Page Eighteen

Art Students and Playwrights By Vito Cianci —

ae a of the School of Decorative and Applied Arts demon- j
strated to an enthusiastic audience on Tuesday afternoon their ability ~
to doff the smock and do honor to cap and bells, on the occasion of the
performance of “Fred’s Cow,” a comedy in two acts and an epilogue.

The play was written and produced entirely by the students, and ©
they also made their own costumes and designed the stage settings. j

The play deals with an alleged incident in the private life of one of 4
the students of the School, the scene being laid in a peaceful farmyard. ~
A restful cottage, covered with clambering flowers; an open barn; q
chickens; a horse; a pump; all these formed a setting wherein Daisy, her ~
father, her bovine lover Fred, the villain, Morris Mortgage (with evil ‘
intentions on the old homestead) and the faithful cow, Bluebell, perform, —
with subsequent howls and chortles from the audience. A chorus of ©
eight support the main characters nobly.

We have first the refusal by Daisy (Brenda Davey) of the proposal /
by Fred (Fred Amess). Then the arrival of Morris Mortgage (Bert 4
Quinn) with the fateful document of foreclosure, which is offered to the
old father (Lance Hardy) by Mortgage in return for the hand of his
fair daughter. This catastrophe is averted by the noble offer of Fred
to sell his cherished cow (Vito Cianci, front end; Peter Meilleur, hind ©
end) and save the farm. Gnashing his heels with rage, the villain is —
butted over a handy cliff by the cow.

The epilogue shows a scene of pastoral bliss, with Daisy, Fred, and |
the cow. An infant squalls in the cottage; the fond parents dash in; the |
cow turns to the audience and winks. Curtain. Much applause.

This simple play was greeted by the audience with hilarious glee, |
and even the usually staid staff was observed to indulge in hearty chuckles.

The play was written by Ellen Moore and Mary Sutherland, with —
Frances Gatewood as stage manager. These three students also designed .
and painted the scenery. The chorus was in two sections: Hot Hay-
seeds—Sybil Hill, Madge Farmer, Ellen Moore, Florence Parker, and :
Kute Kickers—Mary Sutherland, Alice Sharpe, Jean Brown, Marjorie
Lyne. q