1995_09 The Daily Collegian September 1995

              Friday, September 8,1995
Spotlight
Theater group is set to flaunt their talent
By Shahada Abdul-Karim
Staff Writer
J'Nerique. Pronounced 'john-
air-reek," and translated into the
English meaning "generic," it is a
word that the French use to describe
all that is bland, boring, and
unworthy of little more than an
honorable mention.
In America, however, there are
some people who beg to differ. For
in the city of Fresno, there resides a
group of actors who have decided
to adopt the name. And contrary to
their assumed title, this group
represents all that is exciting,
animated, and worthy of extensive
discussion.
They call themselves "Theatre
J'Nerique.' Formed two years ago
with the intended purpose of
showcasing lesser known artistic
pieces, they have brought to life
such original works as 'Lunkheads
on Parade,' "The Blue Marlin The
Case of the Crimson Cobra,' and
their latest: 'Turn up 4he Torment.'
Evidence of their talent lies in the
fact that they have been selected to
perform at the Fringe Festival in
San Francisco. They will compete
with 50 other companies from all»
over the United States and Canada,
with the hopes of being picked for
the "Best of the Fest."
According to Marcel Nunis,
artistic and co-managing director of
Theatre J'Nerique, the Fringe
Festival gives acting groups a
chance to flaunt their talents .and
introduce plays that may otherwise
never be seen.
"The thing is that no one will
read your play unless it has been
produced," Nunis said. "The Fringe
Festival helps to give your work the
exposure it needs."
If picked for the "Best of the
Fest." they will get to put on three
more performances for the
remaining two weeks of the festival,
and they get to keep all of the
money made from those shows.
Theatre J'Nerique consists of, a
cast whose principal academic ties
lie with California State University
Fresno. Nunis himself left this
campus with a major in Theatre
Arts.
"Ed EmmanuEl is my greatest
mentor," Nunis said, "Ed
[EmmanuEl], and Terry Miller."
John Masier, the lead actor in the
Torment performance, was also a
student at CSUF, and graduated
with double majors in Radio/
Television and Geography. During
his academic career. Masier worked
as a DJ for KFSR radio. When
asked how he got involved in
acting, he simply shrugged. "I got
talked into it," he said.
Ria Harmsen and Stephanie
Terronez, both actresses in the
Torment performance, also boast
ties to CSUF. Harmsen is a Geology
professor on campus, and Terronez
is completing hec masters in
Internationa] Relations.
As a group, Theatre J'Nerique is
an arresting bundle of expression
and talent. As individuals, they are
down-to-earth and eager to share
their excitement when talking about
performing. Only time will tell what
will happen at the Fringe Festival.
Noontime at the Met
Lconorc Seng
Interior Designer
"When Too Much Is Not Enough"
Burghley Interiors
13      Chris Moad and Mallory Moad
Met Company Players
"Baroque Stand-up"
The Italian Commcdia dcll'Arte
20      Gina Strumwasser, Ph.D.
Professor of Art History
CSU, Fresno
"Baroque of Bernini"
Hiram De Wirt
Instructor of Latin and History
Fresno Gty College and Edison High School
"Greek and Roman Themes of the Burghley
Exhibit"
OCT  4      Jcancnc Bryon
Professor of" Theatre Arts .^
CSU, Fresno
The Museums and Theatres of London"
Robert Maldanado, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
CSU, Fresno
"A Different Household: Some Early Christian
Family Values"
18      William Raines
Director
African American Museum
"Contemporary African American Artists"
25      Jose Luis Barraza
Director
Centro Bellas Artes
"Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead"
I       James Lutz Ph.D.
Architect
"Europe on $1000 a Day- 18th Century British
Aristocracy and the Grand Tour"
0
Arra Avakian
Historian
"Armenian Folklore and Popular Tales"
Lecture* are held on Wednesday* at 12:00 in the Lyks Theater.
Wc invire you tu bring your lunch. Beverage provided
THtpnJKt is aaa* fmMe m pmrt by mgmmtfrwm aW
WeekNStuff
iftbtNti—minUui fjarafcr
Tikfnftctismb9Mmff»,tmlkytttDmayCdl9iwm,CSU,
Wazzup (pronounced in
preppyspeak: what's up)? This is
Shahada again, here to bring you the
best of what's happening around
Fresno this weekend. I know, I
know. The shock has just set in that
the semester is here to stay for a
while, and that you have a ton of
work to do. Relax! Trust me. there
will be plenty of time for all that.
