Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
The Panther
‘Streamers’ Toots Unique Banner
Bv Michael S. Bailey
PANTHER Staff Writer
Judging from the
performance, which was free
to all Clark students and
faculty and their guests on
February 15th, “Streamers” is
destined to be another inch
added to a long string of
Academy Arts Theatre box of
fice hits.
■“Streamers”, which opened
to the public on February 23rd,
is a play which takes place in a
Virginia army barracks dur
ing the Vietnam conflict in
1965. However, the play is not
about war but rather it deals
effectively with such social
realities as male-identity,
black identity, violence, and
homosexuality as they have
always existed before and dur
ing the war and as they con
tinue to exist today.
The action of “Streamers”
revolves around three men
sharing an Army barracks
who tend to bring the
aforementioned social realities
into play. Specifically, the
character, Richie. is a
homosexual who tirelessly
makes playful sexual ad
vances towards the ambiguous
college-bred liberal Billy. Billy
seems to be obsessed with the
desire to prove his masculinity
and that he is “straight”;
therefore, he explodes
periodically when Richie con
tinues to pester him. On the
other hand, the third
character, Roger, is a live-and-
let-live black who could care
less about Richie’s behavior
mainly because he does not
believe that Richie is “really
gav”. However, a fourth
character named Carlyle, a
misfit black who is always on
KP duty, seems to serve as the
catalyst which triggers the
eventually permanent change
of atmosphere in the barracks.
He does this first by entering
the barracks with outcries of
the question of what is he and
Roger, black men, doing fight
ing a “white man’s” war when
the seeds of production and
prosperity are always sown by
black America and are always
reaped by white America. In
addition, Carlyle serves as the
catalyst for change by trying
to “fit into”, (in terms of his
own perception), the normal
routine of the barracks which
eventually leads to chaos.
The play’s “ title song”,
(sung to the tune of “Beautiful
Dreamer”), is introduced by
two boozing old sargents,
Rooney and Cokes, paratroop
veterans of Vietnam who
define “Streamers” as a
parachute that failed to open.
The play has comical
overtones, and if you find what
psychologists term as social
deviances amusing or funny,
then you’ll find the play
hilarious and you should not
feel ashamed to laugh because
you will only be reacting to
natural impulses. Specifically,
society has more or less always
found the drunkard to and the
raving fag to be amusing or
funny when, in fact, these are
examples of two very serious
social “abnormalities”. Then
why do we laugh? Mainly, we
laugh because we are em-
harassed and/or surprised,
but even more true, we laugh
because we are afraid to face
the seriousness of these
“problems” which will not
vanish with time or by being
ignored.
However, as “Streamers”
comes to a close, the audience
is not laughing. As a matter of
fact, the audience has come to
see what really has been going
on in the play. What brings the
audience to this sudden
realization of the seriousness
of the play? Why, of course, it is
what makes us all stop and
think — a weapon, blood,
death — violence.
For those of you who are em
barrassed by racial terms,
sexual phrases used in the
slang sense, carnal terms,
nudity, and suggesting sexual
gestures, go and see the play
because once you have seen it,
you will be either more em
barrassed or totally immune to
such terms, phrases, and ges
tures.
Look for Clyde Robertson’s
Greek Column In The Next Panther.
A Test
of Time
By Katrina Jones
Panther Reporter
What has happened to the
English Proficiency Test? The
test that was once required for
all students before graduation
is not being offered this
semester. The first reaction is
that the test has been
abolished. This is not true.
The test is not being offered
this semester because it is be
ing reviewed by the Council of
Academic Officers. Within the
Council of Academic Officers a
committee has been set up to
come up with new ideas for the
English Proficiency Test.
“The Council proposed that
revisions be made in the old
test or that a new test be ad
ministered possibly in con
junction with Freshman
English,” said Dr. Joycelyn
Jackson, chairman of the
Committee for the Council
Academic Officers.
The test is undergoing
revision because the Council
felt that the English
Proficiency Test that had
previously been given had
such a high failure rate.
Some students felt that the
test should be abolished. One
Clark student, (who chose to
remain anonymous) felt that
“The only reason the test is
given is that Clark hopes to
make some money off those
seniors who have to come an
extra semester just to take the
test.”
On the other hand. Dr.
Edwin Kuehn, who was once
in charge of administering the
English Proficiency Test said
that a proficiency test is
needed. “The test is only
valuable if it is administered to
all of the students,” stated
Kuehn.
“No one department should
be responsible for ad
ministering the test but the en
tire college should get in
volved,” said Kuehn.
