September 27, 2004

Kleinau Theatre hosts double-bill

by Beth M. Hartke

CARBONDALE, Ill. - - A double-bill of performances is on tap this week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Marion Kleinau Theatre.

The theater is on the second floor of the Communications Building. Performances start at 8 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 30, Friday, Oct. 1 and Saturday, Oct. 2.

The opening performance each evening is Stephanie D. Howell's "Atrocious Body: Burlesqueing the Body," followed by Scott William Gust's "The Girl With Golden Hair" concluding the bill.

"Atrocious Body: Burlesqueing the Body" discusses the theory that since the mid-19th century, burlesque has given entrepreneurial women the opportunity to make a vocation of their sex appeal. The performance explores the use of burlesque in aesthetic and everyday performances as a strategy to empower women through narrative, song and dance.

"The Girl With Golden Hair" performance asks the question: "How much does who you are (not) resemble who you once thought you would become?"

"Through narrative and song, this critical cabaret explores what happens when the straight man I was Œsupposed' to be gets a chance to talk back to the gay man I have become," writes Gust.

Howell and Gust are doctoral students in performance studies in the speech communication department.

For more information or for ticket reservations call 618/453-5618. Tickets prices are $5 for general admission and $3 for students. The next Kleinau production features "BloodStar," written and directed by Janet E. Donoghue, Diana Tigerlily, and Amber L. Zimmerman.

Expanding cultural outreach is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.