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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1981)
By Stephen Bonin Battalion Reporter o herald the birth of its first official International and Classic Film Series, MSC Aggie Cinema recently brought back "La Cage Aux Folles," the French farce that made the series possible. The fact that over 750 Aggies packed Rudder Theater last semes ter, most drawn by the film's comic treatment of homosexuality, sig naled to the MSC film committee a good time to take a chance. And that it did. Under the direction of Mike Col eman, vice chairman in charge of the series, Aggie Cinema has fined up eight foreign films and eight classic films. Foreign films will be shown Wednesday nights before spring break, with the dassic films filling the slot after the break. "The audience for foreign films is growing very rapidly here," Col eman said. "More students are be coming interested in dnema as an art form, not just as a form of enter tainment." Previously, neither Aggie Cine ma nor the defunct MSC Arts Committee made money from foreign films. So the scheduling of "La Cage Aux Folles" as an experi ment proved something to both the committee and the students who saw it. And though the evidence was somewhat loaded, Aggie Cinema believed the success of "La Cage ..." might mold fascination and enjoyment into interest and a de sire for more. Besides the encore showings of "La Cage ...", two German alle gories set in the post-war era have already been screened with good « • response: "The Tin Drum" and 'The Marriage Of Maria Braun." In the coming weeks Aggies can see: "Nosferatu" (Germany): Germany takes on the clas sic Count Dracula story. "My Brilliant Career" (Australia): Winner of seven Australian Academy Awards," an egotistical girl struggles with the rigid confines of life. "Cousin, Cousine" (France): Cousins by mar riage fall in love. 'The Man Who Loved Women" (France): What would a foreign film festiv al be without a Francis Truffeaut film? A story of the many faces of love. "The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe" (France): Watergate-style shenanigans are the object of satire in this farce. jf\ggie Cinema hopes this cream- of-tne-crop lineup of movies will secure a permanent spot for the foreign films and perhaps expand them to a full semester. But for now, an equally good sample of American films wul round out the Wednesday night schedule. These include the musicals "South Paci fic" and "An American In Paris;" the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "North By Northwest;" the Academy Award winning "Mid night Cowboy;" "The Grapes Of Wrath," "The African Queen," and "A Streetcar Named Desire." Incidentally, "La Cage Aux Fol les" recently became the highest grossing foreign film in the United States and a sequel will soon be released. "And you can bet as soon as we can get it, we will," Coleman said. Three groups plan theater auditions, performances By Kathleen McElroy Battalion Staff There's no set style in the va rious plays presented by Texas A&M University theater organiza tions this semester. The Aggie Players, the Theater Arts section of the English depart ment, and a directing class will all have performances this semester. The Theater Arts section of the English department is producing two extremely different plays. The first show is "The Children's Hour" by American playwright Lillian Heilman. The play has a controversial, emotional pretense: an excitable, uncontrollable child accuses her teachers of a homosex ual relationship. Heilman has said, "This is really not a play about les bianism, but about a lie. The bigger the lie the better, as always." Roy O'Valle is directing "The Children's Hour" and the show is in Rudder Forum Thursday through Saturday nights, Feb. 26- 28 March 5-7. After that production work will start on Oscar Wilde's "The Im portance of Being Earnest." This very British comedy is about socie ty and its rules and standards — two gentlemen, both pretending to be what they're not, fall in love with two ladies who love only men named Ernest. The director is Richard Sodders, and this produc tion is in Rudder Theatre. Show dates are Wednesday through Saturday, April 22-25, with two shows on Saturday. Auditions and crew assignments are open to all Texas A&M students. The Aggie Players, the Univer sity student organization, is pre senting a contemporary play. President Mary-Alice Heilman said the organization had special reasons for selecting the play which is actually five comedies with a general theme — love. "'Lovers and Other Strangers' was picked by the Aggie Players because it is a mixture of light hearted comedy with moments of realism. It's a very touching play about relationships," she said. She also pointed out why student pro ductions are special. "The major difference between Lovers and Other Strangers" by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna. departmental and club plays," she Cat," a play which mixes singing, said, "is that students design and acting and modern dance staged direct the plays. This is an excel- on a prehistoric set in Rudder lent opportunity for theater stu- Forum. His production is spon- dents to learn their trade." sored by the Aggie Players and Crew assignments are available Alphi Psi Omega, the national for this production which will be honor theater society, performed at Bryan's StageCenter Other students will present Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4. their special productions in Rud- The four directors for "Lovers der Forum Wednesday through and Other Strangers" are students Saturday, May 5-8. The student from the theater arts directing productions are free. For more in- class. Each student is responsible formation on tickets, auditions for a particular piece which he and background, call the theater casts, stages and directs. arts section at 845-2621, or read the Another student from the class, theater arts bulletin board on the Pat Martine, is presenting "Cave third floor of Bizzell Hall East. YOU INTO SO ARE Wit TRY OUR 35 mm PROCESSING TODAY! We treat your 35 mm pictures with special care because we know how special they are... Bring your 35 mm film to us for the kind of finishing you want for your 35 mm photography. YOU HAVE A CHOICE! 3V2X5 MATTE FINISH or “THE BIG SHOT” 4X6 GLOSSY PRINTS Try Both Today! --•COUPON 3V2X5 4X6 Cl 35-12 Cl 35-24 Cl 35-36 IN BY 9 — OUT BY 5! oenco PHOTOFINISHING LABORATORY 119 Walton • 696-0371 • College Station