Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 22, 1993 TAG: 9301210103
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
PLAYWRIGHT CARES FOR BLACK MEN
Men are dying in the war-torn alleys of America.They're dying in the streets, in the shelters, in the prisons.
Who, or what, is responsible?
Guns? Drugs? Disease? Social decay?
Maybe it's the most callous killer of all. Maybe it's apathy.
"Our Young Black Men are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care" is the title of a recent play by James Chapman. The Living Dream, a New York touring group, will present it Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. The production is part of the university's observance of Black History Month.
The play is a collection of 15 short scenes based on Chapman's first-hand experiences with men he has met on the street, in jail and in shelters. It's a troubling look at the down-and-out.
It's also a troubling look at ourselves.
Admission to Wednesday's performance is $4 for adults, $2 for children and $2 for Radford University students and staff.
To reserve seats, call the Heth Hall information desk at 831-5420.
\ SOME THINGS ARE BLACK AND WHITE: Piano keys, for instance.
Emanuel Krasovsky, an Israeli pianist who has gained worldwide acclaim for his elegant style, will give a solo performance tonight in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. On Saturday, he will perform with his wife, violinist Vera Vaidmen. Both recitals are at 8 p.m.
Krasovsky was born in Lithuania but emigrated to Israel in the 1960s. He earned a doctor of music arts degree at the Juilliard School and has performed at New York City's Carnegie Hall.
In Israel, Krasovsky was the featured soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein's direction.
During his stop at Radford University, he will lead a master class for high school piano students and their teachers.
Tickets for both performances will be available at the door. The cost is $3 for adults and $1 for children. Admission is free for Radford University students and staff.
\ A TRUE-LIFE HERO: Robert Ressler is known as the true-life hero of the movie "Silence of the Lambs." It was Ressler who coined the term "serial killer."
During his 20-year career with the FBI, Ressler investigated and interviewed such infamous criminals as Jeffrey Dahmer, Sirhan Sirhan, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and David Berkowitz, the murderer known as "Son of Sam."
Ressler also founded and directed the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. He made a science of analyzing, identifying and capturing violent killers.
It was at times a nightmarish job, one with serious long-term emotional risks.
Ressler once told a reporter, "To assess these crimes, you have to think like the offender."
As part of the Virginia Tech Union's Speakers and Issues Series, Ressler will present a program Thursday in Squires Student Center's Colonial Hall. It will begin at 8 p.m.
Ressler, author of "Whoever Fights Monsters," believes the recent upsurge in violent sexual crime should be considered a public health epidemic in this country. He will scrutinize the impact of advertising and pornography in Thursday's lecture.
Admission is free.
\ JOIN THE CHOIR: The concert choir of Emory & Henry College will give a public concert Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m., at St. Paul United Methodist Church on West Main Street in Christiansburg.
Charles Davis, who has directed the choir for the past 34 years, will lead the singers in works by Dubois, Handel, Bach, Rutter, Mozart, Wagner and Bizet. In addition, they will perform several numbers written specifically for the choir, as well as a group of spirituals.
The choir has performed with the Virginia Symphony, the Richmond Sinfonia, the Kingsport Symphony and the Johnson City Symphony orchestras. The group also has toured from coast to coast and twice received honors in international choral festivals.
Admission to Sunday's concert is free. An offering to help with the choir's traveling expenses will be received.
After the music, you're invited to join members of the church for a covered dish dinner in the fellowship hall.
\ YOUNG TALENT: Pulaski County High School's African American History Club is putting on a talent show Saturday in the school's Little Theatre. It's a benefit for Mary Grubb, a Pulaski County High School student who has cancer.
Mary, an active member of the club, underwent surgery last week.
Eight Wonder, a group of singers from Virginia Tech, will join the high school students and entertainers from the community for this show.
Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students. Curtain time is 7 p.m.
\ CLARINET ANYONE? Jill Coggiola, a music instructor at Radford University, will perform a recital on clarinet Thursday at 8 p.m. in Preston Auditorium.
Caryl Conger will provide piano accompaniment on several selections, including Johannes Brahms' Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Paul Ben-Hiem's "Pastorale Variee" and Carl Maria Von Weber's "Introduction Themes and Variations."
Soprano Elizabeth Curtis will join Coggiola and Conger in "Three Songs of Innocence" by Arnold Cooke.
Tickets, available at the door, are $3 for adults and $1 for children.