A second review of The Drag

by Meghan D'Souza

With a set comprised of family portraits dating back to the early 1900s, vintage floral cloths draped over wooden tables, and a cozy brick fireplace, the audience of The Drag was taken back to the 1920s. Adding to the ambiance was a cast appropriately dressed for the time: ladies in drop-waisted, streamlined dresses paired with the popular costume jewelry of the '20s, and gentlemen in suits. Most exciting was seeing the men later dressed in the flapper dresses, drop waist dresses, and one tall glass of water (Jeff Emrich as The Duchess) in a stunning black number that even the most confident woman would have to take a moment to consider wearing on stage. The 1920s hair accessories placed in both the women's hair and drags' appropriately chosen wigs truly suited the era and, simple as this detail is, brought a nice flair to the experience.

The set, the clothes, the accessories, the music. We in the audience had been teleported to the 1920s.

However, it was not clear if actor Brian Tanner, who played widower Dr. James Richmond, was quite there with us. He looked the part of the doctor that he was. His presence was pleasant. But there was something missing from the lines that he delivered, and I think it was the true emotion behind what he said. Words were delivered, but he did not appear to believe what he said, especially in key scenes. Part of acting is reacting, and that lacked in his performance, as well. The man gets props, though, because this was, indeed, a tough play to put together and his role was most certainly the most challenging.

As Barbara Richmond, Kathy McDonald was a great connection between father Dr. Richmond and his grown daughter Clair Kingsbury. Not only did Ms. McDonald have a beautiful singing voice that carried the audience like it was a magic carpet ride taking us on a quick journey through the lyrics that she sang, she also did a wonderful job of remaining in character through each scene. She kept busy with her character's tasks, she reacted to what other characters said, and she had a believable, auntly chemistry with Richmond's niece, Clair.

Becca Robinson did a beautiful job as Clair. Her pain for her relationship was believable, she never broke character, and she truly inhabited her role as Clair. She reacted to everything going on around her, even if it was a simple statement that someone clear across the stage made. One downside is that, though she has the voice of an angel and one would wish to hear her sing to them endlessly, she had many sorrowful songs to sing, but the sad emotions did not come through with her beautiful voice. It was easy to get caught up in the sound of her voice and forget that the moment was rather devastating.

TJ Besler had a complicated role as Rolly Kingsbury, but he took it on and won. To try to even explain his character would be like explaining the last 70 years of Guiding Light. In short, he was believable from the moment he entered the stage. He was part of major twists in the show and he let loose, so the audience felt every intense emotion. Right when it was getting cheesy to see characters sing unnecessarily to the open space in front of them when they could have sung their stories to the character right behind them so emotions were better felt, Mr. Besler made a change and sang his numbers to the characters around him, using the props on stage for added entertainment. You could also feel and hear the emotion behind the words that he sang. The audience's reaction to this change was positive.

It is no secret that an audience favorite was seeing Gary Tyrrell, who played the flamboyant Clem Hathaway, Jeff Emrich as looks-obsessed Hal Swanson, and Jesse Harthan as flirty Winnie Lewis. These men were loud and proud of their sexuality and added comic relief with their bawdy jokes. The men bounced jokes off each other like they had been friends for years, the conversation flowed like it was their own, and watching them on stage felt as comfortable as if we were viewing them on our television sets and they had filmed their scenes earlier in the day. They each also dressed in women's attire, in the most traditional and trendy 1920s dresses, hairdos, and make up. Tyrrell even resembled 1920s icon Louise Brooks.

Butler Parsons played by Allen Dietrich was one of those "There's no such thing as a small role, just small actors" stories. Sure, Parsons was not seen as often as the aforementioned characters, but he left the audience smiling with his rendition of "Making Whoopie," his zip-lipped way of handing Rolly's lifestyle, the details he did in the background during the Drag Ball, and giving an intense vibe during the most emotional scene of the play.

Lighting appeared limited in this play, but mixed with how the actors behaved, the way the lighting was acceptable. At one point, Clair was singing her thoughts about her husband Rolly in front of him, but with the use of faded lights and Rolly's acting, it was obvious to us viewers that he was not supposed to hear what she was saying. Otherwise, lighting was not a main factor in the play, but that was not a bad thing.

The best thing is that fellow audience members got big laughs and witnessed a bit of a tragedy that left them thinking.

