|
Football:
 The Panthers (3-1, 1-0 SLIAC) set or tied 19 school records in routing Blackburn College 61-0 on the road last Saturday. It was the SLIAC debut for the Panthers, who have won two straight. Sophomore Tim Hill led a defense that limited Blackburn to -3 yards of total offense and recorded the school’s first shutout. Hill was named the SLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording four solo tackles and returning a fumble for a touchdown. Junior Mario Wallace rushed for a school-record 149 yards and three touchdowns.
Golf:
 The Panthers opened their 2008 fall schedule with a fifth-place finish at the Greensboro College Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. Junior Bo Tiller was low finisher for LaGrange with a tie for 15th in the individual standings. Tiller had the low round of the tournament for the Panthers with a first round one-under par 71. LaGrange will play in the Berry Invitational on Oct. 6-7 at the Coosa Country Club in Rome, Ga.
Men’s Soccer:
 The Panthers (3-5-1, 1-1 GSAC) fell 1-0 to Piedmont on the road Tuesday. The loss stopped the men’s two-game winning streak. Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Rollins had 14 saves for the Panthers. LaGrange hosts Maryville College on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.
Women’s Soccer:
 LaGrange (3-4-1, 2-1-1) lost 2-0 to Piedmont on the road Tuesday. The loss stopped the Panthers’ three-game unbeaten streak. Sophomore goalkeeper Jennifer Eby had her shutout streak of three games stopped. The Panthers host Maryville College on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
Cross Country:
 The Panther cross country teams competed in the GSAC Pre-Conference meet last Saturday in Maryville, Tenn. Senior Laura Driggers led the team with a fifth-place finish, the highest by a Panther in two years. Bill Simmons finished eighth overall in the men’s meet.
Sustainability tip
 Instead of getting your clothes dry-cleaned, wash them at home by hand or by using the delicate cycle and take them to the dry cleaner for a “press only.” Nearly 95 percent of dry cleaning facilities use a solvent known as “perc.” Perc continues to off-gas after you get those dry-cleaned clothes home. Short-term effects of perc include dizziness, fatigue and headaches; long-term effects include liver and kidney damage. This tip is brought to you by the Sustainability Council, which supports the College’s sustainability campaign titled On Holy Ground: Cultivating Sustainability at LaGrange College.
|
Love story with a ‘bite’ comes to Price Theater
by Dean Hartman
Communications & Marketing
Allen Cheney shows off his unusual botanical friend to Ali Grieb during rehearsals for the upcoming production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
|
Phrases like “comic, but horrific” … “sweet, but gory” … and “thought provoking,” are offered when cast members of “Little Shop of Horrors” attempt to describe their upcoming musical.
“It’s certainly an unconventional story,” said director Kim Barber Knoll in explanation.
Sounds like a gross understatement.
Juxtaposing such wide-ranging adjectives, however, seems the only way to adequately describe a theater sensation that blends musical comedy camp with sci-fi horror, a blend that will arrive on the Price Theater stage on Oct. 17.
“Little Shop” is a 1960s send-up of an old science fiction film. When a florist shop clerk discovers an out-of-this-world plant, anything seems possible, including winning the girl of his dreams. Turns out, the plant has other ideas.
With music and lyrics by acclaimed Disney duo Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the musical made its off-Broadway debut in 1982 and earned the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. It enjoyed a Broadway revival in 2003.
“The music—that’s what I love most about it,” said Allen Cheney, a junior music major who performs the role of florist clerk Seymour.
He and senior theatre arts major Ali Grieb, as Audrey, play the star-crossed leading pair, and they’ve been working hard to perfect the dark comedy.
Because of the show’s funny but macabre message, “It has to work perfectly, or the tone and style of humor we’re trying to establish isn’t clear,” she said. “It has to be very well oiled.”
To get that fluidity, the cast has been burning the midnight lamplight.
