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•PAS brings Elvis sounds
A&M students at Rudder
By April Towery
Staff ivriter
llvis himself might have been in Rudder Au-
■orium Tuesday, March 31. opening night of
p OPAS production “Blue Suede Shoes.”
This isn’t men in tights. It isn’t “Swan Lake.”
ht performances of the Cleveland San Jose
llet’s “Blue Suede Shoes” are being held
rough April 5 at Rudder Auditorium, and thus
the show has kept audiences rocking.
The performance opens to a psychedelic
Jitar and original Elvis music. The audience
i in almost constant applause throughout
opening performance.
And there’s even a little humor in the show,
ontains six acts, “High School,” “Hot Dog
ection
§|! ive-In," “In the Army,” “Highways and Lone-
’t^^n if hearts,’’ “Saturday Night” and “Jailhouse.”
t is beautifully crafted. The brightly-col-
■cd costumes are a sight to behold.
■ Set and costume designer Bob Mackie joins
di ection and choreography by Dennis Nahat
■ the production. Mackie has received three
At ademy Award nominations, 10 Emmy nom-
jations and six Emmy Awards. He designed
velry and clothing for celebrities, such as
ler, Madonna, RuPaul and Diana Ross.
Backstage after a performance of “Blue
jede Shoes" in Los Angeles, Calif., in July,
mbers of the media w'ere shown the sets
costumes up close. One of the impressive
alpects of the costume design was one partic-
■ar flared polka-dot skirt. Mackie reportedly
liked the skirt but was displeased with the col-
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Upon looking closely at the skirt, it was cy
linder SouthsiO:|dent that every dot of a certain color had been
*wn over with a dot of another shade. Each
costume may not have been designed so
■eticulously, but this is an example of the de-
■il that went into each aspect of design.
I “It’s the latest one I've outdone myself on,”
■ackie said of “Blue Suede Shoes.” “I intend to
keep outdoing myself.”
Throughout many ballets, some audience
■Hus 'tHsmm HHUi im nr
Ramon Thielen, Raymond Rodriguez and
Matthew Gasper dance to “Guitar Man” in the
Blue Suede Shoes “High School” scene,
mission — not this one.
Nahat, the co-founder of the School of Cleve
land Ballet, has choreographed more than 90
original works. His work in “Blue Suede Shoes”
is unsurpassed. Recently, it was taped for PBS
television and aired nationwide this month.
Produced by David Oakland, president of a
division of Cleveland Ballet, the show targets
audience members of all ages and back
grounds.
“The sound bite for the college kids is that
we’re taking something boring and shaking it
up,” Oakland said at a press conference in July.
What makes this ballet unique is that it is
something like Footloose meets “The Nutcracker.”
The music is all Elvis originals but includes
a few tunes college students may have not
heard before. But of course, the production in
cludes the classic Elvis songs “(Let Me Be Your)
Teddy Bear,” “Love Me Tender,” "Heartbreak
Hotel” and “Jailhouse Rock.”
The grand finale of the production is a show
in itself, including the instrumental tunes
“Hound Dog,” “Shake Rattle and Roll” and
“Blue Suede Shoes.”
Before “Blue Suede Shoes” is the 20-minute
“Quicksilver” ballet, set to the music of Felix
Mendelssohn, This production is also chore
ographed by Nahat and performed by the
Cleveland Ballet.
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MSG Literary Arts hosts
week of Shakespeare
By Stephen Wells
Staff writer
M ost Texas A&M students remember Shake
speare as the guy who wrote the plays they
had to read aloud in a monotone voice in high
school English, pitying the one person in class who
overacted their part and could not pronounce the word
“arts’d.” Now, the MSC Literary Arts committee is pre
senting its first Shakespeare Festival and breathing new
life into Victorian drama by presenting it the way it was
meant to be presented.
The Shakespeare Festival is a collection of lectures,
stage readings and behind-the-scenes information
about the works of Shakespeare. The festival will end
on Saturday, April 4.
