RIVERSIDE THEATRE, SUMMER 2018

Riverside Theatre will be back at the Lower City Park with Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Sean Lewis!

Set in the backlots of MGM Movie Studios right after World War 2, love and frivolity are in the air when Don Pedro’s army, drunk with victory, descends upon Leonato’s country estate in Messina. Traveling with him is Claudio, who wants to marry Leonato’s daughter Hero. Meanwhile, Claudio’s friend Benedick and Leonato’s lively niece Beatrice (think Liz Taylor and Richard Burton) hide their mutual attraction behind a volley of witty insults. But their world is shattered when Claudio, influenced by a scheming malcontent, levels a shocking accusation at Hero. A linguistically challenged security guard and his sidekicks uncover the plot, casting a beam of hopefulness in this tempestuous landscape of love.

Much Ado About Nothing will be performed on the following dates at 7:30pm. This event is free and there is no ticket required.

Friday, June 15

Saturday, June 16 

Sunday, June 17

Thursday, June 21

Friday, June 22

Saturday, June 23

Sunday, June 24

We will continue our summer season at out Gilbert St. theatre with Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps.

Who should you trust? Who cares, when it’s this fun!

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. The Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat features over 150 zany characters played by a talented four-person cast and is packed with nonstop laughs, complete with an on-stage plane crash, missing fingers, and, of course, some good old-fashioned romance. This unforgettable play is pure entertainment, with a riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft.

The 39 Steps will be performed at our Gilbert St. theatre on following dates. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Friday, June 29 at 7:30pm

Saturday, June 30 at 7:30pm

Sunday, July 1 at 2pm

Thursday, July 5 at 7:30pm

Friday, July 6 at 7:30pm

Saturday, July 7 at 7:30pm

Sunday, July 8 at 2pm

Thursday, July 12 at 7:30pm

Friday, July 13 at 7:30pm

Saturday, July 14 at 7:30pm

Sunday, July 15 at 2pm

Thursday, July 19 at 7:30pm

Friday, July 20 at 7:30pm

Saturday, July 21 at 7:30pm

Sunday, July 22 at 2pm

Talk Back with Miriam Gilbert

Thursday, 9/28 after the 7:30 performance

Join Miriam Gilbert, Sean Lewis, Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers and Tim Budd in talk back on Bakersfield Mist!

This talk back is a unique opportunity to talk to artists and theatre experts and gain insight into the production of this play. You are welcome even if you previously attneded the show, and don't forget - this is a Thirsty Theatre Thursday! Every ticket comes with a free drink!

Miriam Gilbert is Professor of English (Emerita) at the University of Iowa, where she taught Shakespeare for 44 years. Her primary interest, both as a teacher and a scholar, concerns Shakespeare in performance, and she indulges that interest with a second home in Stratford-upon-Avon. She has co-edited literature anthologies for both secondary and college students. Her work with performance has been the focus of many workshops and seminars, including eight seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Riverside Theatre Summer 2017

 "Adaptation" is central to Shakespeare’s playwriting process as he constantly raided and transformed earlier writing: stories, plays, historical chronicles. The Comedy of Errors is based on a Roman comedy (about twins) by Plautus, but Shakespeare doubles the twins and adds in a frame story borrowed from the Scots poet John Gower. Macbeth is based on incidents from Holinshed’s Chronicles—even the witches are there! Our Thursday Theatre Talk will focus on Riverside’s involvement with adaptations of these plays, previewing Sean Lewis’s rethinking of Macbeth and the hip hop play-with-music known as The Bomb-itty of Errors. Join Miriam Gilbert, Sean Lewis, and actors for this discussion on Thursday, May 18, 5–6 p.m. at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City.

 All are welcome to attend this free event.

Questions? Call: 319-338-7672

Miriam Gilbert is Professor of English (Emerita) at the University of Iowa, where she taught Shakespeare for 44 years.  Her primary interest, both as a teacher and a scholar, concerns Shakespeare in performance, and she indulges that interest with a second home in Stratford-upon-Avon. She has written a study of  The Merchant of Venice  for the Shakespeare at Stratford series (Arden Shakespeare and The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) and  Shakespeare in Performance: Love's Labour's Lost (Manchester University Press, 1993).  She has co-edited literature anthologies for both secondary and college students.  Her work with performance has been the focus of many workshops and seminars, including eight seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Relativity Talk Back

Friday, April 28, after the performance

The title of Mark St. Germain’s new play, Relativity, is, we discover, a wonderful pun, since the play focuses on Albert Einstein. But St. Germain is more interested in the personal than the scientific, and writes his play about Einstein as a father, specifically a father whose baby daughter, Lieserl, seemed to disappear from Einstein’s history. In Relativity, St. Germain speculates about what might have happened, and what might happen if the daughter suddenly reappeared to confront her father. Join Miriam Gilbert, Professor Emerita of English, and her colleagues, Diane Jeske, Professor of Philosophy, and Connie Mutel, Senior Science Writer at the UI's IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering and co-author of Hans Albert Einstein: His Life as a Pioneering Engineer, a book dealing with Einstein’s oldest son, as we respond to the ethical and biographical questions raised by this play.   

 Miriam Gilbert is Professor of English (Emerita) at the University of Iowa, where she taught Shakespeare for 44 years. Her primary interest, both as a teacher and a scholar, concerns Shakespeare in performance, and she indulges that interest with a second home in Stratford-upon-Avon. She has co-edited literature anthologies for both secondary and college students. Her work with performance has been the focus of many workshops and seminars, including eight seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

 Diane Jeske is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Iowa. Her research has focussed on the ethics of intimate relationships, examining questions about the nature of love and friendship and what we owe to our near and dear. She has stressed, in her work, the importance of understanding and weighing not only our moral obligations to those we care about but also our obligations to persons and animals more generally. Diane is currently working on a project in which she uses case studies of evil people to show why the study of moral philosophy is a critical component of moral education and of the moral life more generally. 

 Connie Mutel has co-authored (with Robert Ettema) the definitive scientific biography of Albert Einstein's elder son. This book was the product of many years of research, which included discovery of previously unknown family records and interviews with many of the remaining members of Albert's family—a project that some might say was more intriguing than the final publication. Connie has also written or edited numerous books and articles on Midwestern environmental features and problems and is a regular speaker on these topics across the state.

RIVERSIDE THEATRE ANNOUNCES SUMMER SEASON FOR ALL AUDIENCES

 This summer, Riverside in the Park will present the political tragedy "Macbeth" and the family-friendly hip hop comedy "The Bomb-itty of Errors."

 IOWA CITY -- Riverside Theatre is pleased to announce that its 2017 Riverside in the Park summer season at Lower City Park will feature Shakespeare's political tragedy "Macbeth" and "The Bomb-itty of Errors," a hip hop adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors." The summer programming will be rounded out by pre-performance green shows open to the public and pop-up events at the Gilbert Street theater.

 The season will open with "Macbeth," directed by Riverside artistic director Sean Christopher Lewis, who notes that to contemporary ears, "Macbeth" may Shakespeare's most intelligible classic -- as well as one of his most violent. "Macbeth" delivers audiences to "a world at war with an even larger evil on the horizon," says Lewis. "It is a story of ambition and pride and boredom. What happens when people become obsessed and leave their homes and worlds for extended periods of time? When they get used to conflict as the everyday? When there is no nation, no unification and only singular pursuits?" For today's generations of theatregoers, this uncanny tragedy of power struggles and dark politics may appear more prescient than ever.

 In Lewis's bold new staging, "Macbeth" will explore political power on epic and intimate scales. "Macbeth" opens June 9 and runs through June 18 and will star Patrick DuLaney ("A View from the Bridge") and Chicago-based actor Saren Nofs-Snyder as Lord and Lady Macbeth.

 "The Bomb-itty of Errors," a hip hop comedy which premiered in 1999, was written by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano, Erik Weiner, Gregory J. Qaiyum and Jeffrey Qaiyum (the Qaiyum brothers are better known for their work leading the Q Brothers "ad-rap-tation" company). On this shift from Riverside in the Park's typical classical programming, Lewis says, "'Bomb-itty' allows us to present family-friendly fare, bring in a diverse cast and speak in a contemporary form. The park should be an inclusive space across age and race -- this show is a good invitation to viewers and actors alike." The bridge between Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors" and rap, Lewis notes, is an exploration of self and family: "Hip hop is all about identity -- where am I from, what is my name, what do I represent and what is real? 'The Comedy of Errors' is about the same things. Two sets of twins have been estranged from each other for years and created identities separate from one another. When, by chance, they come face-to-face they have to ask: Who am I? If I'm not wholly unique am I even an individual?"

 "The Bomb-itty of Errors" opens June 23 and runs through July 2 and will star Barrington Vaxter ("Black and Blue" and "The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore"). The show features hip hop, live DJing and four actors shifting between twelve characters. "The Bomb-itty of Errors" is sure to delight families, rap aficionados and fans of "Hamilton" and "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" alike.

 Patrick DuLaney's Riverside credits include Eddie Carbone in "A View from the Bridge" and Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet" and Costard in "Love's Labour's Lost" for Riverside in the Park. He has also acted in Old Creamery Theatre and City Circle Acting Company productions. National credits include the title roles in "Macbeth" and "Floyd Collins," Mr. Zero in The Hypocrites' acclaimed Chicago production of "The Adding Machine" and a national tour of "Gypsy." He is a founding member of the Alaska Shakespeare Festival.

 Saren Nofs-Snyder is a Jeff-nominated, Chicago-based actress. She teaches at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Saren has worked with companies including Lookingglass Theatre, Piven Theatre Ensemble, Next Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, New Leaf, BoHo, First Folio, Remy Bumpo and Circle Theatre where she appeared as Mrs. Cheveley in "An Ideal Husband," a role which earned her a Jeff nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. Regionally Saren has worked with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Notre Dame Shakespeare, Artists Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theatre company and many others.

 Barrington Vaxter is an actor from Iowa City, Iowa. Recent roles include Marcus Gentry in Riverside's "Black and Blue," a national tour of Working Group Theatre's "Out of Bounds" and the title role in Working Group Theatre's adaptation of "The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore" at the Englert Theatre.

 "Macbeth," directed by Sean Christopher Lewis and starring Patrick DuLaney and Saren Nofs-Snyder, opens June 9 and runs through June 18 in Iowa City's Lower City Park. "The Bomb-itty of Errors," starring Barrington Vaxter, opens June 23 and runs through July 2 in Lower City Park. Both productions are sponsored by Oaknoll.

Tickets will go on sale this month so check back in soon or follow us on Facebook! Feel free to call our box office at (319) 338-7672 or email [email protected] !function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()  for more information!

 Show dates:

 "Macbeth"

 Friday, June 9, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 10, 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 11, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 13, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 14, 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 15, 8 p.m.

Friday, June 16, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 17, 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 18, 7 p.m.

"The Bomb-itty of Errors"

 Friday, June 23, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 24, 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 25, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 27, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 28, 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 29, 8 p.m.

Friday, June 30, 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 1, 8 p.m.

Sunday, July 2, 7 p.m.

Curious about Lady Macbeth and Her Pal, Megan?

Here's what Megan has to say:  

"Before the election, I really wanted to tell this story. Now, I really need to." 

—with Charity Nebbe on IPR's Talk of Iowa

"It's about hilarious things like sexism, the femme fatale, and how we view powerful women . . . and unpacking it all through my signature hilarity."

—with Dennis Green on KCCK's Culture Crawl

 "If you're nervous about the Shakespeare, don't worry."

—on KCOB's Let's Talk

In its second week, A View from the Bridge is stunning audiences and garnering ardent reviews from critics. Of the "electric, inspiring, and devastating" production, Little Village Magazine's Sarah Jarmon writes, "I cannot stress this enough: You should experience this play for yourself." Iowa Theatre Blog's Michele Payne notes that the show is "stark, compelling, and hot": "It's impossible to turn away from DuLaney's Eddie. . . . You should go see it."

Immigration narratives feel like ghost stories to me.

They haunt us.

We all come from them but we fear them. We know the lessons of them but we play out the same cycles over and over again. It was a crazy idea but I put it to my designers- what if this were a ghost story. What if it was a Greek tragedy that played out over and over throughout history, but the ethnicities changed? What if these people were trapped in this tragic limbo forever?

