Page 101 - ThePhoenix1995-96

FEATURES Thursday, February IS, 1996-Page"9 Students travel to Europe Theatre on The Hill Jan-term offers adventures across the Atlantic and more announces season By NICKI KASSOLIS Ireland, they knew that is was A different kind of study tour StaffWritel worth the trouble. "The Irish coun- was held in Spain during January Theatre on the Hill, the profes- cast as the dog and Pippi's under- The blizzard of 1996 may have tryside was breathtaking," accord- Tenn. Deveny took eight students sional summer theatre company in study instead, she takes matters into left students at WMC stranded and ing to student Kendra Jones. to the Spanish city of Seville on a residence at Western Maryland her own hands to get the coveted frozen, but it did not prevent stu- The itinerary for the trip had the plane that had a hole in the wing. College, has scheduled five shows part, Mr. Domser said. dents involved in two January Term group at such locations as Dublin, While in Spain, the students stayed for its 1996 season, including the Another side-splitting comedy, study tours from having the Abbey Theater, Synge's in the homes of families, in an ef- Baltimore-Washington premiere of "Greater Tuna," opens in July. \4.. wonderful experiences in Euorpe. Galway and the Aran Islands, fort to "add the human dimension," the musical comedy, "Ruthless!" lampoon of life in the extremely The countries of Ireland and Blarney's Cork, and Kerry's Ring. according to Deveny. Open auditions for the season small town of Tuna, Texas, this Spain played host 10 WMC stu- Visiting these places tied together The trip was a success, despite will be held in March at Western farce centers around a host bf dents during the month of January. everything the students had stud- the presence of heavy rain practi- Maryland College and at wacky characters. "Much of the fun Dr. Pat Reed and Dr. H, Ray ied, according to Stevens, who cally every day. The students took Baltimore's Theatre Project, ac- will be watching two Theatre on the Stevens guided a group of students planned the "travel [to go] hand in classes at the Center for Cross Cul- cording to Ira Domser, Theatre on Hill actors as they get the chance through Ireland, concentrating on hand with the things [they] read." tural Studies. A typical day would the Hill producer. to shine in 20 different 'Tuna' the country's history and literature. In their spare time, students include class in the morning and a "It's a great season with some- roles," Mr. Domser said, noting Dr. Deveny accompanied his stu- shopped, walked around the cities, tour in the afternoon. Cathedrals thing for everyone," he said. "It's that both "Ruthless!" and "Greater dents to Seville, Spain, where they and explored the local pubs. One in Seville, the Old Jewish Corridor, our most exciting and entertaining Tuna" were long-running smashes learned of Moorish Spain while day, an adventuresome group of and the Roman ItaJica ruins were season yet. We're going to have a in New York. [ acquiring a first hand look at the about ten students decided to go all locations visited by the group. lot of fun." The season concludes with the Spanish culture. exploring on their own. They were They also spent two nights in "Ruthless!" an uproariously August opening of the Broadway Historical and Literary Land- in search of the castle on which Granada where they saw the wicked musical about a little girl hit, "The Secret Garden," in which scapes of Ireland was the title given Brahm Stroker based the novel Alhambra Palace, an old who would 'kill' (and does) for the a young girl and her widowed uncle to the study tour. The tour involved Dracula. The group rented a bus montessori in the Moorish district lead in her school pial opens the pull together as a family through ten days of classroom study, dur- to take them to an old, abandoned The class centered on learning season in late June. This extremely the healing power of the late aunt's ing which 18 students read Irish castle located in an isolated area on about the culture of Southern funny showbiz parody tells the magical garden. Based on tlie Renaissance novels and learned the top of a hill. Heather McKenzie Spain, particularly Moorish Spain, story of Tina Denmark, a third- children's classic of the same nanie, about the history of Ireland. The remembers the bumpy ride to the while looking at Spain's role in the grader with talent, a big smile and this treat for the-whole family in- history component of the class con- castle, along with the fact that "the European Union. The students also way too much ambition. She wants cludes a score written by Pulitzer centrated on the millions of people bus driver thought [they] were visited the political party headquar- to play Pippi Longstocking in Prize winner Marsha Norman arid who emigrated to Ireland. Accord- crazy." ters that will hold elections in May. "Pippi in Tahiti," but when she is Carly Simon's sister Lucy. ing to Stevens, this connected to the McKenzie also recalls the bus This gave students a perspective of literature studied during the course, driver who drove the tour bus the issues facing Spain, including Grants available since the "Irish literary Renais- throughout the trip. She describes the changing role of women in so- sance helped lead to the founding him as a "typical Irishmen." Not ciety. Deveny stated that more for student projects of the free state." all of the memories from the trip women in Spain are now holding The group, which included 23 were pleasant. A boat ride to the jobs. In fact, women out number students, parents, and faculty, was Aran Islands was so tumultuous men at Spanish universities, ac- Student research and creativity penses to libraries ?r special col- scheduled to leave from New York that many students got sick, cold, cording to the Women's Institute, grant applications are now avail- lection. city's JFK Airport on January 12. and wei, as they faced huge waves another place visited by the group. able for those interested in pursu- The deadline for student re- However mother nature had an- in a little boat. Eric Farrow was the lone male ing special projects. search and creativity grants for other plan for that day, snow. The All things considered, the trip student on the trip. He feels the The grants are intended to en- Spring, 1996 is February 29, 1999. group planned to drive to New York was an enormous success. Stevens best element of the trip was "liv- courage special projects that Applications are available in Dean on the 12th and leave for Ireland feels the best element of the tour ing with the family and experienc- complement students' major aca- .~~' that night, but the impending snow was traveling with students be- ing life the way they live there." demic emphases; they are not in- COI;~ :p;~~~~~ an award, a stude/It required them to leave late Thurs- cause he "always sees things dif- The students who spent their Janu- tended to cover the normal ex- must have a WMC grade point av- day night and spend Friday wait- ferently when traveling with stu- ary Terms in Europe captured penses of a course. erage of 3.2 and obtain the direct ing in the airport. dents." Although this is the first memories that will last a lifetime, A grant may cover the cost of involvement of close sponsorship However, this change of plans year that Stevens has taken a group while gaining an insight into the materials for such projects. It may of a faculty member. The awards failed to kinder the spirits of the to Ireland, he is "sorry [he] hasn't lives of another culture. cover the cost of materials for such are competitive and may range students, and when they arrived in done it for the last twenty years." projects. It may cover travel ex- from $25 to $500. TJIME-JLI GlIFJ['S Party lee & Supplies 30 W. Main Street 'Westminster's 'Ju[[ Service Haircare Center Westminster, MD 211 57 Walk-in or Save 20% off All Novelty Alarm Clocks call for an All Character Stand-Ups appointment Save on Lava Lamps 848-2820 . Reg. $59.95 Sale $49.95 l .mEm!l~!m~m~~Em!l!m!mmDlrm.ml!mmD~r VMc7iillil- N-:-FEDERAL-ro. :sSiTE -2i6- :-- 33 20 I HOLLYWOOD,FLORIDA : YES! 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