Dada was a art movement in the 1920s, primarily in Europe, that rejected the conventions of the previous movements. It was generally a rebellion against the culture and conventions that its practitioners saw as the motives/causes of the First World War. Generally, Dada was poetry, consisting of nonsensical combinations of words and sounds. It was mirrored by a style of drama known as Theatre of the Absurd, known primarily through the works of Eugene Ionesco. Interesting stuff.

Regarding Ragulin, I have a feeling that he's more a stereotypical, self-centered, poser-boy than anything else. I would hazard a guess that he has no Dada-esque opinions, but merely has the opinion that if he didn't compose it, it isn't true music. And the school, recognizing the potential for avant-garde talent, has encouraged him to an extreme. Fortunately, Messrs. Chalfont and Statler (and, presumably, the latter's partner from vaudeville, the esteemed Mr. Waldorf) as well as young blood like our Ms. Hutchins will provide something for those who realize that art is a communal, and not a singular, expression to enjoy. Mind you, Ragulin has shown up once, and is only a minor character. I suspect he really isn't that important.

Ebony the Black Dragon
aka Draco Draconis Ebenium
known to the Newman Smith HS Theatre Arts Dept. as Aaron F. Johnson,
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com

Ah. I'm familiar with absurdist theater and Ionesco; my theater director back in high school was an Ionesco fan, and we did a couple of his short plays for the annual one-act state drama festivals during my tenure as a theater geek. I played the lead in Frenzy for Two and The Lesson, both of which were received by the state festival judges with magnificent ambivalence while the prizes went to warm-n-fuzzy folksy-charming one-act musicals put on by other schools. It was my first foray into bitter, misunderstood artistic snubbedness. :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

You think that's bad listen to the Insane Clown Posse and Twisted.

Peter