Theatre Cedar Rapids Accepting Submissions for 2014 Underground New Play Festival

Cedar Rapids - Continuing an annual tradition, TCR will hold the Underground New Play Festival during the fall of 2014. The Festival is currently accepting submissions of new plays written by playwrights residing in Iowa, or who have strong Iowa connections. TCR is looking for a wide variety of original plays which have never been produced or published.

Submissions can be ten-minute pieces, one-acts, or full-length plays. We welcome a wide variety of genres, from comedies to dramas to musicals, and pieces can appeal to a family audience, a strictly adult audience, or may be pieces geared specifically to a child audience.

Both established and experienced playwrights, as well as those new to the craft, are welcome to submit work.

TCR Accepting Applications for Underground New Play Festival

Cedar Rapids - "Continuing an annual tradition, TCR will hold the Underground New Play Festival during the fall of 2013. The Festival is currently accepting submissions of new plays written by playwrights residing in Iowa, or who have strong Iowa connections. TCR is looking for a wide variety of original plays which have never been produced or published.

Submissions can be ten-minute pieces, one-acts, or full-length plays. We welcome a wide variety of genres, from comedies to dramas to musicals, and pieces can appeal to a family audience, a strictly adult audience, or may be pieces geared specifically to a child audience.

First Comedy, Now Drama... TCR's New Plays are Powerful

By Matthew Falduto

Last week, the TCR Underground New Play Festival opened with a lot of laughs. The night of short comedies was a great success. Last night, things took a more serious turn. The two one act plays by Iowa playwrights tackled abortion, extramarital affairs, and lots of deception. The common thread through both shows were the powerful performances by the actors.

Passage by Wesley Broulik tells the story of two college professors and their tumultuous affair. Leslie Charipar and Christopher Cole as Miranda and Howard created believable, flawed characters. The script takes the audience on a roller coaster ride as we race through the ups and downs of their relationship. Passionate one moment and vicious the next, the actors commit fully to these desperate souls drawing us into their pain and loneliness. As the first scene ends, we are not certain what choices these characters will make. Will they stay together and attempt a real relationship? Will he confess all to his wife and beg for forgiveness? I had my opinion… and then we got the second scene.

The second scene takes place many months before the first, allowing the audience to see a pre-affair meeting between these characters as well as introducing Howard’s wife, Barbara, the subject of much discussion in the first scene. Barbara is wonderfully portrayed by Kimberly Meyer. This scene provides a greater context for the relationship we are introduced to in the first scene. The genius of the play is that this scene, told out of chronological order, informs the first scene and allows the audience to better form opinions about the ultimate fate of these characters. I enjoyed this play immensely, caught up in the powerful acting and the quick witted words. Perhaps my favorite moment is when Miranda declares with all of her feminist outrage, “I am not a damsel!” and Howard laments softly, “I think we all need saving.”Indeed we do, Howard, and the fact that none of these characters allow themselves to be saved is perhaps the greatest tragedy of the story.

Speaking of tragedies, the second show was That One Thing by Erica Jo Hoye. From early on, we know where this play is going and we are certain there can be no happy ending. Megan (Megan Anderson) and Adam (Andrew Clancey) are newly married, but don’t know each other as well as they thought. Early on, Megan discovers Adam is a Republican, the anathema to everything she believes in. While Adam never lied precisely, he certainly allowed her to believe he shared her views, and this initial deception only leads to Megan’s devastating deception later on. Megan quizzes Adam and discovers that, with one exception, his views are not really all that different than her own. (This provided some of the funniest moments of the play, as Republican ideas were skewered very effectively… though I doubt the humor would play as well in Steve King’s district…) However, that one exception is the taboo of all taboo subjects… abortion.

As these two desperately move from attempting to understand each other’s position to sweeping it under the rug to finally being forced to confront the issue, we are treated to two powerhouse performances by Anderson and Clancey. What’s clear is Megan and Adam love each other dearly and are searching for a way out of this impossible situation. We all have our opinions on the abortion issue, but the strength of this play is that no matter which side you fall on, these characters as created by Clancey and Anderson are so real and heartbreakingly honest that we come away with empathy if not total understanding for the other point of view. And when it comes to abortion, empathy is often the best result we can hope for.

If you want to be challenged and swept away by passion and heartbreak, see these shows. Or if you want to enjoy powerful performances and smart direction, get to Theatre Cedar Rapids tonight. Maybe you want a chance to say, I knew that playwright when… well then the Grandon Studio is where you should be heading in just a few hours. The shows are only playing tonight at 7:30 pm. Don’t miss them!

The New Play Festival concludes Saturday and Sunday with a full length play, Baby Jesus and the Queen of Hearts by Robert Lynn. Original theatre in Iowa is alive and well – don’t miss it!

Comedy Rules First Night of New Play Festival

by Matthew Falduto

TCR - Theatre Cedar Rapids’ Artistic Director Leslie Charipar began her curtain speech by noting that the Underground New Play Festival is one of her favorite events each year. And what’s not to like? Local playwrights get the chance to see their newest work on stage for the first time. Theatre goers feel the excitement that’s always part of the unveiling of brand new shows. It’s an excitement that one doesn’t feel before the curtain rises on… Hello, Dolly! for instance. (Please, no one bring back Hello, Dolly!) So I have to say I concur with Ms. Charipar – the New Play Festival is one my favorite events of the year, too. And this year begins on a decidedly funny footing, with four shows that left the audiences chuckling, laughing and sometimes guffawing.

The first show, Of All Things Atypical, was a throwback to the Oscar Wildean comedies of manners. Playwright Damon Sindelar sets the scene well as we watch a mother (Lisa Wipperling) prepare her daughter, Sicily (Emmy Lane Palmersheim), for the arrival of her first suitor (Nicholas Walters). The costumes are wonderful, creating the atmosphere of an Oscar Wilde era play. Each of the actors plays their character to perfection, including the pert maid (Donna Heyvaert) who is quietly filching cookies throughout the show. I especially appreciated the physical humor director Krista Neuman and cast added to the show. From a cookie flying into a teacup to Walters’ fumbling with his ascot, all of these moments worked very well. 