Students who tink that a test
is necessary, feel that it should
be given within their own ma
jors.
“I feel that it is unfair to test
us in a field other than our ma
jor,” charged one student.
Dr. Kuehn’s answer to this
remark is that no matter what
field you are in English is im
portant, and it is really bad
that students feel that they
should not be efficient in their
work. Even if it is to write a
financial proposal or scientific
experiment you need to know
the fundamentals of English,
Kuehn explained.
No definite plans have been
made concerning the English
Proficiency Test. The Council
of Academic Officers gave
their proposal to President
Blake several months ago
March 2. 1979
Kraft Salute To Pearl
Pearl, Sarah,
and Ella
will appear
together
for the
first time
March 14.
The American music scene is
one of the most diverse in the
world, and this unique en
vironment has fostered some
of the most distinctive styles in
the history of entertainment.
Among those stylists are three
women who find their foots in
the jazz and big band era —
Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgarald
and Sarah Vaughan. They will
be appearing together for the
first time on the “Third An
nual Kraft All-Star Salute -
Pearl Bailey,” March 14,10-11
PM, (EST), on the CBS
Television Network.
All three of these remarkable
women grew up during the
1920’s and got their starts in
show business in similar ways.
Their careers developed d uring
the heyday of big bands and
nightclubs, although each one
developed a style that was
strictly her own and was an in-
timate reflection of her
particular personality.
Pearl Bailey was born in
Newport News, Virginia, in
1918. She got her start in show
business when she entered an
amateur contest at
Philadelphia’s Pearl Theatre
in 1933. Her brother Bill was
appearing there professionally
as a dancer. Pearl performed a
song and dance routine which
won her the first prize of five
dollars and a two week
engagement at the theatre for
a salary of $30 a week. Un
fortunately, the theatre closed
before she could collect her
pay, but she soon found other
work singing with the band of
Cootie Williams and appear
ing in nightclubs such as the
Club Manhattan and the Club
Zanzibar.
Pearl’s career soon turned to
the films and Broadway work
that was to become the
primary focus of her life. Her
appearances in stage shows —
such as “St. Louis Woman,”
“Arms and the Girl,” “House
of Flowers” — and in films —
including “Carmen Jones,”
“That Certain Feeling,” .
“Porgy and Bess” — left no
doubt as to her ability as an ac
tress .
The proposal is still being
reviewed by Dr. Blake. He was
not available for comment
before press time.
Seniors graduating in May
are not being required to take
the test, but all other Clark
students will have to take some
kind of test in proficiency bef
ore graduation.
Like Pearl, Ella Fitzgerald
was born in 1918 in Newport
News, Virginia. She was
originally billed as a dancer
when she appeared at the
Harlem Opera House’s 1934
amateur contest, but the then
sixteen year old was too scared
to dance so she tried to sing
like her idol, Connee Boswell.
Ella’s rendition of “The Object
of My Desire” so entranced
bandleader Chick Webb, who
was in the audience that night,
that he hired her as his band’s
vocalist.
Ella soon went on to solor
work with the bands of Count
Basie and Duke Ellington.
Over the years, she perfected
her range of two octaves and a
sixth, (from the low D or I) flat
to the high B and occasionally
higher), and became a master
of the falsetto.
Simultaneously, her recording
projects began to blossom and
her version of “A Tisket A
Tasket” on the Decca label im
mortalized that children’s
rhyme. Her other early
recordings include “Mack the
Knife,” “Things Ain’t What
They Used to Be,” “Watch
What Happens” and “Take
Love Easy.”
Ella Fitzgerald was headlin
ing at the Apollo Theatre the
night eighteen year old Sarah
Vaughan performed in the
weekly amateur contest. As
did Ella and Pearl before her,
she won first prize — which
consisted of ten dollars and a
week’s engagement at the
theatre. Sarah’s entry was a
rendition of “Body and Soul”
which later became one of her
biggest hit records. It was
while she was appearing at the
Apollo that vocalist Billy
Eckstine heard her and
recommender her to ban
dleader Earl “Fatha” Hines.
Vaughan became his vocalist
and stayed with Hines one
year before going on to work
with other bands.
Sarah’s two octave range
and her ability to sing tones
which do not fall on the
natural tones of the scale, but
more into quarter and even
smaller tones, led to her being
nicknamed “Sassy.” She soon
signed with the Musicraft
label and her early hits in
cluded “Everything I Have is
Yours,” “I’m Through with
Love,” “Tenderly” and
“Summertime.”