The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 11, Ed. 1 Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Page: 4 of 10
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Arts & Entertainment
November 18, 2014
4
The University News
Please see page 5
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Mall a la mode
Paulina Herran
Staff Writer
Elizabeth Kerin
Staff Writer
EK: How do you feel that your style expresses who you are?
JM: I think fashion is more than self-expression; it’s also
about conformity. As Georg Simmel pointed out, fashion has a
dialectical structure wherein the two opposing and inseparable
human drives of imitation and differentiation work themselves
out in a sartorial system of signs through color, pattern, texture,
shape and design. Fashion is therefore a symbolic activity
through which we express both our solidarity with others and
our personal autonomy.
through the light they
emit. Blumenfeld un-
derstands well the fas-
cination that light has
for the human mind.
It provided a new take
on her work when in-
spiration was difficult
to come by.
“I was really strug-
gling with that in my
work, trying to under-
stand really what the
Photo courtesy of Undermain Theater
From left, Stephanie Cleghorn Jasso, Mei
Mei Pollitt, Katherine Bourne, and Alexandra
Lawrence in "The Fairytale Lives of Russian
Girls."
EK: How does being a professor change your approach to fashion?
Are there any challenges in reconciling your personal style with
how a UD professor is expected to dress?
JM: I value what we do in the classroom at UD, and I have
followed the example of my own teachers and mentors who
always dignified the classroom and the work we did there by
dressing well for class. Like Machiavelli, who took off his work
clothes each evening while in exile and donned his best robes
before entering his study to read Dante and Plutarch, I think it is
important to “dress up” for class. Hopefully, I signify the value I
place on learning through my attire.
EK: Do you have any commentary on how students at the
University of Dallas dress?
JM: It is clear that a portion of the student body has enthusiastically
embraced the conventional fast-fashion with its ephemeral
fads, but other students, being so enamored of the beauty they
encounter through UD’s exceptional curriculum, have adopted a
more elegant mode of dress that expresses their elevated values
and tastes. However, there is also a strange antagonism to fashion
among some students at UD who seem to view fashion as Kant
did — as mere vanity. This is indeed strange because fashion is
a way of ordering oneself in clothes, and order is a central theme
in the UD curriculum. We train students to order their thoughts -
logic, order their language - rhetoric, order their actions - ethics,
recognize the order of the universe - physics, and contemplate
the source of this order - theology. No one would ever claim
that any of these activities were mere vanity. Thinking well,
speaking well and living well are all the result of the ntentional
development, elevation and perfection of the human intellect and
will, an ordering of human capacities towards excellence. This is
nothing more than elegance, which, as the Romans knew, meant
the capacity to choose well. Jose Ortega y Gasset put it like this:
“Elegant is the man who neither does nor says any old thing,
but instead does what should be done and says what should be
said.” On the whole, I think UD students exhibit a rare elegance.
I
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Drama alum Dylan Key
directs modern fairytale
Photo courtesy of Undermain Theater
UD alum Dylan Key, director of "The
Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls."
EK: Do you consider fashion to be important? If yes, in what ways?
JM: Yes, fashion is important, but it is perhaps better to say that
it is significant. As a sartorial system of signs, fashion indicates,
or points to, the value we place on ourselves, others, spaces and/
or events. For example, we indicate the importance of the Mass
by wearing clothing that is appropriate to the event. We orient
ourselves through our clothing — an insight that is captured in
the phrases “dressing up” and “dressing down.” We also indicate
or sign to others what we esteem or value. For these reasons,
fashion is significant.
protagonist, with a bag
of potatoes; however,
this scene was also hi-
larious and thus the
awkwardness of it was
excusable.
With quick cos-
tume changes and the
conglomeration of so
many fairytales, focus-
ing on the words of the
play could sometimes
be difficult due to the
distracting mechanics
of it. I left wanting to
know for sure what
was meant by certain
aspects of the play.
“I’m not sure if
plays have purposes,
meanings, or messag-
es so much as con-
cerns, questions, and
itches needing to be
scratched, to steal a
term from Dr. Roper,”
Key said. ‘“The Fairytale
Lives of Russian Girls’ is
concerned with the re-
lationship between the
lineage from which we
identify with (sic) and
the ways we integrate
that history with our
future decisions, hopes
and dreams.”
“The Fairytale Lives
of Russian Girls” is an
entertaining hybrid of
realism and fantastical
comedy that leaves the
audience both contem-
plative and amused.
Despite its humorous
delivery, the play does
touch on some more
serious aspects of life,
finding one’s identity
being the main point.
“Often one’s pas-
sage from adolescence
to maturity is a bil-
dungsroman of choos-
ing which narratives
and stories from your
childhood will define
yourself in adulthood
[...] ‘Which stories of
myself are ones I wish
to carry with me into
the future?”’ Key said.
“Annie’s Russian-born
but lives in America.
