Word: firsts
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Rabbit (Tom Chick), who arrives as the action of the first act begins, is the medicine man who has been called in to conjure Wheeler's "totally new" destruction. After the first few moments, Chick falls into character and subsequently delivers a steady performance in an ever-changing and difficult role...
Rabbit's colleague Tympani (Martin Harris) is another artiste who was called in a few months back to work on the project. Tympani speaks his credo midway through the first act: "Optimism isn't reassuring. It's stupid." Harris convincingly portrays Tympani's pessimism. And he is also effective when Tympani daydreams beamingly about owning a "pale green diner" or going to the movies...
Amidst the well-directed "hell which passes before us" are Shepard's messages, one of which seems to be a concern about the effects of the motion picture industry on the consciousness of the public. Early in the first act, Wheeler indicates his awareness that movies have become the most dominant aspect of culture and have taken control of people's minds...
...editors would rather plunge passionately into a policy whose effects have barely been examined. The editors, most of them secure in the houses of their choice, are calling for full randomization of first-year students...
...editors have taken an "all or nothing" approach to the lottery issue. By doing so, they fail to realize that the 100 percent randomization will have a dramatic impact on the first group of students involved. A gradual transition and careful tinkering seem more logical, and perhaps more appropriate for such a minor problem...