Photo by Bob Goodfellow
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| Patrick DuLaney; Jennifer Fawcett |
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Showing posts with label NNPN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NNPN. Show all posts
Monday, February 2, 2015
Lucky Me Lovingly Rendered
By Leah Gehlsen Morlan
Photo by Bob Goodfellow
Iowa City - Riverside Theatre’s Lucky Me is a charming show which follows the trajectory of unlucky-in-love-and-life Sara Fine’s (Jennifer Fawcett) relationship with the affable Tom (Patrick DuLaney), a tenacious TSA agent. Written by Robert Caisley, who is on-hand for two talk-backs during the show’s run, Lucky Me visits Riverside Theatre as one stop on it’s National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.
Photo by Bob Goodfellow
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Rolling World Premier of Lucky Me
WASHINGTON, DC - "The NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK (NNPN), the country’s alliance of non-profit theatres that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, announces its 42nd Rolling World Premiere: Robert Caisley’s Lucky Me will receive four productions through the Network’s Continued Life of New Plays Fund in the 2014/15 season. Lucky Me will begin its Rolling World Premiere at Core Member New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ, August 2 – 31, 2014), followed by performances at Core Member Curious Theatre (Denver, CO, dates TBA), Core Member Riverside Theatre (Iowa City, IA, January 24 -February 15, 2015), and Associate Member 6th Street Playhouse (Santa Rosa, CA, January 30 – February 15, 2015).
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Riverside and African-American Museum Team Up for Play Reading
Cedar Rapids - "Riverside Theatre, partnering with the African American Museum of Iowa, is holding a special reading of the play PERMANENT COLLECTION by Thomas Gibbons on Monday, April 22, 2013, 6:30PM at the African American Museum of Iowa, 55 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A light reception follows the event. Tickets are pay-what-you-will at the door with a portion of the proceeds benefiting National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays. No ticket reservations are necessary, but please arrive 10 minutes early for seating considerations as space is limited.
This reading is part of a nationwide theatre event of readings of the play in over 25 cities to celebrate National New Play Network’s (NNPN’s) 15th Anniversary. PERMANENT COLLECTION was NNPN's first Rolling World Premiere.
This reading is part of a nationwide theatre event of readings of the play in over 25 cities to celebrate National New Play Network’s (NNPN’s) 15th Anniversary. PERMANENT COLLECTION was NNPN's first Rolling World Premiere.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
What Would Bertolt Brecht Do?
By James E. Trainor III
Photos by Bob Goodfellow
Iowa City - If I told you I went to see a play about The Problem of Evil, you'd probably yawn. Or smile and try to make small talk instead. After all, we don't need to rehash this; you've sat through philosophy class. You know that the idea that God can be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent all at once has been long ago disproved. You don't need a 21st-century playwright to explain this to you. You live in a modern, rational, enlightened society.
Except. In this modern, rational, enlightened society we still have religious and political leaders who tell us gay marriage causes hurricanes and rape victims can magically prevent pregnancy. We still have Fox News. If our Enlightenment ancestors aren't turning over in their graves, they're at least wishing we'd take a refresher course.
That's where William Missouri Downs comes in. His new play The Exit Interview, showing at Riverside Theatre through February 17 as part of a National New Play Network "Rolling World Premiere," is a refreshing, clever, and altogether hilarious take on the whole science vs. religion issue. So, yeah. I went to see a play about The Problem of Evil. And I'll say this: if there is a Heaven, the theatre there damned well better be this interesting.
Before I go into the (spoilers!) plot, I want to divert your attention to a science fiction novel by Phillip K. Dick: the book is called VALIS, and it's a very peculiar combination of theological philosophy, personal confession, and LSD-induced new-age exegesis. Why am I talking about a science fiction novel on a theatre blog? Because there's this cat. This dead cat. Kevin, the token atheist, can't believe in the Christian God because he can't believe anything all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving would let his stupid cat run out into the street. So he plans to take this dead cat with him up to heaven, hold it up to St. Peter, and demand an explanation.
Hold that image in your head for a moment: the stubborn rationalist standing at the Pearly Gates, waving a dead cat in the face of the unknowable infinite. Got it? Good. Now add a little caption: "The Problem of Evil." Got it? Good.