As the cliche goes... we laughed, we cried... this was a play worth spending a Friday night seeing.

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.

A Review of The Drag

by Brad Quinn

Dreamwell - In the interest of full disclosure, let me start this review by revealing that I am neither a fan of the musical genre of theatre, nor do I find men dressed as women to be particularly amusing. So those reading this review can keep that in mind and perhaps give less weight to my criticisms, and more weight to my praise, of Dreamwell’s presentation of The Drag.

The Drag was written by Mae West, the infamous sex symbol of the early 20th century who was known for both her rapier wit and her ample bosom. She was also quite open minded and progressive in many ways, and The Drag is an example of that. Though it might seem tame and even a bit archaic now in its attitudes towards and representations of homosexuality, its main theme of acceptance and understanding towards homosexuals was no doubt quite shocking for its time, especially since we still live in a society where subjects such as gay marriage still stir up heated debate.

Community theatre is a labor of love, and nowhere is that more clear than in this production. The cast and crew had to put their hearts into this show in order to overcome some major obstacles. I have often bemoaned the lack of a decent theatrical venue in the Iowa City area, and as I watched this show I could not help but think that this show needed a bigger, better theater to spread its wings. Even before I got there, I found myself wondering how they were going to pull of a musical production in that space. I was fairly familiar with its dimensions, and couldn’t imagine where they might put even a small orchestra, or even a piano.

As I suspected, the only accompaniment for the music was a small electric piano. One generally thinks of a musical as being a big event with lots of sound and sight, but by necessity this one is small and intimate. Although that does work to a degree with this particular play, I could not help but wonder what it would be like if they had more to work with. The downside of this was that much of the music was two dimensional and similar sounding. However, there was an upside too, which was that the singers' voices were never overwhelmed by the music. As there were some very good singers among the cast, this made that particular aspect of the production quite enjoyable for anyone who loves a good display of vocal talent.

Another example of an obstacle this production had to overcome is the lighting, and this may be my biggest complaint about the show. The stage, though not particularly wide, is fairly deep. Dreamwell only used eight stage lights, and two of those were not working, which left the stage much too dim in general. There were significant dark patches which the actors could not help but wander into, and the only place one could be assured of getting decent lighting was actually just in front of the stage. There were lighting changes of a sort during the various musical numbers, but with such small lighting choices to begin with it was hard to tell. Dylan Wheeler, who designed the lights, unfortunately had his talents wasted with such limited resources. He did, however, get to showcase his onstage talent to better effect as one of the lead roles in the show, which I will say more on in a moment.

The set was very utilitarian; in fact I am relatively certain that I have seen the same basic set design used before in other Dreamwell productions. This is not a bad thing in and of itself; I only wish that it had been painted in brighter colors. The walls were a dark olive green which unfortunately exacerbated the dim lighting problem. I found the set for the first act to be a little too spare. It was meant to be a doctor’s office, but a few diplomas on the wall did not do enough to evoke that impression. However, for the next two acts the furnishings and set up (which takes advantage of the fact that this stage comes with its own built in fireplace) were quite adequate and only wanted for a little more space to play in.

This brings me to the final technical aspect of the show before I get into the actual performance itself: the costumes. This is a period piece set in late 1920’s New York City, and one of the best ways you can evoke a particular historical era on a small budget is through the use of proper costuming. This production succeeds in this aspect, to a certain extent. The first several characters to appear onstage are dressed wonderfully, and fairly period appropriate. I particularly liked a dapper eggplant colored suit worn by one of the characters. Unfortunately, some of the other male characters later in the show wore simple suit jackets and ties, which works but I would have liked to have seen more of the true 20’s style in their outfits.

The character of Clair Kingsbury at one point is dressed in a beautiful and alluring white party dress which will definitely have all eyes on her. However, at other times she is wearing the sort of bare bones of a flapper-esque dress. The dress itself is fine, but in order to make it work she needs to be wearing more accessories, such as gloves, jewelry, and by all means stockings. It is only in the last twenty years or so that women began to walk around bare legged, and I have to admit it bothered me a little bit that the women in this show were not wearing garters and stockings or such. It also distracted me somewhat that, other than a few exceptions, the characters all wore the same outfits over multiple days; however this again probably boils down to the question of resources.