The second show of the evening was the funniest and also had the most depth, which I suppose is appropriate since it is about, well, a hole. In Brian Tanner’s The Hole Story, two blue collar army guys stand on some planet (or was it the moon?) holding rayguns protecting a hole. Not the crater, mind you, but the hole which is inside the crater. Earth has been attacked by the Martians and the war is happening out there somewhere while these two guys follow orders, protecting the hole from, well, no one. My description is not coming close to doing justice to the humor of the piece, which is wacky, yet thoughtful, and both funny and perverse. Both actors, Duane Larson as the doing-my-duty soldier who is slowly losing it, and Andrew Clancey, as the continually questioning new recruit, play the humor well. Larson masters the comedic timing and Clancey use his physicality to ramp up the comedy. Director Meg Dobbs made some good staging choices, particularly the end when Larson says goodbye to the hole. 

The third show, Leggo My Egg-O-Mat, was written by Larson. Grandpa (Rick Titus), a befuddled old man who thinks his granddaughter Timmy is his grandson, is searching for the Egg-O-Mat. (What is the Egg-O-Mat, you ask? See the play or if you’re impatient, Google it.) The play is really odd in a lot of ways, not the least of which is the fact that Timmy (Lily “Pickle” Palmersheim) keeps running offstage only to reappear injured in some way. But neither bee stings nor rabid dog bites get her down as she returns each time chipper and impatient with her confused grandpa. The audience laughed a lot during this play, finding humor in both the interactions of Timmy and Grandpa as well as the arrival of Phil (Nicholas Walters), an energy company worker with a thick New Jersey accent who Grandpa believes has been sent to provide guidance. The absurdity of the play is well directed by Zhen E. Rammelsberg, who clearly directed her actors to just go with every twist and turn and have fun with it. 

The final show of the evening, The Time When Presley and Mrs. Luther Took a Stand in the Alley, Kinda Sorta, was written by Mike Wilhelm. Ten year old Presley (Max Locher) finds comfort in conversations with a homeless woman, Mrs. Luther (Meg Norris), as he is dealing with the loss of his mother, the cruelty of his older sister, the sad prospect of a school closing, and a threatening father figure (though we’re never quite sure what is going on with the father, one of the frustrating parts of the show.) This play is the least polished of the four shows. In fact, during the talkback, it was noted by the artists that the show doesn’t have much of plot and is more of a day in the life sort of play. That can be effective, but when serious issues are brought up in the context of a story, we want something to happen. There are some good moments in the play (the 80s advertising references were fun, for instance), and I enjoyed the humor that is woven throughout the show, but in the end we are left feeling nothing is resolved and no character has moved forward in any way. To be honest, I am still not sure what the stand is that Presley and Mrs. Luther made. Still, kudos to a strong cast, particularly young Locher as Presley, who created an honest and real character, and Meg Norris, whose bag lady is definitely intriguing. 

A side story of the show involves Presley’s sister, Jasmine, played by Emmy Lane Palmersheim who also played Sicily in the first play. Like Sicily, Jasmine is also trying to find a suitor, but instead of using tea and cookies, Jasmine resorts to less legal substances to woo a boy. On the drive home, I was melding parts of the two plays in my head, creating an interesting contrast between these two girls both searching for love. And that's one of the fun parts of experiences like this... you never know where a new play may take your own imagination.

Before I end this review, I have to ask TCR... Where do you find all these talented kids? Both Palmersheim girls know how to command a stage and Locher has an instinctive understanding of the rhythms of speech. It’s great to see kids getting the chance to act alongside adults instead of in a children’s theatre setting. 

I strongly recommend you check out these four plays which are only showing tonight. You’ll have a lot of fun, laugh quite a bit and maybe you’ll even be creating new plays on the way home. Then check out the rest of the Underground New Play Festival as it continues this weekend and next.

TCR Seeks Writers & Directors for New Play Festival

TCR - This year's Underground Festival at TCR will feature entirely new plays to be performed in the Grandon Studio in November. Submissions are open until June 15; plays of any length will be considered as long as they have not been produced before.

Directors are also asked to apply for the Festival. There will also be a special Youth portion, open to directors and writers in grades 6-12.

Applications and other details here.

Summerland is riveting and thought provoking

by Matthew Falduto

Cedar Rapids - Saturday afternoon I experienced two very good shows at the TCR Underground Festival. The first, The End of the Affair, was a simple and funny show about two co-workers who negotiate having an affair.

The play starts just as Hank (Chad Sundermeyer) rejects a kiss by Shelly (Emily Nelson). We learn quickly that both are married. The dialogue is witty and well delivered by both Nelson and Sundermeyer. The staging was well done by director Jay Burken. Though I was sitting in the main section, it seemed to me that the audience sitting on the sides were able to enter into the story as well.

The End of the Affair was like many of the shows I've seen at the festival. A decent show, well executed. However yesterday afternoon, I saw a show that went way beyond what one would expect from a new play by a playwright who hadn't written a play since he was in college fourteen years ago. Rob Merritt's The Summerland Project is a play that needs a bigger stage, one beyond the borders of Iowa.

Set in the future, The Summerland Project tells the story of Carter (Matthew James) and Amelia (Katy Slaven), two newlyweds
whose lives are changed forever when an aneurysm causes Amelia to suffer locked in syndrome, a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis. There is no hope for Amelia, and only anguish for Carter, who suffers a vigil at her bedside for two years. Enter Paul Wesley (Nathan Nelson), the president of a corporation whose science division has created a way to copy a person's brain and put it into a simulated body, which is so lifelike one cannot tell that it is synthetic just by sight. Carter is uncertain, but in desperation goes along with the plan.

What follows is a story that is fascinating, riveting and thought-provoking. Who are we? What makes us human? Our memories? Our emotions? Our bodies? Some combination of all three? The genius of Merritt's play is that he offers no definitive answers, allowing the audience to leave the theatre asking these questions.

Merritt's script is well executed by the cast. James turns in a particularly heart breaking performance. He moves from desperate to haunted to resolved, perfectly depicting the character's arc at every moment. Slaven is also excellent. She captures the android character wonderfully in the early scenes and gives an absolutely devastating performance when she pleads with Carter to believe in her love for him.

