Page 38 - 1989

Senior Marcia Selinger, Junior
Kari Nelson, Senior Dianna Palensky sing “The French Song"
Tessin and Sophomore Megan in “A My Name Is Alice”.

Together

“New, challenging, something to say socially,” says Jack
Parkhurst,Play Production Instructor, when explaining why
he chose the three plays, “A My Name is Alice”, “Steel
Magnolias”, and “The Foreigner” for the play production
class’ performances this year. “We had a group of people
that were versatile.”
Megan Palensky, sophomore, in the cast of "A My
Name", said “The play shows that there are different kinds
of women everywhere, but we are all bound together.”
Amy Krobot, junior, said “It shows we all have so much
in common, and women stick together as a group.”
“A My Name is Alice” is a musical revue about being a
woman in the 80's, says Krobot. “It takes you from being a
little girl to womanhood. It shows that women are equal to
men, and shouldn’t be stereotyped as being at home barefoot
and pregnant.”
“Steel Magnolias”, tells the story of six southern women
in a beauty parlor. They talk about their personal lives, and
basically just gossip, says Junior Christy Centretto.
Since the show takes place in a beauty shop, several of the
girls had to have their hair washed on stage. The sets for all
of the plays were so intricate, they had to be exact to 1/16 of
an inch, says Parkhurst. The sets were designed by Ed
Stauffer, head of the technical program atUNL. The special
factor in the "Steel Magnolias" set was to have running water
on stage. Parkhurst said the water came from a hose, and the
water was cold. “The girls hated it,” he said.
Centretto said, “I was dreading the water at first, it was
freezing cold.”
“Foreigner” was the other play done by this class. Patrick
Wolfe, junior, said this play talks about prejudice and fear.
“It tells you to look before you leap; get to know what you
don’t know, before you criticize it.” Wolfe said.
This set of plays was judged to go to the International
Thespian Convention and perform Mainstage at Muncie,
Indiana. Each play was judged on its own merits, and the
play, “A My Name Is Alice” was one of the eight out of two
thousand entries chosen.
Senior Debbie Eischen puts
Children's Theater, which was cut from the 1988-1989 play bill, Christy Centretlo’s hair in rollers
after washing her hair on stage in
was called Stories for Children in 1979-1980.
Steel Magnolias”.

The Ram, Vol. 27, Page 147.