Now, as to the show itself: in short the story is about a man, Rolly Kingsbury (TJ Besler), who is a closet homosexual married to his father’s best friend’s daughter. Besler portrays this character believably, as a sort of dissolute young man who feels trapped by the secret life he must lead, but also intolerably unmindful of the pain his lack of affection is causing his wife Clair. Though he does care for her, his true love is a man named Allen Grayson (Dylan Wheeler) who in turn has fallen for Clair, who is played with a wonderful sense of naïve fragility by the lovely Becca Robinson. The innocence and confusion she brings to the character might almost convince someone that her character really can’t quite figure out what’s missing from her marriage (hint: it’s sex).

It is a large cast, and I have to say that most of them did an excellent job with the material they had. The plot is rather thin, being mostly a morality play in a melodramatic wrapper, and some of the dialogue can be a bit heavy handed. In particular, Brian Tanner as Dr Richmond had to continually deliver the lessons and morals of the story, which he was able to do without becoming too pedantic and recondite. Rex Van Dorpe’s portrayal of a self loathing, love crazed, drug addicted ex-lover of Rolly’s definitely brought the melodrama, but he managed to pull it off without straying into the ridiculous, no mean feat. He kept it simple and sweet, which gave the audience sympathy for his plight.

I wish I could comment on the entire cast, but in the interests of brevity I will just limit myself to what I considered to be the highlights of the performances, notwithstanding those already mentioned. Dylan Wheeler gave a low key performance as Allen Grayson, but I thought his soft spoken and somewhat hesitant manner went a long way towards making his character believable as an upstanding man who is admired by both sexes; he also has a fine singing voice which went well with Ms. Robinson’s.

Of course, this show is called The Drag, so as you can imagine to some extent the cross-dressing characters are a major part of the show. One notable instance is actually a woman playing a male character. I don’t want to give away the surprise, but I did think Ellen Stevenson pulled it off quite well. As for the actual drag queens, one in particular stood out to me, Gary Tyrrell’s performance as Clem Hathaway. Gary has a great deal of stage presence, and he immediately brightened up a rather pedestrian first act the moment he stepped on stage. Every time he took the stage thereafter his grand gestures and ability to project his emotions to the room made him a scene stealer whether dressed as a man or a woman.

As I just mentioned, I did find the first act of the show to be somewhat trying. In addition to containing the majority of the moralizing, it also contains the least interesting musical numbers. The major issue I had was that the same stage device was used throughout the entire act; essentially every song was sung by one of the characters while Dr. Richmond sits and watches them silently and unmoving. Unfortunately, the singers don’t move around much during their numbers either.

However, the show definitely picks up in the second act. The humor starts to shine, and the musical numbers get more exciting. My favorite routine of the show, a great rendition of “Paddlin’ Madelin Home”, is performed in this act by the talented and unabashed chorus of drag queens (although they are not currently in drag) who use the limited stage space to great effect for the choreography. I found myself wishing that song would last longer, which I can tell you does not usually happen for me.

The third act as well is sure to delight many theatre goers, and John Crosheck does an outstanding rendition of “Hard-Hearted Hannah” as this act’s notable musical number. He, and indeed all of the drag queens, vamp it up and use the entire theater, not just the stage, to draw the audience in and engage them. There is plenty of verbal and physical comedy to go around, so I imagine it would be hard not to have a smile on your face during this act. Still, this is a melodrama and unlike most musicals, it can’t have a happy ending.

All that being said, the cast and crew of this show clearly put their best foot forward in this production. Credit has to be given to first time director Chuck Dufano, who took his limited resources and limited source material and made the best out of it. I suspect that if he chooses to continue to direct shows in the future that he will make a large impression in the local theatre community. As I said before, this show was a labor of love for all those involved, and if you want to see a group of people giving it their all and loving what they are doing, I think you’d find this show to be a good evening’s entertainment.

Brad Quinn is a veteran of the local theater scene, and has worked with all of the local community theaters both onstage and backstage in various capacities.

A Musical Weekend

There's a lot of great theatre available this weekend. Two very different musicals are opening. Beginning tonight, fans of the Disney movie High School Musical can see the stage version at TCR's Lindale space. For a look behind the scenes, check out this video.