One of the scientists, Dr. Ellen Beckett (why does she get a last name, Rob, when poor Max is just Max?), is played by Joy Mincy Powell, a commanding presence on stage. Ellen is also dealing with her own demons, and Powell ably shows us that her pursuit of the perfect android is a way to wrestle with those demons.

Another secondary character was Adah (Clare Duffy), a reporter who moves the action forward and gives us the exposition we need to know. Duffy, a local radio personality, does a fine job in this role. Philip Schramp portrays Senator Williams, a character I expected to despise, as he initially comes across as a right wing religious nut. However, Schramp does such an excellent job of selling his point of view that I found myself understanding, if not agreeing with, his perspective.

A play with this sort of gravitas needs humor as well, and the character of Max
(Isaac Helgens), the other scientist, brings it. Helgens knows how to deliver a witty line. However, Merritt doesn't allow the character to become a punchline. Instead, he allows Max's depth to show through at the end of play, extending the questions the audience is wrestling with. Helgens handles this more serious scene well.

A day later, I am still considering the questions Summerland raises. What choice would I have made if I were in Carter's place? Should we be allowed to cheat death? Are the memories what makes us who we are? This play sticks with you. It was a powerful show, well executed by talented actors. Let's hope Merritt can find another venue for this play so more people have a chance to experience it.

Finally, I have to say congratulations to Theatre Cedar Rapids for a successful new play festival. I was never disappointed and enjoyed every show on some level. I sincerely hope this is an annual event for many years to come.

Touching and witty plays end TCR Underground Festival

by Matthew Falduto

Cedar Rapids - The TCR Underground Festival comes to a close today with the full length Escape from the Underground by Erica Jo Hoye and 10 minute Symmetry by Mike Wilhelm. Both are strong shows and an excellent way to end this festival.

Symmetry is simple and wonderfully affecting. Wilhelm's script chronicles the relationship of a mother (Donna Heyvaert) and son (Christopher Cole), from pregnancy to the mother's death. The staging couldn't be more simple. Mother and son sit on chairs on opposite sides of the stage. What follows are many short scenes that take us through the lives of these two characters. There are no plot surprises, but commitment to character carries us through this touching story.

Heyvaert is wonderful as the mother, who has a tradition that she shares with her son of wishing on a penny every year. This clever device takes us from the 50s to modern day. Heyvaert clearly shows us every facet of being a parent - fear, pride, frustration and above all, the love that permeates every moment. Cole easily navigates all ages of the son, from baby to toddler to teen. As the adult son, he takes us into the helplessness of a child who witnesses his parent regress into a child-like state. It is a moving performance.

TCR, this show deserves a revival on Mother's Day. Bring it back for a one day only event. It's sweet and simple and true. I was not the only one wiping a tear away at the end.

The second show of the evening, Escape from the Underworld, was full of twists and turns, creating an engaging story filled with clever wit. Jocelyn (Bailey Steinke) died in a drunk driving related car wreck at age 17 and was sent to the Underworld where she meets Persephone (Ottavia De Luca), who rules there with her never seen husband Hades. (Apparently, there is no
Heaven and Hell - Greek mythology turns out to be the truth.) Seven or so years later, Jocelyn's sister Abby (April Kamp-Whittake) dies and arrives in the Underworld. Jocelyn is not thrilled to see her as her sister has married the boy she loved. What follows is a complicated story regarding the rules of the Underworld and how one may escape.

The actors are all excellent, particularly De Luca as the majestic Persephone and Steinke as the perpetual teenager Jocelyn. De Luca strides across the stage, every movement evoking a queen. Her voice transforms from charming to commanding in an instant. Steinke presents a teenage smirk and attitude consistently and in this she is assisted by a clever script filled with witty barbs, which she delivers like swift arrows from the bow of Apollo.

If there is any criticism to be leveled at this show, it's perhaps that the story is a little too complicated, filled with underdeveloped motivations by the principal characters. Lee (Alex Williams), for instance, is a dead teenager from the 70s who has been waiting for Jocelyn's sister to arrive so he can set the plot in motion. His reason for doing this is clear, until it isn't when there's a suggestion of a second reason that is never developed and almost feels a little tacked on to add a little romance to a script that doesn't need it. One is also not quite sure why Persephone is so against the escape or whether or not Abby wants to help with the escape or not. Some clarity behind character motivation would make this a stronger script.

Still, I strongly recommend you check out both of these shows today, if you happen to read this before 2:30 pm when the curtain will rise. Check back later for a review of the final two plays of the TCR Underground Festival - The Summerland Project and The End of an Affair.

The laughs continue at TCR's Underground Festival

by Matthew Falduto

Cedar Rapids - I am definitely enjoying the TCR Underground Festival. Last week, I experienced two really funny plays and last night was no different. The laughs came quickly in the first show of the night, Nirvana, written by Lin Kemp. Playing an innocent simply called The Man, Al Willett offers an earnest performance, which is the only way to play a character who views the world through binoculars and acts silly. Janet Haar, who played his wife and was also extremely funny in last week's Truth or Consequences, matched Willett's earnest performance, showing a fine chemistry.

The show is satirical look at our government and the lengths to which it is beholden to Big Money/Big Lobbying/Big Religion (played by Duane Larson who throws plenty of money around, but never quite got it as far the third row where I was sitting) and Big Oil/Big Pharma (played by Larry Hansen of the enviable handlebar mustache). When The Man discovers that the president is being kept alive by these special interests, he is visited by Emissary (played by Brian Smith, who was clearly enjoying every evil moment of the character). As a way to keep The Man quiet, Emissary offers him the position of president. Can The Man say no? Probably not as Emissary tells us he has a PhD in tempting and a Master's in goading.

There's lot of potential in this show (for example casting The Public as an annoying child [nicely played by Max Locher] certainly sticks it to us), but I think it ends too soon. I would have liked to see more of how the special interests affected our government. There's plenty of humor there as well. The fate of The Man is effective as a final message on what's happening with our government, but I would encourage Kemp to expand the interaction between the special interests and The Man before the inevitable ending.

I am well acquainted with the second play of the evening, Broken Branches. Playwright Brian Tanner is also a member of the Black Doggers, and I had the privilege of offering feedback as Tanner was working on the show.

