1967 - 1968

67-68 troupe 2.jpg
 

Director: George F. Kramer

Assistant Coaches: Joe Murray and Doug Zier

Officer Body

  • President: Douglas Zeisel

  • Vice President: Oscar Benisek

  • Secretary: Jill Martin

  • Treasurer: Mike Witenstein

  • Historian: Susan Holtan

Award Recipients

  • Best Act: Comedy Parallel Bars - Joe Murray and Mike Witenstein

  • Best Female Trouper: Jill Martin

  • Best Male Trouper: Douglas Zeisel

A Classical Happening

Dr. George Kramer (he had just received his doctorate) was assisted in coaching the Troupe by Joe Murray, who had been hired as an assistant instructor in the Department of Physical Education, and Doug Zier who was a graduate assistant.

Road show season consisted of shows in the Maryland area.

The theme for Home Show that year was "A Classical Happening". 

“A ‘happening’ was popular lingo for a gathering, party, or other event.”

- Nick Orrick

The show followed the journeys of Odysseus, told in flashback by Odysseus himself.  Each act or group of acts represented a stop on his odyssey, starting with Uneven parallel bars as  Aeolia, island of Aeolus, king of all the winds, and finishing with Men’s Doubles Balancing representing "Arrival" home, with numerous stops in between, including Hades, represented by Side Horse and Pyramids.  The men who did side horse no doubt thought this an accurate representation.

The atmosphere surrounding this Home Show, however, was tense due to outside circumstances.  April 4th, the day before the opening show, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. In the aftermath, parts of Washington D. C. went up in flames due to rioting and Bowie State University, just a few miles from the College Park campus, was closed by Governor Spiro Agnew. There were fears that the violence would spread to the University.  

"We of course were very tense... not knowing whether there would be an uprising on campus or not. But we got through the whole business without any incident. Of course nerves were a little bit on end, but the audience seemed not to be bothered by it in the sense of coming to see the show."

- Dr. George Kramer

    And the show went on.

Itinerary

  • Maryland Health Fair

  • Edgewood High School

  • Montgomery Blair High School

  • Franklin Senior High School

  • Fort Meade

  • Nicholas Orem Junior High School

  • Perry Hall Senior High School

  • Parkville Senior High School

  • Colonel Richardson High School

  • Northeast High School

  • Queen Anne's County High School

  • Dumbarton Junior High School

  • Home Show