I had gotten obsessed with how people come to America. I’d seen Body Cam footage on YouTube of people from South America stuffed into a transport truck, their bodies literally spilling out when the doors opened. I thought about my Irish relatives coming over on boats, stowed away between freight. I thought about how immigrants have traveled for centuries, the unwanted, hide among goods and commerce. So, I wanted a set that reflected this, something open and ghostly, Greek and purgatorial: a void that seemed to go on forever, but populated with boxes, belongings and shipments.

I put the challenge to the actors: you’ll be naked up there, so you have to be big and you have to be honest. I thought about Greek tragedies (the way Arthur Miller, himself, described this play) and the way the tragedy of a single man never stopped at the man. Oedipus brings a plague upon Greece. Eddie Carbone brings a pox upon all of us. The cast is great. And the cast was brave. I told them: “This is not going to be your typical Miller. Oh, and also, this could fail miserably.”

Because I believe theater has no place being done if it can’t. If it is not tempting failure, theater becomes stasis. It becomes the same people in the same rooms forever with the same fears having the same conversations.

In a world where we can so easily treat goods better than people, I think a little risk is necessary. No, let me correct that.

A lot of risk.

 ALL RISK.

 Or else we deserve to be haunted.

 Sean Christopher Lewis

"Every Brilliant Thing" scored more than just a sellout crowd on opening night. It also earned praise from reviewer Rachel Korach Howell of Little Village Magazine. Howell writes, "Great theatre doesn’t need bells and whistles to affect an audience. It just needs to be real." Read her full review here.

"Every Brilliant Thing" continues through Dec. 11.

Genevieve Trainor of Little Village Magazine spoke with director Sean Christopher Lewis ahead of Saturday's opening of "Every Brilliant Thing." Check out Little Village's preview here.

You can also see a gallery of production photos from the show here.

Written by Duncan McMillan and directed by Sean Christopher Lewis, "Every Brilliant Thing" opens Saturday and continues through Dec. 11. Get tickets here. 

After a packed opening weekend, reviews are starting to come in for our production of "The Taming" by Lauren Gunderson.

Here's the first one, in which Iowa Theatre Blog writes that "the laughs come quickly and often" and that "The Taming is a fun show showcasing the skills of three excellent comedic actresses." Read the full review here.

Little Village Magazine writes, ""If you love your country, go see this play. If you hate this country, go see this play. If you don’t give a crap about the U.S. but enjoy seeing hilarious women at the tops of their games, go see this play." Read it here.

Iowa Theatre Blog has also featured the show. You can find that story here.

On the eve of opening night for "The Taming" by Lauren Gunderson, here's a first look at production photos from the show! You can see them here.

Also, if you'd like a behind-the-scenes look at the process, you can find photos from rehearsal here.

For the past week, we've been rolling out videos on Facebook that introduce each of the three characters in Lauren Gunderson's "The Taming": Conservative senator's aide Patricia (Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers), liberal left-wing blogger Bianca (Cara Clonch Viner), and Miss America contestant Katherine Chelsea Hartford (Jordan Arnold).

Now we've gathered all three of those videos in one place. Meet all three characters -- and then catch them together when "The Taming" performs Oct. 28 through Nov. 13, under the direction of Angie Toomsen.

When her boss, Senator Baxter, gets into yet another political scandal, it's up to Patricia to go on the air and defend him. Again.

Bianca started a woman-on-the-street video blog, but her interview style is a bit ... aggressive.

Meet Miss Georgia, Katherine Chelsea Hartford! Here are six things you should know on the eve of Katherine's appearance in the Miss America pageant.

Learn more and get tickets here.

In The Taming, playwright Lauren Gunderson stirs together a Miss Georgia pageant, the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and a bit of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. These “strange bedfellows” inhabit a wild political comedy, centering around the fantasy--or is it a possibility? -- of rewriting the U.S. Constitution. What are the implications of this premise?  Is partisan gridlock inevitable or avoidable?

Join Miriam Gilbert, Department of English and Caroline Sheerin of the University of Iowa Law School on Thursday, October 20, 2017, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Riverside Theatre, for discussion and questions about this intriguing contemporary play.

Just in time for the election season comes a politically-minded comedy starring three of the funniest women in Eastern Iowa.

What happens when a conservative senatorial aide, a liberal political activist and a newly-crowned Miss Georgia walk into a bar? The results are hilarious, but this play is no joke. Lauren Gunderson’s THE TAMING takes on America’s overheated political rhetoric, some surprising truths about our founding fathers, and the passions of three slightly insane women who just might be revolutionary geniuses.

Featuring Jordan Arnold, Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers and Cara Clouch Viner, under the direction of Angie Toomsen.

Artistic Director Sean Lewis says: "I was thinking, 'What do I usually want during election season?' The answer: Wild, frivolous and smart comedy. For fans of KIMBERLY AKIMBO and END DAYS, this is one to vote for."

Visit the Taming show page for more.

Because of the incredible response we've had to the first week of "Black and Blue" -- and the important conversations that it's leading to -- we're adding two community talk-backs for the show.

The first will be held Sunday, Sept. 18. It will be hosted by UI professor Miriam Gilbert, a longtime host of Riverside Theatre's "Thursday Theatre Talk" program.

The second will be held following the performance on Friday, Sept. 23. Working in collaboration with the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, we will feature two guests:

Lisa Covington, a PhD candidate who is very involved with several Black student groups both on campus and nationally, and who has served as an advocate for a friend who was falsely arrested and jailed;

Officer Gabby Blanchard, who is spearheading local law enforcement training in Unconscious Bias.

"Black and Blue" writer/director Sean Christopher Lewis will be present at both talkbacks as well.

Although these are post-show talkbacks, members of the community are free to attend even without a ticket to Friday's or Sunday's shows. If you would like to participate in either talkback, simply arrive at the theatre by 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18 or by 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23. We look forward to having you join the conversation.

Meanwhile, cast member Barrington Vaxter tells the Iowa City Press-Citizen that ""Sean is always into theater as a venue to talk about the (stuff) that needs to be talked about."

You can learn more about how "Black and Blue" came to be in this video.

See a clip from the show here:

And in case you missed it -- you can also watch writer/director Sean Christopher Lewis talking about the show with KCCK's Dennis Green on "Culture Crawl."

"The work that's appeared on our stages this season with Sam at the helm has been terrific,” said Riverside Executive Director Jennifer Holan. “We’re sorry to see Sam move on, but the Board and I understand the need to follow his wife in her career path. We all feel Sean Lewis will be an excellent interim Artistic Director for Riverside Theatre. We are fortunate that an individual of Sean’s ability is willing to step in.”

Lewis has led Working Group Theatre, the company he co-founded, from a no-budget experiment to a nationally touring and award-winning company. The theatre anticipates his interim assignment at Riverside Theatre to last for the next two seasons. A search and hiring plan for a permanent artistic director will be developed and implemented during that time.

During his time as interim artistic director, Lewis intends to “bring forward what I think theater can do best: provoke thought, provide wonder, inspire hope and broker understanding.” He noted that he will be making some adjustments to the upcoming season programming to articulate this vision, and to lay a strong foundation for the future.

Lewis said that plays now under consideration for 16-17 include “one of the best African American dramas of the past fifteen years, an American Classic, and an international hit about the lengths we’re willing to go to for our most self-destructive loved ones.”

Lewis also described his desire to provide opportunities for local artists. “With Working Group, I've been able to bring Iowa actors and artists to national stages, and each time, people are blown away by the wealth of artistic talent we have here. I’m excited to provide avenues for the actors, designers, technicians, writers and directors from our own backyard to be able to thrive and grow at Riverside.”

Riverside Theatre will issue a revised season announcement once plans are finalized.

REVIEWS

PERICLES:

"Smart directing choices from Christine Kellogg help make the show a winner ... Riverside’s latest production of 'Pericles' is chock full of excellent actors creating an emotional and thrilling tale." - Iowa Theatre Blog review

"It’s great to have this series back outdoors again; it’s fun to watch any well-done play on a beautiful summer night, and 'Pericles' is a unique offering."- Little Village review

THE FAIR MAID OF THE WEST:

"If you love a good sword fight, you will not be disappointed ... Riverside’s return to the park can only be considered a triumphant success." - Iowa Theatre Blog review

"Riverside has done a great job dusting off this classic play and delivering a fun and frantic night of theatre." - Little Village review

FEATURES

Gazette/Hoopla cover story

Iowa Theatre Blog feature

Daily Iowan feature

Press Citizen cover story

KCRG-TV9 feature

CBS2 Iowa feature

Sam Osheroff interview on KCCK

Megan Gogerty podcast

Talking Theatre podcast (Pericles)

Talking Theatre podcast (Fair Maid)

VIDEO

CBS2 video report:

If approaching from the north, via Park Road: At the moment, road construction has part of Park Road blocked off, just before reaching Lower City Park. Be aware that road detour signs are currently posted that direct you to an alternate route around the construction. Rely on these signs, rather than your GPS, as you approach the theatre.

If approaching from the south, via Dubuque Street: This week (July 5-10), traffic has been reduced to one lane in either direction. Allow extra time due to this.

Construction projects will be ongoing throughout the summer. We will post updates here if traffic is expected to be especially challenging.

You can find more information about the project at http://www.iowacitygateway.org.

We’re excited to announce our new initiative: production volunteers.

Production volunteers are hands-on and “part of the art.” They assist with creating costumes, building and painting sets, loading shows in and out of performance spaces, and cleaning and organizing the spaces our actors and crews use, among other projects.

Why be a production volunteer?

•  Be part of the art. Watching a show you touched come to life can provide a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction. We’ll have fun, work hard, and support the unique works Riverside produces through our efforts.
• Complimentary tickets. For every 8 hours you contribute, you’ll earn a complimentary ticket to any show in the next calendar year. We’ll also be hosting an appreciation party (date TBD) for anyone who donates their time and skill during the season.
• Hone or learn a new skill. Riverside employs some incredible local talent with a wealth of experience, many of whom are looking for volunteer help. Hone your skills from those in the know and maybe even learn something new!
•  Make new friends and reconnect with old ones. Contributing to your community brings people together toward a common goal. We have fun. We bond. We get stuff done.
• Giving back. Supporting the arts is a great way to give back to your community, whether you’ve lived here your whole life or just moved in.

Have more questions about production volunteers? Contact volunteer@riversidetheatre.org.

Box Office Volunteers

The Box Office Volunteers are the people who donate their time to ushering and working the concession stand during performances. In exchange for their work, box office volunteers receive a seat in the audience for the show during which they volunteer.

Interested in being a box office volunteer? Contact the box office manager, Andy Sohn, at boxoffice@riversidetheatre.org.

Megan Gogerty is back with a new (and hilarious) podcast about Riverside Theatre's summer season in Lower City Park! Sam Osheroff previews Shakespeare's Pericles and the new, swordfight-filled The Fair Maid of the West. Also, Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Garrett stops by to talk about how you can get involved this summer - and get free tickets to the shows! 

Listen here.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

 The Technical Director oversees all set construction and improvements to Riverside Theatre production facilities, including the Gilbert Street stage, Festival stage (Riverside Theatre in the Park) and shop spaces.  The Technical Director may design scenery or lighting for one production per season, and may be assigned adjunct design responsibilities for special or weekend events.  The position is full-time, exempt from overtime and offers benefits. Starting salary low 20s; additional compensation possible based on design qualifications.

 While the Technical Director may have one work-study assistant during the academic year, and apprentice assistance during the summer season, the position is a “department of one” and requires comfort working independently.

 Start date: July 1-August 1TBD. Applications will be reviewed as received.  To apply, send a resume and cover letter to: admin@riversidetheatre.org  or Irena Saric, Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, Iowa, 52245  

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

PRODUCTION
* Building sets, assisting with procurement of props
* Developing and maintaining the production calendar for the season
* Working collaboratively with designers, directors and other production personnel during Riverside Theatre’s year-round production process
* Researching and determining costs of materials and planning construction based on designs to estimate required human resources and final costs of projects
* Working with designers and supervising technical personnel as necessary to ensure that projects stay on schedule and within budget
* Personally overseeing budgets for set materials and props
* Attending selected technical rehearsals and all production meetings
* Scheduling, planning and supervising apprentice/crew work calls
* Overseeing all strikes and changeovers

 ARTISTIC
*May create design (scenic or lighting) for one Gilbert Street production as assigned

 ADMINISTRATIVE
*Developing annual budgets for all technical areas and adhering to those budgets throughout the year
*Maintaining and submitting accurate monthly time sheets
*Supervising volunteers, work-study assistants, and RTP apprentices

 MAINTENANCE
* Maintaining the order, safety and cleanliness of the shop, stage and storage areas
* Maintaining the general working order and appearance of the main facility
* Preparing theatre for special events and rentals
* Hauling debris to City landfill
* Maintaining lamp inventory; overseeing lighting and sound inventory
* Completing facilities projects as assigned

 EDUCATION
* Overseeing all additional labor including occasional volunteers
* Maintaining a safe work environment and ensuring that all volunteers are working with appropriate tools
* Training and supervising apprentices during Riverside Theatre in the Park

June 17-July 10 , 2015

Dates & Times

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Friday, June 17, 8pm
Saturday, June 18, 8pm
Sunday, June 19, 7pm (Family Night)

Tuesday, June 28, 7pm (Family Night)
Wednesday, June 29, 8pm
Friday, July 1, 8pm
Saturday, July 2, 8pm
Sunday, July 3, 7pm

Thursday, July 7, 8 p.m.