The show tackles a couple of different issues. The main story follows the desire of recently fired and lonely Ben (K Michael Moore) to find a real relationship. This is moved forward by his well meaning dingbat of a friend Fred (Bryant Duffy) who signs him up for a whole host of internet dating sites. However, Ben's information is also sent to non-dating sites as well, including a genealogy site where he is found by Alice (Kimberly Meyer), who believes he is her long lost cousin. Ben accepts Alice's friend request on Facebook thinking she's into him. The secondary story is all about the attempts by Ben and Fred's roommate Quentin (played with a delightfully manic energy by Brandon Dean) to change history using the time machine he has created. Of course, neither Ben nor Fred believe Quentin has created a time machine, particularly since he uses such household items as a lighter, toilet paper, and VHS tapes for his wacky experiments. One doesn't often see time travel tackled on stage, and Tanner delivers a clever and intriguing script on the subject.

Both of these story lines provide for a lot of great humor. One would not expect a riff on Fred Savage as a genocidal lunatic would be funny. But it is. Oh, it is. And the Nazi humor is both gutsy and funny. Probably the best scene in the entire piece are the two simultaneous instant message conversations Ben juggles. One is with Alice and the other is with Alice's cousin, Cassie (played with sass by Ashley Keenan). Excellent direction by Zhen Rammelsburg and execution by K Michael Moore make it clear where each IM is going. Plus, Moore's interpretation of the lines in this scene is particularly good as he gives us a very clear picture of the well meaning, sweet everyman that is the character of Ben. It is the one time in the play when the static staging really works well.

This leads me to my one major criticism of all four shows I've seen at the festival so far - the staging. The Grandon Studio is both a rewarding and challenging space for directors as the audience is situated on three sides of the stage. As you may know, this is called a thrust stage and has been used for literally thousands of years. It's rewarding because it allows for a wonderfully intimate theatre experience. However, I believe every other theatre in our area has a proscenium stage, with the audience situated directly in front of the stage, not on the sides. (Correct me in the comments if you think of one that's not proscenium...) Even the Iowa City Community Theatre has now reverted back to the proscenium set up. So we're not used to seeing a thrust stage performance, and perhaps our local directors are not used to creating a show in one.

For the two shows last week, I was seated in the main section and while I suspected those in the side sections were not seeing nearly the same show I was, I could not be sure. After sitting on one of the side sections for last night's show, I am certain I did not get as complete an experience as those in the main section. With the audience on three sides, there are going to be times when actors block one another from one section of the audience or another. This can be worked around by moving actors more frequently, creating a more dynamic performance as well as allowing all sides to view scenes. To that end, a spare stage with few set pieces is essential, particularly if the stage is small, as is the case with Grandon. This allows for movement and ensures that set pieces do not block the audience. Finally placement of the actors in key scenes is crucial. If we cannot see the actor who is speaking, at least give us the reactions of another actor whenever possible so we can feel the impact of the speech.

With Nirvana, director Justin Braden did a good job of moving the actors about the stage and allowing us to see reactions of the non-speaking actors. Keeping the set simple helped as well. Still, there were many times when a simple shift of position by an actor on stage would have opened him or her up to more of the audience.

For Broken Branches, much of the staging was more problematic. Too many large set pieces limited movement by the actors, leading to a very static staging. This resulted in those on the sides missing some of the action. One crucial scene was played entirely at a table stage right - those of us on the stage left side could not see either actor's facial reactions.

The next Grandon Studio show is Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde in February. This is a show with a large cast and potentially static staging (it takes place in a courtroom). It will be interesting to see how director Jason Alberty tackles that show in this space. And word on the street is there will be Oscar Wilde action figures available for purchase. So yeah, don't miss that one.

But of course, you don't have to wait til February to see another show in the Grandon Studio. While Broken Branches and Nirvana have now ended, the festival continues tonight, Saturday and Sunday with new shows. I strongly encourage you to check it out. I will be there on Saturday to experience four shows in eight hours and I just can't wait!

Lots of laughs in the inaugural night of TCR Underground

by Matthew Falduto

Cedar Rapids - I am huge fan of the idea of theatres producing local work. There are so many great playwrights in our area. So I am always thrilled when I hear that City Circle is going to do their original works festival or Dreamwell is awarding $100 to the winner of their Writers Joust or Riverside is producing Walking the Wire. Or heck, everything that SPT does.

For the past five years, I've been a part of the Black Doggers, a Corridor playwrighting group that meets every two weeks to discuss their work. Being a part of that group and critiquing and discussing new work with fellow playwrights is one of the most enjoyable theatre experiences I've had in recent years. So I approached my task of reviewing the TCR Underground plays as a Dogger might, examining the plays themselves, perhaps even more so than the acting and directing and the design elements. That's not say I'm not going to critique those elements as well, but in my mind, I am going to be sitting in one of my fellow Doggers' living room, can of Pepsi in hand, listening to the words of the play and ready to give some constructive criticism.

Theatre Cedar Rapids solicited scripts for their Underground festival without any restrictions. Full length, one act, ten minutes, it was all good. And that's what they got. Opening last night were Truth Or Consequences by Ryan Rausch and The Ethical Dilemma of a Sandwich Down The Pants by Kelly Shriver Kolln.

Ten minute play Sandwich precedes the full length Truth or Consequences, and is a lot of fun to watch. The story is pretty simple: a man tries to steal a sandwich by stuffing it down his pants but is caught by the clerk who retrieves the sandwich and puts it back, to the disgust of the rest of the customers in the store. There are lots of humorous moments in the play, and the actors kept the action moving with hilarious silent reactions, especially Jacob Coover and K Michael Moore. Particularly funny were the series of moments when the Lottery Ticket Buyer (Larry Hansen) would spend time scratching off his tickets, while the other customers impatiently waited to check out. Just when we think it's over and he's moving, we hear the scritch, scritch, scritch as he's working his way toward a possible win. I enjoyed the breaking of the fourth wall by a number of characters, in particular Alex Williams and Justin Mangrich as the two students. Both have such an energy on stage, and I can't really explain the utter delight I felt when Mangrich squeaked his marker while writing on a post it note. It was just really funny and honestly I don't know why.

