University of Virginia Library

STAGE

Diversity Is Theme In Medley Of One-Act Plays

By ROBIN RHODES

In their current endeavor,
The Virginia Players combine
the originality of student
playwrights with superb
directing and acting by
members of the drama
department. A medley of
one-act plays, collectively
entitled Four By Four, offers
the audience four diverse
themes: the saga of a
gunfighter, the trials and
tribulations of camping, the
crumbling world of an aging
man, and the horrifying
problem of being too virile.

The opening of Gunfights
presents us with a typical
Western style saloon complete
with bar, bartender, and a
customer napping at a nearby
table. Predictably, a gunfighter,
clad in black garb and a
cowboy hat, struts onto the
stage. All this serves to evoke a
response of "cliche," though
the script by Ken Lambert
offers much more. The
hackneyed phrases are gone
and in their place is the
soul-searching of a man
oppressed by the violent life he
had been forced to lead.

The gunfighter, played by
Bill Castro, often moves about
the stage in a jerky and
unmotivated manner, though
true acting ability is revealed as
he contemplates his future.

CD/Dan Grogan

'Mild-Mannered Sex Fiend Who Is Irresistable To Women'

Mark Hat ten's direction is
commendable, creating
excellent stage pictures,
especially during the
shoot-outs. The addition of
eerie sound effects contribute
to the overall picture as well.

A quick, almost jolting
change in mood occurs as the
curtain goes up on Carlsbad
Cavern Nocturne, written by
David Cupp. The stage's
appearance is light and gay,
conveying exactly the right
atmosphere, even offering a
subtle and comical social
commentary with trash strewn
about the campsite.

The play is fast moving,
with slapstick comedy routines
and hysterical dialogue. Ray
Berry wonderfully plays the
father, providing a perfect
combination of military
exactness with laughable
incompetency.

Sally Booker offers a
brilliant portrayal of Marian,
the germ-conscious mother
who attempts to eradicate all
the germs in the area by
spraying "Fantastic" and air
freshener throughout.

Imagine the scene: as she
attempts to make the picnic
table immaculately clean, her
daughter, played by Claudia
Haynes, sits in the chaise
lounge on the opposite side of
the stage reading Seventeen
Magazine, while George
expounds on teh wonders of
communing with nature.

The third play,
Dispossessed, definitely
highlights the evening's
entertainment. It takes place in
the attic room of an old man

who has been forgotten by the
living, thus remaining in the
past. It is a touching drama of
Issac, an elevator operator
who has been replaced by the
automated elevator. And to
compound his misery, his
home is being taken from him,
in the name of progress.

Arthur Greene gave the
evening's finest performance in
his role as Issac, and Ken
Lambert turned in a laudable
rendition of his concerned
friend. The emotional impact
of the action is inescapable; the
message hard-hitting and very
real.

This is a poignant drama
dealing with something which
we all must eventually face -
old age, and it is treated
sensitively and beautifully by
not only the author but the
director and actors as well.

The Players end the
evening with another comedy,
this one concerning the
difficulties faced by a
mild-mannered sex maniac who
is Irresistable to women. Walter
McCauley aptly fills this role as