The Fair Maid of the West

Friday, June 24, 8pm
Saturday, June 25, 8pm
Sunday, June 26, 7pm (Family Night)

Thursday, June 30, 8pm

Tuesday, July 5, 7 pm (Family Night)
Wednesday, July 6, 8pm
Friday, July 8, 8pm
Saturday, July 9, 8pm
Sunday, July 10, 7pm

Tickets
By phone at 319-338-7672, in person at the theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City, Mon-Fri, 1pm-5pm
or 1 hour before each show, or ONLINE*

*If you are using a coupon, voucher, or Thurs Student, Riverdog, Group or Blue Star discount, please call the Box Office, 319-338-7672 to order your tickets.  Thank you!

"Dancing Lessons" has been drawing a lot of attention during its run. Here's a look at what local writers and audience members have to say so far.

1. The Daily Iowan featured an in-depth story about the process of putting Dancing Lessons together, including interviews with the cast, director and designer. The show was also previewed in articles by Iowa Theatre Blog and Little Village Magazine.

2. Diana Nollen of The Cedar Rapids Gazette featured Dancing Lessons in a feature story about how theatre productions address mental health.

3. In its review, Iowa Theatre Blog called Dancing Lessons "an extremely intimate show, powerfully realized by a fantastic director and two smart actors." Reviewer Matt Falduto added,  "If this show is an example of the artistic vision of Osheroff, Riverside Theatre is in good hands."

4. According to the review in Little Village Magazine, "This show should be performed, and seen, as many times as possible before its moment has passed."

5. The Iowa City Press-Citizen review by Zach Berg notes that "With honesty, a focus on fostering two characters and a belief in the Shakespeare quote that brevity is the soul of wit, Dancing Lessons is a fully-realized, and emotional, experience."

6. See photos from the show by Bob Goodfellow.

7. We spoke with audience members after the show on opening weekend of "Dancing Lessons" to get their thoughts. Here's what they had to say.

8. Dennis Green of KCCK interviewed the cast for the latest episode of "Culture Crawl."

Megan Gogerty is back with another installment of our podcast, "Riverside Roundtable." In this episode, our fearless interviewer chats with the cast of "Dancing Lessons," Sam Osheroff and Heather Chrisler. She also unveils a very, very sparkly secret word.

Listen to it here.

Our first review for "ROAR!" is in. James Trainor of Little Village Magazine calls it "smart and funny" and "a great night of theatre." Read the full review here. 

"ROAR!" continues with performances tonight and tomorrow, as well as March 10-13.

Didn't catch them on the air? You can see it here.

Just in time for "ROAR!" performing March 4-13, Megan Gogerty returns with another episode of Riverside Theatre's new podcast, "Riverside Roundtable." Megan's guests include cast members Rip Russell, Robyn Calhoun and Rob Cline as well as Riverside Artistic Director Sam Osheroff. This is a lively chat about how the original pieces of "ROAR" were selected; what it's like for writers to perform their own work; and how the whole cast is working hard to do a spot-on impression of Rob Cline.

Listen here.

MORE ABOUT MEGAN

Megan Gogerty wrote BAD PANDA (Theatre Without Borders, Beijing; Iron Crow Theatre Co.; Original Works Publishing) and LOVE JERRY (NYMF Excellence in Writing Award). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed her solo show HILLARY CLINTON GOT ME PREGNANT in their yearly Top Ten Best Plays. Other plays include FEET FIRST IN THE WATER WITH A BABY IN MY TEETH (Riverside Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre; Creative Loafing’s Best Plays in Atlanta). Megan was a Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow, a WordBRIDGE alum, and she earned her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches playwriting at the University of Iowa.

AUCTION ITEMS:
Soiree at Hands Jewelers for 10                                                                            Value = $2,000
It’s an occasion for opulence: a private, after hours party at Hands Jewelers. Your group of 10 will adorn themselves in dazzling jewels from the cases and vaults at Hands Jewelers, and then enjoy celebratory beverages and delectable finger food. If you bring your own jewels, the helpful Hands staff will also meticulously clean each piece and check every stone for safety, too. The marvelous food and wine will be selected and provided by Christian Prochaska of The Bread Garden Catering in association with the hosts, with attention paid to your party's dietary needs. This elegant evening will be arranged with hosts Betsy Boyd and Bill Nusser for a mutually agreed upon date. It’s sure to be a party you’ll never forget!
 
Wine Tasting Party for 8 on Saturday March 19 or Sunday April 3                    Value = $400
Swirl. Sip.  Savor. And, repeat. Cultivate your personal appreciation for the pleasures of the vine at a fun wine tasting party with your friends. Paul Weller and Sara Rynes-Weller will be the gracious hosts for your group of 8 at their Coralville home on either Saturday March 19 or Sunday April 3, 2016. Iowa City’s own Wally “wine guy” will guide you through an expertly selected flight of wines and hors d’oeuvres will accompany your sensory adventure.
 
Pizza Instruction from a New-Pi Master                                                                Value = $200
Learn how to make the best pizza ever! Invite pizza master and New Pi Baker Chad Clark to prepare pizza at your house, beginning with the dough and ending with a dazzling array of toppings. Chad will show your group how to prepare the dough, share his opinions on the best mix of cheese, and discuss how to season the sauce. Party may be held anytime March 2016 through March 2017.
 
Week at SaddleBrook Ranch House, near Tucson                                              Value = $1,500
Escape for a week to Dale and Jef Farland’s home in a resort community near Tucson AZ. Activities include golf, tennis, swimming, hiking, the Tortolita and Catalina Mountains, Sonora Desert, museums, shopping, restaurants—whew! The 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath house sleeps 8 and provides all the comforts of home. Dates to be arranged with your hosts.
 
Date Night in the Northside Neighborhood                                                           Value = $199
Everyone needs a little time away...take this opportunity to treat your sweetheart, a pair of visiting friends or deserving family members. This item includes gift certificates to Motley Cow Café, where you’ll select from a menu of locally-sourced dishes, and a night’s stay at The Brown St. Inn, a fashionable, turn-of-the-century B&B. The lodging voucher explains some restrictions—graduation and game days are not possible.
 
Ballroom Dance Classes at Dance New York                                                       Value = $351
Some people do it because they love the music. Others appreciate it as a social outing. And it counts as a fitness activity, too.  But everyone knows, nothing feels better than looking good on the dance floor. This package is offered by Dance New York in Coralville—Iowa’s premier ballroom and Latin dance studio—and is good for 2 group classes to get you started, and 3 private lessons to improve your moves!
 
Your Dog Can Be Riverside Theatre’s 16-17 Riverdog                                      Value = priceless
You know your dog has that certain “something.” Here’s  your chance to make him or her the face of our 2016-17 season pass.  Your pet’s photo shoot will include the portraits we’ll use for promotional purposes, and if you’d like, a few posed shots with family members.  You’ll also receive two matted 8 x 10 prints and digital files to use as you wish.  To be arranged for a mutually agreeable date and location with photographer Jeff Nesheim.
 
Paddleboard Outing for 8                                                                                     Value = $350
Gather a group of 8 and head over to the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area for a stand-up paddle board adventure on Sand Lake! Our friends at Fin & Feather H2O will set you up with equipment and expert instruction so that even beginners feel confident out on the water. You can choose to sit, lay, kneel or stand on a paddle board—any way you approach it, it’s a great way to enjoy the beautiful surroundings with family or friends. And, if your group includes yoga fans, here’s another option: certified yoga instructor Meredith Caskey will conduct a private class on the stand up boards for you!
 
Swiss Fondue and Wine for 8 at Après                                                                Value= $350
Here’s your chance to check out the unique atmosphere of Apres, a new wine bar located in the heart of Iowa City’s Peninsula neighborhood. Your party of 8 will be served traditional Swiss fondue and 4 reserve bottles of wine (Chante Cigale Chateauneuf du Pape & Rombauer Chardonnay). Schedule for a night when there’s live jazz or other music for an extra-special out. Must be used in 2016.
 
Home Spruce Up                                                                                                     Value = $275
Need inspiration to make your house a home? Feeling like you want to mix things up a bit? Do you have un-done painting and patching projects—because you don’t want to take them  on yourself? This package includes the time and services of the experts you need—a one-hour consultation with interior designer Trudy Russell, four hours of painting from Blue Buffalo painting---plus, two gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint!

ROAR! opens on March 4 and closes March 13, 2016. (please check the show website for detailed schedule)

Selected pieces:
Glenn Alterman:  A Little Love Goes a Long Way
Vishesh Abeyratne: The Procrustes Pitch
Rob Cline: Critical Response        
Nancy Gall-Clayton: Smoothness
Anthony Gray Finocchiaro: Addiction
Daniel Guyton: The Resignation
Mackenzie Jahnke: Hole in the Wall
G.D. Kimble: The Simple Joys of Exact Change
Robin Rice Lichting: Rip of Skin
Ann Magaha: Selling Persephone
Thomas J. Misuraca: Pants on Fire
Chris Okiishi: Gay Baiting and Other Ways I Spent My Summer
Martha Patterson: Amber - A Recognition of Birds
Kelly Younger: Don't You (Forget About Me)

This episode features director Sam Osheroff and three members of the cast: John Cameron, Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers and Rian Jairell. Learn why John was nervous coming into this show; how Sam approaches directing a fast-paced comedic farce "with lots of doors"; and why Megan insists on comparing absolutely everything to "Gossip Girl."

Listen here!

We're new to this podcasting thing, so we welcome opinions and insights from all you veteran podcasters  out there about what you'd like to hear more of, and what areas we can improve as we keep bringing you episodes. And check out "Line of Descent," performing Jan. 29 through Feb. 21.

MORE ABOUT MEGAN

Megan Gogerty wrote BAD PANDA (Theatre Without Borders, Beijing; Iron Crow Theatre Co.; Original Works Publishing) and LOVE JERRY (NYMF Excellence in Writing Award). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed her solo show HILLARY CLINTON GOT ME PREGNANT in their yearly Top Ten Best Plays. Other plays include FEET FIRST IN THE WATER WITH A BABY IN MY TEETH (Riverside Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre; Creative Loafing’s Best Plays in Atlanta). Megan was a Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow, a WordBRIDGE alum, and she earned her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches playwriting at the University of Iowa.

Thursday Theatre Talk: 'Line of Descent'

Playwright William McCauley’s comedy 'Line of Descent' begins with two people coming home from a funeral, but soon becomes, in the author’s words, “a rapid-fire stylized, farcical satire.”

One thinks of the saying attributed to a variety of actors: “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” If that’s true, what makes comedy so hard to perform? How do actors and directors cope with a script filled with improbable events (disguises, rapid shifts of character, people not seeing other people on stage) and brisk one-liners? Are there useful strategies for dealing with the extreme, even ridiculous, events, and the characters who participate in them?

Join Miriam Gilbert and her guest, veteran director Eric Forsythe from the University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts, as they discuss these questions and 'Line of Descent' this Thursday, January 7 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Riverside Theatre. Admission is free!

- James Trainor of Little Village Magazine has authored a great feature about farce,  "Line of Descent" and a special event with playwright William McCauley. Read it here.

- Isaac Hamlet of The Daily Iowan chats with director Sam Osheroff and the cast about finding humor in each character's "unique flavor of villainy." Read it here.

- In his review, Zack Berg of the Iowa City Press-Citizen writes that "Line of Descent" "surprises you, makes you laugh and impresses you with its rather high joke-per-second rate." Read it here.

With only two performances left tonight and tomorrow, we took the opportunity to ask three questions of Janet Schlapkohl, the writer and performer of "Coming of Age In Chore Boots." Here's what she had to say.

