My Five Husbands Opens July 19

Iowa City - "My Five Husbands is the winning play of the 2013-2014 season Writer’s Joust. My Five Husbands by Joe Jennison and directed by Meg Dobbs will be performed at the East Side Recycling Center at 2401 Scott Boulevard in Iowa City on July 19 and 20 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $13 regular and $10 students/seniors.

The play fits well as part of Dreamwell's themed season Ovation: A Season of Women's Words. Jennison’s play celebrates a woman–one Wilder Rose Still. Quickly approaching 40 and hesitant about dating anyone new for fear they might be after her money, Wilder decides to put together a pool of possible choices, gathered from a review of her past relationships–so we meet George, her former live-in partner who shares history; Bill, a former boyfriend who is always a good time; Ernie, another former boyfriend with lots of sex appeal; Langston, another ex with a literary bent; and Joe, her gay best friend. The audience is involved in helping her review these choices as she seeks to weigh each one’s appeal. The play is heavily influenced by Thornton Wilder with references to his great novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, as well as his stage works. The playwright calls it “an interactive comedy about a woman who makes an impact by daring to write her own future." Previous playwriting contest winners were Tom Deiker’s Innocence and Amy White’s World’s Teeniest.

The cast list is as follows:

Wilder – Diviin Huff
George – Jeff Emrich
Joe – Joseph C. Anderson
Ernie – Jordan Running
Bill – Brian Tanner
Langston – Ken Van Egdon"

(Source: Dreamwell Newsletter)

The Children’s Hour Hits and Misses

Meg Dobbs as Amelia Tilford,
Serena Collins as Mary Tilford

By Brad Quinn
Photos By Elisabeth Ross

Iowa City - The Children's Hour is a simple enough premise: in 1961 America, two women, teachers and headmistresses of a small private school for girls, are accused by one of their students of committing lesbian acts with each other. The resulting scandal threatens to destroy their lives and the lives of those who love them. Whether the accusation is true or not is irrelevant; it is the perception which matters.

It took me awhile after I sat down for me to put my finger on what seemed so out of place in this theater in which I have many times similarly sat down. The doors to the stage were closed. They are never closed before a show. As soon as I realized this, I was intrigued…what surprises were they hiding behind the doors, on the stage? When they finally opened the doors, it turned out to be relatively mundane, and yet quite surprising nonetheless: it was just a regular set, but a really well done set!

Auditions for My Five Husbands

Iowa City - "Dreamwell Theatre will host auditions for My Five Husbands, directed by Meg Dobbs and written by Joe Jennison, on Sunday, May 19 at 1:00pm and Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30pm at the Iowa City Public Library. This original play was the winner of the 2012-13 Writer's Joust contest. Scripts will be available at the Iowa City and Coralville Public Libraries. My Five Husbands will be performed at the East Side Recycling Center on Scott Boulevard on July 19 and 20 at 7:30 pm.

The Children's Hour Opens May 10

Iowa City - "Dreamwell continues its 2012-13 season OVA-tions: A Season of Women's Words with The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman and directed by Elizabeth Tracy. Performance dates are May 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 10 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City. Tickets are $13 regular, $10 students/seniors.

The Children's Hour is a serious adult play about two women who run a school for girls. A malicious student, trying to protect herself, starts an entirely unfounded rumor about the two women. When the young teen sees the rumor turn to scandal, she understands the power she wields and sticks to her story, which eventually precipitates tragedy for the women.

The Children's Hour Cast
(in order of which they speak)
Peggy Rogers...Rachel Hittner
Catherine...Mary Vander Weg
Lois Fisher...Paige Harken
Mrs. Lily Mortar...Paula Grady
Evelyn Munn...Lizzie Carrell
Helen Burton...Mady Nachtman
Rosalie Wells...Genevieve Wisdom
Leslie...Anna Baynton
Mary Tilford...Serena Collins
Karen Wright...Aisling Beck
Martha Dobie...Heidi Bibler
Dr. Joseph Cardin... Matthew Falduto
Agatha...Valerie Keffala
Mrs. Amelia Tilford...Meg Dobbs"
(Source: Dreamwell Newsletter)

Two from Dreamwell: "Mothering in the Trenches" and Writer's Joust Winner

Iowa City - Dreamwell has announced two special events to take place at the East Side Recycling Center on Scott Boulevard: a "un-Hallmark" Mother's Day event on May 12, and Joe Jennison's My Five Husbands, the winner of this years Writer's Joust, on July 19 and 20.