That was my mental image of the philosophical concept for most of my adult life; it was the only thing that had the gallows-humor and shock value required to present the problem to an increasingly theocratic and irrational culture. But now there's this: The Exit Interview is Kevin's cat magnified a thousandfold, much darker and much funnier, as if we need a better term than "gallows" humor in the age of mass executions.
In The Exit Interview, we get a crazed gunman instead of a car, and a squad of offstage cheerleaders instead of a dead cat. Instead of Kevin, we have Dick Fig (though he prefers to be called Richard) -- a recently fired college professor who loves Bertolt Brecht, detests small talk, and can't resist the urge to talk everyone he meets out of circular, illogical, magical thinking. Dick (played by Scot West) is in the midst of answering a maddening series of inane questions from an interviewer (Jody Hovland) who insists on filling him in on "The Secret," while almost certain death lurks outside the unlocked and unlockable door.
It's kind of jarring, I know, especially in the wake of recent events. But this is the kind of mad world we live in, and perhaps this is the kind of mad theatre we need. There's a dangerous impulse, in response to the apparently increasing brutality of modern culture, to come up with something dry, sentimental, and satisfying, something that reaffirms the sanctity and the meaning of life and sends you home to bed with pleasant dreams. It's only natural, and I suppose it has its place, but that same instinct is what's driving a lot of our live theatre to lose its vitality, and become stale, limp, and predictable.
Downs avoids this trap from the get-go. He opens by sending two cheerleaders out into the audience to warn us that the play might be offensive. This "disclaimer" is brazenly unapologetic: The Exit Interview is going to poke fun at your politics, lecture you about Bertolt Brecht, break up the narrative with unrelated vignettes, shamelessly double-cast actors to save money, and since you already paid for your ticket, you might as well just deal with it. The aggressiveness with which the play asserts its stylistic choices is infectious, and the cast, under the direction of Ron Clark, undertakes it well, striking a good balance between serious, engaged naturalism and cartoonish takes to the audience.
There are some great acting moments in Riverside's production: Tim Budd as a condescending priest explaining the "celestial mathematics" of the Holy Trinity; Maura Clement as a evangelical scientist calling down curses on the heretical research of a rival colleague; and Jody Hovland as the cornered interviewer humbly sharing her hopes and dreams with her would-be gunmen are all memorable images. But the real strength of the evening is a very creative, very brave script.
The plot starts off simply enough, in a realistic but comic vein, with Dick answering a questionnaire from his now-former employer. The interaction between West and Hovland is great here; slightly hostile but still within the bonds of reality. The world of the play is very quickly deconstructed, however, as the setting becomes increasingly ridiculous (we're not in an office after all but in a repurposed chemical closet across the hall from constantly chanting cheerleaders), and Dick begins to lecture us about Brecht's Alienation Effect. After Dick explains to the people sitting in the theatre that Brecht wanted people to remember that they were sitting in a theatre, his story is interrupted by conversations with his ex-girlfriend, breaking bulletins from Fox News, commercials, and comic scenes that are only thematically related to the main action.
Throughout all this he carries out a didactic argument about belief with the interviewer, while the gunmen moves closer and closer like a force of nature. And this is where the satirical, Brechtian form is most effective: it hovers somewhere between reality and satire, truth and art. The gunshots and screams offstage remind us that issues being discussed aren't just setups for funny one-liners; reality can be just as insane as fantasy and the question of the meaning of life is a real question people are forced to struggle with -- suddenly, unexpectedly. On the other hand, the worldviews presented in the lightning-quick, channel-flipping skits and spoof that make up much of play are at best ridiculous and vaguely comforting, at worse, shallow and misleading.
If The Exit Interview has any flaws, it's in being a bit polemic, but I'll forgive it that, as its main point is well-made and is very important: there's a fanatical way of thinking that is overriding our supposedly enlightened culture, and it's getting worse. It's spilling over from theology into all areas of public discourse, muddying logical thought and infecting politicians, journalists, and even scientists with a self-righteous zeal that says their truth is the only truth. A great example of this is the little breakaway skit (a "rewrite" that interrupts the action) which contains a little comedic thought experiment: two scientists clutch their reports like holy books and claim to be the true disciple of Einstein while the other is an imposter. On the other end of the spectrum, a religious scholar gives well-documented proof from respected authorities that Joseph Smith was correct, and on the basis of that evidence, "Lutheranism is cancelled." It's a laughable scene that drives it home: there's a growing division between scientific reason and blind faith, and the conversation isn't getting any more sensible.