Dreamwell's The Drag opens tomorrow. Written by Mae West, this play from the 20s the story of Rolly Kingsbury — a judge’s son and heir to the family ironworks business — whose marriage is crumbling around the secret of a past affair with a man, a budding interest in someone new, and an affiliation with a very “out” drag community. The play presents a fascinating, albeit “dated” by today’s perspectives, debate about homosexuality as the judge, a doctor and host of other characters weigh in on the situation. The Daily Iowan has an in depth article complete with video interviews of cast and crew members.

That's Eastern Iowa - from High School Musical to The Drag - we have it all.

Dreamwell brings Mae West's The Drag to stage

Dreamwell - Dreamwell Theatre will present The Drag, a play written in the 1920's by screen legend and sex symbol Mae West. The Drag tells the story of Rolly Kingsbury—a judge’s son and heir to the family ironworks business—whose marriage is crumbling around the secret of a past affair with a man, a budding interest in someone new, and an affiliation with a very “out” drag community. The play presents a fascinating debate about homosexuality as the judge, a doctor and host of other characters weigh in on the situation.

The show culminates in a vivacious drag ball with live drag performances where almost anything can happen — and just might!

In The Drag — which opened to an “avalanche of condemnation,” as one biographer put it — West argued that homosexuality had no class identification. The Drag was one of the first plays to portray gay men in a sympathetic light. Prior to The Drag, homosexual characters were often objects of “play” and more comedic additions to a cast. Mae West’s intention was to give gay characters a “voice” and drew on the exuberance of the drag queens who had become her friends and “sisters.”

Despite the groundbreaking subject matter for its time, The Drag presents a slightly contracted view of homosexuality, which today’s audiences should find interesting. Mae West believed some homosexuals were born as “women trapped in men's bodies” and should be tolerated, and that others adopted homosexual behavior later in life. West deemed the latter “unacceptable.” Audiences should enjoy the 1920's bawdy humor and the fabulous drag attire, but leave with something to think about as the two “types” of homosexuals are examined and analyzed.

Dreamwell found The Drag to be a fitting selection for its “Season of Inciting Theatre” because it was shut down when initially produced and never even opened on Broadway. Also, the play was written and directed by a woman in a time when women weren’t often encouraged to write and produce plays.

Chuck Dufano, president of Dreamwell, will direct, assisted by Vicki Krajewski. The cast includes several veteran and new faces from the community.

The Drag was chosen to coincide with Gay Pride festivities during the month of June.

“It's a chance for today’s LGBT population to see how far we've come in the way of the social mindset, as how familiar some of the struggles are to our own today,” says Dufano. “And things might get a little bizarre...which is all in keeping with any good gay pride festival.”

Dreamwell's looking for actors and vaudevillians

Dreamwell - Dreamwell Theatre will hold auditions for The Drag by Mae West Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 at the First Baptist Church, 500 North Clinton St. Iowa City (between Fairchild and Church).

The Drag is the story of Rolly Kingsbury’s failing marriage to Clair, his past secret affair with David Caldwall, his growing lust for Allen Grayson and his affiliation with the very "out" drag community. The show culminates in a drag ball where almost anything could happen — and just might (depending upon who auditions). The play is set in 1927 and opened to to an “avalanche of condemnation,” as one Mae West biographer put it. By giving gay characters a voice, West argued that homosexuality had no class identification and challenged social mores on the subject.

The production promises to be challenging and rewarding as the entertainment at the drag ball is unscripted. Chuck Dufano, the director, plans to incorporate dance, music and songs of the time as well as any other vaudevillian type of talent that presents itself at auditions.

Performances will be June 19, 20, 26, 27 at the Unitarian Universalist Society.

Auditions will consist of a cold script reading. A prepared song is preferable for those wanting to sing. A pianist will be available and some sheet music of the time period. You are also welcome to showcase any other talent you may have (juggling, comic routine, dance, trained animals, magic, etc.).

Notes:
• not all parts are drag roles or require singing
• women will be considered for male drag roles
• auditioning in drag is not required
• if you have other commitments in early June, we will consider some performers for only the drag ball provided you can make tech week and performances
• copy of script is available at the Iowa City Public Library

Roles:
Dr. James Richmond
Barbara Richmond
Clair
Judge Robert Kingsbury
Rolly Kingsbury
Parsons
Allen Grayson
Marion
David Caldwell
Taxi-driver
Various drag performers (Clem, The Duchess, Winnie, etc.)

