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Page Four, PHOENIXHeights Players:Launch Workshop SeriesBY RICHARD FINKJohn Bourne spends his days working as an insurance underwriter. After work, he spends his time insuring that, as president of the Brooklyn Heights Players, the show will go on.In 1956, Brooklyn Heights%u2019 first community theatre group found itself in the red. Now in its 17th season, under the careful direction of Mr. Bourne, the theatre no longer has a deficit.Recently, the membership decided to expand its program by establishing seminars and workshops to develop talents they wish to use in future production. Last week two evenings of workshop theatre, comprised of a series of skits and one-act plays written by members, were offered at the Alfred T. White Community Center.Mr. Bourne, a relaxed New Englander, still speaks with a broad Bostonian %u201c A %u201d carried with him from the coast of Maine. At the local Ogunquit Playhouse and theKennbunkport Theatre, Mr. Bourne learned the rudiments of theatre bv watchine the traveling troupers and performing at the theatres during the summer.At Cornell University, where he majored in American history and government, the future president joined the school%u2019s Oxtogon Club, a theatrical society with the same status as Harvard%u2019s Hasty Pudding. Now president of the community%u2019s longest running theatre company, he presides over a membership of about 100 amateurs, professional actors and actresses, and folks interested in promoting community theatre and not their own careers or status.An experimental workshop ended in 1964 because the extravagance of some productions cost more to produce than the adult plays and the children%u2019s theatre. Mrs. Lois Nelson convinced the theatre group, however, to continue with workshops to develop local playwrites. The workshops, she insisted, would be inexpensive, give the theatre members the'Woyzeck%u2019 at BCThe degradation and brutalization of a soldier is the subject Georg Buchner%u2019s 150-yearold play %u201c Woyzeck,%u201d which will open the spring semester%u2019s theater season at Brooklyn College, set for February 8-11 at 8 p.m. in the college%u2019s New Workshop Theater inShirley MilleiExhibit at LIUAn exhibition of paintings by Shirley Miller will be on display from February 1 to 27 at The Brooklyn Center of Long Island University. Ms. Miller is a graduate of Cooper Union School of Art and attended Black Mountain College, N.C.In addition to one-woman exhibitions at the Roko Gallery, Contemporary Arts Gallery, Peter Cooper Gallery, Aspects Gallery and Silvermine Guild of Artists, Ms. Miller has participated in 11 national exhibitions and is represented in six public collections throughout the country.The paintings will be on view in the lobby gallery of the Humanities-Social Science Center at LIU %u2019s downtown Brooklyn campus from 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Monday to Friday.z * 9 - mu n P L A Y E R SALICEINWONDERLANDD IR E C TE D B V ED HEA3VFEBRUARY1011171824252=3026W'iowPtaceReserYations 65-8875Whitman Hall. Admission is free.%u201c Woyzeck,%u201d which Buchner wrote in 1836, was the first play to have a common man as a central character. In 26 short scenes that flow one into another, the play was the seminal influence on German expressionism. Although there was really no authorative text of the drama until 1962, the play has been performed often, including OffBroadway. Alban Berg used it as the basis of his 12-tone opera, %u201c Woyzeck,%u201d in 1925.This play is so modern in concept and theme that you would never suspect it was written as far back as it was,%u201d said Richard Bruno, director and Brooklyn College graduate student. %u201c It is an extremely powerful play that can be very moving.%u201dBruno pointed out that the unfinished state of the manuscript makes it a good play for a director. The director has a rather free hand with the script, being able to rearrange scenes for emphasis or effect without altering the author%u2019s intentions.Costumes for the production are by Eugene Scaglione, sets by Dennis Travins and Jacqueline Carhardt and lighting by Dennis Travins.The cast of actors playing some 26 roles, will be led by Ted Garguiloas Woyzeck, Lisa Loomer as Marie, Russell Bonanno as the Captain, Jerome Hoffman as the Doctor, Lee Chaifetz as Andreas and Jeff Gold as the Drum Major. In the other roles will be Carol Bezou, Larry Berrick, Richard Litt, Robert Litt and Jeff Tenzer.S TO LENMerchandise isn't our bag, but we do sellrecords and tapes at a 75 per centdiscount. Sound crazy? So are ourlocation and business hours OPEN onlySaturday 10 %u25a0 5 and Sunday 10 5. ClosedAAon Friday. Located way out at 163 8thSt. %u25a0 Corner 3 Ave. Brooklyn(RECORBTAPE WAREHOUSE)chance to act, direct, or write under conditions not usually afforded them.Veteran playgoers can now look forward to seeing their favorite character actor in a major role or see the unknown stage hand perform for the first time in the workshop series.Theatre members, under the direction of Darwin Knight, will soon participate in a seminar to learn more about performing musical-comedy. Mr. Knight, a long standing member of the Players, directed the musicalcomedy %u201c Hark%u201d at the MercerArts Theatre.Mr. Bourne said his group differs from other community theatres in that the Brooklyn Height Players produce established plays rather than recent Broadway successes. The president knows his audience. If the playgoer wants to see an experimental play or something avant garde, he seems to prefer traveling to Manhattan, says Mr. Bourne, unperturbed.The