Broken Chord Weaves Stories and Memories Into Unbroken Triumph

By James E. Trainor III

Photos By Jennifer Fawcett

Saffron Henke as Helen

Iowa City - 5.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Upon diagnosis, a person could have anywhere from eight to twenty years to live. The disease involves an irreversible deterioration of neural connections and cognitive abilities, and eventually requires full-time care. In an aging nation with rising medical costs, this is a problem that isn't going away anytime soon. So it's timely that Working Group Theatre has put its full creative forces towards putting this issue onstage in The Broken Chord.

Penned by Jennifer Fawcett, The Broken Chord is two things at once: as far as the main plot is concerned, it's a drama about two siblings coping with their mother's illness. As a drama, it's well-paced, extremely well-acted, and the design draws on some gorgeous visual ideas. The script is tight and the conflict between the characters suggests a lot of important questions about how best to care for someone with dementia. In between the more traditional scenes, other stories are told: ensemble members come onstage and tell snippets of their stories in the sort of choral monologuing that was so effective in WGT's other interview-based documentary shows Mayberry and Rust.

Was the Word Tonight

Iowa City - This month's Was the Word, presented tonight at the Englert, will help raise funds for The Senior Center.

"Was the Word is Working Group Theatre's monthly spoken word and storytelling event at The Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. Each event brings together community members and local performers to share their words and experiences on stage to benefit local non-profits or community service groups.

The latest installment of the series is coming up on Sunday, January 20th at 7pm at The Enlgert Theatre. We will be joined on stage by Chris Okiishi, Martin Andrews, Kate Krohn, Maria Vorhis, and Zora Hurst - all sharing their stories and poems around the theme of 'Before and After.' In between the words, The Awful Purdies, Iowa's eclectic quintet of female multi-instrumentalists will entertain us with their musical stylings. Beer and wine are available with proper ID.

Tickets are Pay What you Can at the door. Our non-profit beneficiary for the night is The Senior Center and a portion of all proceeds from the evening will be donated to this organization.

Was the Word is part of Working Group Theatre’s creation of The Broken Chord - a full-length play presented by Hancher April 12-14, 2013 examining the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease on caregivers and communities."

(Source: Working Group press release)