For more information, email the director, call 319-541-0140 or go to www.dreamwell.com.

Dreamwell announces 2009 season

Dreamwell - Dreamwell Theatre has a long history in Iowa City. It's known for producing lesser known works such as Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire or controversial works such as Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi. Its venues have ranged from the Unitarian Universalist Society building to the upper level of Old Capitol Mall to Old Brick. They rarely have sell out crowds and there have even been a few times over the past decade when the actors outnumbered the audience. Yet still they persevere as new faces join their board and old friends depart. They have a few things in common. They are all volunteers. And they all love theatre.

In 2009, for the first time in history, Dreamwell will present a season of shows around a common theme. They describe as a season of "inciting theatre". The four shows they've chosen to incite us with are An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, The Drag by Mae West, Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, and Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard. I recently had a chance to sit down and discuss this new direction for the theatre with artistic directors Chuck Dufano and Rachael Lindhart and past president of the board Brian Tanner.



Could you explain what you mean by "inciting theatre"?

Rachael: I'd say that we wanted to select plays that have incited responses in some drastic way(s)--perhaps because audiences disagreed with and felt threatened by them, or perhaps because playwrights responded to audience reaction and criticism of their work. It seems to have gone both ways.

Chuck: Yes, these were all plays that at the time they premiered they were subject to controversy or were immediately shut down. What we think will be interesting is that when these plays are seen by people today they'll wonder, "What's the big deal?" It is in this way we're hoping to illustrate to audiences how theatre both reflects the views of the time and can be an instrument of change.

Why are all the shows going with that theme?

Rachael: We felt it would be possible to choose plays of great variety in this context and be in keeping with the mission of Dreamwell: to be a theatre of exploration and discovery. What plays have incited audiences of the past and will they do the same (or something different) in the present? Of course, we tried to choose plays that we felt would NOT now be hopelessly dated, or prove staid and boring in our own time. In other words, plays that are historically "inciting" but are still good plays with enduring themes. The plays chosen go from 1882 through 1982 and from Stockholm to rural Ireland to NYC in the Roaring '20s to Johannesburg with apartheid very much in effect. What a journey in time and space we feel that this will be!

Chuck: And I especially agree that these are still good plays with enduring themes. A play that merely presents controversial subject matter can become boring once the shock wears off. These playwrights each wove an excellent story that touches on the basics of comedy or drama; things that still make us laugh or evoke sorrow.

Dreamwell doesn't normally do a season theme--why the change?

Brian: When Chuck and Rachael first brought this idea to the board, I was excited about the idea from the start. I don't think it was doing a theme for the sake of doing a theme, but I think this is a topic of significance for theatre in general, and particulary for ours. Dreamwell has always striven to be cutting edge and not always playing it safe. I think it's good to take a look back at shows that have broken new ground before, to examine them and see if what made them controversial at the time would remain controversial today. When we've done that, we can look at modern plays from a different perspective. Will the shows that are shocking now, still be so in 10, 20, 50 years? Were they shocking for merely for the sake of being shocking or did they advance our culture? Will the ideas expressed still be relevant or will they be archaic? I'm really looking forward to the discussions that should come out of viewing these shows next season.



Rachael: I agree about looking forward to discussions that we hope will come out of doing these plays.

We all recognize An Enemy of the People is a classic - what is it about it that made you choose to include it?

Rachael: The "inciting theatre" theme is, I think, interpreted relatively broadly in our selections. An Enemy of the People was written by Ibsen in the wake of vitriolic criticism in the press of his play Ghosts. So the playwright was "incited" to write the play, so to speak. Of course, Ibsen wrote a number of play that were very controversial in their time: A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler being, of course, at the forefront of the list. Enemy is a great choice for our season from among Ibsen plays for another couple of reasons. One is because of the relevance that the theme of environmental crisis surely has in our present time when we are daily made aware of the potential (and real) damages of global warming. It is at the center of this play as well as the theme of the individual against the majority.

Mae West wrote plays? Seriously? How did you find that show?

