Writers Joust festival begins this weekend

Dreamwell - What do you fear to talk about? This was the charge to Iowa Playwrights - answer that question in the form of an original play. Many playwrights answered the call and three were chosen as the winners of Dreamwell Theatre's first Writers Joust competition.

The festival will open this weekend with readings of the two runners up and conclude with two performances of our winning play next weekend.

On November 12 there will be a reading of Divergence by Janet Schlapkohl, a play about a farm family affected by a horrible tragedy. Schlapkohl founded Combined Efforts Theatre, a group that offers opportunities for actors with and without special needs. Her monologues have been included in Riverside Theatre’s Walking the Wire productions.

"Divergence is about family secrets and the impact they can have," said Dreamwell founder Matt Falduto. "And who doesn't have a family secret or two?"

The Night I Kissed Osama Bin Laden - A Post-9/11 Comedy by Joe Jennison will be read on November 13. Jennison is a nine-time produced playwright whose plays have been staged at theaters in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His play A Beautiful Man won “Best of Fringe” and “Best Comedy” at the San Francisco Fringe Festival in 2003. More recently, his play A New Normal was presented as part of the TCR Underground Festival.

"I've been fortunate enough to see this show since its first drafts as part of the Black Doggers play writing group," said Falduto. "It's a slapsticky farce with an important message that is really at its heart very American."

On November 19th and 20th we will present the world premiere of the winning play Innocence by Tom Deiker. Based on real life events, Innocence tells the story of Pedro Lopez, a mass murderer known as The Monster of the Andes. The play explores the choices made by individuals who encountered Lopez, and how those choices may have lead to more murders. Deiker is a published writer who has had his work placed in several dozen publications, including Cimarron Review, Fugue, Galaxy, Newsweek, and Plain Dealer Magazine. He also recently formed a Des Moines community theatre company, Lucubrations.

All shows begin at 7:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 10 S. Gilbert St. in Iowa City.

Tickets for the readings: $5
Tickets for Innocence performance: $12 Adults, $10 Seniors, $8 students.

Buy a FESTIVAL PASS and see all three for only $18. Passes available at the door or in advance at White Rabbit (109 S. Linn Street in Iowa City).

Reserve seats at any of our shows at www.dreamwell.com