Breaking the Silence

CraigAshley

Afteran entireyearofftheair, WWM C hit theairwavesoncemore on February 1,1993. The new station, run entirelyby students, is a 100wattFM stereo stationwith acontemporary Christian music format. The whole campus, Lynchburg and surrounding areascan now tuneintoC-91, "Lynchburg's Leaderin Contemporary ChristianMusic."

Studentsfrom diverseareas, suchas telecommunications, music and government make up the40-member stationstaff withdiversereasonsfortheirinvolvement.

"Ifsmy major,butreallyIjustloveit," MikeMedlin,juniorfromCharlotte,N.C., said "Ilookforwardtodoingit— Lord willing— foraliving Ifsalsoagreatwayto spreadthegospel Radiocantakethegospel whereitordinarilycouldn'tgo Itcanget behindcloseddoors."

Many ofthediscjockeyshope touse this experienceforpossible employment after graduation.

"Iwanttogainagood backgroundfor thefuture,and thestationcanalsobeusedas aneffectivewitness," Wendy Moore,junior broadcastjournalismmajor,said.

"I feel it's achancetouseagiftGod hasgivenme," Chuck Gammon,junior government major, said Telecommunications studentsusethe stationtogainnecessaryexperienceinsuch areasasmanagement, sports, news and announcing Studentsalsotakeanactive partintheproduction.

The attitudeatC-91 isbest summed up by Prof RobertHabermas, faculty advisor: "Learn, do agood joband have fun."

C-91 airsboth nationaland local programs and providesawide varietyof entertainment and news for listeners.

"C-91 SportsTalk"with Bob Sturm hashad some ofthetopplayersin NCAA basketballand footballon theair, aswell asseveralcoaches.

"Hecoverseverythingonhisshow Youname it,he'sgotit," Mikesaid.

"C-91News Magazine"and "USA RadioNews" providenewsinformationto listeners

"TheInspirationalGospelHour"plays musicrangingfromurbancontemporaryto lightgospel,and severaldifferentrequest showshavebroughtmany new listenersto thestation.

"Shepherd'sFrontLine"and "Dawson/McAllister Live," bothnational programs,dealwithsuchcurrentissues facingyouthtodayaspre-maritalsex, abortionand many othertopics.

WWM C isnow theofficialstationfor Lady Flamesbasketballand LU baseball. Thestationcarriedalimitedscheduleof thesesportsforthe1992-93seasonandis working tocarryafullhome scheduleforthe 1993-94season.BobSturm,SteveStroutand MattHahn providethegameanalyses.

"America'sHitlist" and "20the Countdown Magazine"aretwo popular countdown shows thestationplays. Many nationallyproduced devotional programs arealsoplayed on the station.

The stationhasreceived many letters and telephonecalls concerning theimpact ithashad on many lives One listenersaid C-91 is all herfamilylistens tonow Another listenersaidshehad forgotten God;but, afterfindingthestation, she became encouraged onceagain.

The stationnow hassomethingfor everyone Easy listening, alternative, country western and pop/rock arejusta few ofthemusic styles found on 90.9 FM. Gettingthestationon theair and expandingtoits currentcapacitywas a huge answer toprayerand proved thatGod is still with usand making music happen.

What goesintoplanning a show hereat LU?

Auditions come first. The play is announced along with timesfortryouts, and everyone is asking everyone else if they'reauditioning fortheshow.

The nightoftheauditions? Nerve-wracking.

We stand infrontofour peers, throw off ourinhibitions and give 100percentwhilewe arebeing critiquedby the director. We read formany differentpartsand thedirector standsus nexttootheractorstoseewhich heightsmatch the best.

"Auditions areavery stressfulexperience/'Stephanie Carpenter, who played in "The Man Who Came toDinner/' says. "There'sthisgreatfeelingofinadequacy. Even if you areasgood aseveryone else, all your insecuritiesareon the surface. You trytopretend betterthan everyone elseand hope they chooseyou."

Afterauditions, a selectfew areinvited to "call backs," where they have torepeattheprocessall over again. Making call backs is excitingforsome,but othersjusttakeit aspartof theprocess.

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• Directed by Dr Wayne Kompelien, "Cosi FanTutte"(Women Are LikeThat) was an LU Opera Workshop presentation The lightingcrew ofMatthew Kerrisk,Kim Halland ChrisTeboe broughttolightthe theatricsofDespina (Jennifer Kelly) and Don Alfonso(Daniel Prunaru).

• Assistingwith'The Man Who Came to Dinner,"Mrs Sandra Connors and Danielle Connors helppreparetwo actors forupcoming scenes.Makeup and hair artistshelptheactorscreate realismin their parts.

"Call backs don't mean anything, really," ChrisEngland, who had apart in "AnnieGetYour Gun,"says "It's sort of like headsup between you and a few otherpeople It's thefinal list that counts."

