. Donations of $3 per person at the door are suggested. For more information call the Dance Division at 472-5803.

OASIS at the Culture Center will host Coffee House at 7 p.m. Nov. 19. This event will also honor Native American month. Matthew "Sitting Bear" Jones will be the MC and main performer for the evening. Other performers will also be showcasing their talents. In addition, the event features an open mike. This event is co-sponsored by UNITE.

All portions of the events are free and open to the public. Food and beverages will also be served at each event.

For more information, call Laura Walhaug at 472-3352.

Club offers free dance lessons

The UNL International Folk Dance Club meets Fridays at 8 p.m. in Mabel Lee Hall, Room 304/310. Classes are open to all and are free. No experience and no partner are required.

The upcoming schedule:

• Nov. 14 & 21, Russian dances;
• Dec. 5 & 12: Greek dances;
• Jan. 9 & 16: Czech dances;
• Feb. 6 & 13: German dances;
• March 5 & 12: Irish dances;
• April 16 & 23: Israeli dances.

Theatrix tells tales of The Blue Room

UNL Theatre's student-run second stage, Theatrix, continues its season with The Blue Room, adapted by David Hare from La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler. This production is directed by undergraduate Jason Slaughter.

The Blue Room follows sexual liaisons among five men and five women; after each encounter, one of the two moves on to another partner in the circle of relationships. It features an undergraduate cast of 10 instead of the traditional two actors typically cast in this play because Slaughter said he wanted to provide student actors with more opportunities on stage.

Slaughter described The Blue Room as a play about "sex, infidelity and the games that people play." The 95-minute production is performed without intermission in 10 scenes that are a true "round," with one character from each scene rotating to the next scene.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Studio Theatre, third floor of the Temple Building. Admission to all productions is $5 and available at the door only.

This production is for mature audiences only.

Ross to show films by Myers

Films by filmmaker Richard Myers will be shown Nov. 13 and 14 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center in celebration of the center's 30th anniversary. Myers will be at the center to discuss his films with the audiences.

Myers was the first filmmaker to participate in the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center's Film/Video Showcase in 1973. He visited again in 1985.

The schedule:

• 3 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13: 37-73 (1974, 60 minutes) and Deathstyles (1971, 60 minutes). Myers will discuss the films at the 7:30 p.m. screening.
• 3 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14: Moving Pictures (1989, 90 minutes) and Tarp (1993, 20 minutes). Myers will discuss his work at both screenings.

For more information, call the Ross at 472-5353 or visit <www.theross.org>.