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom - A Modern Fairytale

By Brad Quinn
Photos by Elisabeth Ross

Jeff Emrich as Steve and Avonique Tipsword as Chelsea

Iowa City - You've missed the first weekend performance of Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom. Don’t panic; there is still one more weekend left to see it. You may wish to go see it on Friday night, so that you can go back and see it again on Saturday night in order to catch some of the things you might have missed the first time.

When you sit down in the theater, you’re confronted by a very simple set. Two black flats with a white screen between them, and three black acting cubes. As you will discover, this is more than enough to draw you in to the show. Once the lights go down and the show begins, a very different kind of staging emerges. There are ten scenes, each of which has a different set which are photographic backgrounds projected on to the white screen. Ominous music plays underneath each scene, sometimes mixed with video game sounds. The lighting is harsh and white, mainly projected from the rear sides rather than the standard front and front side projected lighting common to most productions. A narrator in a suit (John Crosheck) steps forward and begins to speak, but he is not your standard narrator. He doesn't tell you anything about what has happened before, or what is about to happen, or who the characters are, or anything you might have come to expect from narration. Those in the audience who are video game aficionados will recognize it as something known as a walk-through, a set of instructions set down by video game developers or players who have completed a game to help new players through it. The effect of all of this is to give the audience notice that we are now in a video game world.

Neighborhood 3 Opens April 5

Iowa City - "Dreamwell Theatre is proud to present “Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom” by Jennifer Haley, directed by Jason Tipsword. The play will be presented April 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 10 S. Gilbert St. in Iowa City. Tickets: adults $13, students/seniors $10. To reserve tickets click here or call 319-423-9820.

In a suburban subdivision with identical houses, parents find their teenagers addicted to an online horror video game. The game setting? A subdivision with identical houses. The goal? Smash through an army of zombies to escape the neighborhood for good. But as the line blurs between virtual and reality, both parents and players realize that fear has a life of its own. This show is a thrilling addition to the Dreamwell season, in conjunction with the theme, Ova-tion: A Season of Women’s Words. This season showcases a wide range of themes by women playwrights.

Contains Mature Content.

The Vagina Monologues Adds Performance

Iowa City - By popular demand, Dreamwell Theatre and the Unitarian Universalist Society have added an additional Thursday performance of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler.

Trestle's Engines Lack Steam

By James E. Trainor III
Photos by Elisabeth Ross

Brad Quinn as Chas and Logan Natvig as Dalton.

Iowa City - Dalton Chance has been flirting with Pace Cregan. Or maybe he's just been flirting with death. Pace isn't the kind of girl you bring home to mother. She spits, she swears, she talks of disturbing topics. And she's had Dalton down by the train tracks rehearsing for a date with destiny that will change him forever.

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek is Naomi Wallace's Depression-era tale of two teens and their struggle to assert some sort of identity in a hopeless world. At the same time, it explores the effects of economic downturn on the older characters. Dreamwell's production, directed by Chuck Dufano, opened at the Universalist Unitarian Society this weekend.

As the plot, which is somewhat nonlinear, develops, we learn that Dalton (Logan Natvig) is accused of killing Pace (Adeara-Jean Maurice). We learn that Chas (Brad Quinn), Dalton's jailer, had a son who had been captivated -- and killed -- by Pace's obsessions with the train that crosses the trestle at Pope Lick Creek. Pace was training Dalton to run the train. She was also teaching him about love, and how being human means coming to terms with the urgent need to see and be seen by others. As Pace's bizarre story unfolds, Dalton opens up about her philosophy that shattered his world, and how he can never be put back together the same way again.

It's a play of shadows and mirrors, and the story of Dalton's parents, Gin (Meg Dobbs) and Dray (Steven Polchert) mirrors his own. They were once teenagers in love in the same dead-end town, with the same desperation to overcome inertia and become something completely different. But Dray has been laid off and Gin will be any day now, and they're turning out to be nothing but empty. Gin wants to save their relationship, but Dray is completely broken. The subplot showcases Wallace's unabashedly socialist politics and, at the same time, gives us an idea of where Dalton and Pace might have gone.