"I recommended 'Coming of Age In Chore Boots' two years ago. I think it's even better now." - Rob Cline, The Gazette. (Read the review)

"... The night felt organic and wholly owned by its star, as a one-woman show should feel. In turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, Schlapkohl’s acting provokes every emotion from nostalgia to bereavement to joy to optimism." - Andrew Juhl, Iowa Theatre Blog. (Read the review)

Or you could just ask the audience at opening night of the show last Friday. Here's what they had to say.

"Coming of Age In Chore Boots" continues through Dec. 19. Join us to see for yourself why so many people are raving about this show. Find tickets and more info here.

In this clip, Janet remembers how easy it was for Midwestern kids to lose a finger in the wintertime -- and not just because of the cold.

Directed by Tim Budd, "Coming of Age In Chore Boots" performs Dec. 4-19, 2015 at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City. Get tickets here. 

Janet also appeared on KCCK in Cedar Rapids to talk about what went into creating the show, and bringing it back to Riverside Theatre two years later. You can listen to her interview here.

"Staggeringly emotional and, somewhat surprisingly, incredibly funny ... This top notch production with excellent acting is one you do not want to miss."
- Matt Falduto, Iowa Theatre Blog (read the review)

A classic script, a striking set, and a compelling cast come together in Riverside Theatre's production ... Under the direction of Steven Marzloff, Jim Van Valen led the cast through a flawless performance on Friday's opening night."
- Rob Cline, The Gazette (read the review)

We also caught up with audience members after Saturday's performance. Watch what they had to say.

Learn more about the play at riversidetheatre.org/glassmenagerie

Catherine Backer (Laura) is a sophomore BSS theatre performance and costuming major from Appleton, WI. Her most recent productions have been Machinal (assistant costume designer) and The Flies (Orestes). In her free time, Catherine enjoys singing, sewing, practicing yoga and spending time with loved ones. After graduation Catherine hopes to earn her graduate degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

Jody Hovland (Amanda) is a Founding Artist at Riverside Theatre and a Distinguished Artist in Residence at Cornell College, where she and Ron Clark helped launch the co-production partnership in 1996.  The Glass Menagerie celebrates the 11^th production in this unique collaboration.  Favorite projects on Gilbert Street include roles in Kimberly Akimbo (Kimberly), The Exit Interview (Eunice), All My Sons (Kate), End Days (Sylvia), and Wit (Vivian), as well as last season's direction of Lucky Me and Cyrano.  Jody has an MFA in acting from the University of Iowa and is a proud member of Actors' Equity.

Steven Marzolf (director) returns to Riverside Theatre having played Cyrano in Cyrano and Cassio in Othello and directing Green Show: Othello and Green Show: Complete Works. Directing credits: Romeo and Juliet in Concert with Theatresquared/South Arkansas Symphony, The Trojan Women with The Stella Adler Institute, The Country Wife for The Aphra Behn Society and numerous productions with University of Tulsa. Acting credits: August: Osage County and Fair Use with Steppenwolf Theatre, The Laramie Project with La Jolla Playhouse, A Christmas Carol with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Amadeus, The Spiritualist and The Fall of the House with Theatresquared, the title role in Coriolanus with The Old Globe Theatre, along with numerous other productions. Steven holds an MFA from The Old Globe Theatre/USD.

Jim Van Valen (Tom) is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College.  Previously, he has appeared in the Riverside productions of Red, A Steady Rain, Manning Up, and Stones in His Pockets and in the Riverside in the Park productions of Hamlet, School for Scandal, As You Like It, and Ah, Wilderness.  A member of Actors' Equity Association, Jim has performed throughout the country in such regional theatres as The Barter Theatre, The Fulton Opera House, Florida's Riverside Theatre, Iowa Summer Rep, the Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble, The Old Creamery Theatre, and North Carolina's Temple Theatre.  He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa and an MA in Theatre Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Aaron Weiner (Jim, Gentleman Caller) is an Iowa City native who has appeared on stage around the Midwest, most recently in All Recipes are Home with Working Group Theater.  He would like to thank Cornell College and Riverside Theatre for this wonderful opportunity, as well as his family and friends for their boundless love and unwavering support.

The show is designed by Scott Olinger (scenic), Kristen Geisler (lighting), Jenny Nutting Kelchen (costumes), and Steven Marzolf (sound).

Thank you for making Riverside Theatre "Best of the Area" Theater Group!

Tennessee Williams’s first major success as a playwright came in 1944-45 with The Glass Menagerie. The more we look at this familiar play, placing it in its biographical context, as well as in the theatrical experimentation of the 20^th century, the more we sense displacement, as Williams transforms mental illness into physical disability, and rewrites the myth of gracious Southern living.  

Join Miriam Gilbert and Jennifer Buckley, colleagues in the Department of English, for a discussion of the questions raised by this “memory play,” and the conflict between fragility and wildness, delicacy and painful realities, in the Thursday Theatre Talk, October 29, 5:30pm, at Riverside Theatre.

 Free & open to the public, no reservations necessary.

THE GLASS MENAGARIE is onstage at Riverside Theatre, November 6 - 22.  Details & ticket info here.

Friday, October 23 & Saturday, October 24 at 7:30pm

The Riverside Radio Players present a consternating collection of uncanny plays, musical interludes, and vintage commercials from the golden age of radio.  Live sound effects complete this night of thrilling fun!  Directed and co-produced by Patrick "Dead Eyes" DuLaney.

TICKETS
$12
Order yours by phone at 319-338-7672, ONLINE, or in person. Box Office hours: Mon-Fri, 1pm-5pm & 1 hour before shows
213 N. Gilbert Street, Iowa City

"The inaugural show of Riverside Theatre’s current season starts things off with warmth and wonder, in a production of Donald Margulies’ delightful 2007 play SHIPWRECKED!" - Little Village Magazine

Read the Full Review

Read the Full Review

Photo: (top to bottom) Paul Riopelle (Louis de Rougemont), Katherine Slaven, Joe Osheroff; photo by Bob Goodfellow

The Riverside Theatre Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Sam Osheroff as incoming Artistic Director. On August 1, 2015, Mr. Osheroff succeeded Jody Hovland and Ron Clark, the founders and artistic leaders of the theatre for thirty-four seasons.

Osheroff, who directed Riverside Theatre’s production of "Red" in the 14-15 Season, joins Executive Director Jennifer Holan to lead Riverside through the theatre’s next phase of development.  He will select plays and programming for all seasons, oversee productions, direct shows and occasionally appear onstage in acting roles.  Holan will continue to oversee the administrative and financial aspects of the theater.

Osheroff joins Riverside Theatre from his previous position as Artistic Director of The Pensacola Shakespeare Theatre and as Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting at The University of West Florida.  He received his MFA in acting from the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and has worked in regional theaters all over the country including the Asolo Rep, Pioneer Playhouse, Peterborough Players, The Weston Playhouse, various New York venues and in television and radio.  He has also toured Argentina and Brazil with the world renowned Bread and Puppet Theatre.  He arrives in Iowa City with his wife, Kris Danford, a professional actor, singing teacher and associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework ®, his daughter Stella (4 years) and his brand new son, Oliver. 

Mr. Osheroff directs the Riverside’s 15-16 season opener, “SHIPWRECKED! An Entertainment- The Amazing Adventures of Louis De Rougemont (As Told by Himself)” by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, opening September 25.

Playwrights--Let us hear you roar!

Send us your weird, wild and wonderful short solo work to be considered for

ROAR:  A weird, wild and wonderful night of original solo work.

(You may be familiar with Riverside Theatre’s long-standing monologue festival Walking the Wire—ROAR is a re-imagined version of that programming.)

Ten - twelve pieces will be selected to be performed at Riverside Theatre, March 4-13 2016. We can’t pay royalties, but we’ll credit you in our promotional materials, and we’ll give you two tickets to a performance.

What we want

Work that is compellingly theatrical. It will be performed so it should have physical, visual and aural elements.

We won’t rule out excerpts from longer pieces, but we want you to know—they can be harder to appreciate. Funny pieces, on the other hand, always get our attention.

Memoir is a fine starting point, but we encourage you to take it to a fictionalized place. Again, it needs to be theatrical.

Our best advice: Work from your heart. Be honest and truthful. Daring, not earth-bound. Follow your instincts rather than logic to arrive at a piece you’d be excited to experience.

Submission guidelines

• Must be original, unpublished and unproduced work
• Less than 10 minutes in length
• Submit up to 3 pieces as a Word document or PDF by email to admin@riversidetheatre.org
• Be sure to include your name, city/state, email and phone.
• Submission deadline is September 28, 2015.
  

Final selections will be announced on riversidetheatre.org by mid-November 2015.

Simply click on the button below and join our email list.  You'll get e-posctards about upcoming shows, special deals and more!

September 25 – October 18

Tropical monsoons! Giant squids! Adventure on the high seas!  Pulitzer prize-winner Donald Margulies pens an unabashed love letter to the simple pleasures of the old fashioned yarn.  Join our hero, Louis De Rougemont as he spins a fantastic tale of shipwreck and survival in this tribute to imagination and theatrical invention.  Suitable for all ages!

November 6 – 22
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Steven Marzolf

Viewed through a veil of memory and regret, the Wingfield family struggles to negotiate the past, the future and each other in depression-era St. Louis.  Both dreamlike and shatteringly real, Tennessee William's iconic American classic examines a family on the edge of the abyss. 

In her memoir of a Midwestern girlhood, local favorite Janet Schlapkohl recalls coming to grips with life at a time and place when social roles were strictly defined.  Full of the playwright's warmth and hallmark humor.

January 29 - February 21
LINE OF DESCENT
By William McCauley                                               
Directed by Sam Osheroff

It's everyone for themselves in this hysterically funny, biting farce about greed, lust and the family ties that bind.

March 4 - 13
ROAR!                                                               
A revamped Walking the Wire: a weird, wild & wonderful night of original solo work.

A professional dancer with a career-ending injury is thrown for a loop when a geoscientist with Asperger's syndrome offers her an absurd sum to teach him how to dance. This funny, unsentimental and honest romance takes a hard look at what constitutes "normal." 

Ticket and Riverdog Pass information for the 2015-16 Season available later this summer.

Watch for your brochure in the mail in August. 

Want to join our mailing list?  Email boxoffice@riversidetheatre.org with your name and mailing address.

Riverside Theatre Summer on Gilbert Street features CYRANO adapted by Jo Roets, and LOVE LETTERS by A.R. Gurney. Show details & ticket info here.

We have two free summer poetry events that correspond with our summer themes of love & letters. Read your own work at the July 1 Poetry on Stage event (registration info below)!

IOWA YOUNG WRITERS' STUDIO POETRY PRESENTATION
Saturday, June 20, approx 9:45pm (after the "Cyrano" performance)
Listen to new poems written by students from the UI Iowa Young Writers' Studio and the Iowa Youth Writing Project, performed by the students and the "Cyrano" actors.

POETRY ON STAGE
Wednesday, July 1, approx 9:00pm (after the "Cyrano" performance)
Come just to listen OR perform your own poetry on stage! 

Info for performing your own work:
“Performance poetry” uses the stage as the page, transforming poetry into theatre!  This celebration of the Spoken Word invites poetry of all kinds ~ free verse to sonnets, ballads to odes, limericks to love letters. 

GUIDELINES:
~open to ages 15-adult, all experience levels
~one poem per poet
~poem must be of the poet’s own construction
~performance time limited to 1-4 minutes
~language appropriate for an audience that includes both youth and adults
~memorization a bonus, but not required

Here's a list for our upcoming classes. 

For all of the great details, click on the button:

All classes at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert Street. To enroll, call 319-338-7672

Those who qualify for free or reduced lunch are eligible for tuition assistance.

SUMMER

STAGE COMBAT FOR KIDS                    Teacher: Kelly Gibson
June 13, 10-12 am, grades 3-6
Tuition $25

HALF-DAY ACTING CLASSES, TAKE 1 OR BOTH!
CURRENT GRADES  5-7, June 22-26     
Tuition $110 per class.  Both classes for $200.

ACTING FUNNY, 10am-12pm            Teacher: Steven Marzolf


IMPROVISE!, 12:30-2:30pm                                  Teacher: Kelly Gibson

             
 
YOUNG PEOPLE’S INTENSIVE  Current grades 8-12
Tuition $165/wk (reduced tuition for additional weeks)
All classes meet 1:00-4:00 pm

Sign up for one week or all three of these interrelated classes for the serious young actor, taught by working theatre professionals. 

