THE LIGHTER SIDE OF AMORE

"Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination," the French poet and dramatist Voltaire wrote.

If that's so, Southeast Missouri State University's music department faculty, assisted by other university faculty and officials, has fashioned a patchwork tapestry of "The Lighter Side of Amore."

The one-time performance Saturday night on the eve of Valentine's Day will feature a vaudeville-type medley of songs, poems, magic and musings about the humorous side of love.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Academic Hall Auditorium. Patrons, who paid $50 to attend, will be treated to a pre-performance reception at 7 p.m., hosted by the university's president, Kala Stroup. The champagne reception will be held at Wildwood, the president's home.

General admission tickets are $5 and will be available at the door.

Although the event is intended as lighthearted fun, there is a serious side to it, says the show's director, Louisa Panou-Takahashi of the music faculty. Proceeds will go to fund music scholarships.

"I think it is much easier to make people interested in a cause if you do it with a sense of humor," she says, a persistent smile punctuating her thoughts.

Southeast's music faculty will perform a medley of music from show tunes to an Irish ballad.

Martin Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, will conjure up some magic as "Monroe the Magician." Monroe is Jones' middle name.

An amateur magician, Jones has a love for such wizardry that's generally hidden behind the mask of his public demeanor as a university educator.

"I have since age 10 had an amateur interest in magic, but I rarely have an occasion to perform," he says.

Jones, who is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians, has performed at a number of clubs including the famous Folies-Bergere in Paris. But he's reluctant to talk about it. "It's awhile back," he explains.

He prefers to talk about Saturday's show. "I have to get my act together. For some people, they would say, `It is about time,'" he wryly observes.

Two years ago, Jones' magic surfaced in a presentation before the university's Governor Scholars. But generally, he keeps it under wraps.

Looking ahead to Saturday's performance, Jones is reluctant to talk about his act, preferring to keep it shrouded in mystery. "It will be an unusual evening, but I think it will be a lot of fun."

"I will explore the relationships between magic and love, both of which are concerned with illusion and require deception," he observes.

Sheila Caskey, interim provost, has her mind on poetry these days specifically a Valentine poem.

As part of "Amore," Caskey will recite "To My Valentine," a five-verse poem that only comedian Steve Martin could love.

Sterling Cossaboom, chairman of the music department, will accompany her on a tool from his garage.

Cossaboom doesn't want to identify the tool. But he hints, "I've been called all sorts of things, from a hack to other things. It's going to be a real cutup."

Classical literature, it's not; but it's got a rhyme all its own.

"I love you more than a duck can swim; And more than a grapefruit squirts; I love you more than gin rummy is a bore; And more than a toothache hurts," the poem relates.

"This is definitely a first and probably a last," says Caskey.

Caskey insists she'll rely on her teaching background when she takes to the stage. "I used to teach a class where I had my students memorize an Ogden Nash speech," she recalls.

She readily admits to liking the work of Nash, a humorous poet.

So why was she chosen for this stage production? "It's creative talent they recognize," she quips.

Then there's Dan Dunavan. Dunavan, who teaches percussion, is a man of some girth. He appears typecast for his teddy-bear-costume role in "Amore."

Dunavan will recite a poem called "Teddy Bear," by Alan Alexander Milne, the author of "Winnie the Pooh."

Dunavan will recite the lengthy poem while wearing a teddy bear costume made by his wife.

"A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise," the verse discloses.

"I am not sure how it even relates to music," an amused Dunavan answers when asked about his upcoming performance.

"I think it reflects on my weight," observes Dunavan, a good-natured fellow who finds a sense of humor in all of this.

"They have been asking whether I need any padding for the costume. The truth is, I probably won't use any pillows," he confides.

Dunavan laughingly admits to an affinity for teddy bears. "I have always liked Radar's teddy bear on `M-A-S-H.'"

Dunavan says he's been in training for his teddy bear role, eating a lot of "pasta and honey."

Tom Harte of the speech faculty at Southeast is preparing to serve as master of ceremonies for the eclectic show.

The director says he's supposed to tie the whole show together with "quotable quotes and quixotic quips."

"I am currently looking for some of those," he says with amusement.

"The accent is more on the fun than it is on the music," he readily points out. "We hope the audience doesn't take it too seriously because obviously we are not."