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PAGE 10 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1981 Director gambled on assumption By Philip Jalsevac Teacher Peter Mansell, director of the cancelled student production at Bluevale Collegiate, says he knew that permission from coâ€" pyright holders was needed to stage the students‘ play Dr. Seuss on the Loose at the school. And though the permission wasn‘t obtained, Mansel says he began rehearsals with students anâ€" yway because "I just simply asâ€" sumed there would be no problem‘"‘ in eventually receiving approval. About 75 Bluevale students were shocked last Wednesday when they turned up at school on the day of opening night of their play, only to be told the production was canâ€" celled. The production, based on the fanâ€" tasy stories of Dr. Seuss, a pseuâ€" donym for writer Theodor Geisel, included music and words written by Bluevale students and staff. Last week, Rankine said "we tried to get the rights and they were not available. We were reâ€" fused." Mansell and another teacher. producer Ian Rankine, had been threatened with a lawsuit by a New York theatrical agency if they went ahead with staging the originâ€" al musical. % In an interview yesterday, direcâ€" tor Mansell explained that he had written for permission and an exâ€" planation of "royalty. concem®‘ at about the same time rehearsals But his letter to Random House publishers in Toronto was replied to with a referral to the New York theatrical agency. He said the agency "responded immediately* to inform the school that **we could not use the material because of contracts that exist at the moment (that prevent them}) from allowing anybody â€" even an amateur group â€" from using the material." However, by the time this was conveyed, Mansell said, it â€"was three weeks from opening night. He said successive efforts to obâ€" tain permission failed and the agency said "they would take us to court‘‘ if the school staged the play. "I was honestly surprised." Mansell said of the setback. "I honâ€" estly thought that what they would do is say ‘look. for a couple of hundred dollars...‘ they would neâ€" gotiate with us. We‘re just a high school trying to do our thing." But the teacher conceded he may He said the schools‘ theatre work also promotes "personal values‘‘ such as ‘‘how to get along in a group, develop skills, be disâ€" ciplined and show responsibility."‘ have made "a tactical error‘‘ in not ensuring permission from coâ€" pyright holders before launching work on the play. Bluevale students had worked for almost two hours, five days a week from last November until Christmas and then from January through to the cancellation Feb. 18. "I‘m not saying I did this (proâ€" duction) not caring whether we‘d get nailed (by copyright holders) or not, but there was an awful lot we were doing not connected with performing." Mansell compared the efforts of the group of students to "a team that gets to the finals and gets disâ€" qualified before entering. There‘s a lot of benefits along the way. The winning and losing isn‘t everything in sports, nor is it in theatre." Mansell said he was "expecting some anger‘‘ from some of the stuâ€" dents "but all I got was a little disâ€" appointment here and there. For about one day, some of the kids were wandering around with I hate New York buttons." The teacher said the students ‘‘have been very good about the whole thing. We had a couple of parties for the cast and they were talking already about what kind of things they can do "for future theaâ€" trical presentations. In any event, the drama teacher believes the work put into the proâ€" duction was not a lost cause. ‘‘*We‘re teaching the kids more than just theatre,"‘ he said. "The process of putting on a play ... is more important than the final reâ€" sult. That‘s just a reward for good work." And one positive result, Mansell said, is that "the kids, having sufâ€" fered a setback, are very close to each other. They wander around having extra smiles for each other." Expecting eventual permission to stage the play may have inâ€" volved some ‘"innocence and naiâ€" vety‘‘ on his part, Mansell said. But he indicated he‘s learned a lesson and doesn‘t want to get inâ€" volved in any controversy with the New York agency. He told the Chronicle he was ‘‘*concerned the New York people not get vilified for being out of line. Technically, we were."‘ The movie Fort Apache, The Bronx presents a purposefully narrow view of daily life in this crimeâ€" blighted area. Murphy and Corelli are at the centre of virtually everything that happens on screen, but unlike the usual "heroâ€"cops"© of movies and television series the characters themselves don‘t always realize it. This is perhaps the picture‘s most interesting perâ€" spective, in that at the end all the interconnected By Victor Stanton A policeman‘s lot certainly is not a happy one at the 41st Precinct in New York City‘s South Bronx. In fact. the precinct has been nicknamed Fort Apache since its occupants, like those at the military posts in the Americanâ€"Indian wars of the 19th century. are frequently under siege. Suggested by the experiences of two realâ€"life South Bronx cops,. the picture‘s plot is episodic and blends violence. romance and black humor in a deâ€" pressingly horrific portrait of an American social nightmare. Paul Newman as Murphy. an 18â€"year veteran of the precinct, and Ken Wahl as CoreHi. Murphy‘s young partner. provide the audience with the only characters likely to sustain any degree of sympathy throughout the movie. It is the understandably cynical view of two poliâ€" cemen who are constant witnesses to crime and corâ€" ruption not only on the streets they patrol but among their colleagues as well. Ed Asner plays the hardâ€"boiled commander of a Bronx police precinct in Fort Apache, Th; Bronx, reviewed by Victor Stanton below. Life in the Bronx a horrific portrait The onâ€"location photography, which was the sourâ€" ce of much controversy among South Bronx resiâ€" dents, gives the picture a powerful documentary flaâ€" vor that is reinforced through the realistic as fects of the script and performances. Fort Apache. The Bronx has been accused of unâ€" fairly concentrating on the area‘s social problems without demonstrating that attempts are being made by many of the residents themselves to solve those problems. The movie also has been accused of being racist in its depiction of a large proportion of the criminal activities being carried out by blacks and Puerto Ricans. The movie certainly is not always a comfortable one to watch, but â€"its violence i not of the mindless, exploitative type that dominates much of today‘s soâ€" called "entertainment." The latter accusation seems totally unfounded. especially since a pivotal episode within the film deals with the murder of a Puerto Rican by a white police officer. There is more justification perhaps for attacking the picture‘s lack of balance as to what is currently happening in the Bronx, but this is after all a dramatic story reflecting the policemen‘s points of view and not a fully rounded social history episodes have been tightly drawn together and satisâ€" factorily resolved for the audience but the characters remain unaware of both the connection and the resolution.