Talk of the Town: A typewriter? What’s that all about?

Do you want to feel really old? Read this and weep:Welcome to the Beloit College Mindset List for those entering college class of 2012.

This is the 11th year that the college in Beloit, Wis., has assembled these observations that help to identify the experiences that have shaped the lives-and formed the mindset—of students starting their post-secondary education this fall.

This year’s Mindset List was created to identify the world view of 18-year-olds (born in 1990) in the fall of 2008.

This fall, almost two million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

The Mindset List provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The list is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized land lines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook, where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

For these students:

Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.

Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.

Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.

Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.

Students have always been “Rocking the Vote.”

Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.

Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.

IBM has never made typewriters.

Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the national anthem again.

They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.

The “Tonight Show” has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.

Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.

Caller ID has always been available on phones.

The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.

Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.

Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.

Auditions! Auditions! And more theater news: Two local theater groups are holding auditions for upcoming plays to be presented this fall. First:

Valley Players will host a reading of “A Talent for Murder,” a witty and suspenseful drama murder mystery, Sunday, Aug. 31, at 3 p.m. at the Madera Vista Recreation Center, 440 S. Camino del Portillo.

Refreshments will be served and everyone will get a chance to be a star.

“A Talent for Murder,” by Jerome Chodorov and Norman Panama, is the play chosen by the Valley Players to be presented Nov. 13-16 at the West Center as the drama club’s fall production. This play reading opportunity is open to any Green Valley Recreation member who may want to read the script before formal auditions for the production that will be held Sept. 8 and 9 at 6 p.m. at the West Center.

Directed by Roberta Konen, “A Talent for Murder,” was a Broadway hit in 1981 when the production featured the legendary Claudette Colbert, a multiple award-winning actress and three-time Academy Award nominee for best actress. She received the Academy Award for best actress

in a leading role when she starred with Clark Gable in “It Happened One Night,” a screwball comedy (1934) directed by Frank Capra.

Colbert starred in Broadway’s “A Talent for Murder” to rave reviews. The plot surrounds an internationally successful mystery novelist whose relatives wouldn’t mind killing her to get their hands on her art collection. Other characters include a live-in doctor who was once the novelist’s lover and a savvy Indian butler who uses words like “chutzpa.” The badinage between the novelist and the butler and between the novelist and the doctor provides comic delight and relief from the mayhem being planned by the family.

This exciting comic thriller was produced on BBC TV starring Angela Lansbury and Sir Lawrence Olivier. Fans of

“Murder, She Wrote” will enjoy “A Talent for Murder,” a merry murder mystery that is perfect for summer stock, dinner theaters and community theaters.

“This is the first time that anyone who might be interested in auditioning for a Valley Players play can get a preview of what an upcoming play is about and what roles are available,” Konen says.

“Plus, it will be great fun to get together and join other Valley Players in a reading which is open not only to the previously mentioned possible auditioners but to anyone who would like to have a part in what is going on.”

Konen would also like to hear from those who may not wish to perform on stage, but prefer to be behind the scenes.

For any questions,, call Roberta Konen at 625-8070

Auditions for the Santa Cruz Shoestring Players upcoming production, “Book of Days” by Lanford Wilson, are being held Wednesday, Sept. 3, and Thursday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m. at the Community Performing Arts Center, 1250 W. Continental Road, Green Valley.

Auditions may be attended one or both days. Actors needed from age 18-75 (or so).

Casting Information:

Auditions are open to all interested actors. Needed: three females (age range 20-30); two females (age range 50-65); two males (age range 20-30) and five males (age range 40-65).

Those auditioning should prepare a short (one-two minute) monologue. Memorization not required. In addition, the director will be doing cold readings, interviews and some improv.

Please arrive at the Community Performing Arts and Learning Center, 1250 W. Continental Road, by 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 to complete paperwork. Auditions are open to anyone and will begin at 6 p.m. Plan to attend on Sept. 4th as well.

Please e-mail your intention to audition to Susan Voorhees, director: smvaz@aol.com Include a brief introduction, your age range, phone number and email address. We will let you know when we have received your information.

Rehearsals are Sept. 8 to Oct. 17, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Performances are Oct. 23-26.

For further information, please visit www.scshoestringplayers.com or call Susan Voorhees, director, at 625-7242.

The Play: “Book of Days” was first produced in April of 1998 and will be set in the present. There are seven men and five women, ranging in age from 20s to 60s.

Dramatists Play Service has the following to say about the play:

“When murder roars through a small Missouri town, Ruth Hoch begins her own quest to find truth and honesty amid small-town jealousies, religion greed and lies. This tornado of a play propels you through its events like a page-turning mystery. We also like it for its language, rich and diverse,”

Please support your local theaters.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740