Downs is concerned it soon won't be a conversation at all. "We have churches on every corner and they own the airwaves..." he says in a talkback. "Scientists whisper. I'm tired of scientists whispering." It's a call to action, and a necessary one in an age where even the news channels are doing what Brecht was afraid art would be pressed to do by capitalism: selling people their own worldviews, refusing to challenge them, refusing to let people think for themselves. The Exit Interview may wear its politics on its sleeve, but what it does not do is lure its audience into a false sense of security. It yells the entire time, demanding you wake up and listen. And it's worth it.
I highly recommend you go see this show. You really don't see theatre like this every day, especially in the Midwest. The "Rolling World Premiere" is a special arrangement through the National New Play Network; Riverside is one of six theatres that gets to produce this play while it is brand new. It runs through February 17th; tickets here.
Photos by Bob Goodfellow
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Scot West (Professor Dick Fig) and Maura Clement (Mrs. Meredith)
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That's where William Missouri Downs comes in. His new play The Exit Interview, showing at Riverside Theatre through February 17 as part of a National New Play Network "Rolling World Premiere," is a refreshing, clever, and altogether hilarious take on the whole science vs. religion issue. So, yeah. I went to see a play about The Problem of Evil. And I'll say this: if there is a Heaven, the theatre there damned well better be this interesting.
Before I go into the (spoilers!) plot, I want to divert your attention to a science fiction novel by Phillip K. Dick: the book is called VALIS, and it's a very peculiar combination of theological philosophy, personal confession, and LSD-induced new-age exegesis. Why am I talking about a science fiction novel on a theatre blog? Because there's this cat. This dead cat. Kevin, the token atheist, can't believe in the Christian God because he can't believe anything all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving would let his stupid cat run out into the street. So he plans to take this dead cat with him up to heaven, hold it up to St. Peter, and demand an explanation.
Hold that image in your head for a moment: the stubborn rationalist standing at the Pearly Gates, waving a dead cat in the face of the unknowable infinite. Got it? Good. Now add a little caption: "The Problem of Evil." Got it? Good.
That was my mental image of the philosophical concept for most of my adult life; it was the only thing that had the gallows-humor and shock value required to present the problem to an increasingly theocratic and irrational culture. But now there's this: The Exit Interview is Kevin's cat magnified a thousandfold, much darker and much funnier, as if we need a better term than "gallows" humor in the age of mass executions.
In The Exit Interview, we get a crazed gunman instead of a car, and a squad of offstage cheerleaders instead of a dead cat. Instead of Kevin, we have Dick Fig (though he prefers to be called Richard) -- a recently fired college professor who loves Bertolt Brecht, detests small talk, and can't resist the urge to talk everyone he meets out of circular, illogical, magical thinking. Dick (played by Scot West) is in the midst of answering a maddening series of inane questions from an interviewer (Jody Hovland) who insists on filling him in on "The Secret," while almost certain death lurks outside the unlocked and unlockable door.
 |
| Scot West (Professor Dick Fig) and Jody Hovland (Eunice) |
Downs avoids this trap from the get-go. He opens by sending two cheerleaders out into the audience to warn us that the play might be offensive. This "disclaimer" is brazenly unapologetic: The Exit Interview is going to poke fun at your politics, lecture you about Bertolt Brecht, break up the narrative with unrelated vignettes, shamelessly double-cast actors to save money, and since you already paid for your ticket, you might as well just deal with it. The aggressiveness with which the play asserts its stylistic choices is infectious, and the cast, under the direction of Ron Clark, undertakes it well, striking a good balance between serious, engaged naturalism and cartoonish takes to the audience.
