Machinal at Cornell

Tom Wojcik, Sara Cooper, Mitchell Chapman, Sarah Feldman

Mount Vernon – The Department of Theatre at Cornell College is proud to announce its production of Machinal, by Sophie Treadwell, directed by Janeve West. Premiering on Broadway in 1928 and inspired by the 1927 murder trial and subsequent execution of Ruth Snyder, Machinal is considered one of the greatest examples of Expressionist Theatre on the American stage and remains powerfully relevant today.

Crimes of the Heart at Mt. Mercy

Cedar Rapids - Mount Mercy University presents its fall drama production: Crimes of the Heart, Nov. 7-9 in McAuley Theatre on the university’s main campus.

Friday and Saturday’s performances will take place at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s performance will be held at 2:30 p.m.

Tartuffe at Coe

Cedar Rapids - The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts will present the 17th-century French comedy Tartuffe. The play will be staged Nov. 14-16 and 20-22 in Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, Nov. 16 show, which starts at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. They can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Almost, Maine at Cornell

Nick Barnes and Millicent Marter.
Photo by Haley Severance

Mount Vernon – The Department of Theatre at Cornell College is proud to announce its production of Almost, Maine, written by John Cariani. This romantic comedy has received world- wide acclaim with productions by over 70 professional companies since its Off-Broadway debut in 2006. Wildly popular in high schools, this is a story that may be weird enough to show us what Love is really all about. Cornell’s production is directed by Artist in Residence, Ron Clark of Iowa City’s Riverside Theatre.

Vang at Coe

The story of recent immigrant farmers will be presented in the drama Vang at Coe College. The play will be performed in Dows Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 9, beginning at 7 p.m. It is open to the public at no charge.

Evie's Waltz Opens Sept 19

Izzie Sorenson, Kaisi Haarstad, Creighton Fox

Cedar Rapids - The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts is pleased to be among the first college theatres in the country to present the timely thriller Evie's Waltz. The play will be staged Sept. 19-21 and 25-27 in Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, Sept. 21 show, which starts at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. They can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Coe's 2014-15 Season

Cedar Rapids - The Coe College 2014-15 theatre season includes themes from today's headlines, as well as comedy and romance. It is a mix of the modern and the classic, including a contemporary play that investigates violence in our schools, an adaptation of a 17th-centure French comedy, and a romantic comedy based on a timeless novel. All three main stage productions will feature all-student casts.

DeVita to Perform In Acting Shakespeare at Coe

Jim DeVita. Photo by
Zane Williams.

Cedar Rapids - Accomplished actor, award-winning author and playwright Jim DeVita will bring new life to Sir Ian McKellen’s play “Acting Shakespeare” in a Coe College Marquis Series performance on Wednesday, April 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Dows Theatre.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Seating is available by calling the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.

Twenty-three years after seeing McKellen's play, DeVita was inspired to adapt it for his own performance, entitled In Acting Shakespeare. It took him two years of research and revisions and 14 drafts to finally complete his rendition. While some of the original writings of McKellen are retained, DeVita's creation emphasizes a more intimate story of one person's journey towards meeting Shakespeare. DeVita has more than 25 years of experience in American Theater, and currently writes and adapts plays for children and young adults.

Love. Sex. Shoes. at the Englert

Iowa City - "Love. Sex. Shoes.

Because even love requires the right footwear.

A selection of performance essays from Suzanne Cody’s MFA Thesis for the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, featuring the brilliant actor stylings of Genevieve Heinrich, Krista Neumann, and the creator, Suzanne Cody. Lots of love, lots of sex, lots of shoes—also lots of adult language and LOTS of partial nudity.

FREE TO THE PUBLIC
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!
Join us to send this new work off into the world!

I mean, it’s FREE. Also, you can buy all the booze. ALSO, there’s a lot of swearing and partial nudity. You really can’t go wrong!"

Love. Sex. Shoes. Englert stage on April 12 at 7:30pm.