I also have to give kudos to TCR for entrusting the ten minute Sandwich play to 13 year old director Emmy Palmersheim. You might remember her from her excellent performance in Eurydice. It's clear she knows a thing or two about directing as well, as the actors moved quickly and smartly through this piece. Providing a platform for the next generation of theatre artists is important; good job, TCR.

The second play of the evening is set in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, the town that changed its name to the popular radio show in the 1950s in order to get the show to broadcast from their town, which did once a year for 50 years. The title also refers to the fact that nearly every character in the play has a secret or three. However, in this case, telling the truth leads to consequences.

The show is ostensibly about Charlotte (Darcy Delong) who is bringing her future husband Alex (K Michael Moore) home for dinner with her dysfunctional extended family. Charlotte fits right in with this family as she has lied to Chris about her previous three (or is it four?) marriages. Charlotte's parents, JoAnn and Steve (Mary Crandall and Ashley Wagel), are part of this family dinner, bickering non-stop. Her aunt and uncle, Maggie (Lisa Streif) and Jerry (Keith Kenel), are also present. Jerry continually drinks in order to deal with the crazy family dynamics. Maggie is a stereotypical homophobic Christian Fundamentalist. She's also popping pills constantly. Charlotte's other aunt is Lily (Laurie Thomas), who is clearly not in tune with reality, wearing outrageous clothes and adopting a faux Southern accent. But with a family like this, how can anyone blame her?

Charlotte's grandmother, Rose (Janet Haar), may be the most normal of the bunch, but you get the idea that when she was younger she was most likely as crazy as everyone else in the family. Perhaps that's the point of the play - with age comes wisdom? The final two characters are David (Bryant Duffy), Maggie's gay closeted son, and his boyfriend, Chris (Richard Adams). These two characters are the most sympathetic ones in the entire play. One wonders if the playwright was trying to make a point about homosexual relationships vs. heterosexual relationships. But if so, it got lost among the many different storylines.

The best aspect of this piece is the amount of humor crammed into it. There are funny moments constantly eliciting guffaws from an appreciative audience. However, the humor is often of the shock variety, as in "Did that person just say that?!" We laugh, but we're a little uncomfortable, too. Some of the running gags were really funny, such as the family's belief that Alex is Mexican. Moore smoothly transitioned from confusion to amusement to outrage as the evening progressed, each reaction funnier than the previous. Haar had some of the best lines and she delivered them with gusto. Everyone had at least one or two humorous moments and all were up to the task.

If I were sitting in a Doggers' living room, I'd follow up these positives with some constructive criticism. If this were just a straight up comedy, it could have been an extremely successful show. Play it all for laughs and maybe we wouldn't feel dissatisfied at the end. But there are heavy issues moving through this play that we're supposed to take seriously. And that's where the play is less successful.

Truth is, I am not sure what the play is about and who we're supposed to be rooting for. The most likeable characters, David and Chris, are reactive and consequently don't seem like main characters, never making decisions that lead to any change of their characters. If David chose to out himself, that would be an interesting character moment, but instead we get him being outed by his cousin in a fit of rage, and what's more surprising and disappointing, we never see the consequences for Charlotte of this terrible betrayal. Charlotte appears to be the main character in the beginning of the play, but she's so unlikable with her lies and again, things just happen to her, and we never see her make any decisions or experience any growth of character. We understand completely when Alex leaves her and we wish the storm hadn't prevented him from leaving earlier. (Side note: the storm that forces everyone to stay in the house longer than they would have normally is a bit of a cliché.)

The two sisters, Maggie and JoAnn are constantly cruel to each other, making both of them extremely unlikable characters. And when we hear the family secret from their childhood that explains some of the reasons behind this, it's just left there as an explanation without any sort of follow up. By that point, we just don't care enough about these characters. When Steve stands up to JoAnn and actually does something to deal with the dysfunction in the play, we're thrilled, but we're wondering why didn't see more of Steve prior to this moment? And then we get one more secret from JoAnn that just seems tacked on and unnecessary. She was unlikable enough - what was the point of that?

I think the basic problem with the script is that it tries to do too much. Focus on Steve's actions to get out of the dysfunctional family. Or focus on the contrast between the healthy relationship of David and Chris and the dysfunctional relationships of everyone else. Or really deal with the repercussions of Charlotte's lies. There's so much happening in this play that everything gets the short shrift. This is Ryan Rausch's first attempt at writing a play, and with that in mind, it's actually quite a good effort. Interesting characters, very funny... it just needs more focus. Hopefully, he will continue writing.

I encourage you to check out these two plays, which are running again tonight. Sandwich is delightful and Truth or Consequences is full of laughs. On Saturday, there's a full docket of staged readings and then two more plays on Sunday. Go here for more information about the festival.

TCR Launches New Play Festival

Cedar Rapids – As a playwright in Iowa, it’s hard to get a play produced. Theatre Cedar Rapids is looking to make it a little easier.

Beginning this week, TCR will kick off the TCR Underground New Play Festival, performing Nov. 3-13 in TCR’s new Grandon Studio. The two-week festival will showcase 11 original shows, all by Iowa playwrights. The plays range in length from 10 minutes to full-length productions, as well as a full day of staged readings.

“I’m really excited about it,” said TCR Artistic Director Leslie Charipar of Cedar Rapids. “I love the idea that there are playwrights right here in the area or with connections to the area, that could be the next big thing in playwriting, and TCR would have been one of the first to give their script a chance. I’m also excited about giving local playwrights an opportunity to workshop their scripts and see them on their feet and spoken by actors. It’s hard to get a script from on paper to on its feet.”

The 11 scripts chosen for the Festival were narrowed down from more than 30 submissions. There was also a large turnout of actors at auditions, with more than 50 performers vying for a chance to be involved. Those two factors showed that the demand for a New Play Festival is high indeed, Charipar said.

“I had no idea there were so many playwrights in this area, and I was encouraged to know that,” she said. “And it excites me to know that there are actors in the area who are adventurous enough to want to be a part of a new script. It’s a different experience to work on a script that’s original because as an actor, you're part of the actual shaping and developing of that script.”

Shows to be featured in the Festival include a comedy based on the Greek myth of the Underworld; political satire; a romantic comedy that explores the laws of time and space; a play exploring the ethics of prolonging life artificially; and even a comedy about what happens when a thief shoves a sandwich down his pants.

