Why an Iowa City Theatre blog?

I've been producing, directing and performing theater in Iowa City for over ten years. During that time, I'd say about five or six of the fifty plus shows I've been involved in have been reviewed by our local newspapers. That's just outrageous. (Notice I said local papers. The Quad City Times did a great job of reviewing us until just recently when budget cuts have forced them to stop. Unfortunately, our target audience doesn't get that paper. But thanks Ruby Nancy and QC Times for all the work you did!) So after many years of fighting a losing battle, I decided to do something about it. This blog will "hire" local writers to constructively critique local community theater productions. (I put hire in quotes because the only payment these writers will recieve is a free ticket to the show they are reviewing.) I know there are plenty of good writers in the area with an opinion about theater. It's time to provide them with a forum.

This arrangement will benefit the theaters as it'll provide publicity for their shows. It will benefit the community as it'll provide good information about local theater. And it will benefit my wife who won't have to listen to me complain about how our shows are never reviewed. It's a win-win-win for everyone.

We'll also publish preview stories on upcoming shows, which may be a simple restating of the press release or will be more in depth if I have time.

On the right, you'll see a list of upcoming shows with links to theater's website. The goal is to cover the following local community theaters:

Catalyst Acting Company
City Circle Acting Company of Coralville
Dreamwell Theatre
Iowa City Community Theatre

We may expand if this thing takes off. But we'll start with those four. So if you think you'd like to write a review, email me at ictheatreblog AT gmail.com.

--Matt Falduto, editor of Iowa City Theatre Blog