Week 1    June 29-July 3
AUDITION                                   Teacher: Kelly Gibson

Week 2    July 6-10
ADVANCED ACTING                      Teacher: Steven Marzolf

Week 3    July 13-17
IMPROV                                     Teacher: Katy Slaven

TEACHING ARTISTS

KELLY GIBSON returns to Riverside’s teaching roster this summer - and to play Roxane in Cyrano.  She also appeared as Desdemona in last year’s Othello.  Her teaching experience includes working with K-college level students, both locally and internationally, as well as extensive work in theatre for social change programs.  She has taught youth classes at both Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.  Most recently, Kelly has been teaching theatre as a means for literacy with Sundog Theatre in Staten Island public schools.  Kelly has an MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is a member of Actors’ Equity, and resides in New York City.

STEVEN MARZOLF, Equity actor, director and educator, performed last summer as Cassio in Othello and also directed both Green Shows.  His extensive teaching experience for both youth and adults includes The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, the University of Tulsa and TheatreSquared in Fayetville, Arkansas.  His regional acting credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Steven has an MFA from the University of San Diego.

KATY SLAVEN has an MFA in Acting from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Theatre from UNI. She has taught classes and led workshops for a range of ages at Florida Atlantic University, UNI, Webster City Community Theatre, Iowa Thespians Festival, and North Iowa Area Community College. Katy currently lives in Cedar Rapids with her son Jack, and works as a freelance actor/educator/collaborator. For more information about Katy, please visit www.katherineslaven.com

Join our Riverside street team this summer!

This May, June & July we'll be hanging out at Farmers Markets, outdoor concerts, special events and more, sharing information about our summer season.

Sign up to help with 1 event... or more.  It's an easy and flexible way to contribute to the community, the arts, and our not-for-profit organization, now in it's 34th (!) year of professional theater.

We already have some dedicated volunteers, but would love for you to be part of the fun.  Contact Christina at marketing@riversidetheatre.org and she'll add you to the info list.  Looking forward!

Photo by Kables

 Read a note about the venue change & summer programming from artistic director Jody Hovland.

This year you will have an opportunity to see two love stories, a true classic, CYRANO adapted by Jo Roets, and the modern classic, LOVE LETTERS by A.R. Gurney.  Plus, we'll have two post-show poetry events, part of a collaboration with the Iowa Youth Writing Project and Iowa Young Writers' Studio. Show details here!

Tickets and a show schedule will be availabe later this spring.  We hope that you can join us!

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

One of the great things about working on a new play is that often the playwright is involved in the process.  Riverside Theatre's winter play LUCKY ME by Robert Caisley (1/30 - 2/22) is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, which means that through NNPN a few theatres get one of the first shots at producing this new script.

Mr. Caisley joined us from Idaho for opening weekend and particapted in post-show talkbacks, but if you didn't catch those, check out our interview with him:

Q: What was your original inspiration for Lucky Me?

A: I usually can point to something very specific that is the initial trigger for a play.  With my play Front which is about life in London during the Blitz, the inspiration came from the stories my grandmother told me when I would visit her as a child.  She was a terrific storyteller, and kept us spellbound with her many anecdotes of life in England before and during the war.  I held onto the memory of that experience for years until I was ready to write that play.  My last play Happy, came out of my obsession to see if I could write a play in which the central protagonist is possessed of a tragic flaw that is something we usually regard as a positive attribute – their own natural joie de vivre.  But with Lucky Me I just sat down one day and started writing this play that took place in an apartment.  I didn’t know it was going to be an apartment until I wrote “a two-bedroom apartment.”  The lights came up on the stage and these two characters entered – one was on crutches, the other was helping them back from the E.R.  That’s all I knew about them at that point, but I was interested to learn how the one on crutches had sustained the injury – which turned out to be a “Dancer’s Fracture,” a fracture of the 5^th metatarsal.  Who knew?  And I kept discovering little bits and pieces about the people that lived in that space.  I find that if I can sustain my own inquisitiveness over 15 or 20 pages, I’m usually invested enough to keep going.  I used to plot everything out very carefully; make little charts and stick Post-it notes up all over the place.  But now I much prefer to be surprised by what unfolds.  Everything’s a mystery, which I think is a good place to find yourself in as a playwright.  After all, audiences love mysteries.  Even little tiny ones.  So if my attention is engaged while writing the play, I can be fairly confident the audience will be too.  And the audience’s interest in what’s unfolding onstage is #1.  Think about it.  A playwright is basically saying, “OK, what I’m going to tell you in the next two hours, I believe, is infinitely more interesting than what you would otherwise do by yourself in that same amount of time.”  It’s extraordinarily arrogant, and also, a great responsibility.  Because if you can’t make good on that promise, you have failed totally.

Q:  Have you explored the concept or theme of luck in past plays, or is this something new that you are playing with?

A:  No, I don’t think it’s something I’ve consciously wrote about before.  However, I am getting more interested in writing plays that focus on a particular kind of emotional experience.  The last three plays I’ve written, Happy, Lucky Me and the new play I currently working on, form, in some respects, a kind of trilogy, in that they examine a particular way of looking at the world.  Happy asks questions about the way we construct our lives in the pursuit of happiness.  Lucky Me essentially asks, Is there such as thing as Good Fortune and Bad Fortune controlling our lives, and how does it seem to operate so disproportionately in some people’s lives and not in others?  And the new piece, which I am tentatively calling The Open Hand, is a meditation on the nature of generosity and selfishness, and how they are two sides of the same coin.  What’s common among these plays is that I find myself far more interested in the thematic opposite of what I initially begin researching.  The Open Hand was originally going to be about selfishness, until I realized that generosity is a more interesting an dynamic subject to explore onstage.  I like to turn this upside, but it usually takes me a while to understand what it is I’m writing—in other words, I write in order to understand what I think and feel about a subject, rather than beginning with a point of view.

Q:  Is there anything that surprised you about the play after seeing it onstage?  If so, did it lead to script changes or future character notes?  Anything that will be tried for the first time at Riverside?

A:  The experience of seeing your work onstage is always a surreal one.  If there are playwrights reading this, they’ll know exactly what I mean when I say, it’s like watching a play in which you have written every single word that comes out of the actors mouth, but at same time you’re surprised by almost every word that comes out of the actors mouths.  There is both a strangeness and familiarity operating at exactly the same time.  And the feeling doesn’t seem to go away for me; and I hope it never does.  It’s wonderful.  It’s why I write plays and not novels.  And of course, actors bring so much to the play that casting is always one of the nerve-wracking and bizarrely satisfying experiences—like a blind date that you anticipate being really awkward and then you get utterly charmed in spite of your own misgivings.

I’ve been making lots of little changes over the past two productions, and now little adjustments for the Riverside production.  I get the rehearsal reports each night, and there’s a section for script notes.  So Jody and I have been on the phone, talking through changes, and trying out little things in rehearsal I didn’t have the guts to try in the last production.  Rehearsal is my favorite part of the process; it’s where I learn the most about the play.

Q:  There are a good number of special effects required in this show (breaking glasses, leaking roof, fizzling light bulbs, etc) and some live animals.  When writing the script, did you envision how these would be handled?

A:  Well, I was certainly aware that I was writing a play that some producers would shy away from because of the production demands.  But I find that people that like the play, understand why these odd things are happening, and so they see them less as “special effects” and more like another character in the play.  So much of the tone of the play is created by this moments—but they don’t take up very much space on the page.  I did my first play when I was sixteen years old (it was O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness!) and I’m forty-six now.  So I’ve been involved in some way or another with an average of 4 – 6 plays a year for the past thirty years.  I hope that I didn’t write anything into the script that I couldn’t imagine solving in a production if I was directing the play myself.  So yes, I tend to envision how the play is going to live onstage the whole time I’m writing it.  I do a lot of standing when I write—I act little bits of business out, and I talk out loud when I type.  I wasn’t really conscious of this until I finished a new play and realized my kids news what it was about before anyone had read it, because they’d overheard me repeatedly chattering the dialogue as I typed and retypes scenes over and over.

Q:  If Sara and Tom weren’t forced together, would they still be a good match romantically?

A:  I have a friend who can always find a parking spot right in front of the restaurant we’re going to, whereas, if I’m driving, I’m lucky if I find a spot within five blocks.  They say, “I’ve got good parking karma.”  I was thinking about this when I started working on Lucky Me.  Why does good fortune and bad fortune seem to operate so disproportionately in some people’s lives, than it does in others.  So I down really see Sara and Tom as being “forced” together.  I put them together in the same room, because I knew they interaction would cause them to change the circumstances I had created at the outset of the play.  I think audience members view characters as “people.”  And playwrights view characters as “dramatic functions.”  Each character must serve a purpose in the play.  It’s why I’m always thrown by audience members at talk-backs who ask me things like, “Do you think they character will remain together [after the curtain falls]” or “What’s going to happen to so-and-so.”  I just don’t think it those terms.  I spend most of my time thinking about the character’s backstory, and then the rest of the time typing the dialogue, but I spend no time at all thinking about what happens after I typed “The lights fade.  End of play.”

Q:  Is it significant that Sara doesn’t have female relationships in her life?

A:  I don’t really know.  I’ve found that audience members place significance on different things.  I didn’t consciously omit female relationships from her life, I just wanted to begin with someone who’s been fairly reclusive for much of her adult life, and along comes this guy who keeps knocking on the door wanting to be helpful.  It’s interesting: in writing classes students are always told to create conflict.  It gets drummed into young writers so persistently that I think they build up a complex and assume that conflict has to be this huge and tumultuous force in the play.  The plays that I like are the ones that take the seemingly inconsequential details of our lives and render them a tension-builders, which is sort of the way it works in most people’s lives.  It can be equally satisfying dramatically to generate conflict in that way.  I think about what David Hare calls the “telling detail” about a character.  And certainly one of the telling details is that Sara lives alone with her father.  ♣

Robert Caisley is Professor of Theatre and Head of Dramatic Writing at the University of Idaho.  His last play HAPPY enjoyed an National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere in the 2012-13 Season, playing at Montana Repertory Theatre, New Theatre (Miami, FL), New Jersey Repertory Company, 6^th Street Playhouse (Santa Rosa, CA) and continuing on to Redtwist Theatre in Chicago.  The Miami Herald hailed it as “90 wild and intriguing minutes!” It was nominated in 2012 as a Finalist for both the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center New Play Conference and the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, it won the 2013 SOTA Award for Best New Play in Northern California, was a nominee for the 2014 San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script, and was named by Chicago Magazine as one of the “Nine Best Comedies in Chicago Theatre” this past spring.  Other plays include: KITE’S BOOK: TALES OF AN 18^TH CENTURY HITMAN (6^th Street Playhouse), FRONT (now published by Samuel French, Inc.) and KISSING (New Theatre, Miami.)  He is currently at work on a new play commissioned by the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN.

Click here for the PC 'Best of' article on Riverside.

Have a great winter and we'll see you at a show!

Neal Adelman, The Plains, OH ~ “Let A Horse Run”

Darren Canaday, Lawrence, KS ~ “He Fam’ly”

Ron Clark, Iowa City, IA ~ “My Long Trip”

Sean Demers, Iowa City, IA ~ “Redacted”

Alex Dremann, Philadelphia, PA ~ “Jan-Candy and the Elvis Tattoo”

Thomas Dunn, Los Angeles, CA ~ “The Tango”

Kent Forsberg, Middleton, WI ~ “Hieronymus Bond, Secret Agent”

Rex McGregor, Auckland, New Zealand ~ “A Bride for the Pope”

Chris Okiishi, Iowa City, IA ~ “Bully for You”

Amanda Petefish-Schrag, Ames, IA ~ “The Suitcase”

Gwendolyn Rice, Middleton, WI ~ “Shaken, Not Stirred”

Janet Schlapkohl, Iowa City, IA ~ “Valentine Bunnies”

Ellen Davis Sullivan, Andover, MA ~ “A Very Good Job for A Woman”

"I read Kimberly Akimbo for the first time about ten years ago and at the time didn't think much of it. And to be honest over the summer when Jody approached me with the idea of directing it I was a little hesitant. I had thought of the play as a bit of a gimmick in the past. A teenager who looks much older than she is- played by an older actor but attempting to present the foibles of high school- it seemed like a show for Comedy Central on synopsis alone.

What a difference ten years can make.