The plot starts off simply enough, in a realistic but comic vein, with Dick answering a questionnaire from his now-former employer. The interaction between West and Hovland is great here; slightly hostile but still within the bonds of reality. The world of the play is very quickly deconstructed, however, as the setting becomes increasingly ridiculous (we're not in an office after all but in a repurposed chemical closet across the hall from constantly chanting cheerleaders), and Dick begins to lecture us about Brecht's Alienation Effect. After Dick explains to the people sitting in the theatre that Brecht wanted people to remember that they were sitting in a theatre, his story is interrupted by conversations with his ex-girlfriend, breaking bulletins from Fox News, commercials, and comic scenes that are only thematically related to the main action.
Throughout all this he carries out a didactic argument about belief with the interviewer, while the gunmen moves closer and closer like a force of nature. And this is where the satirical, Brechtian form is most effective: it hovers somewhere between reality and satire, truth and art. The gunshots and screams offstage remind us that issues being discussed aren't just setups for funny one-liners; reality can be just as insane as fantasy and the question of the meaning of life is a real question people are forced to struggle with -- suddenly, unexpectedly. On the other hand, the worldviews presented in the lightning-quick, channel-flipping skits and spoof that make up much of play are at best ridiculous and vaguely comforting, at worse, shallow and misleading.
If The Exit Interview has any flaws, it's in being a bit polemic, but I'll forgive it that, as its main point is well-made and is very important: there's a fanatical way of thinking that is overriding our supposedly enlightened culture, and it's getting worse. It's spilling over from theology into all areas of public discourse, muddying logical thought and infecting politicians, journalists, and even scientists with a self-righteous zeal that says their truth is the only truth. A great example of this is the little breakaway skit (a "rewrite" that interrupts the action) which contains a little comedic thought experiment: two scientists clutch their reports like holy books and claim to be the true disciple of Einstein while the other is an imposter. On the other end of the spectrum, a religious scholar gives well-documented proof from respected authorities that Joseph Smith was correct, and on the basis of that evidence, "Lutheranism is cancelled." It's a laughable scene that drives it home: there's a growing division between scientific reason and blind faith, and the conversation isn't getting any more sensible.
Downs is concerned it soon won't be a conversation at all. "We have churches on every corner and they own the airwaves..." he says in a talkback. "Scientists whisper. I'm tired of scientists whispering." It's a call to action, and a necessary one in an age where even the news channels are doing what Brecht was afraid art would be pressed to do by capitalism: selling people their own worldviews, refusing to challenge them, refusing to let people think for themselves. The Exit Interview may wear its politics on its sleeve, but what it does not do is lure its audience into a false sense of security. It yells the entire time, demanding you wake up and listen. And it's worth it.
I highly recommend you go see this show. You really don't see theatre like this every day, especially in the Midwest. The "Rolling World Premiere" is a special arrangement through the National New Play Network; Riverside is one of six theatres that gets to produce this play while it is brand new. It runs through February 17th; tickets here.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Manning Up's Rolling Premiere Will Have You Rolling in the Aisles
By James E. Trainor III; photos by Bob Goodfellow.
Iowa City - In Sean Christopher Lewis' new comedy Manning Up, Donnie (Jim Van Valen) and Raymond (Martin Andrews) are a pair of expectant fathers who aren't sure what to expect. Hidden in their "man cave," away from their wives, they share their anxieties with each other. They're both shaken by the experience, each in his own unique way: Donnie is crying at the comfort of his new argyle socks, while Raymond has enrolled in a 3-day "maninar" in hopes of preventing the pair from losing their inner manliness. The resulting conversation is outrageous, insightful, and above all, very very funny.
Andrews and Van Valen make a perfect team. Van Valen's Donnie is squeamish and needy and works up a great deal of nervous energy, frustrating Andrews' aggressively manly Raymond. The two respond to each other well, playing the scene like a feisty game of catch, feeding into each other's monologues and physical gags and keeping the manic pace of the piece rolling along.
Each actor has created a very interesting father-to-be, each concerned with different personality flaws that could sabotage his new family. Donnie is very calm and polite on the surface, a lovable and harmless English professor, but he feels a "cauldron" of anger and resentment underneath. "I just bottle things up deep down inside until they explode," he says. To which Raymond replies, "you're an idiot savant of manliness."
