Film Actors

UCLA's location in the centre of the American film Industry gives it a unique opportunity to draw upon some of the finest dramatic talent. The university's "Theatre Group" Is comprised of professionals who present classical and modern plays in the university's 540-seat pit house. It Includes such film stars as Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn, Joanne Woodward and Eva Marie Saint and such producers and directors as Walter Wanger, John Houseman and Lee Strasberg. The actors perform for minimum union wages. Their aim is "to satisfy the keenly felt desire for the spiritual and intellectual values which good theatre can offer." This group recently presented T. S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral," a dramatization of John Do Passos' novel, "U.S.A." and a special series called "Three Evenings with Six Playwrights," offering works by Beckett, Ionesco, Albee, Williams, Richardson and Chekhov. Several plays were followed by discussions with invited theatrical experts and members of the audience.

While the "Theatre Group" may be the most glamorous, it is not the only theatrical company at UCLA. During the 1961-62 season Angelinos will see several plays produced by the university's dramatic workshop. Students will present Shakespeare's "Richard II" and a number of modern American plays.

Since the university has many students who expect to work in the movie industry, an important part of its cultural program is devoted to the art of the cinema. During the current season a number of important films will be shown, among them Faulkner's "Intruder in the Dust," the Bolshoi Company's opera-film "Pique Dame," "Night Drum" directed by the Japanese Imai, and other films made in France and Africa.

"Man and Art," last year's lecture series of 29 events, was illustrative of the variety of UCLA's cultural offerings. The two-month program was open to (he general public at a nominal, cost. It dealt with subjects in the fields of music, architecture, painting, dance and the theatre.