The wayward world of 'Workshop'
Eric Duncan
Staff Writer
Erika Bresee
Scott Brickner struggles to prove to Bill Gorman that there is a perfect formula for love in “Cupid,” one of the eight student written, produced, directed and performed plays in the Xavier Players’ Workshop.
Xavier University grants its students something that even most Hollywood directors can only dream of: complete creative control.
Xavier’s “Workshop” is a collection of eight student-directed, produced, written and performed plays. Originally a senior showcase, it is now open to all Xavier students in an effort to get more students involved in the theater department.
“Workshop” isn’t exactly known for performing life-changing, philosophical pieces. The writers know their audience. “As I told the actors, we are, with this material, shamelessly pandering to our college demographic as far as comedy goes,” said Daniel Campbell, a sophomore director. “But it’s not low comedy either. I don’t think we’re doing anything inappropriate, we’re just having fun. The material is reminiscent of a Monty Python sketch.”
Rehearsals go from mid-March until late April, but the process begins the previous summer. It is then that members of the Xavier Players’ board decide upon the key dates for “Workshop,” including dates for script submissions, audition dates and of course the dates for “Workshop” itself.
After that, not a whole lot is done until the scripts start coming in. The scripts are submitted anonymously to ensure that there is no bias in the selection process.
After the due date, the Xavier Players’ board reads through all the scripts and decides which eight will be produced. This year, the board read 36 scripts, compared to the 16 they read the year before.
Once the scripts are selected, it’s time to pick directors. The scripts are made available in the Xavier Players’ office, where potential directors can read through them at their leisure. A week after the scripts are selected, April Sauline, the student producer of “Workshop,” and any other Xavier Player board member who wishes to be involved, interview the potential candidates.
“We ask them to discuss costumes, sets, lighting and everything, because “Workshop” is so informal that we don’t have a lighting designer or costuming and prop mistresses, so the director really is everything,” said Sauline.
As simple as this may seem, the interview can still be quite intimidating. “It was scary, but just a little bit,” said Campbell. “I went in and I sat down with April. She was very calm and collected, although I don’t think I was. I jumped out of my chair a couple of times and began shaking my hands as I described my vision.”
Once the directors are chosen, the audition process begins. Auditions for all eight shows are held at the same time, although each director has his or her own audition. Each director is given a room around the theater to hold their auditions, and they have their potential actors do whatever they desire. Most opt to have the actors read through the script, while others have them read famous speeches with different emotions. One director this year had her actors read the “Gettysburg Address,” said Sauline.
Once auditions are over, the arduous task of casting begins. “The directors are in a board room and are bargaining with people’s lives,” said Sauline. “This year we were bartering. They might as well have been trading cards, because we were like, ‘You can have him, but I need him.’”
Campbell characterized it a little differently. “It was like drafting rounds,” he said. “It was very civil. There wasn’t fighting. There weren’t any arguments. We were very complimentary of each other, and everyone got casts that eventually they were happy with. I know I was with mine.”
“Workshop” this year has a cast of 72, the biggest ever. Even after adding parts to scripts, the directors still had to cut seven people, but Sauline says that that number would have been closer to 20 if they hadn’t added parts to the shows.
The cast are now set and rehearsals are held at the director’s digression. The rehearsals are much less stressful compared to other shows, said Sauline, and the reason why is quite simple. “The audience will enjoy it regardless, just because it’s “Workshop” and it’s all their friends,” she said. Casts typically only rehearse two to three times a week, compared to the five or six day a week commitment necessary for the bigger shows.
The eight casts finally unite a week before opening night for tech rehearsals. This is when all the technical aspects such as lighting, sets and sound, are added. This is also the first time the transitions between the shows are rehearsed.
After that, it’s show time.
“Workshop” this year will run from April 26 until April 29, with all shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Gallagher Student Center Theater.
Xavier gets Greek glory
Kelly Shaw
Senior News Editor
After a long but successful three year process, the first Phi Beta Kappa chapter was installed at Xavier last Sunday. Shortly after, 14 students were initiated into the chapter.
Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) is the nation’s oldest academic honor society and has more than 500,000 members with 276 chapters nationwide.
PBK are the Greek initials for the motto “Philosophia Biou Kubernetes,” translated to be “Love of learning is the guide of life.”
Phi Beta Kappa members hope to stand for freedom of inquiry and expression, disciplinary rigor, breadth of intellectual perspective, the cultivation of skills of deliberation, ethical reflection, the pursuit of wisdom and the application of the fruits of scholarship and research in practical life.
Dr. Norman Finkelstein will serve as the president of Xavier’s new Phi Beta Kappa chapter
Professor of English Norman Finkelstein is president of the Xavier chapter and Mike Goldweber, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, is the secretary.
“PBK is the single most prestigious academic honors society in the United States,” said Finkelstein. “Only a relatively small number of universities shelter a chapter — some schools have tried for years to get one on their campus, because the requirements are so stringent. XU went through a three-year process (run by retired biology professor Stan Hedeen), including a site visit, an examination of academic programs and more. Xavier was accepted after the first round, which says a great deal about the quality of academics here.”
50 students were invited to Xavier’s chapter of PBK based on their GPA.
The Week of the World: Xavier thinks globally
John LaFollette
Sports Editor
While many Americans never give a second thought to the places and working conditions that produce their everyday necessities, students at Xavier will be forced, at least for a week, to become more conscientious to the origins of their coffee, their clothes and their food.
Students Against Sweatshops, an anti-globalization activist group on campus, is sponsoring a series of activities and events this week that are designed to increase campus dialogue on the issue of globalization and to promote a broader sense of community.
Globalization Week, as the events are collectively known, includes displays on the greenspace and in the Gallagher Student Center as well as other events.
Starting last Monday, a display in Gallagher encouraged the Xavier community to mark the countries of origin of their clothing on a large map of the world. The map will remain posted all week.
A mock clothesline is also set up on the academic mall, displaying clothes bearing quotes and facts about globalization.
Last Tuesday night, an informational meeting for the Workers Rights Consortium was held to gather support for the establishment of a chapter of the labor rights monitoring organization at Xavier.
A movie on outsourcing will be shown at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25 in the Clocktower Lounge of Gallagher. Fair trade refreshments will be served. At 7 p.m. the following night a sweatshop-free fashion show will be put on to present responsible alternatives to many popular clothing lines.
“This week’s purpose is to raise awareness of globalization as an issue that affects us all,” said sophomore Justin Cancelliere, an event coordinator. “We are all interconnected as human beings, and even just one person coming away from this week with new thoughts, ideas and desires for good would be a success.”
Aside from Globalization Week, Xavier attempts to combat globalization in other areas as well, through the Peace and Justice Programs and certain theology courses. Also, Xavier’s coffee shop, Victory Perk, exclusively sells fair trade coffee.
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