IN THE INTENSE ACTION of "Slow Dance oniho Killing Ground," written by William Henley, three characters lay bare their dEEpesi“ anxieties. Myron Lowery, a LeMoyne student who attended Grinnell last semester, and Grinnell students Carli Dugan and Dale oreytuu acted in the recent production at LeMoyne. Grimm/I Theater Group .6095 "0n the Road" to let/Mayne By KRYS NEUMAN “it was a good experience for all involved; there Should defi- nitely he many more exchanges between Grinnell and LeMoyne — exchanges or great Variety.“ “It was like a taste or protes- sional theater — outside the ia— miliar college context." These were the reactions of ltudent director Dennis Rich and his assistant, Brenda Thom- as, about their recent tour to LeMoyne College, Memphis, Tennessee, with the Grinnell atudent theater production of William Henley’s play “Slow Dance on the Killing Ground." Dave Duiiy and Bill Raiterty (technical crew) and Carli Du- gan and Dale Dreyluss (cast) also went to LeMoyne for the three—day round of periorm— ances and discussions. The third cast member, My- ron Lowery, was one of tour LeMoyne exchange students at Grinnell last semester. (Le- Moyne is a private, nonresiden- tial, Negro college oi about 650 students.) “Slow Dance” was first staged by these Students at Grinuell last spring while an~ ery was in attendance here. The idea for the LeMoyne pro- duction was conceived at that time, Funds Denied Rich first tried to get: flnan— clal backi g trorn Grinnell tor the expedition but he was re- fused. “We don’t have funds set aside tor such projects,” was the reason given by Associate Dean Richard H. Winters. In the past, another theater pro duction, “The Bourgeoisie" by Raymund Belts, history, asked tor support to go on the road and was also reiused for ”lack Di funds." After Rich was tumed down by Grinnell, he contacted Le- Moyne which decided to spon- sor the tour itself. The “Slow Dance” troupe, accompanied by this 5&3 re- porter, embarked on its theat- rical experiment with an ill- lariuus 14»hollr drive. Tem- porarily freed from academia pressure, animated hy anticipa- tion of a unique experience and reiniorced by a commonly— shared spirit for the dramatic, the group outdid itself with the- atrics along the way. After an entire day of joke- making the cast was suiiicient» ly "warmed up” to periorm by the time they arrived in Mem- phis, Tuesday night, October 25. ‘Slow Dance" was periormed the next day in a classroom in the Basement or the College library. Working conditions {or the technical crew were very difficult because of the lack of stage equipment. Unfortunate- ly, LeMoyne has no drama de— partment although one iaculty member supervises students in the presentation of dramatic readings. LeMoyne students s h ow e d TWO LeMOYNE sruoams view the "Slow Dance" marquee in front of their library, Members at the pro- duetion agreed that the experience et taking a play on the road was an invaluable asset to their education in drama, All expenses were paid by LeMoyne College on Grinpell "he: no funds allocated" tor such enterprises. great interest in the production of “Slow Dance” and the makeshift theater was filled to overflowing. Much of the audi- ence stayed for discussion aiter the performances. LeMoyne Stirred , Havord Bishop, a LeMoyne student who spent a semester at Grinnell, said in one of the post — periormance discussions that this particular play was a good choice tor LeMoyne due to its ”pertinence to the mod ern-day social situation." The play is a product oi Broadway and a sophisticated theatrically - oriented society. The cast ielt that the general reaction of LeMoyne students to the play was related to their distance trom this society. Le. DENNIS RICH. Dave Duffy and Bill Raileriy are pictured here with LeMoyne iiudenh in one of Ilvaral lively discus. limit that followed the performances, At one iuclt discursion. Dale Dreytuu' characterization of his role (on old Gormlnl I'tlmulttted romo humoroul controversy. Student: could not gusn Dreyfuu' real ago and wondered if he alwsyr upolto with an accent. sou Photos by Krys neurotr- Moyne almost totally lack: fine arts facilities, and the Col- lege has had little opportunity to expose its students to drama, including drama of a modern social nature. Because of this limited back- ground in the theater the cast said the LeMoyne audience took the play very personally and “hard." They indicated that “some people walked out mes- merized by it." One LeMoyne professor had opportunity to talk to a few at his students aiter the periorm- ances and all had been enthu- siastic, “though they tound the play rough." He indicated that students reacted this way due to “narrow religious back- grounds,” but he added, This exposure (to the content the play) was good for them." Harsh Play “Slow Dance" does strip life oi its amenities, for language and action in the play are raw, A naive, white college girl is on her way to an abortion, yet she blindly thinks she can help and communicate with a bitter and Violent Negro youth. An old German in the play is linked with the atrocious history of the Nazi era. LeMoyne students were tairly vocal in their discussion of the play —— freely ottering crin- cisms. suggestions and compli- ments, as well as interpreta- tions oi the meaning of the play. Many LeMoyne students re- marked that they miss the ac- tivity in drama that existed while Ned Donahoe, tnculty member of Grinnell’s (heater department. was in residence at LeMoyne two years ago. The Grinnell students (alt the touring experience as a whole to he quire Valuable. Brenda Thomas remarked afterward, LEMOYNE— (Continued on Page 0)