ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
Barter actors swap plays with Russia
ABINGDON - Barter Theatre actors headed to Russia on Thursday to perform a new play based on the deaths of Russian scientists during World WarII.
The production is part of a cultural exchange program between the Barter and actors with the Rybinsk Theatre, who will perform three plays in Abingdon this summer.
The trip to Russia's second-oldest theater presents a unique opportunity to increase international awareness of the historic state theater, said artistic director Rick Rose.
The Barter Theatre, which began during the Depression, became the largest professional drama company in continuous operation outside New York City. The theater got its name because patrons used to present items such as fresh produce or country hams for a ticket.
``It really puts Barter Theatre among the elite theaters, not only in the United States, but the world,'' Rose said Wednesday. ``This shows we not only have the capability but also the prestige to mount this type of international performance.''
The actors will perform ``The Angel's Share'' during a three-week run.
The play, commissioned by the Barter from playwright Joseph Kline, recounts the story of nine Russian botanists during the Nazi siege of Leningrad during the brutal winter of 1941-42.
The scientists were studying plant genetics to improve the world's food supply, but vowed they would rather starve than eat the potatoes, wheat, corn and rice they had grown for seed. More than a half-century later, the scientists' research and seed collections eventually found life through crossbreeding with other strains now grown worldwide.
The company will be joined by Barter's First Light Theatre troupe, which will perform two plays for family audiences.
The Rybinsk venue celebrated its 170th season last year. The company will perform a play, a musical and a children's piece during its one-week stay in Southwest Virginia.
- Associated Press
Silo collapses, kills 2 workers
WILLIAMSBURG - A 30-foot steel silo that holds a dry powder used to make cement collapsed Thursday, killing two workers and injuring a third waiting to fill a mixer truck parked beneath the tower.
The truck appeared to have sustained no significant damage, said Richard Miller, chief of the James City County Fire Department.
The cause of the accident was under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Miller said.
The collapse occurred about 12:15 p.m. at the Custom Concrete plant. A mixer truck was parked beneath the silo for loading, and the three victims were near the truck, Miller said.
``They were just caught by the structure,'' Miller said.
The dead workers were identified by Miller as Richard Turner and Brad English. Custom Concrete was unable to provide their ages, but Miller said they lived in the Williamsburg area.
The injured worker, Allen Carr, 31, of James City County, was taken by helicopter to a hospital, where a spokeswoman said he was in stable condition.
``As you can understand, we've had a day we would like to forget,'' said an employee who answered the phone at the concrete plant. He would not give his name.
In a prepared statement, the company said: ``Our grief for the families who have been affected by this tragedy is beyond words. Our hearts go out to them and their loved ones.''
- Associated Press
Sub attackers' trial postponed
NORFOLK - A federal judge on Thursday postponed the trial of three peace activists, accused of attacking a submarine, after he disqualified an attorney for conflict of interest.
The trial, scheduled to start Tuesday in Newport News, was postponed so the defendants could retain new counsel. No new date was set.
U.S. District Court Judge Henry Morgan ruled that attorney Jim Ellenson had a conflict of interest because he once represented a woman who is expected to be a government witness.
Peace protesters Rick Sieber of Philadelphia and Michele Naar-Obed of Baltimore were represented by Ellenson. Sieber's son, Erin, also faces charges but has another attorney.
The three are accused of sneaking aboard an unfinished sub at Newport News Shipyard, pounding the vessel with hammers, and pouring blood into the sub's missile launch tubes.
Ellenson represented the protesters when they faced state charges of trespass. At that time, the group included Amy Moose of New York, who pleaded guilty in state court in exchange for immunity from federal prosecution.
She received a five-year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the shipyard.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey Bryant told the judge Thursday he planned to call Moose and said Ellenson would have a conflict of interest when cross-examining her.
- Associated Press
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