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A Spelman Spotlight October 17, 1979 Page 14 Art Dept. Has Great Plans By Gayl Phillips Spelman’s Art Department has an exciting schedule of activities planned for the school year. The first of these activities will be an exhibit of works by the new faculty. The date for this showing- is October 5-30 from 5:00pm-7:00 pm in Spelman’s Fine Arts Building. Art majors graduating in December will exhibit their works in the latter part of this semester. Presently, there are works on display in the Fine Arts Building from the College collec tion. Next semester’s activities in clude a special exhibit in tribute to Hale Woodruff, a famous Black artist. Mrs. Jenelsie Holloway, chairperson of the Art Department, describes Mr. Woodruff as “a pioneer of art in the Southern area.” This showing is important because Hale Woodruff was a former art in structor at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) and the originator of the Art Program in the AUC. While at the AUC, Mr. Woodruff established a National Com petition for Black artists allowing them an opportunity to display their works. Mrs. Holloway hopes the Art Department will be able to secure some of Mr. Woodruffs works from a recent showing in New York. She also stated that Mr. Woodruff was supposed to come to AUC this semester, however his health prevented his visit. Also planned for next semester is an exhibition of works by Black artists obtained from Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. The High Museum houses a large number of works by Black artists. The showing will be held in the Fine Arts Building, however a date and time have not been set. The Art Department has added several new members to its faculty. Evelyn Mitchell teaches a class on the Survey of Visual Arts and African Art. Ms. Mit chell is also teaching special courses at Morehouse College concentrating on African Art. She is working with the High Museum in the Afro-American Art division. Lev Mills, an internationally known printmaker, teaches cour ses in Basic Design and Portfolio Critism. He has worked in the British Museum, Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Library of Congress. In addition to being an instructor at Spelman, Mr. Mills is working with the MARTA Arts Program creating a mosaic mural for the MARTA station at Ashby Street and Martin Luther King Drive. This mural will reflect the people and events of the AUC. John Riddle, sculptor and pain ter, is teaching a painting course. Some of Mr. Riddle’s work in- (See ART, p. 15) A1 Cooper and Bill Nunn: The Playground Players Who Are The Playground Players? By Claire Henry If any ot you Spelmanites have been wondering who were those transient conductors of the dramatic arts who've graced our stage more than a few times this semester. The folks who’ve brought you “A Day of Absence,” “Macbeth,” “Rapid Transit,” “God is a...(guess what?”. “Black bird Droppings of 1979,” and others, tired of guessing? They call themselves the Playground Players, alias. Bill Nunn and A1 Cooper. Cooper and Nunn descended upon our campus in October 1978 as the Ceta artists in residence and since then they have been active in 13-15 produc tion in and around the Atlanta University Center. Cooper and Nunn met in 1972. when they were Morehouse- Spelman players and they’ve been a team since then. Their teaching philosophy is, “learning while doing” and their acting philosophy is, “growing, ex panding and working hard.” In the 13-15 shows in which they’ve been a part, 6 were performed at Spelman including one children’s production. Some of these plays were written and produced by the two. The Playground Players have kept an ongoing artists workshop during their stay at Spelman where students and professionals come together working and lear ning from each other. They’ve helped to bring former students back to the center, persons who have taken time out to become part of a show-usually operating with no budget but as Cooper says, "the love of the art and the need to grow keeps them going." They’ve brought back actors: Sam Jackson, LaTanya Richar dson. Russell Hamilton. Edward Billups, and Georgia Allen Playwrights: Ray Mclvar, Carol Mitchell, Tony Riddle, Atlanta Dance Theater Dancers: Michelle Benjamin, Byron Love and Thomas Byrd, each ac complished and respected artists in their field. They have acted, written, directed, given workshops and/or provided technical assistance in the shows done at Spelman this year. Others include: Iris Little. Kenneth Leon, Jules Lassiter, Joan Lewis. Jonathan Peck Dennis Shortt and John Coleman. Nunn and Cooper are currently shifting to a career in stand-up comedy. with proposed engagements at the Royal Peacock and Morris Brown College. We know these brothers have the potential and shall suc ceed if they keep “growing, ex panding and working hard." Eartha Kitt Stars in Timbuktu TIMBUKTU!, the extravagant and opulent Broadway musical hit, starring MISS EARTHA KITT, opens a three week engagement, October 16 through the 27th at the Atlanta Civic Cen ter. Directed, choregraphed and costumed by GEOFFREY HOLDER (THE WIZ), TIM BUKTU! is based on “Kismet”, whose original music was drawn from the themes of Alexander Borodin and further com plemented by African Folk Music. Set in the 14th century West Africa in the capital city of Mali, her exotic role as Sahleem- La-Lume, the scheming wife of wives of the Wazir, offers Miss Kitt the ultimate opportunity to display her electric style in the cat-like communication for which she ha s become famous. For Miss Kitt. her return to Broadway heralded several decades of visibility as one of the entertainment world’s most ex citing personalities. An astonishing hit when she first ap peared in Leonard Sillman’s “New Faces of 1952,” her specialty numbers, which in cluded “Monotonous” sung while lolling on a couch gave her literally overnight celebrity fame. The darling of the international set, Kitt went on to make several chapters of show business history including her sensational recor ding hits, “C’Est Si Bon,” “Uska Dara” and “I Want to Be Evil,”. Films, additional Broadway ap pearances and performances in the world’s most prestigious sup per clubs peaked a career which came to a blinding halt when at a White House tea in 1968 she ad dressed herself to the Viet Nam War and emerged persona non grata to both the J ohnson regime as well as to the theatrical agents politically fearful of booking her giant talent. Diminutive as she is extraordinary exciting, Kitt’s out spoken qualities were rarely taboo where honesty was welcome. A great moment of truth arrived almost ten years later to the day, when appearing with “TIMBUKTU” in Washington. D.C., she was war mly welcomed back to the White House by President and Mrs. Car ter. The meeting was particularly a significant happening as it did so soon after her new found suc cess on Broadway from which she had been absent since 1965 when she last appeared in The Owl and the Pussycat.” “TIMBUKTU!” promises to be a dazzling and memorable array of theatrical talent pleasing for every theater goer. Such popular songs like “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”, “This is My Beloved” and “Stranger in Paradise” add a new and extravagant dimenstion rarely seen on today’s stages. ALL TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH S.E.A.T.S. OUTLETS OR BY CALLING 252-8960. TIM BUKTU! OPENS TUESDAY OCTOBER 16TH AND CLOSES SATURDAY OCTOVER 27TH WITH MATINEE PER FORMANCES ON THE WEEKENDS. FOR MORE IN FORMATION CALL 252-8960. Vicuna wool is so fine that 2,500 strands placed side by side will npt equal an inch. The average American television set is on six hours and eight minutes a day. vr