Remain True takes you back to the past

by Meghan D'Souza

ITAC - When I was growing up, my grandparents would tell me stories about their childhoods living on farms here in Iowa in the 1920s. In my mind, I could clearly picture my grandfather as a child in black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a short haircut. In one story, he was in the small man-made farm house that he lived in with his four siblings and mother. He walked into the kitchen just as his mother, donned in a floral dress and apron that she made herself, was scolding his little sister and gave her a timeout at the kitchen table. Just as little boys today would, my grandfather got a good laugh and teased his sister for getting in trouble. His mother looked at him sternly and told him to grab a chair. Now both of them were in timeout. Suddenly, it wasn't so funny.

Stories like this are passed down from generation to generation because they are treasures that we want to keep. Besides being entertaining, they remind us of where people before us have been, how they may have struggled and persevered, and show us how far they have come. How much time has changed or, in some cases, how people are still the same, despite the changing times.

The fun thing about Remain True is that it takes actual oral histories regarding the Amana Colonies and brings them to life. Actors Meg Merckens, Ed Moersfelder, Alex Shockley, and Jenna Vik brought different German characters alive for short stories throughout the show. While this sounds like a task that could leave the audience confused and wondering who they are representing, the foursome pulled the show off beautifully.

The set was simple, with a wood bench, antique chairs from an Amana hotel and a wood burning stove that would have been used in the stories they were reenacting. The actors stayed on stage during the swift scene changes, which worked just fine. If they weren't telling the story, their backs were toward the audience as they made adjustments to their time appropriate costumes.

The most impressive part of the show was the great transition each actor made from one story to the next, graduating from how the Germans came to Iowa, to sharing anecdotes that explained how life was lived, to how they eventually decided not to live communally in the Amanas. Watching the stories play out in front of me really took me back to the fun days of listening to my grandparents share memories of their youth. Instead of having to imagine what it was like, it was great to actually see the narratives passed down from residents of the Amanas acted out. This show is a wonderful way to share the history of the Amanas, with facts that are interesting and unique. It is worth seeing at least once this summer!



Meghan D'Souza lives in Coralville with her husband and beloved dog. She is a University of Iowa graduate and works at the Iowa City Public Library. She has written for The Burlington Hawk Eye and is currently a freelance writer.