I re-read it this summer and was surprised how much of myself I was finding in Kimberly's story. There are times- and maybe in the cold Iowa winters we each feel a bit like this- that isolation can creep up on us. And isolation for me is the scariest thing there is, it's what makes people change for the worse, to retreat and shut off. I never forgot how isolating high school was, that reminder I did not need. But I had no idea how isolating adulthood would be. And so Kimberly's story, a woman aging preternaturally, trying to get the chance to be young, to be beautiful, to be carefree, to be part of the experience she thought she would be included in... this spoke volumes. Sounds tragic, however, Mr. Lindsay-Abaire is too smart for that.

The humor is a salvation in this place. It is survival. Much like in his other plays from Rabbit Hole to Good People, Lindsay-Abaire might be the best observer of modern loneliness we have. However, he gives us what we need in these plays. He offers us a friend, a community, a chance to sit in a darkened room, safely, with other people who may feel like we do, and he lets us laugh."  –Sean Christopher Lewis

Sean Christopher Lewis is the Artistic Director of Working Group Theatre. His work has won the Kennedy Center’s Rosa Parks Award, NEA Voices in Community Award, Smith Prize, Barrymore Award and numerous other awards. With Riverside he has directed Mary’s Wedding, Goat Show, Marion Bridge, Venus in Fur, The Syringa Tree and Manning Up. He has also directed for the Centre X Centre International Theatre Festival in Rwanda and at the Institut Del Teatre in Barcelona. You can find out more at seanchristopherlewis.com

When asked to write an artist’s statement about the design of Kimberly Akimbo, I was torn. On one hand, I am a firm believer that the audience should interpret the design elements of a show for themselves with no guidance from the designers or directors. I equate it to watching a movie with someone who keeps spoiling plot points for me: let me make the discovery on my own! After all, you’re going to have your own visceral reactions to the show that might not be the same as your neighbor’s or even mine, and that’s the beauty of theatre. On the other hand, often times we as theatre artists forget that we have an unfair advantage over our audience members. We hold all of the information about the journey that led to the current incarnation of the show you are watching. In a way, we hold the map, and good luck to you on finding your way. Ultimately, I’d like to think of this as not an explanation, but as the key to that map, allowing you to choose your own path…but maybe with a little helpful information in your back pocket.

Sean [the director] and I have worked together too many times to count, both with Riverside and with Working Group Theatre. We’ve unconsciously created a short hand to our collaboration process and to the way we communicate with each other. If you saw our emails back and forth, you might need an interpreter. Sean conveyed two key elements to me: ice/snow/winter and the concept of minimalism/simplicity.  The theme of winter kept jumping out at him from within the script as being important to establish, while the ease of transitions were paramount for pacing. As I combed through the script, I quickly realized that what we needed to support the multiple locations was a background piece that could morph and meld with us. Leave the segmentation of space to moveable furniture pieces and to the lighting designer (good thing it’s like the lighting designer and I share a brain…).

As I delved into winter themed research, I was continually struck by images of dead and bare tree branches with still very much alive cherries hanging off of them. The marriage of both life and death, the pop of red against dreary brown, intrigued me, much like Kimberly, who is already in the decline of life, yet still so full of life and energy and color. Sean responded strongly to the images I sent him, and thus the idea of the background sculpture you see before you was born. The rest of the set, the interior walls and the snow/winter inspired paint treatments, naturally followed, combining to make an environment that could sway from being outside at night in the New Jersey winter to spending the afternoon inside of the local library.

With Kimberly Akimbo, the entire production team has strived to keep a balance between the comedic elements of the show and the beauty of Kimberly’s trajectory in life. My ultimate goal, as with any show I work on, is to both support the script in the best way possible while still creating an image on stage that is visually pleasing to look at. I like to believe I got pretty darn close to my goal. But hey, you get to be the judge of that, not me.

Enjoy,

Courtney

Courtney Schmitz (lighting & scenic designer) is a freelance designer based in the Minneapolis area. She received her MFA in lighting design from the University of Iowa in 2009. She has worked with such Twin Cities companies as 20% Theatre, nimbus theatre, Yellow Tree Theatre, Theatre in the Round, Six Elements Theatre, Freshwater Theatre, Lyric Arts, Dangerous Productions, crash.dance productions,  and Savage Umbrella. She is also the resident lighting designer for Working Group Theatre. This is Courtney’s sixth season designing with Riverside Theatre.

University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) now has the 3 original Rothko's from their collection on display for the public, coinciding with Riverside's play "Red", a bio-drama about the artist.

The artwork is on view now at the UIMA@IMU Visual Classroom,
Iowa Memorial Union, Third Floor (Room 376, Richey Ballroom) 
Free admission
Hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 12–5 p.m.
uima.uiowa.edu

A very special thanks to Dale Fisher, Steven Erickson, Katherine Wilson, Miriam Gilbert, Sean O'Harrow and the UIMA Members Council for making the UIMA display possible.

UIMA Rothko installation

The pieces on display are:

Mark Rothko (American, 1903–1970)
Untitled, 1941–1943
Oil on canvas
Gift of the Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1985.47
Mark Rothko  

Mark Rothko (American, 1903–1970)
Untitled, 1944–1946
Watercolor and ink on paper
Gift of the Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1985.48  

Mark Rothko (American, 1903–1970)
Untitled, 1968
Acrylic on paper mounted on Masonite
Gift of the Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1985.49

"Red" runs Thursday-Sunday through September 28.  Thursday, Friday & Saturday shows are at 7:30pm; Sunday shows are at 2:00pm.

Still need "Red" tickets? Call 319-338-7672 or order online: http://boxoffice.printtixusa.com/riversidetheatre/eventcalendar

Full show info on our homepage. 

Brush up on your Rothko knowledge with this excellent biography: www.markrothko.org/biography

About the University of Iowa Museum of Art

Due to the flood of 2008, the UIMA's former building was deemed unsuitable for the return of artwork. However, the UIMA collection was saved, and through the use of temporary facilities and creative outreach, the Museum continues to offer the invaluable experience of art to the University, the community, the state of Iowa, and beyond. While we await a new building, we invite you to visit our temporary locations:

Iowa Memorial Union, Third Floor

• UIMA@IMU, room 376 (Richey Ballroom): On-campus visual classroom featuring an extensive installation from the museum’s permanent collection
• Black Box Theater: On-campus space for UIMA special exhibitions, featuring Tea Time: Going Dutch (September 13–December 7, 2014)

Figge Art Museum, Davenport

• Gallery space and storage for 12,000 objects from the UIMA’s permanent collection. Free admission to the Figge Art Museum for UI students, faculty, and staff with UI identification cards, and UIMA Members with their membership cards.

SPENCER

Q: Spencer, what is it like to be in Complete Works compared to other comic roles you've played? Does the ‘Complete Works’ style of comedy require different comedic tools or skills?

A: It [Complete Works] shares more qualities than are different but it requires tapping into some skill sets more deeply because the show incorporates the audience. They are on the journey with us because most of the show is a form of direct address - talking with the audience and there is very rarely any kind of barrier between us - and if there is - we make a joke of it.

Because the show is so dependent on the audience - we must be beyond secure in what we are saying and doing - we have to believe what we are doing more deeply and securely. This is due to the fact that the audience could give us something at any moment that we could use and fold into the moment on stage - and once that moment is over - we get back to the show that we have planned.

So basically during the show ANYTHING could happen at ANY moment and if it does we sure hope we can get everybody safely out of the theater!

Don't worry, we're trained professionals.

CHRISTOPHER 

Q:  In Complete Works you seem to end up in a lot of wigs and dresses. What special skills do you need, or what acting techniques do you use to pull off the comedic trope of a man trying to play a woman?

A:  When we first got our costume plots (a list of all the different looks and changes) I had 47 changes in the show. I think we've added a few since then. Some of these are as simple as adding or subtracting a hat, some are full changes, but lots of them involve wigs and dresses. I have 6 wigs to signify different women, plus several hats for others.

In terms of special skills or techniques for playing the women I'd say the most important is taking care of my voice. Because I spend a good deal of the play speaking and screaming in falsetto I have to make sure I do a good warm up and don't run myself ragged. As for making it funny, I'll put it this way; Me, Chris the Actor, thinks I am a pretty ugly woman (insert lipstick on a pig reference here). But when Chris the Character hits the stage as one of the women, he is the prettiest, prettiest princess in all the land and he owns it. The pink Converse help too. 

Q:  What is your very favorite persona in this show (male or female) and why?

A:  My favorite character in the show? Lavinia [ from the Titus Andronicus cooking show skit]. Hands down. She has no hands and no tongue, but she's a bundle of joy!

JOHN

Q: How do you prepare to play so many characters in Complete Works?

A: The rehearsal process involved a lot experimentation with each character, playing with different physicalities, walks, voices, mannerisms and tempos influenced by what we know these Shakespeare characters and universal types like witch, football announcer etc to be. I distilled each character down to its essence: love struck, meddling, brown nose, and exploited that one word. The play moves like a Mack truck so it's important for each character to be identifiable as soon as possible to the audience. Sometimes all that's needed is to speak because the costume and text reveal the character for me.

Q: How do you mentally switch so quickly between each persona?

A: I try to think as little as possible and allow my body to do the work. Each physicality created for each character informs a feeling or attitude inside me. Underneath all of it I try to get out of the way and let the joy of performing shine through.

Q: Your base character is “John”. How different/similar is he to the “real” you?

A: I remember early in the process I had a difficult time defining who he is because although we are calling him "John" he was written/created by Daniel one of the three co-writers. To me he is beautifully odd and that description actually helps me see myself in him. We have everything in us and so when I put on those pumpkin pants, sweatband and cape it just releases parts of me that I might not feel comfortable releasing when I'm sitting reading at the Java House...so "John" is similar to John.

The only tickets left to see Spencer D. Christensen, Christopher Peltier & John William Watkins live onstage in 'Complete Works' at Riverside Theatre are on Saturday, July 12, 2:00PM.  Call 319-338-7672 or email info@riversidetheatre.org to reserve your tickets.  Enjoy this show!

Photos by Bob Goodfellow.

The Daily Iowan featured Riverside Theatre in the Park in their June 26 edition of 80 Hours.  Here's the  article by Emma McClatchey and a fabulous photo slideshow with 34 shots.

“It is not like any of Shakespeare’s tragedies,” said director Theodore Swetz, who is back for his fifth season with RTP. “It stands alone in its personal evil and psychological power, and this fascinates me.”

Here's the link to the great Little Village article by Jorie Slodki on Riverside Theatre in the Park 2014!

Get yours at the Gilbert Street Box Office, noon-4p, Tues-Sat or in the park at the 'Othello' or 'Complete Works' shows. Black, v-neck, soft-style shirt. Small - XL, $15; 2XL, $17

We exhibit artwork in our lobby during each production period, a span of 1-2 months.  When possible, we enjoy partnering the exhibit with the topic or tone of each play, so that patrons enter into that world as soon as they step into the theatre.  There is no commission on any artwork sold.

Artists interested in being considered for an exhibit should send a link to their work along with a brief bio to artistic@riversidetheatre.org.  We will contact artists if an exhibit opportunity becomes available.

The new SCANDAL review is in!

Hoopla's Rob Cline says, "the cast delivered a consistently humorous performance of a play that explores the pitfalls of gossip for both the gossiper and his or her hearers. . . . I do recommend this production highly."  Check out the SCANDAL review here!

Also, remember we're in our last week of shows for Riverside Theatre in the Park, so get your tickets now!  For tickets call 319-338-7672 or click here for pricing or online ticket ordering.

Check out these beautiful photos of Riverside Theatre in the Park's THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL by Bob Goodfellow HERE.

'Scandal' opens this weekend and is sure to provide endless laughs.  Put on your comedy hat and join us at the shows in the indoor comfort of West High Auditorium, Iowa City:

Friday, June 21, 8:00PM    
Saturday, June 22, 8:00PM    
Sunday, June 23, 7:00PM (Family Night) 
Thursday, June 27, 8:00PM      
Friday, June 29, 8:00PM     
Tuesday, July 2, 7:00PM (Family Night) 
Friday, July 5, 7:00PM   (an early start time so you can catch Iowa City fireworks)         
Sunday, July 7, 7:00PM

HAMLET continues:

Tuesday, June 25, 7:00PM (Family Night) 
Wednesday, June 26, 8:00PM 
Friday, June 28, 8:00PM 
Sunday, June 30, 7:00PM 
Wednesday, July 3, 8:00PM 
Saturday, July 6, 8:00PM

Ticket info for both shows HERE

Also, this Friday Sheridan's comedy THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL opens at West High Auditorium!