For right now, check out these
places and find out if they're for
you.
To start off a rocking weekend.
Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeno Band
will perform in our own
Ampitheater at 5pm tonight, and
admission is free.
For all you fans of alternative
music. The Fulton has perfor¬
mances lined up this weekend that
are sure to please. Tonight, Dim
Petals will be performing, along
with Sunfer. The show starts at 9pm.
By Shahada Abdul-Karim
Staff Writer
and there is a $4 cover charge. On
Saturday night. Flaming June will
be there with Otis Plum. The cover
charge for that one is also $4, and
the show is at 9pm as well.
Club Fred will have Blue Divas
performing at their place on tonight
at 9:30pm. The cover is $4 for that
one. On Saturday, Thumpasaurus
will be there. That show is also at
9:30pm, and the cover is $5.
Don't wish to do the alternative
thing? Ok, here are a few sugges¬
tions instead:
tonight at Bisla's is New Rock
104 Nite. Admission is free before
9:00, and $4 after that. Students
with IDs can get $2 off after 10pm.
On Saturday, there is strictly club
dance music at Bisla's, and all of
the admission rules for Friday still
apply.
"Club 11:45" is what they call
SOHO's night club every Friday
night. They play club classics,
techno, andTop-40, all with a laser
light show. On Saturday night.
SOHO becomes "Evolution," with
modem dance tracks and New Rock
104. The show is hosted by DJs
Matt Williams and Dave Alexander.
For both Friday and. Saturday, the
cover charge is $5, and the doors
open at 9pm. On Sunday, however,
admission is free. Sunday night is
"Soul Search" night, with Deep
House dance tracks. For more in¬
formation about what SOHO has to
offer, call their information hotline
at 264-SOHO.
That's wazzup with
WeekNStuff. If you have any ques¬
tions, comments, or suggestions,
feel free to call me anytime at the
Daily Collegian. Leave a message
for me, and we'll talklSo until next
weekend, keep the faith, and party
hard!
1S1SV«i*tc*Av«ra»
ftwno, CA #3721
(20ft 441:1444
Music
Continued from page 3.
something for you. Call New
Rock 104 and tell you want to
find out if Deep Blue Something
is for you.
The relentless pulse pumping
under the surface of creepy
balladish melodies is characteris¬
tic of "Everything Under The
Moon," the first release from
Natasha's Ghost, out of San
Diego.
Kelly Neill sings the moody
ballads with a high, steady voice
that adds a sense of mystery to the
entire album, while the bass and
drums pump life into the brooding
music.
The band is lyrically tight,
musically competent and, overall,
an enjoyable listen. Natasha's
Ghost is definitely not for
everyone. It is good at what it
does, but it does little else The
songs do not readily distinguish
themselves from one another In
addition, the album is depressing.
If you are on the edge of harming
yourself, don't pick this up.
"Clea," a departure from the
band's morose mood, is a. terrific
song. It is reminiscent or post-
Joey Concrete Blonde. "Sleeping
Jesus" has a Nine Inch Nails
beat without the anger-filled
lyrics. These songs are intriguing
departures from the moody norm
Natasha's Ghost establishes early
on. I hope they explore this facet
of their musical repertoire on their
next album.
This band is not, suprisingly. a
mask of pretension or an attempt
to emulate, Or impress, the
mainstream. Natasha's Ghost has
a haunting musical sound that
belongs, almost exclusively, to
them
Catherine Wheel's third
release "Happy Days" is an
explosion of fury, from the
pounding guitars to the waiting
vocals. Gnawing their sound to
the bone and sucking out the
marrow, "Happy Days" takes the
Catherine Wheel to a fresher,
rawer edge.
"Judtaring at the Sun" is on
the hourly radio replay and joins
the vocal sty lings of Rob
Dickinson with Belly's Tanya
Donelly. It is the mainstream
audience pleases; but it is also the
most mellow song on the album.
It mingles the Throwing Muses
(Donelly's old band) with Belly
and Catherine Wheel with an
interesting outcome - kind of a
Cowboy Junkies/JudyBats thing
going on.
The garage band sound of the
rest of the album is joined by
cunning production which
preserves the integrity of the
music while showing its gritty
roots.
"HeaT aSd " Way do wn' are
exceUent songs; demonstrating
the band's tremendous
instrumental, vocal and lyrical
range.