Peggy Philpot, the staff advisor for the MSC Liter
ary Arts committee, said the Shakespeare Festival is a
good idea that came to fruition through a great deal
of hard work.
“We started out with just ideas,” Philpot said. “Since
we are a literary arts committee, it fit into our mission
to hold a Shakespeare festival. Since we obviously
couldn’t do the whole thing ourselves—we provide lec
tures, not performances — we approached the Aggie
Players and some other groups, and they just filled in
the blanks from there.”
Even with the help of the community, student
groups and guest lecturers, this week’s activities took a
long time to plan.
“It’s been in the process for a while,” Philpot said. “This
is an idea we’ve had for two years, and last year we just
decided we’d try it. We’ve been planning it since then.”
Unlike most Shakespeare events, the MSC Literary
Arts festival is not just a showing of his work. Events
range from readings of Shakespeare’s work to parodies
of his plays to lectures on the theory that Shakespeare
is given credit for work he did not do.
Please see Shakespeare on Page 5.
Chilifest '98 cooks ffpril 4
By Len Callaway
Staff writer
E ach year sororities and fra
ternities sponsor many spe
cial events to help support
national and local charities.
This weekend the Texas A&M
Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
will host their 8th annual Chilifest
at the Starlight Ballroom in Snook.
The all-day concert and “beer
for all” (all those over 21, anyway)
will benefit the Still Creek Boys
Ranch, which helps provide a pos
itive outlook and example in the
lives of young men that lack a
sense of family or responsibility.
The ranch has its own school
and provides each child with an an
imal to raise and care for in hopes
of providing a deeper sense of re
sponsibility. As a matter of fact, the
students take the animals to live
stock shows and the ranch has re
ceived so much recognition for its
efforts, that it has recently added a
girls’ facility to its list of positive
and beneficial amenities aimed at
helping disadvantaged youth.
That is where SAE and Chilifest
become involved.
Last month 1 was invited to
speak with SAE philanthropy co
chairs Cody Durham and Gabe
Stansberry. I was asked to meet
them for a longer interview at a
quaint little place in Snook called
“the Watering Hole.”
As I pulled up I noticed the
sign over the door that read “Cold
Beer, Free Advice.” The best ad
vice I got all night was “take a good
look at Chilifest, it’s different, it’s
special, these guys are doing
something unique.”
SAE Chilifest at A&M started
eight years ago in the Wal-Mart
parking lot, then took a big leap to
the Albertson’s parking lot. Eventu
ally it made it to Snook and has
been there for the past several years.
Please see Chili on Page 5.
*:&*■> ^
BSM88BS8 „ „ S jA-'
The Texas A&M University Student Publications Board
is accepting applications for
IPS M9m
M . ’
The Battalion The Battalion
- Including radio and online editions -
Summer 1998
(The summer editor will serve from May 25 through Aug. 7, 1998.)
- Including radio and online editions -
Fall 1998
(The fall editor will serve from Aug. 17 through Dec. 11,1998.)
Qualifications for editor-in-chief of The Battalion are:
Be a Texas A&M student with at least a 2.0 overall and major GPR at the time of appointment and
during the term of office;
Have at least one year experience in a responsible editorial position on The Battalion or comparable
student newspaper,
OR
Have at least one year editorial experience on a commercial newspaper,
OR
Have completed at least 1 2 hours journalism, including JOUR 203 and 303 (Media Writing I and II),
JOUR 301 (Mass Comm Law) and JOUR 304 (Editing for the Mass Media), or equivalent.
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1999
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during the term of office.
Have at least one year experience in a responsible position on the Aggieland or comparable college
yearbook.
Have demonstrated ability in writing through university coursework or equivalent experience.
Have completed or be registered in JOUR 210 (Graphics) or equivalent.
Application forms should be picked up and returned to Francia Cagle in the Student Publi
cations Manager's office, room 012 Reed McDonald Building. Deadline for submitting
application: 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, 1998. Applicants will be interviewed during the Stu
dent Publications Board Meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, 1998, in
room 221 F Reed McDonald Building.
Texas ASM is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. The Student Publications Program is committed to diversity.