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek Opens February 8

Iowa City - "Dreamwell Theatre proudly presents The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek by Naomi Wallace and directed by Chuck Dufano. The poetic, Depression-era play by a prize-winning writer is a coming-of-age story with a wicked twist. Shows Friday and Saturday, February 8, 9, 15, & 16, 7:30 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 10 S. Gilbert Street in Iowa City. Tickets: adults $13, students/seniors $10.

Dalton Chance is 15 years old and an open book. Pace Creagan, aged 17, is fearless and feared, and to Dalton, she’s irresistible. The relationships between Dalton and his parents, Gin and Dray, are explored as well as the curious behavior of Chas, the jailor, with his own secret. All roles examine the depths of how each character found themselves in their current situation and how they deal with it in this world where no bright future is apparent.

Throughout the play Naomi Wallace delves into a story where people struggle to change the lives that bear down upon them. Director Chuck Dufano said that 'bringing out the imagery and reality of this play has been challenging and rewarding. Audiences will absorb the beauty of Wallace's words against the harsh backdrop of these characters' lives.'

The Chicago Theatre Beat describes Wallace’s work as '...Romeo and Juliet without the romance, just rebellion and it’s not enough.' Logan Natvig, who plays Dalton Chance, said 'The biggest challenge I've had with this role is playing the wide range of emotions in a short period of time. I need to go directly to a heavily emotional scene right after a lighter, playful scene.'

This show is an emotional complement to the Dreamwell season, in conjunction with the theme, Ova-tion: A Season of Women’s Words. Adeara Jean Maurice, who portrays Pace, feels 'Naomi Wallace is a playwright that does something really unique. Her plays make you think. You can't leave a Naomi Wallace play without talking about it with a friend a couple weeks later. It's important we do plays like that.' "

(Source: Dreamwell press release)

Auditions for Dreamwell's Trestle at Pope Lick Creek

Auditions for Dreamwell Theatre's production of The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek by Naomi Wallace, directed by Chuck Dufano, will be at the ICPL Wednesday, Dec. 12 , 7:00pm and Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2:00pm. Show dates are February 8-9, 15-16. Scripts will be on reserve at the Iowa City and Coralville Public Libraries.

Synopsis: Dalton Chance is 15 years old and an open book. Pace Creagan, aged 17, is fearless and feared, and to Dalton, she’s irresistible. A poetic, Depression-era play by a prize-winning writer; a coming-of-age story with a wicked twist that reaches into the depths of a nation and asks what lies beneath.

Pace Creagan - 17 year old girl
Dalton Chance - 15 year old boy
(Due to mature content, actors 18 or older will be considered for Pace and Dalton.)

Gin Chance - early forties, Dalton's mother
Dray Chance - late forties - Dalton's father
Chris Weaver - early fifties, male

Send inquiries to the director Chuck Dufano at chuck@dreamwell.com.

House of Yes Is Frighteningly Hilarious

By James E. Trainor III

Iowa City - Marty Pascal (Jordan Running) is bringing his fiancee home for Thanksgiving dinner. It's something he has to do—even if it kills him. For though they survive the hurricane raging outside the house, the storm inside, the one centered around his deranged twin sister and ex-lover Jackie (Annmarie Steffes), may well destroy them all.

House of Yes is Wendy MacLeod's pitch-black comedy about love, class, incest, and madness. Dreamwell's production, directed by Christina Patramanis, opened at the Universalist Unitarian Society in Iowa City this weekend.

The plot involves a well-to-do but very disturbed family in Virginia. Marty, the oldest brother, has brought Lesly (Alexis Russell) home to meet his mother (Tracy Schoenle), brother (AJ Richman), and mentally ill sister. A storm traps the family in the house, leaving the turkey sitting cold in the oven, the ice melting in the freezer, and the candlelit conversation brimming over with dark secrets.

The naive Lesly (played with charm and excellent comic timing by Russell), learns quickly that Marty's home life is not quite normal. Within the first fifteen minutes of the play, we learn of the mother's frequent extra-marital affairs, of the erratic state of Jackie's psyche, and we see hints of the bizarre fetish that the two twins share. This could all be dreary and uncomfortable, but the exposition is delivered at lightning-quick speed, with snappy setups, snappier returns, and whip-sharp reversals. The dark content of the play may be disturbing, but MacLeod's witty dialogue makes the ride frightfully entertaining.