Raymond, though manly enough on the exterior, is concerned about the type of father he'll be. He's seen bad dads in the world, he's angry at his own father, and he's deeply worried about his ability to keep things under control. "It's like I'm hanging on to this big wooden steering wheel," he explains. "But if I let go of it, the ship keeps going in the same direction. So what am I steering?"
The two friends, in the safety of Raymond's half-finished basement (a very effective design by Shawn Ketchum Johnson), help each other work through these issues in a series of very funny exchanges, involving primal screams, talking to empty chairs, a little bit of Lamaze, and plenty of baseball metaphors. The direction, also by Lewis, keeps this story moving at a very nice clip. The moments of serious character development don't hang around long enough to get maudlin, but are undercut by more jokes and bits of physical comedy. It fits the theme very well, as men in our culture are much more likely to tell a goofy joke about something than to open up about it. And it keeps the audience in stitches.
Lewis developed the play based in part from conversations with the actors, both of whom were recently new fathers. This gives a very realistic feel to the material, while the situations and suggestions are ridiculous enough to make for very energetic comedy. At the same time, between the setups and punchlines, it addresses a lot of the anxiety young fathers feel: Am I ready? Will I be good enough? Will I be in control? Will I be like my dad? These questions are universal, and Donnie and Raymond discover, with the rest of us, that you can never truly be ready... and maybe that's okay.
Manning Up will also receive productions at the Salt Lake Acting Company (November 7) and at Actor's Summit in Akron, Ohio (May 16). This "rolling world premiere" is a cooperation between theatres involved in the National New Play Network. Later this season, Riverside will participate in another rolling world premiere. The Exit Interview, a new play by William Missouri Downs, is receiving productions this fall at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, San Diego REP, and InterAct Theatre Company. In January, Riverside Theatre will mount its production, followed by Actor's Theatre of Charlotte and Salt Lake Acting Company in April. To learn more about NPNN, visit their website or read the article from this month's American Theatre.
Manning Up runs at Riverside Theatre through October 28, 7:30 Thursday through Saturday and 2:00 on Sundays. Call 319.338.7672 to order tickets or order them online.
 |
| Martin Andrews (l) and Jim Van Valen |
Andrews and Van Valen make a perfect team. Van Valen's Donnie is squeamish and needy and works up a great deal of nervous energy, frustrating Andrews' aggressively manly Raymond. The two respond to each other well, playing the scene like a feisty game of catch, feeding into each other's monologues and physical gags and keeping the manic pace of the piece rolling along.
Each actor has created a very interesting father-to-be, each concerned with different personality flaws that could sabotage his new family. Donnie is very calm and polite on the surface, a lovable and harmless English professor, but he feels a "cauldron" of anger and resentment underneath. "I just bottle things up deep down inside until they explode," he says. To which Raymond replies, "you're an idiot savant of manliness."
Raymond, though manly enough on the exterior, is concerned about the type of father he'll be. He's seen bad dads in the world, he's angry at his own father, and he's deeply worried about his ability to keep things under control. "It's like I'm hanging on to this big wooden steering wheel," he explains. "But if I let go of it, the ship keeps going in the same direction. So what am I steering?"
The two friends, in the safety of Raymond's half-finished basement (a very effective design by Shawn Ketchum Johnson), help each other work through these issues in a series of very funny exchanges, involving primal screams, talking to empty chairs, a little bit of Lamaze, and plenty of baseball metaphors. The direction, also by Lewis, keeps this story moving at a very nice clip. The moments of serious character development don't hang around long enough to get maudlin, but are undercut by more jokes and bits of physical comedy. It fits the theme very well, as men in our culture are much more likely to tell a goofy joke about something than to open up about it. And it keeps the audience in stitches.
Manning Up will also receive productions at the Salt Lake Acting Company (November 7) and at Actor's Summit in Akron, Ohio (May 16). This "rolling world premiere" is a cooperation between theatres involved in the National New Play Network. Later this season, Riverside will participate in another rolling world premiere. The Exit Interview, a new play by William Missouri Downs, is receiving productions this fall at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, San Diego REP, and InterAct Theatre Company. In January, Riverside Theatre will mount its production, followed by Actor's Theatre of Charlotte and Salt Lake Acting Company in April. To learn more about NPNN, visit their website or read the article from this month's American Theatre.