“I think audiences should walk in expecting anything,” Charipar says. “Some of the material is dark, some of it is light, some is dense and requires some work on the part of the audience, some is easy and can wash right over you.

“Attending a Festival like this is really more about being a part of the process,” Charipar added. “Writing a play is really, really hard, and I think the fun of something like this is supporting someone who had the courage to give their scripts over to a group of strangers – and then getting to see that script being born.”

The Festival opens with The Ethical Dilemma of a Sandwich Down The Pants and Truth Or Consequences at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, November 3 and 4. Saturday, November 5 features a full day of staged readings, including These Days, Failing Evolution and The Almighty Dollar.

The one-act plays Nirvana and Broken Branches will be performed back-to-back on both Sunday, November 6 and Thursday, November 10. The End of the Affair will be performed alongside the full-length play The Summerland Project November 11 and 12. The Festival then concludes with Symmetry and the full-length Escape From The Underworld November 12 and 13.

For tickets, schedules and cast lists, visit TCR's website. Tickets are $15 and $12.50 ($10 for students) and are available at the box office, by calling (319) 366-8591 or by purchasing online. Be aware that seating is limited, and that advance tickets are strongly encouraged.


Shows in the Festival include:

The Almighty Dollar by David Patterson (full-length staged reading)

A dark comedy about the crash of the American dollar. Two roommates decide to become opportunists during the crisis and learn much about themselves and the American way of life.

Failing Evolution by Sarah M. Jarmon (full-length staged reading)

Rich, pretty Fiona is a little afraid of Shaun, the hard-edged teenager she was hired to tutor. But the girls soon find they have more in common than they could have imagined. And Shaun needs help with a lot more than her homework.

These Days by Erica Jo Hoye (full-length staged reading)

Kelly is the student and Nathan is the professor. These Days looks at how that difference in power and age can affect a relationship and those in and around it.

The Ethical Dilemma of a Sandwich Down the Pants by Kelly Shriver Kolln (10 minute play)

At a convenience store, an exhausted Teaching Assistant witnesses a man attempting to steal a sandwich by hiding it in his shorts. The cashier recovers it, then throws it back into the cooler. An ethical dilemma ensues.

Symetry by Mike Wilhelm (10-minute play)

In seventeen short scenes, a mother’s role evolves from caretaker, to independent adult, to helplessness, to death. This mirrors her son’s evolution from unborn, to helplessness, to independent adult, to caretaker.

Broken Branches by Brian Tanner (one-act play)

A romantic comedy – with a splash of science fiction – that explores a larger question. Are we free to make the choices that we make, or are other forces pulling the strings?

The End of the Affair by James Grob (one-act play)

Shelly believes that Hank wants to have an affair with her. When the two co-workers find themselves alone on a business trip, a spirited discussion about forbidden inter-office romance follows.

Nirvana by Lin Kemp (one-act play)

In a deceitful move to quiet a man who’s uncovered their secrets, the government offers him the Presidency itself – but is told that he must first pass “The Test.” Can he pass? And what will happen if he does?

Escape from the Underworld by Erica Jo Hoye (full-length play)

Jocelyn came to the Underworld eight years ago and hasn’t had it too bad – until her annoying younger sister arrives, a hippie befriends her, and she’s in trouble with the rulers of the Underworld.

The Summerland Project by Rob Merritt (full-length play)

Desperate to save his dying wife, Carter Summerland signs her over to a revolutionary procedure that replaces her entire body. But is the result really his wife? Or is she something else entirely?

Truth or Consequences by Ryan Rausch (full-length play)

On the eve of Charlotte’s marriage to her fourth husband, a storm confines this unconventional family for the night. The secrets exposed will force this New Mexican clan to question their morals, beliefs, and allegiances to each other.

TCR Underground Auditions Aug 28-29

Cedar Rapids - Theatre Cedar Rapids announced the lineup for the Underground Festival, two weekends in November of original shows. Auditions are going to be August 28 and 29. With more than 60 roles available, there is a role for almost everyone. The festival includes 10 minute plays, one act plays, and full length plays. Some of the shows will receive staged readings and some will receive full productions. The three full length plays that will receive full productions are Escape from the Underworld by TCR's Program Participation Coordinator Erica Jo Hoye, The Summerland Project by TCR's Marketing Director Rob Merritt and Truth or Consequences by Ryan Rausch.

For information about all of the plays that were selected, as well as details about auditions go to the TCR website.

TCR accepting submissions for Underground Festival

Cedar Rapids - This year, TCR will be hosting its first annual New Play Festival in November. Playwrights may submit plays of any length — 10-minute, one act, full length, epic — for consideration, but they must be previously unproduced and unpublished. The deadline for submission is June 30 at 5 pm.

The festival will be held in Theatre Cedar Rapids’ Grandon Studio, their new 80-seat black box theatre. They're looking for scripts for staged readings and minimally produced productions. While no ‘winner’ will be selected, some scripts may be considered for further development after the festival closes.

Additionally, they will need directors for each script selected. The deadline for directors to submit an application is June 30 at 5 pm. Playwrights may choose their own director, but her or his name must be included with the play submission. Otherwise, a director from the pool of applicants will be assigned to each selected play.

As a part of the play festival, TCR wants to encourage young writers and will be including a youth playwrighting segment, for which playwrights in grades 6 through 12 can submit ten-minute plays. Young playwrights may submit longer plays but they will be considered with the rest of the festival submissions, regardless of age.

Selected plays and their directors will be announced on August 13 at Ovations.

Questions about the festival may be submitted to erica at theatrecr.org. The applications are located here.

Horatio’s Purgatory selected for State Community Theatre Festival

TCR - Theatre Cedar Rapids held its first-ever TCR Underground Festival November 5th through 7th in the Grandon Studio at Theatre Cedar Rapids. The festival included nine entries directed, acted and crewed by volunteers. The one-acts included original works by local playwrights Joe Jennison, Rachel Korach Howell, Sarah Jarmon, Duane Larson and Erica Hoye, as well as established works by Aaron Sorkin, John-Paul Sarte and L.B. Hamilton.

