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Spelman Spotlight November 15, 1979 Page 10
Theater Contact on Campus
The Spelman Community is
fortunate to have in her midst a
Spelmanite by the name of
Sabrina Freeny who has contact
with some of the major theatre
groups in Atlanta such as the Fox
Theatre, Atlanta Civic Center
and the Academy of Arts. These
theatres have sponsored such
great performances as Purlie,
Kismet, Othello and most recen
tly Timbuktu.
Sabrina’s contacts have in
troduced her Spelman sisters to a
means of volunteering their ser
vices as ushers. These services
have allowed them the exposure
of meeting many new people,
while enjoying the privileges of
seeing a performance without the
added frustration of obtaining
costly tickets.
Look out for information
posted at various times in the
post office.
The members of the Sigma Tau
Delta Honor Society would like
to thank Sabrina Freeny for
sharing her source of com
munication.
Submitted By
Peggie Tanner
Public Relations
Glee Club to Sing at
Symphony Hall
By Melony Matthews
In the Atlanta Memorial Arts
Center on the 28th of August, the
Spelman College Glee Club,
directed by Dr. Roland L.
Allison, performed at the
Welcome Reception for In
ternational Students.
This affair, sponsored by the
Atlanta Council for International
Visitors (ACIV), Atlanta Ministry
with International Students
(AMIS), and the United Nations
Association of Atlanta, was to
cordially receive International
Students who are continuing
their education in Metropolitan
Atlanta.
After the introduction by Mr.
A. B. Padgett, the glee club, ac
companied by Dr. Joyce F.
Johnson, rendered the following
selections: “Anthem of Praise”,
“Hospodi Pomilui”, “Witness for
My Lord”, “Ride the Chariot”,
“Waters Ripple and Flow”:
"Selections From the Wiz”, and
“Let There Be Peace On Earth.”
There were greetings from The
Honorable Wyche Fowler, Jr.,
Congressman from the Fifth
District of Georgia; from the
Honorable Dorothy Felton, State
Representative from the 22nd
District of Georgia; and Dr.
Joseph Pettit, President of the
Georgia Institute of Technology.
Subsequently following the ad
dress from the Honorable Mayor
Maynard Jackson, there was a
response from the International
Students by Mr. Irani de Araujo
from Brazil, President of the
Oglethorpe University In
ternational Club.
The program concluded with
closing remarks by Mr. A. B.
Padgett, and entree.
Jazzing It Up Professionally
By Leslie A. Reese
The Clark College Jazz Or
chestra is the heart of
professional jazz within our very
own Atlanta University Center.
Under the fine direction of J ames
Patterson—who is also working
with the Broadway musical “A
Chorus Line”—the orchestra is
composed of eighteen in
strumentalists and 3 jazz
vocalists.
Most recently, these jazz
people performed in Atlanta’s
Free Jazz Festival, opening up
that Friday in Central City Park.
They played the Jimmy Owen’s
tune, “Complicity.” Clark was the
only band to perform twice in the
entire festival.
On October 7th, some mem
bers of the ensemble were broad
cast live on WCLK, in what is
known as "small group” bands.
Exactly 2 Clark College sextets
performed. The Zelpha Wells
Quartet was also in attendance.
Besides the fact that Clark has
a very strong jazz heritage, the
band is blessed with an abun
dance of talented musicians. The
finishing touch and strengthening
factor is that James Patterson
teaches professionalism and the
compositions they deal with are
also professional.
Some of the J azz pieces on this
semester’s program include:
“Stolen Moments” a tune written
and composed by Oliver Nelson
and arranged by the band’s direc
tor, James Patterson. There is a
ballad by Jimmy Owens, entitled,
“I Want To Live And Love To
Give”. Also expect 3 melodies
composed by Charles Toliver, the
jazz trumpeteer from New York.
These are: “Mother Witt,”
“Ruthie’s Heart,” and “Truth.”
Already the Clark College Jazz
Band performed on October 28th
at the Dexter Gordon Peachtree
Playerhouse but you still have a
chance to attend there per
formance on November 24th at
Colony Square. They are ten
tatively scheduled to play at the
Atlanta Housing Fair on Decem
ber 14th. Plan to Attend at least
one of these events, and ex
perience pure satisfaction.
Drama Dept. Gets Guest Professor
By Rolonda G. Watts
Spelman College’s Drama
Department welcomes James W.
Butcher as it’s visiting professor
of drama for this year. Butcher is
a native of Washington, D.C. and
prior to his coming to Spelman,
was a professor of drama at
Howard University. He has been
teaching at Howard since 1934
where he has to his credit the
positions of assistant to the
President for the Dunbarton
Campus, executive assistant to
the President, associate and
assistant Deans of the College of
Fine Arts, professor of drama,
departmental chairperson, coor
dinator of the special projects
committee, and the manager of
the Cramton Auditorium of
Howard University.
Butcher has been
professionally involved in radio,
audio-visual and film productions
in and out of the United States.