Manning Up runs at Riverside Theatre through October 28, 7:30 Thursday through Saturday and 2:00 on Sundays. Call 319.338.7672 to order tickets or order them online.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Manning Up Opens October 12
Photo by Bob Goodfellow
Iowa City - Riverside Theatre announces the premiere of Manning Up, a warm-hearted comedy about two men facing life as new parents. The show will be the first in a National New Play Network Rolling Premiere. Shows run Friday, October 12 through Sunday, October 28, 2012. Tickets available online at riversidetheatre.org or by calling the Riverside Theatre Box Office, 319-338-7672.
The Story of Manning Up
Riverside Theatre was first presented with Sean Christopher Lewis’ new play, Manning Up, in the spring of 2012. Artistic Director Jody Hovland read the first act and enthusiastically committed to producing the refreshing script about the challenges of men becoming first time fathers. The National New Play Network (NNPN) picked up the show as part of a national rolling world premiere, giving Riverside Theatre the unique position of first producing the show. It will be directed at Riverside Theatre by Lewis, but future productions will have their own directors and, thus, their own creative interpretations. Riverside Theatre has been a National New Play Network (NNPN) member since 2011, but Lewis has a long history with the organization, which committed to producing much of his early work, quickly growing his now-established career as a contemporary playwright. Manning Up stands out from Lewis’ playwriting repertoire, which has largely focused on in-depth explorations of social challenges. This play, however, uses a comedic angle to study a very personal subject for Lewis: what it means to have children, to be a man, and to be a father while still keeping one’s sense of humor about life.
Lewis drew inspiration from his close friends’ comic moments of new babydom and from his own meditations on family. The actors in the show, Jim VanValen and Martin Andrews, playing Donnie and Raymond respectively, have appeared together on the Riverside Theatre stage in a much more serious piece, “A Steady Rain” by Keith Huff, in the spring of 2012 as policemen with a dark inner life. Now they play joke-cracking, beer-drinking, anxiety-ridden husbands of pregnant wives. Facing impending fatherhood at the same time, Donnie and Raymond bond over all of the issues that many fathers want to know, but are too protective of their egos to actually ask. Fortunately, Donnie and Raymond are comfortable teasing out the real truths from the other; a common theme between best buddies. It is not a coincidence that these two actors were, not so long ago, facing fatherhood within a year of each other.
The play takes place in what the set note refers to as a “man-cave”, an unfinished basement that serves as a rec-room for grown-up boys. The audience only meets Raymond and Donnie, never seeing, but always hearing about, their pregnant wives (also best of friends) Sally and Felicia. The soon-to-be fathers use their man-cave as a recliner therapy room, slapstick playground, and scream-filled meditation safe-space. Lewis directs the play using smart, physical humor inspired by classic silent comedies. Between the bursts of blatantly comedic dialogue, the physical action and raw, emotional outpourings continue to climax, leaving the audience with long moments of laughter and a secret feeling of hope.
The artistic tone of the play is completed by scenic designer Shawn Ketchum Johnson, lighting designer Drew Bielinski, and costume designer Osean Perez. Adeara Jean Maurice stage manages the show.
Playwright and Director: Sean Christopher Lewis
Sean Christopher Lewis is the Artistic Director of Working Group Theatre, based in Iowa City, Iowa. He is a contributor to NPR'S This American Life and his plays have been awarded the National New Play Network Annual Commission, the Kennedy Center's Rosa Parks Award, the National New Play Network Smith Prize, NEA Voices of Community Award, the William Inge Fellowship, a National Performance Network Creation Fun Grant, a Barrymore Award, two Central Ohio Critic Circle Citations and a National New Play Network Emerging Playwright Residency. His plays and solo pieces include KILLADELPHIA (Available Light Theatre, Baltimore CENTERSTAGE, Drilling Company NYC, Gerald W. Lynch Theatre, InterAct Theatre, Hartbeat Ensemble, Touchstone Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Legion Arts, Empty Boat Theatre, Adirondack Theatre Festival and more); JUST KIDS (Pontine Theatre, Sandglass Theatre, Working Group Theatre); I WILL MAKE YOU ORPHANS (Galapagos Art Space, Riverside Theatre, Uno Festival of Solo Performance, Hyde Park Theatre); MILITANT LANGUAGE (Know Theatre; Halcyon Theatre); THE APERTURE (Cleveland Public Theatre) and MAYBERRY (Hancher Auditorium; Bucksbaum Performing Arts Center and Iowa Arts Center).