Chuck: Actually, if Mae West hadn't been a playwright it is likely no one today would ever have heard of her. It was by performing her own work that she became noticed. I found this play after reviewing several plays with a homosexual theme. Homosexuality is frequently the subject of many plays today, but it is hardly as controversial as it once was. In fact, we originally considered doing The Boys in the Band but after reading more about it, we discovered it was actually a great success at its premiere in 1968 and had a good run. But in doing this research I found a number of references to earlier homosexual-themed plays that were not as well received which lead me to find The Drag.

Rachael: Mae West not only wrote plays, but she wrote plays that were the first to portray gay men at all seriously on the American stage. And she produced these plays herself and backed them to the hilt. Several of them were closed down immediately after opening and she paid lots of money to bail out the actors and get the shows going again. In other words, she was a real champion of controversial themes in the theatre. We couldn't ask for a better examplar for "inciting theatre."

Now Playboy of the Western World is referred to as a "poetic drama" on your website. How is it poetic?

Rachael: I'd have to say that it is poetic mostly because it's Irish--and comes from that long literary tradition of lilting speech that can't help being poetic. The reason that the play is included in this season is because, when it premiered in Dublin, it literally caused riots and had to be taken off. The Irish audience was incensed by Synge's portrayal (however poetic) of a rural Ireland of ignorant people where a young man was celebrated for killing his father. But the play eventually was revived and is a landmark in Irish theatre. Especially when you think of the events of individual plays, the work of a modern Irish playwright like Martin Mcdonagh, especially plays like The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West, were made possible today because of Synge's work. It is also a beautiful example of comedy as a tool of incitement!

Q: Last but not least, Master Harold is the most recent of the plays. Were you trying to get plays from different time periods?

Chuck: No, actually, it just turned out this way. But the significant point your question brings out is that inciting theatre still occurs in modern times. Remember, Master Harold and the Boys premiered in 1982, which is only 26 years ago. We can look at examples of other inciteful plays in even more recent years that have been performed locally. I remember when Dreamwell Theatre did Corpus Christi by Terrence McNally which premiered in 1998. When we did it in 2001 I heard that there were still parts of the United States where theaters received threats when performing this play... we didn't have any trouble. I also remember when followers of Fred Phelps came to Iowa City in 2003 to protest Riverside Theatre's production of The Laramie Project. Fortunately, the anti-protesters far outnumbered the protesters, but still, who would've ever thought you'd have to elbow through a crowd to get to the theatre?

Rachael: Chuck is right--we didn't deliberately plan to do plays from different time periods, especially because Dreamwell has done several recent controversial plays--such as Corpus Christi. However, Athol Fugardis a playwright who has incited a lot of controversy world-wide, but especially in South Africa. Under apartheid, his plays were banned there--especially Sizwe Bonsi Is Dead and The Blood Knot. I wanted to do Master Harold because it is, I feel, the most accessible of his plays; that is, a play which our audiences can most easily relate to. Most of us have never lived under apartheid, but we have been adolescent and lost our innocence about the world and about race relations in our own sphere. So this play seemed a natural choice for a season of "inciting" plays.



Talk a little bit more about the selection process you go through for a season. How many plays do you read? How do you choose them?

Chuck: I guess I don't think of it as much as a "process" as that it's just a couple of friends talking about theatre over breakfast on Saturday mornings. Rachael and I meet up once a week or so at a local restaurant and either she'll mention a play she knows, saw or heard about or I'll mention a play I know, saw or heard about. And from there we think "wouldn't this one or that one be great to check out!" I know this all sounds so academic, but one we get going only our waitress can distract us and even then it's only if the English muffins have been toasted twice for extra crispness. But in between our meetings we each read plays, both published and unpublished--and I can't tell you how many we've read (more than a few; less than a hundred). But we read plays and then get together to share our dramatic interpretations and look at what seems feasible for Dreamwell, such as considering any technical problems, other concerns, or stressing that this is a play Dreamwell absolutely needs to do.

Rachael: Thanks, Chuck, for describing the process so well! I would only add one thing to that description and say that I think we both try also to see as many productions and as much theatre as we can. That is an important part of the process--not only for us to familiarize ourselves with a lot of theatrical material, but to see how that materials seems to work onstage in front of an audience. We try to keep ourselves current with what's being done and how it is received. You can never see too many plays, is my motto! Thanks for giving us a chance to talk with blog readers about our season. We are really excited about it!

Thank you all for giving us the inside scoop!

For more information about Dreamwell's next season, go here.