The festival culminated in an awards ceremony where one play was selected as the official TCR entry to the Iowa State Community Theatre Festival April 1-3, 2011. The official festival selection was Horatio’s Purgatory, an original work by Rachel Korach Howell, directed by Angie Toomsen and featuring performances by Matthew James and Kehry Anson Lane. Horatio's Purgatory also won for Best Direction and Best Lighting and Technical Elements.

The festival selection runner-up was a production of Sartre's No Exit, directed by Ryan Foizey, featuring performances by Matthew James, Amanda Forman, Lincoln Ginsberg and Stephanie Larios. No Exit also won Best Ensemble and Best Costumes.

Additional awards were give to Bryant Duffy (Best Actor, A Midnight Clear) and Ottavia DeLuca (Best Actress, Big Bad Wolf).

People's Choice awards were voted on each night and awards were given to Kory Bassett (Best Actor, Big Bad Wolf), Bryant Duffy (Best Actor Runner-Up, A Midnight Clear), Carole Martin (Best Actress, A New Normal), Amanda Forman (Best Actress Runner-Up, No Exit), Big Bad Wolf (Best Play, directed by Sarah Jarmon) and No Exit (Best Play Runner-Up, Best Ensemble).

Theatre Cedar Rapids' 2005 festival entry won both state and regional competitions and went all the way to the national festival in Kalamazoo, MI.

Notes from TCR Underground

by James E. Trainor III


TCR - If you've been to the renovated Iowa Theatre Building lately, you've noticed a few differences. You've probably remarked on the uncrowded lobby. Doubtless you've appreciated the expanded restrooms. Maybe you've even enjoyed a drink in the lounge. But did you know that downstairs there's a whole other theatre? This weekend, TCR is inviting audiences to go a little deeper, into the Grandon Studio, for the "TCR Underground" experience.

The festival serves two purposes, according to TCR Programs Participation Coordinator Erica Jo Hoye. One is two provide more opportunities for TCR volunteers. Another is to provide opportunities for TCR's audience: these are shows that you aren't likely to see on TCR's mainstage. TCR Underground is all about smaller shows that take risks.

"I’m really excited about it," says TCR Artistic Director Leslie Charipar. "Having these plays in the Grandon Studio will allow us to offer that intimate, in-your-face kind of theatre that I love. And I am so thrilled that six of the nine are original pieces. I am eager to see what these guys do with them."

Intimate is right. The Grandon Studio is small, seating 71, and there are maybe a dozen lights in the air. But when those lights go down and the small space is filled by the voices of dedicated actors, this empty space can become just about anywhere.

These limitations are an important part of the creative process, says Hoye. Technical and spacial limitations can energize an artist and lead to innovative solutions.

"I do my best writing when I'm handed a series of parameters," says Sarah Jarmon, whose play Big Bad Wolf is one of the six original pieces being showcased. "Creativity blooms when you are forced to fit your art into an unpredictable mold. You come up with creative solutions, make creative choices and find things you never might have found otherwise."

"We learned a lot at TCR Lindale because of how limited we were," says Hoye. "TCR Underground offers a chance to bring some of those lessons home."

The festival features nine plays, six of which were penned by local writers. One of these plays might be selected by TCR's panel of judges to represent TCR in the state community theatre festival in 2011. There will also be a chance for the audience to vote on its favorites.

"I hope it becomes an annual event," says Charipar. "And I hope that from this festival there emerges more desire on the part of volunteers to take a risk, come to us and say 'Hey, I have this piece I really want to do. Can I do it in Grandon?' or 'I’d really like to try directing.' We have so many talented people around here, and we just don’t have enough days in the year to showcase everyone. This is another opportunity to do that."

The lineup is as follows:

FRIDAY

Hidden In This Picture by Aaron Sorkin (Directed by Richie Akers) - An unproven Hollywood director and his production team agonize over what to do when three cows walk into the climactic shot of their movie.

These Days, written and directed by Erica Jo Hoye - Two opposing viewpoints offer wildly different takes on the relationship between a teacher and a student.

Horatio’s Purgatory, by Rachel Korach Howell (Directed by Angie Toomsen) - A spinoff of Hamlet that tells Shakespeare’s famous story from the perspective of the Dane’s best friend.

SATURDAY

Control by Rachel Korach Howell (Directed by Jason Grubbe) - A woman tries to escape after being held captive by a sadistic man in the woods.

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre (Directed by Ryan Foizey) - An existential play in which deceased characters are locked away in a room together in the afterlife.

Big Bad Wolf, written and directed by Sarah Jarmon - Following the mysterious deaths of her family, a woman questions whether she’s part of a real-life reenactment of "The Three Little Pigs."

SUNDAY

A Midnight Clear by L.B. Hamilton (Directed by Bryant Duffy) - A pair of former lovers are awkwardly reunited in the emergency room after one of them suffers a brutal attack.

Waiting for Salinger by Duane Larson, based on characters created by Duane Larson and Rich Kimball (Directed by Jenny Rammelsberg) - Two students from J.D. Salinger High School get into a debate while waiting for the school bus.

The New Normal by Joe Jennison (Directed by Brian Markowski) - The Flood of 2008 is revisited through the story of a Cedar Rapids family that’s forced to share a home in the immediate aftermath.


Many of these plays have never been seen before, or even been performed. We caught up with four of the writers and asked them a bit about their process.



Q: Tell us a bit about your play.



Erica Jo Hoye (writer/director, These Days): This is a hard question, because whenever I tell someone about it, they say, "oh, like Oleanna" which is a play I absolutely hate. It’s almost my answer to the lack of ambiguity in Oleanna – though I would never claim that I wrote the play because I didn’t like Oleanna. I took a song title that gave me a situation, and the characters fell into place, and it ended up being about a professor and a student, but I change my mind daily about who is wrong and who is right, which I’ve come to like about my play – though originally, it bothered me!

Sarah Jarmon (writer/director, Big Bad Wolf): Portia, a prosecuting attorney, is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after killing a young girl in self defense. After an explosion kills Portia’s youngest brother she begins suffering night terrors that she is being stalked by the big bad wolf. But when her second brother - and last remaining family member - dies in a second explosion Portia becomes convinced that she has been plunged into a real-life version of the three little pigs.

