In Review: Lobster Alice

The University of Northern Iowa Theatre Department ended its first main stage production of the season this weekend with playwright Kira Obolensky’s Lobster Alice. The show followed the life of Mr. John Finch, an employee of the Walt Disney Animation Studios in his quest to bring the film Alice in Wonderland to life. Mr. Finch finds inspiration for his lead character in his secretary Alice.

Mr. Finch’s whole world is thrown upside down when Salvador Dali, the famous surrealist painter of the droopy clocks, invades his workspace. Dali’s personality and view of life upsets the valance that John Finch knows in his everyday life. But, in the end, with a little help from Salvador Dali, Mr. Finch comes out of his comfort zone and professes his love to his secretary Alice.

Obolensky brings a comic angle to the very real collaboration between Salvador Dali and Walt Disney in the creation of the film Destino back in 1946. The script is art all by itself, but with the imagination from UNI Theatre designers, the production of Lobster Alice truly came to life.

Director Cynthia Goatley chose this play because of the title. At a very young age Goatley instantly became a fan of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. She was familiar with Alice and ordered the play because it sounded unusual. When Goatley found out that Salvador Dali was in the script, she knew the production process would be an “interesting” one.

“Kira Obolensky’s surreal romance has entertained, challenged, exhausted, and invigorated us these past six weeks or so as we have delved into our own surreal take on the world as well as Dali’s and the other characters.”

Four different actors took on the role of Salvador Dali. Brianne Waychoff was one of the four Dalis. Waychoff found the opportunity to play this role to be very “interesting.”

“I have always loved Dali’s art,” Waychoff said. “Just having the opportunity to portray someone that I respect so much has been really uplifting. I thought spreading the role out in four actors added that element of surrealism.”

“We have chosen to express the many sides of Dali through the actual physical choice of using four of them,” Goatley said.

Not only did the show have “interesting” character choices, the design elements for the production also emphasized the many sides of Dali. Scenic Designer Brad Carlson was able to morph the stage as the play progressed. The office floors began to slant, the clock on the wall broke and drooped, and white bunny rabbits popped out of desks.

“I really enjoyed the way the set changed along with the progression of the play,” said Jeff Johnson, a Senior Theatre major. “All of the elements really added to the experience of the play.”

The Theatre UNI production of Lobster Alice encompassed the talented deign efforts of many and the “interesting” historical story of the Walt Disney/Salvador Dali collaboration of the film Destino. If you didn’t see the show, you should have. The UNI Theatre department has a reputation of outstanding performances and design.

Sports

Sports in Britain

The British are a sports-loving nation. Cricket, soccer, rugby, tennis, squash, table tennis, badminton, canoeing and snooker were all invented in Britain. The first rules for such sports as boxing, golf, hockey, yachting and horse-racing also originated from Britain. The most popular sports that people take partin, rather than watching, are angling, snooker and darts.

Cricket is very much the English game. A match can take five days - and still end in a draw. A form of cricket was being played 250 years ago.

Football began as a contest between neighbouring villages - with no limit to the number on each side, no fixed pitch and almost no rules. The Football Association drew up the rules of the modern game in 1863 and in 1888 12 clubs joined together to form the first Football League. England won the World Cup in 1966. Rugby and football became two separate sports when the rules bid down by the Football Association said that only the goalkeeper could handle the bail. Two kinds of rugby are played in Britain. Rugby Union is played by amateurs in teams of 15 in the south of England and in Wales (where it is the national sport). Rugby League is played by professionals in teams of 13 in the north of England.

Golf was probably invented in Holland, but has been played in Scotland for at least 400 years. At first, it was played with balls made of wood, then of leather stuffed with feathers.

The first rules for tennis were drawn up by the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club when it held its first tournament in the London suburb of Wimbledon in 1877. Wimbledon is still the world's most famous tennis event. There are a lot of sports and games which are popular both among youngsters and grown-ups. 25 million of grownup people take part in sports. Sport is on the programme of all state and private schools and universities. Nearly all schools have sports grounds and swimming pools. Indeed, sport is a part of everyday life in Britain.

Sports in America

Americans pay much attention to physical fitness. Many sports and sporting activities are popular in the USA. People participate in swimming, skating, squash and badminton, tennis, marathons, track-and-field, bowling, archery, skiing, skating etc. But the five major American sports are hockey, volleyball, baseball, football and basketball. Basketball and volleyball have been invented in America.

There is a large choice of sports in America. This can be explained by the size and variety of the country. Another reason of the popularity of sports is the people's love of competition of any kind. One more reason is that Americans use sports activities for teaching social values, such as teamwork and sportsmanship. AH this explains why Americans have traditionally done well in many kinds of sports.

Every high school offers its students many sports, such as wrestling, rowing, tennis and golf. There are no separate «universities» for sports in the USA. Students of any higher educational establishment are trained in different kinds of sports. Many colleges and universities are famous for their sports clubs. There are sports facilities at every school. Some unusual kinds of sports originated in America. They are windsurfing, skate-boarding and triathlon. Triathlon includes swimming, bicycle racing and long-distance-running. Now these sports are becoming more and more popular in Europe.

Indeed, sport is a part of life of an average American.

The Olympic Games

The Olympics have a very long history. They began in 776 BBC, and took place for nearly 1 200 years at Olympia, Greece. The citizens of all the Greek states were invited to take part in the games. The prizes were wreaths made of branches of olive trees. Ancient Olympic Games were a great athletic festival and included many different lands of sports: running, boxing, discus throwing, wrestling, the pentathlon (five different sports) and others. In 394 A.D. the games were stopped by the Roman Emperor Theodosius.

Only fifteen years later, in 1894, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, managed to persuade people from fifteen countries - to start the Olympic Games again. The International Olympic Committee was set up in 1894, and the first of the modern series of the Games took place in Athens two years later, in 1896. There were competitions in many kinds of sports: running, jumping, and boxing. All the nations of the world were invited to send their athletic teams. From then the Olympic Games have been international and the number of events on the programme have increased.

In these games only amateurs or non-professional athletes can take part. Each country sends teams for as many different events as possible. The winners of each event are given a certain number of points. The International Olympic Committee decides where each Olympics will take place. They ask a city (not a country) to be the host.

The Olympic Games are attended by thousands and thousands of people every time they are held. They provide an opportunity for lovers of sports of all nations to meet together.