When call backs areover, there's nothing we cando but sweatit outover theweekend untilthecast list is posted It canbe arathertensetimewaiting for thelist tocome out Some peoplechoose nottothinkaboutit asthey wait Others can'tthinkofanything else. Some take long walks Othersjog Others eat, feelingthebestway tocalm nervousness is withfourquartsofpopcorn and three ofice cream.

"I thoughtaboutit, butIdidn't want tothinkaboutit toomuch because Ididn'twant tobe upsetif Ididn't get thepart,"Tracy Packiam, who had a part in"The MiracleWorker,"says

ChrisEngland'sbeen there.

"When you seeyour name onthe final list, you'rerelieved; butwiththat relief comes abigcommitment They've gotyou then. You're theirs."

Once thecast is chosen, it's time for thefirst read-through. We all learn the names ofthecast and gettoknow each other We read through thescriptand study themain theme, points, and meanings oftheshow.

Now come theweeks ofrehearsal. Not onlydo myriads oflines need to be memorized, butwe must also incorporatefeelingand emotion intothem This demands alot oftimeoutside rehearsal

Sometimes certainparts require dialects. We adhere toatediousschedule. Sometimes we need weekend rehearsals.

Afterthatgrind is finished, dress rehearsalcomes. A few audience members watch asthecast practices "officially." Lastminute critiquesand videotapingtakeplaceatthis time

"It's much more excitingduring dressrehearsal,"Ginger Vertican,who played Helen Kellerin"The Miracle Worker," says "I thinkit's alot easier foreveryone togetintocharacter when they'redressed forthe part."

Much ofthefunindoing the show lies inthecostumes Sometimeswe get towear tailor-madeoutfits, and the make-up crew doesan exceptionaljob in recreatinghairstyles ofthe particular timeeras.

Make-up calls areevery show night at 6p.m We relaxand preparetogo on aswe waitforcurtaincall. We readyour costumes and getour hairdone as we gatherourthoughtsfortheshow The castreallygrows closeduringthis preparationtime.

The 8p.m.show time approaches and thebutterfliesflyintoourstomachs We reallystart torealizethatabout300 people will bewatching usperform. Some people areborn forthe stage, however,and don'tgetasnervousas others.

"I feel very comfortable onstage," Packiam says "I'mnervousbeforeIgo on; butassoon asI'm up there, Ikindof forgetwhere Iam andjustdo whatI came there for."

The nervousness makes usrise to theoccasion. When we heartheaudiencelaugh orwhen we nailascene excitement comes when youpull itoff and know thatyou have made peoplehappy byentertainingthem It's truly exciting." perfectly,the butterflies are gone andthe show follows itscourse.

There areotheraspects of thetheatrebesidesthe acting, however. There'salot ofteamwork involved ingettingaplay together.

"One ofthebestpartsabout thetheatreisthatyouhave to get used toworking with many differenttypesofpeople," Stephanie Carpenter says. "You have toactaspartofateamin ordertomake itwork,and I think with thatcomes alot ofgrowth and maturity."

When theshows areover and thereviewin thepaper has come and gone, you get that feelingthat it wentby too fast You think that you still have rehearsalevery night. They say you come toenjoythe magic ofthe theatre. I believe it. Something magical happens onthe nightsoftheshow. It's something unexplainable,yet theentire castsenses it.

Wantto perform? Give it a try. Lifeistoo short tofail topursue something you want.

Libertytheatre offerssomethingfor everyone. From humorous comedies and intense dramas todance-filled musicalsandoperas, stagelights are waiting for you.

• Skilled studentartists likefreshmanBetsy Allansoncreate sets thatgivethe castan appropriatebackground foreach scene.

• Puffs of powder coverthegrease as Adriana-MonaSimilescu prepsFrankUlrichfor his part in "TheMan Who Came to Dinner." TamiRogerswaitsher turn.

The beauty about theatre isthat you come to rehearsal and you transform yourself into someone else. You can escape your world andlive another During the show, you forget yourself and relive another time.

When the final curtain falls, you take adeep breath andrealize all your sacrifice and hard work has paid off. You dosix shows of the same thing,yet every night isalittledifferent.

"Idon't know ifit's something about taking onadifferent personalityor if it'sin your blood when you're born, but there'sjust something about being up in front of acrowd of peopleand pretending you are someone else," says Christy Hansen, wh oplayed in both "The Man Who Came toDinner"and "Annie GetYour Gun." "Thereal

Iwoke up at8:00 am togive myself an early start.

After carefully curling my hair, applying rhymakeup with great precision and ironing every wrinkle out ofmyjdress, Iachieved the "classpresentation" look. (You know,those people who walk around campus with posterboard chartsand graphs rivaling Ross Perot'scollection.)

Icarefully carried my display put tomy carand attempted tostore itinmy microscopic backseat. I finally got it all crammed inand slidintomy front seat