The play is carried by "Jackie O" (who earned her nickname from a rather tasteless display at a costume party), and Steffes gives the role a biting wit and a fascinating drive. The spoiled girl wants nothing but total possession of her brother, and the vicious, spiteful way she wraps the family around her finger is at once appalling and incredibly exciting. This character should be despicable—she's certainly demented—but despite all that she's a lot of fun to watch; the fiercely intelligent and jealous Jackie has the last laugh in nearly every scene.

Steffes plays this part quite well, delivering the clever dialogue with delicious flair. She's an excellent scene partner, constantly listening and engaging, and she has a way of feeding off the energy of her castmates and taking each scene over the top. Her magnetic attachment to Running and her scornful sniping at Russell keep this downward spiral of a plot hurtling along at breakneck speed.

Running puts some very nuanced character work into portraying Marty; it's intriguing to watch him resist Jackie firmly, then fall for her, then try to pull himself out again at the end. Torn between his crazy but fascinating sister and his normal but dull fiancee, Marty has a lot of ground to cover, and Running has the range to pull it off. Marty spends much of the play as a quiet observer, but Running's facial work and body language tell a lot about his inner struggles. It's definitely the most realistic acting in this wildly comic play.

The cast works really well as a unit, making this a tightly cohesive ensemble piece. All of them are intensely present, on top of the verbal back-and-forth and pushing the energy out. There are some great pairings; Steffes and Russell make a great comic duo, as do Russell and Richman. Schoenle bears herself well as the haughty and kooky Mrs. Pascal; her outfit (costumes by Christina Patramanis) is ridiculous and her delivery of punchlines is impeccable. Richman is great as dopey younger brother Anthony; he's a bit stiff at first, but he jumps into the part once things get going, and he makes some very effective character choices. Russell is sweet and funny as Lesly, the powerless symbol of normalcy. She bonds well with Running and makes a great straight man during the more outrageous scenes.

Christina Patramanis' direction is outstanding. The scenework is well thought-out and very engaging. She makes some interesting choices with the pacing; the show rushes ahead at first, and some of the early scenes end abruptly and awkwardly. It fits the tone, however, and it's worth the risk because it highlights the sharp wit in MacLeod's writing. Patramanis doesn't let the audience rest; much of the stage time is filled with verbal sparring or physical comedy.

The end of the show, though, takes some time to breathe. We get a little bit of insight into just how sick these characters are. They're still sick when the lights are out and all the jokes have been made, and that's what makes this effective satire. The decision to treat these characters as real people, even when the writing treats them as slightly absurd, is one of the most effective traits of the acting and directing.

The scarred relationship between Marty and Jackie is truly sad, and a little bit creepy. Jackie is a monster created by unchecked love—her own twisted love for her twin brother and the misguided love of her family for her; they want to help her but they can't bear to reign her in. Mrs. Pascal's complete disavowal of parental responsibility is both funny and tragic:

"You can read Dr. Spock from now 'til Doomsday, but children just happen all the same. This one has blue eyes, that one's insane."

Only Marty is really able to take responsibility for Jackie, but he won't; he needs to free himself from her. From his cautious wordplay to his choice of bride, his every move is to make a normal life for himself, away from his dangerously disturbed family. But his rejection pushes Jackie over the edge, and as the tension builds we wonder just how far she will go.

The set (by Joe Tranmer) and lights (by Rich Riggleman), work well together to help tell this story. The entire stage is covered, with two settings—living room and bedroom—but the furniture is well-chosen and the actors have plenty of room to move. The lights are able to separate the two areas cleanly and create different times of day and different moods—including the frightening atmosphere of being in the middle of a storm.

House of Yes is a simply hilarious production—a dark comedy that's surprisingly light-hearted most of the time. It's also an example of great storytelling: a great script, effective direction, and intensely committed actors. Go to Dreamwell's website to get your tickets; there are two more shows, November 16 and 17 at 7:30.

Directors Selected for Dreamwell's Next Season

Iowa City - Dreamwell Theatre has announced its directors for its 2012-13 Season, themed "Ova-tion! A Season of Women's Words." The first show, The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort, opens September 14.

The Women of Lockerbie – Rachael Lindhart
The House of Yes – Nich Radcliffe
The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek – Pauline Tyer
Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom – Jason Tipsword
The Children’s Hour – Elizabeth Tracey

More information on the shows can be found at Dreamwell's website.