playhouse is self-supporting. Mr. Bourne has applied unsuccessfully for municipal financial assistance to take the children%u2019s plays out to the community. With generous patrons, plus the community spirit and support which prevails among the membership and the audiences, the Brooklyn Heights Players continues to present plays, conduct special workshops and seminars.'Kaspar SA t d a i yt D M IY lAfter winning wide acclaim for their work AC-DC %u201970-%u201971 and Kaddish in %u201971-%u201972, Video Free America has returned to the Chelsea Theatre Center tc collarorate on its forthcoming production of Peter Handke%u2019s Kaspar. Led by Arthur Ginsburg and Skip Sweeney, Video Free America is a collective of San Francisco artists, writers and journalists in the video field. Their aim is to bring about a change in television by creating new forms within the medium. In Kaspar, Video Free America explores the total integration of video theatre, existing script and live performance.Kaspar, translated from the German by Michael Roloff will be directed by Carl Weber, a former member of Brecht%u2019s Berliner Ensemble. The cast includes Guy Boyd, Veronica Castang, Randy Chicoine, Robert Binenkel, and Christopher Lloyd. Wolfgang Roth has designed the sets, lights and costumes.Kaspar will begin previews at the Chelsea Theater Center on Tuesday, Feb. 6 and run through March 4. Performances are Tuesday and Sunday at 7:30; Wednesday through Saturday at 8:30; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00. Tickets are now on sale at the box office of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. LINCOLN: Newark Boys Chorussings out at Lincoln's Birthday concert to be held at TheBrooklyn Museum Auditorium Court on Monday, Feb. 12,at 2:00 p.m.St. Frances TroupersPresent 'Winterset%u2019Last weekend the St. Francis College Troupers presented a revival of Maxwell Anderson%u2019s classic American poetic drama %u201c Winterset,%u201d the story of Mio, a young man who comes to a tenement district to vindicate his dead father of a murder committed 20 years earlier by hoodlums in the area.During his search, he meets Miriamne and falls in love. He discovers that her brother, Garth, would have absolved his father of the crime had he testified at the trial. Before Mio has a chance to revenge his father%u2019s death, he is murdered. Miriamne, no longer able to protect her brother, is also murdered when she tries to tell the truth.The plot of %u201c Winterset%u201d is based on the famous murder trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in the %u201920s and was written by Anderson in the %u201930s when American artists and intellectuals were still stirred by the trial%u2019s unanswered questions.Mio is played by Rosario Novella, a good looking young man who looked more at home cm a ski slope than in a tenement. The supporting cast compensated for Novella%u2019s weaknesses, however. Miriamne, played by Anne Cronin, brought dignity to the character and a pinch of professionalism to the production. Drew Fitzpatrick, the judge from Boston who doubts his decision in the murder case, mysteriously turns up at the tenement to add a vivid characterization of an elderly gentleman trying to justify his guilt. Joseph Mingrone played the role of Trock, the boss, realistically, while James McEntee, as the Shadow, performed satisfactorily.A classic play without a doubt is difficult to perform and direct. Despite the inexperienced actors, the St. Francis Troupers received a warm reception from the audience who obviously enjoyed the show. RICHARD FINKPlans WildePlans have been announced for a unique and exciting musical production slated for February 1973 at the Berkeley Institute. An adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde, %u201c The Happy Prince,%u201d has been skillfully molded into a fanciful musical and will be produced by Mr. Robert Milrad for Berkeley.Mr. Milrad has had considerable experience in legitim ate and cabaret theatre as a musical director, pianist and conductor. He has worked on such noteworthyCaputehsM o n t a g u eL u n c k ^ D s n r te tS a fc fS u n Branch iM fY l1 5 1 H c m fc a tja et * %u2022 -------NEW PAINTINGS FEB. 5th - FEB. 24thSUMMA GALLERY EAST 131 PIERREPONT STREET BROOKLYN HEIGHTS 643 98SBk i i i n w * %u00a9 f F i/ iv w m n lUUUUM^Jg; lT ^ n lvJ\\ i J\\im w mEat, Drink And Be Merryj\\^ H o y l A B a r g e n S t r a t iproductions as %u201c Fiddler on the Roof%u201d and %u201c A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum%u201d and with performers Dick Shawn, Julius Monk, Jose Ferrer and Danny Dayton. Berkeley is fortunate to have him as a music teacher and director of the Glee Club, as well as producer of special musical events. Last year%u2019s production of %u201c Smile, American Style%u201d was outstanding and recorded. Mr. Milrad%u2019s %u201c Happy Prince,%u201d which he co-authored, is expected to be even more innovative.Mary-Ellen Keane, a Berkeley senior, will co-direct the play with Mr. Milrad. Students from the Upper School will star. The major performers are Karen Wellikoff, Leslie Cohen, and Carol Mann, with Brook Bickford as The Swallow and Ted Ciuzio as The Happy Prince.^ Jeff Nehrbas, Scott Yarmus, Paul A u e rb a c h , J o e carter, Robert Withers, Jeff Fagan, Rodney Murphy, and Stephen Solomon will portray sailors, real and imaginary. The Glee Club will act as townspeople. Ellen Frattini is lighting manager. Mrs. Carol Bickford has offered the services of the art department and Mr. Felix Christiansen with the help of Upper School boys wiii construct the stage. The projected date of the performance is early February.