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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2001)
bsday, October 1( KlGN \titmedfrom h put held Day of the set* n esentatives s? ered in butche; for students It ir suggestions they were cow ts gave suggi demic policies, portation and nesday, October 24, 2001 THE BATTALION Days of Old: By Kelly Preiser THE BATTALION access of the “Aggie I depends onA] pgestions andi 0IT | an y 5 being on the road for 10 con- dvernment rep- tive months sounds daunting, but for what they r ear-old Kenita Miller, it is worth it. id. Idler, a recent graduate of The the goals ft encan Music and Dramatic Academy f j s wor p;i ns . lew York, is performing in her second thp availahi- a( ^ wa y mus ' ca l- After finishing a tour w .• i the Broadway production of Civil ces on estu stars as Sarah in the award- y creating ac ning Broadway musical, “Ragtime.” would servkt instant touring is a difficult adjust- ght. it, as the cast stays in some places for said she and hr 'one night, Miller said. She said it esearch on dns cts cast members’ sleeping and ucation andt.: •! habits - But Miller said she is will- . , to make this sacrifice; she has 'ies a 0 erm imed of being in show business since ow these polks was a young girl. at A&M. I’ve been singing all my life ... since said she thinks as three,” she said. “I always knew 1 r campaign plr Hedto be on stage ... I want to fper- y but surely. "] until I am physically incapable of good about it, ) er f orrn j n g f Mjn er said, is more than have a ton oi||g| or y 0 f being on stage. *- “ Performing is a way of expressing self,” she said. “I’m not very social, when I sing, I let everything out.” Wilier said she relates to her character. want to talk to: g good ted is so at we’ve g. The best v how to do ® ah. ;achers il studio. ryan the game? sodation r Student k$H! enter elcome! J.V U;,rr,.!» - CMun*l II) It* I BATTALB She's a bit naive but still strong ... t gullible,” Miller said. “She’s very nts to tell me: 5 tj ona ] an d jets her emotions make her isions. I can relate to Sarah in that we both kind of naive.” While she and Sarah may have simi- ties,Miller said it is hard to imagine m being the same because Sarah’s C. I'Aracter existed in such a different OlUfllOfie period. Ragtime takes place at the turn of the 'hcentury and centers around three dif ferent families with varying backgrounds. There is an upper-middle class, Caucasian family, a Jewish immigrant family and a black family from Harlem. The musical intertwines these families’ lives with real-life events, such as Admiral Peary’s expedition to the North Pole, the sinking of the Lusitania, the birth of the American Labor Union, the development of assembly-line technology and the dawn of the automotive and motion picture industries. Historical fig ures including Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Booker T. Washington also appear in the musical. Miller said the story of “Ragtime” is much like current events. “The story itself is kind of like what’s going on right now,” she said. “The main theme is that even though everyone’s dif ferent, they can all live together. And they all end up together in a special way.” Miller said several of the cast members are from New York and deeply were affected by the recent events. “It was hard to know if we could do it,” she said. “A lot of us are from New York and a lot of us were affected. With every thing that is going on, this is an outlet for us and one way we can give back.” It was also difficult for the cast mem bers to place themselves fully into their characters without incorporating their modem-day views. “At first it was hard, to be truthful,” Miller said. “There are a lot of issues in “Ragtime” that people don’t deal with everyday anymore. Like the word ‘nig ger’ comes up a lot. It’s a touchy subject but we have to laugh at it and try to make it light-hearted. We can’t take it too personally.” In preparing to portray her character, Miller researched the Ragtime era. Sarah was a washwoman and Miller looked into what a woman in that role would have worn as well as what her lifestyle would have been. Miller’s goal in par ticipating in this produc tion is to be as truthful to the era, and to her charac ter, as possible. “My goal is to be truthful and to try to make it real,” she said. “I want people to get sucked into it and really appreciate it.” The “Ragtime” cast has been touring since September. Millet- said the cast members are very distinct individuals, but because they are all fairly young it is easier for them to relate to each other. The original cast comprised of 50 members. This produc tion has only 28. The Memorial Student Center Opera and Performing Arts Society (OPAS) brought “Ragtime” to Rudder auditorium last night and it will show again tonight at 7:30 p.m. There will be a lec ture at 6:30 p.m. in MSC 224, hosted by the OPAS Guild Patricia S. Peters Lagniappe Lecture Series at which Dr. Michael Greenwald, a theatre arts and English professor at A&M, will preview the music of “Ragtime.” Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Quentin Earl Darrington) and Sarah (Kenita Miller) in the National Tour of Ragtime. tor in Chief Managing Editor re Editor News Editor Asst. News Editor Vsst. News Editor Asst. News Editor ;ielife Editor Asst. Aggielife Edit# Asst. Aggielife Edit# ion Editor Opinion Editor Sci/Tech Editor Editor Sports Editor Producer t. Radio Producer hoto Editor Visual Arts Director sual Arts Director Webmaster *1055-4726) is publisl** luring the fall andsptinjif'* gh Thursday during the si** ity holidays and exam pee) 5 ty. Periodicals Postage fi 1 10. POSTMASTER: Sunday w, Texas A&M Univeisitj I" 1 X 77843-1111. ws department is man#* University in trie W ; init of the Depart*!';, :S are in 014 Reed MctW 1 hone: 845-3313; Fax # >om@thebatt.com; W $ of advertising does nd nent by The Batta/mf)* display advertising, w advertising, call 845# in 015 Reed McDonad '' to 5 p.m. Monday the Student Services fee f;' lent to pick up a single free, additional copies SO per school year, $30^ nd $17.50 for the sots ' Card, Discover, or Amf- 3 Come to our seminars: Strategies For Managing Your Income. You're 50 You're planning to retire. We'll show you how much income Is enough and the best ways to receive It. Date: Monday, 11.5.01 Time: 4:00 - 5:15 pm Place: College Station Conference Center, 1300 George Bush Drive Developing an Investment Strategy. Learn the fundamentals of diversification, asset allocation, and other smart techniques of long term Investors. 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Investment products are not FDIC insured, ray lose value and are not bank guaranteed. © 2001 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association — College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY. 08/20. INVESTMENT STRATEGIES THAT ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE. EVEN IF OUR NAME ISN’T. \ Aside from our name, we’ve always been in favor of making things simple. So contact us for smart, easy investment techniques to help you reach your financial goals. TIAA-CREF.org or call 1.800.842.2776 Managing money for people with other things to think about.' > nETIREUENT INSURANCE MUTUAL FUNDS COLLEGE SAVINGS TRUSTS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TIM-CREF Individual and Institutional Services, Inc , and Teachers Personal Investors Service's, Inc , distribute securities products. © 2001 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY 08/20 PHOTO COURTESY OF RAGTIME