Duane Larson (writer, Waiting for Salinger): It's a short one-act play about three teens waiting for a bus to J.D. Salinger High School. They are full of pretension and somewhat detached from reality.

Joe Jennison (writer, The New Normal): It takes place on the morning, afternoon and evening of Labor Day, just three weeks after a flood destroyed most of the homes and businesses of a medium-sized Midwestern city. A businessman who lives with his very ill mother is forced to take in his sister, her husband, their two children and two cats. Also, and with no where else to go, a barista from the local coffee house moves in with his very large St. Bernard. An innocent gift from the barista’s flooded condo sparks a marital feud that ultimately results in a nervous breakdown, a busted marriage, and a lesson in survival. The play is written in such a way as to suggest a sort of constant household chaos as a result of the disaster, and although there are five adults, two children and three animals on stage, only four are ever really seen by the audience -- the others appear through a growing cacophony of offstage noises. The play is meant to be both funny and dramatic as it focuses on just four characters, all of whom struggle to find meaning and hope in the wake of devastation, loss and pain. I call it a dramatic farce.


Q: How did you hear about TCR Underground's festival? Have you been involved with TCR in the past, or is this a new experience for you?

Jarmon: I've been hearing about Underground for about a year now, it was just a matter of when TCR was going to do it. I've been involved with TCR plays as an actress fairly regularly since I graduated from Coe. But I jumped at the chance to write a piece and earn some exposure as a playwright.

Jennison: I have been working with TCR since I arrived in Cedar Rapids in 2003. I actually approached Casey and Leslie as soon as I knew that the new theater had a black box space about utilizing the space for one of my plays. Months later I read about the festival and applied.

Larson: Brian Markowski asked me to help out with Joe Jennison's play. My TCR experience includes "New Faces" in 2005, and the WTCR Big Broadcast radio shows.

Hoye: I work for TCR, and I have been the theatre’s organizer for the festival.


Q: Has the play changed a lot during the process?

Jennison: The process has been normal as far as theater goes. We did some actor juggling in the beginning. Several actors had committed and for various reasons had to move on. It all worked out in the end. I am very happy with the cast. One member of the cast has been working on the play since the very beginning: Amy White. She is a part of the Black Dogs, the playwright group that I work with. She has been reading the same lines since I began writing the play in 2008.

Hoye: We’ve changed tons of lines on the fly. Something just won’t sound right, and we’ll adjust it or cut it as needed. At a rehearsal a couple weeks ago, I discovered that I had the order of scenes wrong in the script. The cast had done a couple of scenes so well, that it become horribly clear that I’d written the scenes were in the wrong order, so we sat down as a group, and reworked the scene order until we were all happy with it.


Q: How is your relationship with the play's director?

Jennison: I am working with my old friend Brian Markowski (director) on this show. I have known Brian M since college (1983-1987). We both went to Iowa State and worked together on several projects there. We reconnected when I moved to CR in 2003. This is our third play in Cedar Rapids.

Larson: I have attended most of the "Salinger" rehearsals. The play has evolved, most notably through the introduction of a third character. Jenny's ideas have inspired the rewrites.

Hoye: I have been directing my piece myself.

Jarmon: I am actually directing my own piece which is new and different and terrifying and exciting. It's really scary, and strange. As a writer you hear and record these stories from your mind these characters you've never met and yet you know them, you made them, and they are a part of every piece of yourself. Then as a director you have to carefully fit this being inside of an actor and all of the sudden you've got this new vibe of a familiar friend just bursting out of a sensitive container and the nuances are thrilling. And then you realize all that scary was inside your head. Wow, there is no way to articulate this without sounding crazy. Good thing I surround myself with theatre people, who rarely mind.



Q: Why do you think it's important for theatres to produce original work by local playwrights?

Hoye:We ended up having 6 original plays accepted to the Festival, which I was floored by. I knew there were writers in the community, but it was thrilling to see so many come out of the woodwork. I’d like to see a New Play Festival start happening in the area, to showcase Iowa writers. We clearly have the talent in the this area, and the interest, and I think there’s nothing more exciting as an audience member than to say "I saw that play when it was first being work-shopped" and I think it shows the community that great work can happen here – that you don’t need to be in a huge metropolitan city – you can see great art without trekking to Chicago or Minneapolis or New York.

Larson:I think it's important to have smaller, non-main stage productions in addition to the more commercial main-stage shows, and hope that TCR continues to host these types of programs. Spotlighting pieces by local authors gives the community a greater stake in local theatre.

Jennison: I think it's important for every theater to support original plays and playwrights. Local playwrights as well as other artists in our community record our culture. The history and culture of any community is individual and unique - our story can't be told from New York or Chicago. Our local artists are responsible for recording that culture. Without local artists, our history is lost. I don't claim to speak for the entire community, only for the small piece that I have witnessed. But without this piece, and others like it in all mediums, a large part of our story would go untold. Future generations would not have access to our individual stories.

Jarmon: God bless TCR for providing people like me with a chance to do something we can be really proud of.


Q: Parting words? Shout-outs?

Larson: I would like to thank Jenny Rammelsberg, Brian Smith, Paul Freese, and Tom Renfer for the great job they're doing!

Jennison:I enjoy writing the plays and working with other playwrights through the Black Dogs. I would certainly recommend working with a group of other writers to anyone who calls themself a writer. A peer group has made all the difference to me and my work.

Hoye: We hope that people will come to this festival even though you may not have heard of the plays or the authors or the directors. The ticket price is $10 for a night, and you’ll see three plays that you probably won’t see on many other stages – that’s darn inexpensive for a night of theatre, and these are works that aren’t necessarily family-friendly (meaning it’s harder to get a theatre to take a chance on them) and many are by local writers who have never been produced before. So take a chance with us on this Festival and come see it.

TCR Underground opens Friday, November 5th and runs until Sunday, November 7th. Each day will showcase three different shows. Tickets to each day of the Festival are $10. A three-day pass for the entire festival is also available for $25. The Festival lineup begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday night, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. An awards ceremony will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

(Photos: Amanda Forman and Nathan Scheetz rehearse scenes from These Days under the direction of Erica Jo Hoye. Photos by James E. Trainor III)