Ionesco, Carlino Plays Set

Civic Theatre Productions

Ionesco, Carlino Plays Set

“Eugene Ionesco’s “The Chairs” and “Snowangel” by L. J. Carlino will be presented in original production by the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre Summer Season ’72 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday in the AACT Building, 201 Mulholland.

Suzanne Dieckman, doctoral student in theatre at the University, is directing the two-character play “Snowangel,” which involves a lonely man becoming involved with a prostitute, insisting that she live a romanticized meeting he has written.

Miss Dieckman directed “Vasco,” an avant-garde exploration into the mystery of death and the evils of war, last year for the University Players’ Showcase Productions series and “Cecil” for AACT Summer Season ’71.

Deborah Brown, a pre-medical student at the University, will play the part taken in New York by Shelly Winters with Alan Wagman taking the role of the man.

As a part of directing the Ionesco play, Klaus Bergmann took his actors to local nursing home to get a realistic idea of how the elderly act and speak.

Bergmann studied several translations of the play before he found one which he considered satisfactory for performance.

“I think the key is to make the production as naturalistic as possible,” he said. “I found one translation which was very bad and one which does a better job of translating the French into English so that it becomes very musical, very light, working back and forth against a very dark background. I think the audience can just let it happen—experience the anxiety and fear rather than look at it as a play of ideology.”

Bergmann said the theme of the play cannot be described but has to be experienced.

“It is a virtuoso play,” Bergmann said. “We have done everything to keep the actors from becoming stereotypes of the elderly. This was by aim in taking them to the nursing homes, where they learned the stances and speaking mannerisms of those who are older than they are.”

Both of the plays will be repeated at 8 p.m. Aug. 10 through 12 in a series which has experienced capacity audiences during the summer.

A donation of 50 cents is requested at the door and those seeking to attend are advised to arrive early.

Take That

Deborah Brown takes it on the cheek in a scene from Ann Arbor Civic Theatre ‘72’s production of “Snowangel.” Miss Brown is suffering the wrath of Alan Wagman in the play because, as required by the script, she has been unconvincing in her re-enactment of his first meeting with a former love.