WHAT IS THIS "OLLI ETIQUETTE" ANYWAY?
IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN CLASSES THIS WEEK, you may have seen our new "OLLI Etiquette" posters in classrooms or heard reference to them from the class liaisons. You may be wondering why we have them and who dreamed up another silly idea!
     Let’s begin with a definition of the term etiquette according to the Encarta encyclopedia: the rules and conventions governing correct or polite behavior in society in general or in a specific social or professional group or situation. During several discussions with resource groups, the Program Committee and the Membership Committee, our volunteers have indicated that a few people in their classes don’t always demonstrate courtesy to their classmates, their instructors, and/or to the staff and volunteers who are involved in setting up classes and the classrooms themselves. Let me emphasize: we’re talking about a relative handful of people here. Some people have also shared their annoyance with repetitive reminders about throwing away coffee cups and turning off cell phones.
     Beginning last spring, the class liaisons have been provided with a weekly OLLI Communicator that provides announcements, reminders for class participants, and reminders for the liaisons about their duties. It has been stressed that the person serving as the liaison does not need to make repeated announcements or reminders unless the need arises in a particular situation.
     To further streamline the process of doing announcements and reminders, someone suggested that rules for appropriate classroom behavior be posted in classrooms. The "OLLI Etiquette" posters are the result of these suggestions and discussion. In case you haven’t seen them yet, here are the seven points of "OLLI Etiquette."
     Obviously, some of the rules are open to interpretation and may need clarification in different situations. For example, "ask questions appropriately" can mean different things to different people. Generally, it means that questions should be asked in a way that does not monopolize the time of the class and in ways that show courtesy to the instructor.

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PHOTO OF THE MONTH

MASON'S TFA PRESENTS A STAGED READING
THEATER OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT, George Mason University’s professional theater company, presents a staged reading of Alan Bennett’s hilarious farce Habeas Corpus at the Old Town Village Gallery on Tue, Sep 23, at 7:30 pm. Directed by Kevin Murray, the reading is a part of the Fall for the Book festival.
     Habeas Corpus highlights the sexual excesses of the British middle classes in the 1960s. Britannia may have once ruled the waves, but now the Empire is forced to look in the mirror. It’s not a pretty sight; its old duds are either a little tight at the crotch, bursting at the seams, or out of style. So what else is there to do then but start dropping your knickers? The Guardian called the play "…a gorgeously vulgar…densely plotted farce that is a celebration of sex and the human body…a combination of hurtling action with verbal brilliance."
     Alan Bennett – author of The Uncommon Reader, this year’s "All Fairfax Reads" selection – has been a household name in British theater ever since he starred in and co-authored the satirical review Beyond the Fringe with Dudley Moore, Peter Cooke and Jonathan Miller in 1960 at the Edinburgh Festival. Later the same show played to packed houses in London’s West End and in New York. With such works to his credit as The Madness of George III and History Boys, he is now regarded by many as the premiere English dramatist of his generation.
     This event is free; there will be a brief intermission. The Old Town Village Gallery is located at North Street and Chain Bridge Road in downtown Fairfax (map and directions). Free parking is available in the parking garage on University Drive. Old Town Village provides many opportunities to enjoy food and beverage before or after the performance, or during intermission.