The Great Speckled Bird Nov. 29, 1971
Vol. 4 #37 pg. 10
 
EMORY Politics: KELLY MORRlS FIRED
Kelly Morris came to Emory two years ago as the first full-time director of the Emory Theatre since 1957. His experience with experimental theatre had been considerable, and he came with a list of credentials and contacts as long as your arm. One of his first projects was to organize a guerilla theatre troupe, “The Asa Candler Memorial Marching Atrocity Band,” which played highly visible roles in events such as the October and November Moratoriums of 1969, the ROTC-off-campus demonstrations in April, 1970, and the Cambodia-Kent State uprisings in May. {now incarnated as the Seed and Feed Marching Abominables after Kelly’s Seed and Feed Theater.]

With his wife, Le,slie Morris, who trains and choreographs the Dance Unit (see following story), Kelly began to build a remarkable theatre. He has produced modern playwrights whose names are well-known in theatrical parlance, but whose plays are rarely produced; has premiered several plays, and, in general, created a unit that would be (and is) considered formidable in any part of the country. He and Leslie have brought to Atlanta major theatrical events, such as the Bread-and-Puppet Theatre from New York, who time to play a significant role in the May demonstrations of 1970. Their unorthodox approach, and their capacity to involve, has drawn a broad spectrum of the Emory Community into the Theatre to make it now, undeniably, one of the major student activities on campus.

These accomplishments have been made against staggering obstacles, primarily, the gross mishandling of the Theatre facilities by the administration. The makeshift , theatre (once a cafeteria) that has served since the 1950’s has been torn down for renovation. The Fine Arts Building, which Emory has been planning since the forties, has been discarded. Requests for the abandoned railroad station and for a storage shed, which students have volunteered to fix up themselves out of Theatre money, have been turned down by the Vice President of Student Affairs, Thomas Fernandez. The Theatre desperately needs space, because its operations and audiences are large. But it has, in effect, literally been driven underground.

Kelly Morris was fired in September this year by Fernandez. This action was protested strongly by both students and faculty, in resolutions passed by various bodies, in confrontations and consultations.

The rationale for his action is budget-cutting. The strange thing about this is that students last year anticipated budget-cuts and set up an Economics Priorities Committee, which was accepted enthusiastically by Fernandez.