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THURSDAY
August 8, 1996
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Eric Pargac and the Freudian Slip troupe return to the Dixie
Theatre Saturday at 10 p.m.
F
reudian Slip
returns to the
Dixie Theatre
Saturday at 10
p.m. with a new style and
several new faces. Six of
the 11 cast members are
new this summer.
Eric Pargac, director of Freudian Slip and
a senior journalism major, said the troupe’s
routines, which have historically been most
ly short-form sketches, have advanced to
higher levels.
Short-form sketches, he said, are often
done as games or brief skits. Long-form rou
tines, which are what Freudian Slip has
been developing this summer, focus on sto
ries and character development.
“Long-forms are much harder to learn and
perform than short-form,” he said. “Long-form
style is about scene work and creating reali
ties from audience suggestions.”
Chris Blake, a senior management ma
jor, said “The Harold” is a long-form rou
tine that Freudian Slip has been working
on. It consists of three sets of three scenes,
and each set centers around a topic volun
teered by the audience.
“Then you try to draw it all together after
building the scenes and characters,” he said.
“Short-form is usually done in single scenes.”
Rachel Schafer, a senior marketing and fi
nance major, said that as a new member of
Freudian Slip, she has adapted better to the
long-form style than the short.
“It is intimidating for me to jump into a
(short-form) scene without knowing what
kind of character I want to be,” she said. “I
am more comfortable with long-form because
I can build a character and a scene.”
Pargac said although some members are
untested, they have had all summer to pre
pare for this performance.
“They are doing a good job. I’m excited,”
he said. “I think that they are picking up the
harder styles very well because they don’t
have the hindrance of learning easier short-
forms first like the older members.”
Blake, who is also a new member of
Freudian Slip, said even though there are
several rookies on the team, all of the per
formers are working hard.
“We’ll have a good first show. I’m sure of
that,” he said. “In the last few rehearsals,
we’ve really come together, and we’re start
ing to gel.”
Blake said learning from the older mem
bers has helped the new performers develop
their skills more efficiently.
“When Freudian Slip started, everything
was new to them,” he said. “But for the new
people, we can learn from their experiences
about what works and what does not.
“They have established certain standards
of performing by learning from experience.
And, while we (the new members) are still
evolving, we have the advantage of learning
from the precedence that has been set.”
Schafer said she really respects the art of
improvisation since it always offers some
thing new and different, because of its on-
the-spot, unrehearsed attributes, improvisa
tion can appeal to a wide range of people.
“A&M is so large. There is such a huge
variety of interests, and there are so many
people here from small towns that have not
had the opportunity to see something like
this,” she said. “Every night is unique and
spontaneous.”
As a special feature, Jethro Nolen, one of
the founding members of the comedy group,
returns to Freudian Slip on Saturday.
Blake said Freudian Slip will never be the
same as it was when the founding members
were there, but the difference is in style and
personality, not talent or quality.
“It was a big deal when a lot of the origi
nal members left, and those people cannot be
replaced,” he said. “Freudian Slip may be
different, but it keeps continuing to evolve
and become better.”
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77040.
Universily,
Fire Safety is RED HOT in B-CS
By James Francis
The Battalion
In the middle of the night, a loud,
pulsating beep emits into the air — the
smoke alarm.
The family dog begins to bark uncon
trollably and a household comes to life.
A fire is blazing over the floorboards
and creeping up the walls as smoke is
noticed wafting under bedroom doors.
Family members either panic with
worry about getting out of the house
and saving valuables, or they follow a
planned set of procedures that will al
low safe passage to the outside.
It all depends on preparation and
prevention.
These measures are the constant
endeavors of the Bryan-College Station
Fire Departments.
Year-round, the two departments
and five volunteer precincts serve to
protect the Bryan-College Station resi
dents and inform them about the dan
gerous fire hazards.
Lt, Rick Westbrook, of the College
Station Fire Prevention Division, said
fires may arise from different sources,
but some are seen more than others.
Westbrook said common fires stem
from the carelessness of individuals,
such as leaving an object on the stove.
“Grease fires are usually unattend
ed fires,” he said. “It gets to a certain
temperature and then it ignites.”
Other common fire instigators are
tobacco products, such as cigarettes,
cigars and pipes.
“People have a tendency to fall
asleep smoking in their chair,” West
brook said.
Falling asleep in one’s chair usually
occurs in the living room or bedroom,
but another hazardous place in the
home is the garage.
Westbrook said people sometimes store
gasoline improperly and the vapors from
the canister can be a real problem.
“The fumes sink because they are
heavy and find their way to the water
heater,” he said.
Westbrook said the result is nothing
short of a small explosion.
Other causes of fires occur when
people simply use electricity.
“People run extension cords under
rugs and furniture and that eventually
causes problems,” Westbrook said.
He said people who continue to use ex
tension cords must make sure they do not
penetrate doorways or windows.
Even with preventive measures,
some fire occurrences cannot be
helped, and people find themselves
caught in a dangerous situation.
The Brayton Fireman Training
Field, a 120-acre facility, is home to
fire training.
Volunteer firefighters and refinery
companies such as Texaco and Shell
send their workers here for preven
tion training.
Fire Marshal John Mies said the
training lasts from July 7 to August 2
each summer.
“Instructors are brought from all
over the world, and they teach all
kinds of courses,” Mies said.
Subjects range from arsenal investi
gation to leadership skills.
Mies said since the field has only been
open for about 10 years, there are still
new training areas being implemented.
“The hazardous materials training
is probably the most up-and-coming,”
he said.
One of the newest obstacle training
portions of the program is a simulated
train wreck.
“They set up a train derailment
with six passenger cars and locomo
tives,” Mies said.
The object of the exercise is to learn
how to get into a wrecked train — how
to and how not to force entry.
Mies said among the 5,500 or so
trainees, a large number are volun
teer firefighters, but they do not go
through training to sit through in
structive classes.
“A lot of it is meeting other people in
the same field and networking ideas,”
he said.
Mies said, just like other people,
the volunteers are people with regu
lar eight-to-five jobs who take time
out for training.
Even though trainees make a point
to go through fire training to help pre
vent fires from happening, there is no
100 percent way to end fires.
The National Fire Prevention Asso
ciation (NFPA) says, 3,705 Americans
died in home fires in the year 1992 — a
statistic which averaged more than 10
people a day.
Each year, fires are started, people are
injured, homes are destroyed, and lives
are lost, but there are measures to be
taken for fire prevention and safety.
Two of the most popular ways to be
prepared for fires is owning smoke de
tectors and fire extinguishers.
“Every house needs a fire extin
guisher,” Westbrook said. “And I know
most of them don’t.”
If the need to use a fire extinguisher
should arise, the NFPA suggests indi
viduals remember the acronym
P.A.S.S. (Pull the pin, Aim the nozzle
low at the base of the fire, Squeeze the
handle to release the extinguishing
agent, and Sweep from side to side).
As for home smoke detectors, West
brook said people need to have detectors
outside and inside each sleeping area
and change the batteries twice a year.
Aside from smoke detectors and fire
extinguishers, Westbrook said there
are other hazards to look out for.
“Store flammable liquids away from
ignition sources, limit use of extension
cords and be careful with smoking ma
terials,” he said.
Westbrook said college students
should make sure there are no gas
leaks or other problems with their
apartments.
He said carbon monoxide detectors
are handy, and people should remem
ber some landlords do not live in the
actual apartments.
It is the aim of the fire department
and it should be the goal of individuals
to inform the public.
Pat James, The Battalion
A firefighter performs routine drills at the Brayton Fireman Training Field.