Here are the HAMLET reviews:

Hoopla HAMLET Review by Rob Cline

Iowa Theatre Blog HAMLET Review by James E. Trainor III

If you would like to donate one of these items, please call 319-338-7672 or email artistic@riversidetheatre.org   All in-kind donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.  Many thanks!

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Riverside-Theatre/328570427479

Follow us on Twitter: @riverdogRT

Let us know what you like to hear about.  Email marketing@riversidetheatre.org

Click here to read Between the Lines for True West.

The 2012-2013 season has one role available in The Exit Interview (male actor, 20s-35). This raucous comedy by William Missouri Downs is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

It will begin rehearsals December 19, 2012 and open January 25, 2013.

Actors (either male or female) may also audition for Walking the Wire, which will be cast in November following final selection of monologues.

Those wishing to audition are required to prepare one contemporary monologue (2 minute maximum) and bring a headshot if not already on file.

To schedule an audition please call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672. Box office hours are Noon to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

For more information on the 2012-2013 season, contact Artistic Director Jody Hovland at artistic@riversidetheatre.org.

Click here to read Iowa Theatre Blog's full review of True West.

Hoopla says, "True West is a truly great play, and this production is excellent from its ominous opening to its startlingly closing moments."

Click here to read Hoopla's full review ofTrue West.

The event is free and open to the public.

In Shepard’s True West, dualities abound. There are two brothers, one a city guy, the other coming out of the desert; one is an upwardly mobile screenwriter in Hollywood, the other a drifter and thief. But gradually they switch roles, and indeed, in a number of well-known productions, the leading actors have alternated as Austin and Lee.

Is there a “truth” in True West,  or is that title part of the ironic fantasies that Shepard depicts with surrealist humor?

Join Miriam Gilbert and Harry Stecopoulos, University of Iowa Department of English, as they discuss Shepard’s play and its vision of America.

Riverside Theatre needs volunteers to assist with the move of its costume shop to a new warehouse location on S. Dubuque St.  All costume stock, storage racks and shop equipment will be moved by truck (and any available vehicles) - and your strong pair of hands will make a big difference!

The Big Move will be scheduled in two-hour shifts from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.  All volunteers should meet at "ArtFarm," 3402 Rochester (white farmhouse at the intersection of Scott and Rochester). Please wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes.

If you can help, please sign up with Nan in the Box Office, 338-7672.  Contacts on the day of the move are Technical Director Jessie Rohde (262- 271-1742) and Production Manager Ron Clark (331-2443). 

Join us for our Open House, Sunday, August 26, 2-4 p.m.!

See behind the scenes before the season starts!

We’re opening the doors to areas of the theatre you don’t typically see when you come for a show.

Check out the Scene Shop

Take a tour of the dressing area

Watch a few minutes of a True West rehearsal

Enter the Scene Shop directly via the alley that runs behind the building/parking lot -- just look for the big garage doors OR, go to the lobby and we'll guide you to the shop!

Light refreshments will be provided.

For more info call the Box Office at 319-338-7672

From left: Sean Christopher Lewis as Lee and Tim Budd as Austin in True West at Riverside Theatre, September 7 - September 30. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre, opens its 2012-2013 Season on Friday, September 7^th with the explosive and acidly comical True West by Sam Shepard, directed by Ron Clark.

True West is about two brothers with a score to settle. Austin, an ambitious Hollywood screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar movie project and Lee, a desert drifter and a thief with a compulsion for six-packs and toasters, are reunited at their mother’s home while she is away and a struggle for dominance ensues.

“True West is sibling rivalry on steroids,” said Director Ron Clark. “The two brothers could not be more different. They both despise and envy each other, which I think is always the foundation of sibling rivalry.”

True West is considered to be a modern American classic and Shepard is revered as one of the greatest living playwrights of our time.

True West features Iowa City actors Tim Budd as Austin and Sean Christopher Lewis as Lee.  Scot West of Chicago returns to Riverside as Saul Kimmer and Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland rounds out the cast as Mom.

“They’re the A-Team that brings the play to life,” Clark said. “It demands virtroso acting that can plumb the mysteries of the relationships. The turnabouts come fast and furious; the action is explosive.”

True West also features scenic design by Shawn Ketchum Johnson, lighting design by Courtney Schmitz Watson, costume design by Osean Perez, and sound design by Drew Bielinski. Jason Tipsword choreographs the fight work.

Since the scenic design includes numerous toasters, Riverside Theatre is seeking donations of two-slot, old-school toasters (working and non-working) for the production. Donated toasters will not be returned. Toasters may be dropped off at the Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert St, Noon - 4 p.m., Monday – Friday.

Tickets for True West, September 7 – September 30, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

The Big Move will be scheduled in two-hour shifts from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.  All volunteers should meet at "ArtFarm", 3402 Rochester (white farmhouse at the intersection of Scott and Rochester).  Please wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes.

If you can help, please sign up with Nan in the Box Office, 338-7672.  Contacts on the day of the move are Technical Director Jessie Rohde (262- 271-1742) and Production Manager Ron Clark (331-2443).  THANK YOU!

Help build a show from the ground up in a professional venue!

TA will assist the Technical Director with building scenery, painting, acquiring props, and working with lighting for various productions at Riverside Theatre. Basic skills include: the ability to read a tape measure and use a screw gun, a willingness to use other power tools including saws, and an eagerness to learn new skills.   Problem solving skills and creativity are valued.  Prior theatre experience is an asset, but is not required.

Weekly hours are flexible (weekdays between 9-5) and based on the student’s availability; a mutually convenient schedule will be arranged.  Periodic weekend hours will occur for load-ins and strikes.

To apply, please send cover letter/resume to Jessica Rohde, technical@riversidetheatre.org, or call (262) 271-1742. 

See behind the scenes before the season starts at the Riverside Theatre Open House! We’re opening the doors to areas of the theatre you don’t typically see when you come for a show.

Start out in the Scene Shop, where sets for all of our productions are built, and take a tour that includes the backstage area, the green room, and more

Refreshments will be provided

Get your Riverdog Pass—we’ll be selling them in the lobby

AND, if you have a used toaster to donate for True West you can bring it to this event.

Enter the Scene Shop directly via the alley that runs behind the building/parking lot—just look for the big garage doors—OR go to the lobby and we’ll guide you.

For more info, call 319-338-7672!

Seeking:

• Working and non-working TOASTERS
• Two-slot old-school TOASTERS (not toaster ovens!)
• Visibly used, older TOASTERS are idea!

Donated TOASTERS will not be returned.

During August, drop off your TOASTER at the Box Office: 213 N. Gilbert St, Noon - 4 p.m., Monday - Friday

Or, bring it to our Gilbert Street Theatre Open House on 8/26

For more info: 319-338-7672

Get your tickets for 2012-2013 TODAY!  

Single Tickets $15 - $28

Call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 or order online.

True West

September 7 - September 30, 2012

By Sam Shepard

Manning Up

October 12 - October 28, 2012

By Sean Christopher Lewis

World Premiere! 

The Santaland Diaries 

December 7 - 9, 2012

By David Sedaris

Adapted by Joe Mantello 

Performed by Tim Budd

The Exit Interview

January 25 - February 17, 2013

By William Missouri Downs

A National New Play Network rolling world premiere!

Walking the Wire: TMI 

March 1 - March 10, 2013 

Our Annual Monologue Festival!   

Blackbird

April 5 - April 21, 2013

By David Harrower

This season---the theatre’s 32^nd---opens on September 7, 2012 and runs through April 21, 2013 with six bold productions: an explosive comedy about battling brothers, the world premiere of a comedy about soon-to-be fathers, a one-man show about an outrageous elf, the rolling world premiere of a dark and witty work place comedy, Riverside’s annual monologue festival with this year’s theme “TMI,” and a provocative drama filled with unsettling questions.

True West

September 7 – September 30, 2012

By Sam Shepard

Austin, an ambitious Hollywood screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar project and Lee, a vagabond thief with a compulsion for six-packs and toasters, are reunited in their mother’s home. The two brothers battle their demons and each other in Shepard's brutal and acidly funny masterpiece.

Manning Up 

October 12 - October 28, 2012

By Sean Christopher Lewis

The way pregnancy is changing their wives is visible—but long time friends Donnie and Raymond are discovering that fatherhood is changing who they are, too. In this world-premiere, warm-hearted comedy, Martin Andrews and Jim Van Valen (both from last season’s smash A Steady Rain) play two soon-to-be fathers questioning what it means to be a husband…a friend…and a man in today’s times.

The Santaland Diaries                                             

December 7 – 9, 2012

By David Sedaris; Adapted by Joe Mantello

A wacky and witty portrait of a fledgling actor who gets a seasonal job at Macy's Herald Square as one of Santa's underlings. Written by NPR comic genius David Sedaris. Performed by Tim Budd.

The Exit Interview                                                               

January 25 – February 17, 2013

By William Missouri Downs

This raucous comedy breaks every theatre convention. Professor Dick Fig has been fired and must endure an exit interview with Eunice.  Eunice engages in small talk.  Dick expounds on existential theories of alienation. Together, they experience communiqués from God, shameless advertisements, offensive cheerleading, and ever-closer attacks by a masked gunman.  A National New Play Network rolling world premiere.

Walking the Wire: TMI                   

March 1-10, 2013

Our annual celebration of monologues, chosen from submissions by playwrights from across the country. This year’s “too much information” theme guarantees tales with moments of startling revelations… wince-worthy weirdness…and hilarious personal habits (that didn’t really need to be shared). Writer, submissions for Walking the Wire are due September 15. For more info visit riversidetheatre.org.

Blackbird                                          

April 5–21, 2013

By David Harrower

Una confronts Ray fifteen years after the end of their relationship, which took place when he was 40 and she was 12. Ray has served prison time and changed his identity, but Una has found him—and she’s seeking answers. Exploding with unresolved issues, this gripping and thought-provoking drama is one of the most daring plays in contemporary theatre. Winner of the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play.

In addition, two special reading will be held this season: 8 on Nov. 15, 2012 and Permanent Collection on April 22, 2013. Watch www.riversidetheatre.org for more details later in the season.

Single tickets and Riverdog Season Passes go on sale later this month. Riverdog Season Passes are $115 each. Single tickets are $15-$28 with discounts for youth 18 and under, as well as for those Over 60 or Under 30.

To order tickets call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 or go online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

Riverside Theatre invites playwrights to submit monologues for performance in Walking the Wire. This annual celebration of original work features monologues of ten minutes or less by both established and emerging playwrights. The focus for this season’s monologues is: TMI. Submissions must be emailed as a Word or PDF document and dated by midnight CST September 15, 2012; final selections will be announced on Riverside Theatre’s website (www.riversidetheatre.org) on November 1, 2012. The monologues will be performed March 1-10, 2013 at Riverside Theatre.

Submission Guidelines

Riverside Theatre is seeking original monologues with the theme of TMI (too much information): moments of startling revelations…wince-worthy weirdness…and hilarious personal habits (that didn’t really need to be shared).

1. Up to two submissions per author of original, unpublished and unproduced monologues less than ten minutes length (please read it aloud and include the approximate performance time on the first page of your submission; all lengths of up to ten minutes will be considered, with the objective of choosing monologues of varying lengths). 
2. Selection considerations: Monologues should have strong forward action and a clear dramatic event or moment.
3. Copy requirements: double spaced in a minimum 12 pt. font, and including the playwright's name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.
4. Simple is best. Since Walking the Wire typically includes 10-12 monologues, it is important that each one require as little production as possible; set-pieces, props or effects needing set-up, strike, or special technical support may disqualify an otherwise excellent submission.
5. Email submissions (Word or PDF document attachment) must be dated by midnight CST September 15, 2012. Final selections will announced on Riverside Theatre’s website, www.riversidetheatre.org on November 1, 2012.  
6. Writers will be credited in all marketing and playbill materials; no royalties will be paid. Walking the Wire will be produced March 1-10, 2013. Playwrights are entitled to two complimentary tickets to any single performance; tickets are not transferable.
7. Submissions should be emailed to: artistic@riversidetheatre.org

Today meet Jim Van Valen and Kristin Horton.

Jim Van Valen

Jim Van Valen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College. He appeared in last summer's productions of Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and has performed at Riverside’s Gilbert Street space in A Steady Rain, Stones in His Pockets, End Days, and A Dog's Life. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Jim spent three years as a resident actor with the Barter Theatre and has performed throughout the country in such regional theatres as The Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble, The Fulton Opera House, Florida's Riverside Theatre, Florida Rep, Iowa Summer Rep, The Connecticut Theatre Festival, and North Carolina's Temple Theatre. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa and an MA in Theatre Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

“This has been a wonderful company of talented artists.  It's an honor for me to gather with them in the open air each evening and share these stories with audiences.”