 |
| Martin Andrews (l) and Jim Van Valen |
The Story of Manning Up
Riverside Theatre was first presented with Sean Christopher Lewis’ new play, Manning Up, in the spring of 2012. Artistic Director Jody Hovland read the first act and enthusiastically committed to producing the refreshing script about the challenges of men becoming first time fathers. The National New Play Network (NNPN) picked up the show as part of a national rolling world premiere, giving Riverside Theatre the unique position of first producing the show. It will be directed at Riverside Theatre by Lewis, but future productions will have their own directors and, thus, their own creative interpretations. Riverside Theatre has been a National New Play Network (NNPN) member since 2011, but Lewis has a long history with the organization, which committed to producing much of his early work, quickly growing his now-established career as a contemporary playwright. Manning Up stands out from Lewis’ playwriting repertoire, which has largely focused on in-depth explorations of social challenges. This play, however, uses a comedic angle to study a very personal subject for Lewis: what it means to have children, to be a man, and to be a father while still keeping one’s sense of humor about life.
Lewis drew inspiration from his close friends’ comic moments of new babydom and from his own meditations on family. The actors in the show, Jim VanValen and Martin Andrews, playing Donnie and Raymond respectively, have appeared together on the Riverside Theatre stage in a much more serious piece, “A Steady Rain” by Keith Huff, in the spring of 2012 as policemen with a dark inner life. Now they play joke-cracking, beer-drinking, anxiety-ridden husbands of pregnant wives. Facing impending fatherhood at the same time, Donnie and Raymond bond over all of the issues that many fathers want to know, but are too protective of their egos to actually ask. Fortunately, Donnie and Raymond are comfortable teasing out the real truths from the other; a common theme between best buddies. It is not a coincidence that these two actors were, not so long ago, facing fatherhood within a year of each other.
The play takes place in what the set note refers to as a “man-cave”, an unfinished basement that serves as a rec-room for grown-up boys. The audience only meets Raymond and Donnie, never seeing, but always hearing about, their pregnant wives (also best of friends) Sally and Felicia. The soon-to-be fathers use their man-cave as a recliner therapy room, slapstick playground, and scream-filled meditation safe-space. Lewis directs the play using smart, physical humor inspired by classic silent comedies. Between the bursts of blatantly comedic dialogue, the physical action and raw, emotional outpourings continue to climax, leaving the audience with long moments of laughter and a secret feeling of hope.
The artistic tone of the play is completed by scenic designer Shawn Ketchum Johnson, lighting designer Drew Bielinski, and costume designer Osean Perez. Adeara Jean Maurice stage manages the show.
Playwright and Director: Sean Christopher Lewis
Sean Christopher Lewis is the Artistic Director of Working Group Theatre, based in Iowa City, Iowa. He is a contributor to NPR'S This American Life and his plays have been awarded the National New Play Network Annual Commission, the Kennedy Center's Rosa Parks Award, the National New Play Network Smith Prize, NEA Voices of Community Award, the William Inge Fellowship, a National Performance Network Creation Fun Grant, a Barrymore Award, two Central Ohio Critic Circle Citations and a National New Play Network Emerging Playwright Residency. His plays and solo pieces include KILLADELPHIA (Available Light Theatre, Baltimore CENTERSTAGE, Drilling Company NYC, Gerald W. Lynch Theatre, InterAct Theatre, Hartbeat Ensemble, Touchstone Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Legion Arts, Empty Boat Theatre, Adirondack Theatre Festival and more); JUST KIDS (Pontine Theatre, Sandglass Theatre, Working Group Theatre); I WILL MAKE YOU ORPHANS (Galapagos Art Space, Riverside Theatre, Uno Festival of Solo Performance, Hyde Park Theatre); MILITANT LANGUAGE (Know Theatre; Halcyon Theatre); THE APERTURE (Cleveland Public Theatre) and MAYBERRY (Hancher Auditorium; Bucksbaum Performing Arts Center and Iowa Arts Center).
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