He is a member of the
American Educational Theatre
Association, the American
National Theatre and Academy,
and American Association of
University Professors and the
Association of Universities and
College Concert Managers.
Mr. Butcher is always available
to help students in any way and
can be found in his office in the
drama department.
Eartha Kitt Visits
By Rolonda G. Watts
On Thursday, October 25, the
infamous Eartha Kitt, ex-
Catwoman of “Batman” and the
star of “Timbuktu,” graced
Spelman’s Convocation. Her
magnatism, as always, was
astounding as she kept the at
tention of every person in the
chapel. In her cat-like style and
purr of a voice, she told of the
horrid realities of her childhood.
The rejections and mistreatments
by her family stemmed from
being a child of “the wrong
color.” Ms. Kitt explained that
her mother was a Cherokee In
dian and her father, “God only
knows what he was. But it is
thought that he was the son of a
plantation owner.” Because of
this mixed breeding, she was
never accepted by members of
either race, black or white, and
was the victim of rejection all her
life.
After her saga, Ms. Kitt en
tertained questions from the
audience. In answer to the
question of advice she had for
aspiring black artists, she said
that one should go into the
profession as an artist first and let
their color be circumstantial.
Because of a hectic schedule,
Ms. Kitt was unable to attend the
SGA luncheon in her honor, but
dashed off in a black Rolls Royce
for her matinee performance of
“Timbuktu.”
A Theatre With No Walls
By Tracey M. Willard
The drum sound seemed .to
originate from out of the dark, as
the audience is seanced by
“Voices”, “Visions”, “Voices”.
The stage is dimly highlighted
and grace with the mirage of five
dark figures.
One of the sculptured statues
moves in dance across the stage,
then slowly releases the melodic
tunes of a universal song, "I'm All
You Need.” The audience feels
their souls join in.
This was the setting for
Theatre Without Walls’ first
production “Voices, Visions,
Voices.”, which appeared in mid-
October at the Performing
Arena, on St. Charles and N.
Highland.
You might ask yourself, “Why
the name, Theatre Without
Walls?” When first hearing the
name my mind began to wonder
in imagination.
“Our idea was to develop a
theatre without boundaries,” ex
plained one of its talented mem
bers, Sherryl Bradford. “We want
to ask the people to come in and
get involved, to share in this ex
perience with us.” This is exactly
what Sherryl and the group’s four
other members, Carlyn Gresham,
Boby Redding, J amil El-Shair,
and Alice Lovelace, achieve.
In their first production,
“Voices. Visions, Voices,” the
group creatively arranges poetry,
dance, music and dialogue into a
soul-stirring piece. Each act por
trayed the realities of joy and
pain found in love. But the
presentation was a change from
the usual “man hurts woman syn
drome.” This time the
magnetizing concept was por
trayed universally, with emphasis
given to all people in the world
who hold the power to “feel.”
The acts began with the
primary stages of love,
“Imagination”, where one first
realizes their capacity to love.
“Too Young Blue”, “Old Man
Looking Glass” and “Message to
My Sister” reflect some of the bit
ter sorrows experienced when
one is deprived of love. In the last
scene “Let There Be Light” and
"Blossoming”, an inspiring
resolution for peace and
peoplehood is offered to the
audience.
Theatre Without Walls is a
unique change from ordinary
theatre. Its members fulfill their
dream with a sincerety and talent
beyond compare. The audience
can not help but become in
volved.
“Our basic idea is ‘LOVE’, says
Sherryl. “Through our energies of
poetry, movement, and song, we
would like to make others aware
of that familiar feeling which cir
culates throughout us all. We
want to spread the word.”
I, myself, felt my blood stir as
the five members reached out to
their audience with a “Universal
Prayer” sounding, “WE ARE
YOUR ‘VOICES’ SPEAKING
TO YOU OF ‘VISIONS’ OF
YOUR FUTURE, SPEAKING
IN ‘VOICES’ AS OLD AS
TIME...WE ARE ‘VOICES’ OF
THE PEOPLE.”
Look out for them.
Plate Collecting:
More man Fancy Dishes
What’s the fastest avocation
in America? Collecting
limited-edition, decorative
plates. Nearly two million
Americans have become seri
ous collectors and their num
ber is expected to double
within the next few years.
From Raphael to Rockwell,
there’s a plate for every taste
and for almost every pocket-
book. Peanuts characters,
Hummel figures, and famous
clowns can all be found
among the 999 plates listed
by The Bradford Exchange—
the world’s largest clearing
house for collector’s plates.
Issue prices range from $10
for a Snoopy plate to $275
for an Edna Hibel plate with
gold.
Interested in collecting
plates? Then, heed this advice
from The Bradford Exchange,
by following this checklist for
evaluating collector’s plates as
a possible investment.
1. Is the plate original art
created by a living artist of
note or a well-known artist of
a specific period of the past?
2. Is it produced by a
manufacturer known for fine
quality and craftsmanship?
3. Is it a first edition or, if
the edition is closed, are
(See PL A TES, p. 11)