Sirius Rising Reading at Riverside

Riverside - Riverside Theatre will host a play reading for Sirius Rising, a play by Cedar Falls playwright Gwendolyn Schwinke on Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30 pm. The audience is invited to stay after the reading for a talkback with the playwright.

Sirius Rising is a play about the practical magic of long-term relationships woven together with the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris. As a flood of epic proportions descends on a rural farm community, four women discover that human connection is their only shelter against the storm.

According to Schwinke, audiences will get the chance to see familiar characters during the reading. “I wanted to bring to the stage the farm women that I know: smart, strong, full-blooded and funny,” said Schwinke. “Although the characters are dealing with more extreme situations than most of us face, they remind us that we can live through tragedy with courage, humor and love.”

Sirius Rising has been selected for inclusion in new-play festivals at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Judith Shakespeare Company in New York City, The Jungle Theatre and The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis.

The reading will feature four of the actors appearing in Riverside Theatre’s current production of Raising Medusa - Kristy Hartsgrove, Jody Hovland, Nancy Youngblut, and Jaclyn June Johnson; as well as Ron Clark.

Playwright Gwendolyn Schwinke grew up on a farm in Missouri, has lived in Minneapolis and New York City, and now teaches Theatre at the University of Northern Iowa. She feels that her play offers something for everyone. “It’s a little bit murder mystery, a little bit ancient myth, and a little bit love story. And there's a lot of humor in it.”

For more information about this free reading on April 7, please call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 or visit their website.