Source: director Rachel Korach Howell

The Elephant Man at Cornell

M. C. Cole and Luke Brooks.
Photo by Haley Severance.

Mount Vernon - "The Department of Theatre at Cornell College invites you to the upcoming production of The Elephant Man, by Bernard Pomerance. Winner of the 1979 Tony Award for Best Play, this production is directed by Cornell College professor Jim Van Valen.

The Elephant Man opens February 21st at 7:30 pm in Kimmel Theatre on the Cornell College Campus. The production runs February 22nd and 28th and March 1st at 7:30 pm and February 23rd at 2:00 pm. Audiences are invited to return or remain in the theatre for a Talk-Back with the cast and crew immediately following the production on Friday, February 28th. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, non-Cornell students, and youth. Those with a Cornell College ID are admitted without charge.

MFA Director Projects at UI

Iowa City - "For the most varied subject matter this December, check out the University of Iowa Theatre Arts Department. During the first two weekends of the month, the MFA Directing students will be presenting their first productions at the university. If their inaugural selections are any indication, the Corridor can look forward to provocative, involved work from this class in upcoming years. The plays will include:

Desire Caught by the Tale by Pablo Picasso. Yes, THAT Pablo Picasso. It turns out that he was much less popular as a playwright than as a painter. His foray into farce has been performed rarely since it premiered in 1944.

Pvt. Wars by James McLure. A drama about three soldiers recovering in a hospital during the Vietnam War, the play premiered as a one-act at the Humana Festival in Louisville, Ky. before McLure expanded it into its current two-act version.

Fur by Migdalia Cruz. In a twisted apocalyptic update of Beauty and the Beast, a love triangle develops between a pet shop owner, a furry woman and an animal trapper.

The Playwright, written and directed by Mario El Caponi Mendoza. In this original work, a San Francisco playwright’s life unravels against a backdrop of economic crisis.

Performances run Dec. 12-14 in UI’s Theatre B. For more information on specific show times, visit theatre.uiowa.edu."

Source: Little Village

Birth Witches at Cornell

Myra Duffour, Per Wiger, Daniel Dempsey

Mount Vernon - "The Cornell College Department of Theatre is proud to announce its upcoming production of Birth Witches. A dark yet funny satire by Iowa City playwright Jennifer Fawcett, this production is guest directed by Leda Hoffmann of the Milwaukee Rep. Birth Witches is also co-produced with Iowa City’s Riverside Theatre.  The production runs October 10 - 13 on the Cornell College campus. It will then be remounted at Riverside Theatre and run October 18 - November 3.

It's 1606 and the witch craze has come to London. King James rules a land steeped in superstition, trapped in politics and at the dawning of the Scientific Revolution. A new profession called "Physician" has become popular with the elite and the traditions of the midwives are called into question. As the new male doctors fight to replace the old female midwives, accusations of witchcraft overturn hundreds of years of tradition and release dark fears and acts of violence. Fawcett’s dramatic satire offers a heart-wrenching and darkly funny look at the superstition and politics that transformed midwives into witches.

Proof at Coe College

Connor Swanson, Kathleen Perrell and Alison Polivka

Cedar Rapids - "The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts will open the season with a drama that examines the tenuous relationship between assertion and believability. David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Proof” will be presented on Sept. 20-22 and 26-28 in Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, Sept. 22 show, which starts at 2 p.m.

Seats are reserved, and tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Aurora Project Opens May 11

Iowa City - Local director Rachel Korach Howell brings an intriguing new science fiction play to the stage as part of the University of Iowa New Play Festival 2013 production cycle. The Aurora Project runs Saturday May 11 for just two performances. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for U of I students. Information on the rest of the festival offerings can be found here.  Read on for more about The Aurora Project:





"Don't miss The Aurora Project by Bella Poynton!

Summary:
Somewhere in the darkness, Constantine, an intelligent design, searches for a cure for Nora, his human companion. Infected by an alien race, Nora lays frozen as she and Constantine, travel through great spans of time and space.

Run time: 95 minutes

The Elephant Man at Mount Mercy

Cedar Rapids - "In Director Nich Radcliffe's inventive re-imagining of Bernard Pomerance's 1979 Tony Winner, the Mount Mercy Drama Dept tells a heartbreaking and uplifting story of faith, friendship and mercy - unlike anything you've ever seen on stage.