How does she synthe-
size these twin back-
grounds? She’s a con-
temporary woman but
follows in a long-line
of mothers and grand-
n Nov. 11,
f B Undermain
W W Theater
opened its
second show of the
season, “The Fairytale
Lives of Russian Girls,”
directed by Universi-
ty of Dallas graduate
Dylan Key (’ll). Writ-
ten by playwright Meg
Miroshnik, the play
delves into Russian fai-
rytales by retelling old
tales with a modern
twist and some raunchy
humor. By using tradi-
tional folk tales, Miro-
shnik explores con-
temporary issues such
as feminine identity
and the great discon-
nect that so many first-
generation American
immigrants feel from
their heritage when
they leave their home
country at a young
age. In order to get a
better understanding
of the play, reading the
study guide provided
at the beginning of the
program is extremely
helpful in establishing
background informa-
tion for stories such as
that of Baba Yaga.
“The Fairytale Lives
of Russian Girls,” acted
by an all-female cast,
weaves reality and fan-
tasy so tightly together
that it is difficult to
discern the realistic as-
pects of the play from
what is meant to be
taken symbolically.
“Fairytales as a rule
are full of nothing but
totems, emblems, and
archetypes,” Key said.
“Certainly our design is
influenced by the Jung-
ian triad of The Virgin,
The Mother and The
Crone, and yes, they are
all metaphors of some
sort. In the theater and
really all storytelling,
aren’t we always traf-
ficking intended mean-
ings both populist and
esoteric?”
As a modern fai-
rytale, one can imagine
there are certain techni-
cal issues when dealing
with magical aspects
such as giant bears and
invisible hands.
“It’s a very compli-
cated technical show,
with plenty of moving
pieces, special effects
and magical props,”
Key said. “The last cou-
ple weeks of technical
rehearsals have been
quite demanding but
really lifted the produc-
tion to the necessary
level of wonder.”
Despite the diffi-
culties of having many
magical aspects in the
play, the cast did an
exceptional job of keep-
ing transitions and prop
rotations smooth. The
only time it got a little
strange was when three
invisible hands started
attacking Annie, the
John Macready was
seen this week braving
the cold. Making great
use of layering, he wore
a Calvin Klein sports
jacket over an Apt. 9
sweater and a extra
trim fit Nordstrom shirt.
He complements his
professional look with
Kenneth Cole Boots
and Zoo York camo
which each focus on
a specific system, to
create a vivid portrait
of humanity itself
through the systems
with which it interacts
daily.
Erika Blumenfeld
embodies this theme
in her photography,
which utilizes light as
its medium. Her works
on display at the Zhu-
long capture natural
phenomena purely
Systema utilizes human bias
while approaching nature
Amanda Jesse
Contributing Writer
ystema, an
exhibition at
the Zhulong
Gallery, is the
collaborative effort
of six artists who use
their work to portray
the inmost nature of
human systems. The
exhibit as a whole jux-
taposes the individual
efforts of the artists,
mothers, how does she
negotiate her current
situation with their ex-
amples? And of course
the play is particularly
about women, and the
choices women face
in relation to their
lovers, mothers, hus-
bands, best friends,
boyfriends, etc. How
do these women seize
control of the narrative
governing their own
existence?”
By the end of the
play, Annie finds her
true identity only after
confronting the roots of
her past.
“Flannery O’Connor
writes that she often
puts her characters
through a ‘passage by
dragon’ in order for
them to gain maturity,
and Olga, and really all
of the Russian women,
the ‘dragon’ Baba Yaga
included, serve to fa-
cilitate Annie’s own
‘passage by dragon’
from which she escapes
with a new maturity,
autonomy and self-ac-
tualization,” Key said.
Key says he was
positively affected by
his time at UD.
“I deeply wished for
an opportunity to study
the liberal arts within a
Catholic community,”
Key said. “The Core cur-
riculum, clearly vibrant
faith life of the stu-
dents, and the kindest
of admissions offices
sealed it for me.”
While completing
his bachelor’s degree
in English and drama,
Key began his career at
Undermain.
“I started working
at Undermain during
finals week of my se-
nior year, running right
from Dr. Walz’s Phil of
Being exam to help out
backstage on Under-
main’s production of
‘The Shipment,”’ Key
said. “After interning
there for a year they
offered me a position
on staff as an artistic
associate.”
Key offered advice
to current UD students
that he seems to follow
himself. “Be confident
in the depth of educa-
tion you’ve received
but also aware that,
in many ways, the UD
Core curriculum most
importantly teaches
you how to learn, and
the time to actually put
those muscles to work
begins once you’ve
graduated,” Key said.
“The Fairytale Lives
of Russian Girls” play
runs until Dec. 6. Tick-
ets may be purchased
atwww.undermain.org.
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The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 11, Ed. 1 Tuesday, November 18, 2014, newspaper, November 18, 2014; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1221040/m1/4/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting University of Dallas.