Amana - Iowa Theatre Artists Company (ITAC)is happy to announce some schedule changes and an added performance of our production of Remain True. ITAC has some large groups coming for these select performances of Remain True, but there are some good tickets still left for other audience members. Call 319-622-3222 for tickets. Please note the following changes/additions:
Remain True (A memory play of communal Amana). Length is 1 hr. Adults $10/Students $5; Special show and tour tickets $15.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - 2 PM (time change)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - 2 PM (added show!)
Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 2 PM (time change)
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Showing posts with label Remain True. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Remain True. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
A Merry May at ITAC
Amana - Even as Iowa Theatre Artists Company wraps up their production of Sister Robert Anne's Cabaret Class this weekend, they have two more productions in the pipe for the month of May.
Remain True is a "memory play of communal Amana" that invites theatergoers to experience some fascinating local history onstage. Adapted by Thomas P. Johnson, Meg Merckens, and the ITAC Acting Ensemble, it features Meg Merckens, Marshall Neilsen, Eddie Skaggs and Kaitlyn Davids. It takes its name from the word "Amana" itself which means "remain true." The show runs May 18th - July 2nd, 1:30 on Wednesdays, 1:30 and 5:30 on Thursdays, and 1:30 on Saturdays. Tickets are $10; there is also a special package that combines the show with a historical tour; call the Amana Heritage Society Museum at 319.622.3567 for information.
On Memorial Day weekend, ITAC welcomes the touring company Dairy-Aire Theatrics to the ITAC stage to perform Heroes, a Tom Stoppard translation of a Gerald Sibleyras play about three aging WWI veterans. Heroes will be performed May 27-29, Friday at 1:30 and 7:30, Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 1:30. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students).
For more information on any of these shows, call 319.622.322 or visit ITAC's website.
Remain True is a "memory play of communal Amana" that invites theatergoers to experience some fascinating local history onstage. Adapted by Thomas P. Johnson, Meg Merckens, and the ITAC Acting Ensemble, it features Meg Merckens, Marshall Neilsen, Eddie Skaggs and Kaitlyn Davids. It takes its name from the word "Amana" itself which means "remain true." The show runs May 18th - July 2nd, 1:30 on Wednesdays, 1:30 and 5:30 on Thursdays, and 1:30 on Saturdays. Tickets are $10; there is also a special package that combines the show with a historical tour; call the Amana Heritage Society Museum at 319.622.3567 for information.
On Memorial Day weekend, ITAC welcomes the touring company Dairy-Aire Theatrics to the ITAC stage to perform Heroes, a Tom Stoppard translation of a Gerald Sibleyras play about three aging WWI veterans. Heroes will be performed May 27-29, Friday at 1:30 and 7:30, Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 1:30. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students).
For more information on any of these shows, call 319.622.322 or visit ITAC's website.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
ITAC offers a memory play
ITAC - The Iowa Theatre Artists Company (ITAC) opens the second play of their 2010 Season, Remain True, on June 9. This original production is a newly-adapted historical depiction of the early life in the Amana Colonies, based on the true-life stories of those who lived in the Colony during the communal era from 1855 through 1932. With stories that are captivating, lively, charming and compassionate, this one-hour matinee will be performed on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 1:30 pm from June 9 until August 28.
Remain True is based on an original production, Home On The Iowa, first conceived and adapted by Thomas P. Johnson in 2000. Using the oral histories gathered by the Amana Heritage Society in the 1980’s from many of the surviving communal-era residents of the Amana Colonies, Johnson created a dynamic, insightful and entertaining theatrical production of Amana history. Remain True features a number of stories presented in Home On The Iowa, with additional stories that will be making their first appearance on stage in this newest production. Four actors will give voice to dozens of real-life residents of the early Amanas and their stories of communal life. Meg Merckens (South Amana), Jenna Vik (Woodbury, Minnesota), Ed Moersfelder (Amery, Wisconsin) and Alex Shockley (Algona) have been working together to study the history, listen to the stories and create their own unique telling of this German settlement in eastern Iowa. Together they present the historic journey of the Amana people as they moved from Germany to Ebenezer, New York and finally to their home in Iowa. The actors’ have received invaluable assistance from the Amana Heritage Society and also from Amana residents, Marietta Moershel, Peter Hoehnle and Emilie Hoppe. “It’s a great way of presenting history in a thoroughly entertaining manner to a wide age range of audience members,” states Meg Merckens, one of the acting ensemble. “Our hope is that it will be a memorable as well as an informative experience for all who attend.”
For ticket information and to reserve seats, call 319-622-3222 or email: itac@southslope.net. All tickets are $10.
Remain True is based on an original production, Home On The Iowa, first conceived and adapted by Thomas P. Johnson in 2000. Using the oral histories gathered by the Amana Heritage Society in the 1980’s from many of the surviving communal-era residents of the Amana Colonies, Johnson created a dynamic, insightful and entertaining theatrical production of Amana history. Remain True features a number of stories presented in Home On The Iowa, with additional stories that will be making their first appearance on stage in this newest production. Four actors will give voice to dozens of real-life residents of the early Amanas and their stories of communal life. Meg Merckens (South Amana), Jenna Vik (Woodbury, Minnesota), Ed Moersfelder (Amery, Wisconsin) and Alex Shockley (Algona) have been working together to study the history, listen to the stories and create their own unique telling of this German settlement in eastern Iowa. Together they present the historic journey of the Amana people as they moved from Germany to Ebenezer, New York and finally to their home in Iowa. The actors’ have received invaluable assistance from the Amana Heritage Society and also from Amana residents, Marietta Moershel, Peter Hoehnle and Emilie Hoppe. “It’s a great way of presenting history in a thoroughly entertaining manner to a wide age range of audience members,” states Meg Merckens, one of the acting ensemble. “Our hope is that it will be a memorable as well as an informative experience for all who attend.”
For ticket information and to reserve seats, call 319-622-3222 or email: itac@southslope.net. All tickets are $10.
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