The Elephant Man is based on the life of John Merrick, who lived in London during the latter part of the nineteenth century. A horribly deformed young man, victim of rare skin and bone diseases, he has become the star freak attraction in traveling side shows. Found abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to London's prestigious Whitechapel hospital. Under the care of celebrated young physician Frederick Treves, Merrick is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy and literati only to be denied his ultimate dream, to become a man like any other.

Seating is limited! Order your tickets today!
Tickets: $10/Adults; $5/Students & Seniors; $2/Age 12 & Under

To reserve tickets or for more information, call 319-363-1323 x1229

Performances:
Friday, May 3rd - 7:30pm
Saturday, May 4th - 7:30pm
Sunday, May 5th - 1:30pm"

(Source: Duane Larson)

Cloud 9 at Cornell

Mount Vernon - "The Department of Theatre at Cornell College is proud to announce the upcoming production of Caryl Churchill’s comedy Cloud 9. Directed by Janeve West, Cloud 9 reveals the ties of colonial oppression and the bindings of post-colonial identities through cross-dressing, gender switching, and uproarious laughter.

Cloud 9 opens April 26th at 7:30 pm in the Plumb-Fleming Studio Theatre at Cornell College. The production will run April 27th and May 3rd and 4th at 7:30 pm. In addition, there will be an afternoon performance on May 5th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for non-Cornell students. Faculty, staff, and students of Cornell are admitted without charge with a Cornell ID, but encouraged to reserve their tickets in advance. Seating is limited so early arrival and ticket reservations are strongly recommended.

By the Bog of Cats at Coe

Lily Palmersheim as Josie and Lynette Volden as Hester

Cedar Rapids - "The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts will conclude its season with a mystical contemporary play with classic themes of prophecy and fate loosely based on the legend of Medea. By the Bog of Cats will be presented on April 19-21 and 25-27 in Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, April 21 show, which starts at 2 p.m.

Honor Student To Be Performed March 28

Cedar Rapids - "The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts will present a staged reading of the first-prize winner in the 2013 Coe Playwriting Festival and Competition. The reading of Honor Student by playwright Michael Erickson will take place in Mills Theatre in the Dows Fine Arts Center on Thursday evening, March 28, starting at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public, with a discussion to follow the reading.

Avenue Q Opens February 22

Pictured left to right: Alex Casillas’14, Nolan Breard’14, Millicent Marter’15,
Daniel Dempsey’14, Fatima Daknish’16, Caryn Schebowich’15, Tessa Cacek’13

Mount Vernon - "The Departments of Theatre and Music at Cornell College would like to announce the upcoming production of the musical AVENUE Q with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. This Broadway hit, which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2004, is directed by Cornell professor Jim VanValen with musical direction by Tony Nickle.

AVENUE Q opens February 22nd at 7:30 pm in Kimmel Theatre. The production then runs February 23rd and March 1st and 2nd at 7:30pm and February 24th and March 3rd at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for non-Cornell students. Faculty, staff, and students of Cornell are admitted without charge.

UI Gallery Series -- Memoire: A Meditation

Iowa City - "After a brutal storm all but destroys his childhood home, a man returns from the city to help his sister restore the place. And to find--something. What, exactly, they can’t be sure. Meanwhile, a woman moves into a beach house with a widow and her infant daughter. Through the memories they share, the characters come to realize and accept their place in the worlds of both the past and the present."

Written by Micah Ariel James
Directed by Rachel Korach Howell
Assistant Director - Joshua Raheim
Stage Manager - Regan Loula

Cast:
Jaret Morlan
Molly Elizabeth Brown
Sarah Jarmon
Morris Hill
Ashley Sorenson

Times:
Thursday, November 29th – 8 PM
Friday, November 30th – 8 PM
Saturday, December 1st – 8 PM
Sunday, December 2nd – 2 PM

Location:
University of Iowa Theatre Building, Theatre B

Ticket Prices:
Free for University of Iowa students with a valid university ID
$5 for non-students

(Source: Rachel Korach Howell)