Senior Theater-History double major Andrew Harvey stars in Talk Radio as part of his Comprehensive Excercise. Directed by Ethan Ramsay 17, the cast takes to the Weitz rehearsal room this weekend.

Talk Radio, written by Eric Bogosian, gives a brief peek into the life of the semi-fictional 80s talk radio personality Barry Champlain, a part burn-out, part sage, All American quick talker.

We are talking about America tonight, Champlain announces, and he sure did - all the homophobia, racism, sexism, and indifference forms a churning foam above which Champlain mistakenly believes himself to be.

Perhaps because of increased funding, perhaps because of a longer rehearsal period, or perhaps because of artistic maturation, Talk Radio soars far above Harveys Experimental Theater Board staging of Suburbia, also written by Eric Bogosian, last winter. Harvey brought along many Suburbia vets, including Owen Solis 17, Erik Sorenson 17, and Dana Spencer 16, who remembered how to make stage gold out of log cabins of fake cigarettes and handles full of apple juice.

Harveys whole cast magnified his stage presence; his rapport with Sorenson, playing Stew the call-screener, pulsed with history and dissatisfaction, while his generational clash with Solis was as wrenching as watching someone punch a mirror. Almost more impressively, the 13 callers, many of whom never stepped on stage, managed to develop a believable and energized back-and-forth with Champlain simply over the phone.

Ramsay employed various stage-crafts to compliment the enlivened cast. Harvey cuts callers off with tactful swoops, all the while supported by the sound equipment equivalent of the big guns, as operated by sound designers Aaron Sala 16 and Michael Wheatman 15. Sala and Wheatman, seated, with their equipment, on stage, assumed especially dynamic roles, shooting looks of sympathy and amusement at Sorenson without a lapse in the performance of their main job.

The lights shone proudly, establishing the stage without relying upon strong delineating architectural features. The stage had its own sort of house lights when Champlain's show cut to a measured micro-break, each of which squeezed the humanity out of the cast with Sorenson's authoritative count down.

Costumes, while rather day-to-day, fit the chic, transformed rehearsal room. A dichotomy between well-cut suits and well-picked sweats established the tension between loose cannonry and the big bucks. But Champlain reigned above all, dressed in stage black attire reminis- cent of Louis CK, albeit one dangerously clogged on Americana.

Talk Radio sourced its stageware from amusingly nearby - the CAMS department apparently did not trust Ramsay enough to not Sharpie their initials on various pieces of borrowed equipment, and Sayles cups littered the sound designers desk like a campus activists nightmare.

The show runs a constant pace, cutting from life crisis to exotic fetish with moments only to breath. When silence, rendered so valuable, finally comes, the audiences ears roar and ring like a bell choir encore.

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High Ratings for Talk Radio

Celebrity chef, Donal Skehan paid a courtesy visit to Roche's SPAR in Mitchelstown last Monday as part of his Kitchen Hero tour. Later that evening, the popular young television star hosted a cookery evening in Cork's Opera House.

Thanks to boyish good looks and natural charm, Donal is a big hit with young people and Monday's in-store crowd was boosted by the presence of excited young females. Donal had a word for everyone, posed for countless photographs, facilitated the aforementioned girls with 'selfies' (them and himself), engaged in good humoured banter and surprised us all with the revelation that as a former band member, he was managed by Mitchelstown musical promoter, James Hyland.

He didn't put a foot wrong and after this smooth bit of PR, he slipped away. Donal's presence certainly gave a boost to this famous shop, which for decades was run by husband and wife team, Tom and Ann Roche. Their legacy lives on as daughters, Esther (Kenneally) and Noreen Roche, are now overseeing matters. The revamp of the store has been very impressive and the cafe area in the corner is proving a popular meeting place. Patrons are also glowing in their praise of the shop's coffee (the best around we were told). On investigation we learned the beautiful blend was 'Tim Horton'.

Complementary food was served by staff during Donal's visit and Cuisine de France representatives were also on hand with some very tasty confectionery - a successful excercise for Roche's SPAR, some good publicity for Donal Skehan and plenty of happy customers, you couldn't go wrong!

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Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan visits Mitchelstown