“We have been here rehearsing since September 4th, working at least from 6 to 10 on weeknights, and Saturdays from 10 to 2,” said Barber Knoll, Chair of the Theatre Arts Department. “One evening, we spent four hours on 13 pages. The challenge is finding the balance between the energy and humor of ‘camp’ and the truth and sincerity in these very extreme characters.”
Another hurdle for the cast is the overt theatricality of the production, which incorporates elaborate costumes, intricate staging, multiple set changes—and puppets.
In its final full-bloomed glory, the anti-hero of the show is a weighty, human-sized plant puppet, brought to life by College basketball player Nic Whitfield. He watched the film based on the musical as a youth, and couldn’t pass up the chance to be in the show.
“It’s my favorite,” he said.
He concedes that donning the 70-pound costume daily could provide good physical conditioning for the upcoming season.
Rounding out the student cast are three freshmen and one senior: Lauren Strickland, Jocelyn Martin and Laura Hennesy, who provide the insightful narrative and Supremes-like vocals of the Ronnettes, and senior Joshua Williams, who carries multiple roles as part of one of the show’s running gags.
Community member Neal Brumbeloe appears as Mr. Mushnik, and local Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Wally West makes his Price debut as the voice of the plant.
The show opens on Friday, Oct. 17, and includes 7:30 p.m. performances on Oct. 18 and 23 – 25, plus two matinees at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 and Oct. 25. To order tickets, call the box office from noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays at (706) 880-8080. Note that some language in the production may not be suitable for children.
|
Campus notes
Join mathematics majors as they present Mathematics Around Us in the Jolly Room of Callaway Science Building on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 11:15 a.m.
Figurative ceramic sculptor Michaelene Walsh will present a slide lecture on her art titled “The Figure in Clay” on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 11:15 a.m. in the Lamar Dodd Art Center.
 Dr. Kevin Shirley will present a lecture on the “Seventh Seal” on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 11:15 a.m. in the Dickson Assembly Room that will prepare Humanities II students to view the movie that evening at 6 p.m. in the Dickson Assembly Room.
The LaGrange Symphony Orchestra’s “All Mendelssohn,” scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Callaway Auditorium, is a Cultural Enrichment event.
The Chemistry Department will host the fall meeting of the Auburn Local Section of the American Chemical Society on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in the Jolly Room of Callaway Science Building. Light refreshments will be served beginning at 6:15 p.m. The business meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., and a special lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. Dr. John Fortman will present a nontechnical chemistry talk that will be given at the level of the General Chemistry Students. Faculty and students are invited.
Former Korean Ambassador James Laney will lecture on “America’s Near War With North Korea” on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 11:15 a.m. in the Dickson Assembly Room. The former Emory president will give an insider’s account of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy used to defuse the Korean nuclear crisis of 1994.
The French Film Festival continues on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dickson Assembly Room with the showing of “Le Million.”
 Professor of Art and Design Tim Taunton is one of five Georgia-based ceramicists whose work will appear in an exhibition titled “Characters: Views of the Figure in Clay” at the Columbus Museum from Oct. 16 through Jan. 4. Taunton will be giving a free workshop at the museum on Nov. 16 from 3 to 5 p.m.
 Vice President for Advancement David Rowe will be a guest speaker at “Architecture’s Impact on the Quality of Life,” the fifth annual conference by the Sizemore Group. The conference, which will be held at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta on Oct. 22, will focus on sustainability and will bring together civic and educational leaders to share knowledge and learn from peer-to-peer discussions. Cost per person is $25 for nonprofit participants and $100 for all others. For more information, call (404) 605-0690.
Dear College Friends,
 Thank you so very much for your prayers, e-mails, cards, phone calls, and words of sympathy in the loss of my brother-in-law. As most of you know, he was like a daddy to my boys and a brother to me and he will be greatly missed. It’s a blessing to work at such a wonderful place and with such amazing people!
Thanks again,
Kirby McCartney |