Hometown/Home Base: Born -- Long Island, NY and currently living in Mount Vernon, IA

Facts about Jim: I am a devoted baseball fan, the son of a NYC police officer, and an avid watcher of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS.

Hobbies: It's not a hobby -- but my greatest joy (and privilege) in life is being a Dad.

Kristin Horton

Kristin Horton recently directed work at HERE, New York City Parks Summerstage, Lark Play Development Center, William Inge Festival and New York University. She is a recipient of fellowships and residencies from NEA/TCG, Sundance Theatre Lab and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Previous RT credits include: Richard III, Measure for Measure, Taming of the Shrew, A Quiet Moment, A Number, Collected Stories, Drawer Boy, Still Life with Iris and Grocery Stories. She holds an MFA from UI and teaches at NYU.

“For me, the great appeal of Merchant lies in its ability to raise questions about ‘otherness’ as well as its exploration of the early world of capital and its effects on community and relationships. Money penetrates every relationship in the play - it couldn't be more timely. The post show discussion is worth sticking around for; in fact, I consider it ‘Act Six’ of the play - it's a great opportunity to express your thoughts and opinions about the questions raised in the play as well as meet members of the artistic team!”

Home base: New York, NY

Fact about Kristin: While directing this play, my beloved rescue dog Eliot passed away from a tragic, but short bout with canine cancer. I was lucky enough to go home and spend a few days with him when things took a turn for the worst. Eliot was a wonderful dog who rescued me in so many ways. He taught me how to be in the moment, enjoy long walks and take time to really experience each moment as well as the people in our lives.

Hobbies: Supporting animal rescue, running and "city hiking"

Don't miss tonight's production of As You Like It, performance starts at 8 p.m., Green Show starts at 7 p.m.!

Today meet Matthew Jones and Thedore Swetz.

Matthew Jones

Assistant Director

Matthew Jones served as dramaturg for last summer’s Riverside Theatre production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He has appeared as an actor in Twelfth Night and Spike Heels at Cornell College. He is currently studying for a BA in English at Cornell College.

“Entertaining yet thoughtful works of art in the great outdoors--what could be better?”

Hometown: Rapid City, SD

Fun Fact about Matthew: When not in school or doing theatre, I work at a Harley Davidson dealership.

Hobbies: amateur filmmaking, reading Ernest Hemingway, watching infomercials

Theodore Swetz

Director, As You Like It and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

Theodore Swetz started his career with the NY Shakespeare Festival and was an original member of the Tony  nominated, American Players Theatre where he acted, directed, taught, and served as associate artistic director for a decade. Ted carries on the tradition of his beloved acting teacher’s Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky and Phoebe Brand and currently serves as head of acting at the University of Missouri-KC, MFA program. Past credits at Riverside include directing Love’s Labour’s Lost and Ah, Wilderness!

“These two shows dynamically capture the essence of Shakespeare – One filled with Love and Forgiveness the other filled with Hate and Greed – come enjoy it all.”

Home base or Hometown: Born in Yonkers, New York now resides in Kansas City, MO.

Fun fact about Theodore: I'm a "West Wing" freak and want to spend most of my retirement in Paris, France.

Hobbies: I am a devoted golfer who is struggling to reach his potential. Currently my handicap is 7.5

Don’t miss The Merchant of Venice tonight at 7 p.m. at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park. Green Show starts at 6 p.m. For tickets call 319-338-7672 or purchase at the Festival Stage Box Office before the show.

“All the world’s a stage” in As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Theodore Swetz. Photo by Bob Goodfellow

Riverside Theatre in the Park is entering the final week of its 2012 summer season with 5 more performances of Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice. The 17-performance summer season opened on June 15 and will close July 8.

As You Like It by William Shakespeare and directed by Theodore Swetz will be performed this Thursday, July 5 at 8 p.m., Friday, July 6 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 8 at 7 p.m. In one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies our heroine and hero flee an oppressive court for the beautiful and healing Forest of Arden.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare and directed by Kristin Horton will be performed tonight, Tuesday, July 3 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 7 at 8 p.m. One of Shakespeare's less frequently produced plays, The Merchant of Venice introduces characters rich in complexity, humor and, most of all, flaws.

Post-performance Talkbacks will be held after both performances of The Merchant of Venice.

Don't miss your last chance of the summer to escape with an evening of live theatre under the stars at Riverside Theatre in the Park!

Tickets, reviews, photos, videos and more information on the plays is available at www.riversidetheatre.org, or call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 to order tickets.

Performances take place outdoors at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park.

Tickets range from $17-$39. To purchase tickets, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 or order online at www.riversidetheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Festival Stage Box Office starting 90 minutes before each performance.

Today meet Mallory Fran deForest and Eva Balistrieri

Mallory Fran deForest

Portia’s Servingwoman/Ensemble in The Merchant of Venice

Mallory Fran deForest is junior at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA, where she is currently working on a BA in Theatre and Religion. While this is her first time working at Riverside she has appeared in productions of Sylvia, Company, Waiting for Godot, and Defying Gravity at Cornell. She has also studied ballet for 11 years at the Cape Cod School of Ballet.

“It's really exciting getting to work with an extra cast member; The Weather!!!!”

Homebase: Leighton, PA

Fun fact about Mallory: I have lived in every part of the continental United States except the Pacific Northwest.

Hobbies: Collecting DVDs (my collection numbers 440 movies and television shows) 

Eva Balistrieri

Celia in As You Like It and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice

Eva Balistrieri is delighted to be making her Riverside debut! She has worked for many years with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and just completed their nine-month acting internship. Favorite Rep credits include: Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird, Kitty Bennet/Georgina Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Betty Parris in The Crucible. She also spent two summers with Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota. Training and Education: B.A. Theatre – University of Wisconsin Parkside and the Accademia dell’Arte in Tuscany, Italy.

“Live theatre outside under the stars-doesn’t get much better than that.”

Hometown:  Oconomowoc, WI

Fun fact about Eva: Ran the Chicago Marathon last October

Hobbies: Running, traveling, cooking, reading, writing

Only 2 performances of The Merchant of Venice and 3 performances of As You Like It remaining. Call 319-338-7672 to order tickets.

The Apprentice Company will be performing a free Green Show of As You Like It on Saturday, June 30th at 11 a.m. at the Iowa City Farmers Market (in Chauncey Swan Park).

Today meet Andrew Mehegan and Scot West

Andrew Mehegan      

William/Lord 2/Ensemble in As You Like It

Andrew Mehegan is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where he appeared in plays including Spring Awakening, The Little Prince, The Bacchae, and Arabian Nights. Last summer, Andrew worked as an acting apprentice at the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN, where he got to understudy and learn from some amazing actors, and appeared in the title role in King Lear in the apprentice company show.

“I’ll quote Willy Wonka, ‘Come with meee, and you’ll beee, in a wooorrrllld of pure imagination.’ Truly, I believe both productions are very imaginative, and you will enjoy them very much.” 

Hometown: As native of Iowa City, Andrew is very excited to be working in his hometown.

Fun fact about Andrew: Call me Mr. Allergies. And don’t feed me dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, or sesame.

Hobbies: Reading, board gaming, ultimate Frisbee, Calvinball.

Scot West

Jacque de Boyes/Martext/Lord 1/Ensemble in As You Like It and Salerio in The Merchant of Venice

Scot West happily returns to Riverside where his credits include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, Boom and two summer seasons. Other credits include the Guthrie Theatre, the Playwrights Center, Penumbra Theatre, Door Shakespeare, Monomoy Theatre and Iowa Summer Rep. He is currently rehearsing 'thank u 4 a funky time', a solo show about Prince which will be featured at the Minneapolis Fringe Festival in August. He received his MFA in Acting at Ohio University.

“Very pleased to have achieved the lifelong dream of wearing a fat suit (not to mention a bald cap) on stage this summer.”

Home base: Chicago, IL

Fun fact about Scot:  My father was a professional drummer in Nashville for thirty years

Hobbies:  Reading (especially Russian literature), playing guitar & ukulele, playing chess (poorly), going to art museums, eating at greasy spoons, real jukeboxes

Tonight…The Merchant of Venice at 8 p.m. at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park. Green Show starts at 7 p.m. For tickets call 319-338-7672.

Click here to read the review for As You Like It.

Click here to read the review for The Merchant of Venice.

Today meet Ellen De Young and Ryland Thomas

Ellen De Young

Assistant Stage Manager

Ellen De Young recently graduated from Dordt College with a degree in Theatre Arts and English Writing. She was involved in Dordt’s theatre department in several capacities from stage managing The Glass Menagerie and The Secret Garden to acting in Tartuffe and Hamlet. In the fall, Ellen will continue her stage managing endeavors at multiple theatres in the Minneapolis area.

Home base and Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

“What a great way to spend a summer! Even though we've been working, thinking, exploring, memorizing, moving set pieces, and building costumes, it's almost like we're all at summer camp. It's wonderful to be able to spend my days with Shakespeare and sunshine.”

Fun fact about Ellen: I typically swell up when I'm bitten by a mosquito.

Hobbies: Reading, playing piano, biking, making lists

Ryland Thomas

Orlando in As You Like It and Solanio/Ensemble in The Merchant of Venice

Ryland Thomas is excited to be making his Riverside Theatre debut. He recently appeared in Barrington Stage Company’s 10x10 New Play Festival and has also worked with the Unicorn Theater, Kansas City Actor’s Theater, and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Kansas City. Ryland has his MFA in Acting from University of Missouri, Kansas City and his BA in Theatre from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Home base: Hoboken, NJ

“Beautiful plays, a beautiful theater, really, what else would you want to do with your evening?”

Fun fact about Ryland: I like to memorize lines while juggling and spinning plates.

Hobbies: Reading, playing music, and making comic book versions of Shakespeare's plays

Click here to see a video of Ryland juggling watermelons during a day off from Riverside Theatre in the Park

Don't miss tonight's performance of As You Like It at the Festival Stage in Iowa City's Lower City Park! Performance starts at 8 p.m., Green Show starts at 7 p.m. For tickets call 319-338-7672.

Today meet Elyse Edelman and John William Watkins

Elyse Edelman

Ondine/Ensemble in As You Like It

Elyse Edelman is thrilled to be spending the summer at Riverside! She is a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor’s Training Program where she last appeared in a new play in the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio. Other theaters she has worked with include: Minnesota Shakespeare Co., First Stage Children’s Theater, Circle Stage, and The Skylight.

Home base: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“We are having so much fun playing this summer! There is so much ensemble spirit within the company and I think it shows on stage.”

Fun fact about Elyse: I LOVE board games! I host “game night” all the time.

Hobbies: Guitar/Harmonica

John William Watkins

Le Beau/Corin in As You Like It and Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice

John's theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard 3, The Merry Wives of Windsor and King Lear (RTSF), Big Love, A Hamlet, In the Night, Eurydice, Reefer Madness (University of Iowa), Guys On Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical, The Lonesome West, (Riverside Theatre), I Do! I Do!, Lost in Yonkers (Iowa Summer Rep).  His film credits are Blushing, Carbon, Bumblef*ck, USA and Divinity.  John holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa. 

Hometown: Muscatine, Iowa

Most recent home base: Iowa City    As of July 2012: New York City

“These plays move me and capture my imagination. The process of bringing these plays to life with this particular company and at this particular time in my life has made me strive to work from a place of more joy and love and less judgment, not only as an actor but as a human being.  AYLI is a play about how love breeds more love and Merchant is a play about how hate breeds more hate: the perfect combo.”

Fun fact about John: I heart Iowa City!

Hobbies: songwriting, running through Hickory Hill

Don’t miss tonight’s performance of As You Like It at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park. Main stage performance begins at 7 p.m., As You Like It Green Show starts at 6 p.m.

Check out the links below to watch the Green Show for The Merchant of Venice.

Click here to see Part 1 of The Merchant of Venice Green Show.

Click here to see Part 2 of The Merchant of Venice Green Show.

Today meet Daniel Dempsey and Kalen Harriman

Daniel Dempsey

Dennis/Ensemble in As You Like It

Daniel Dempsey is thrilled to be working with Riverside Theatre for the first time. He would like to thank Ron Clark and Jody Hovland for such an amazing opportunity. Just finishing up his sophomore year at Cornell College, Daniel’s previous credits include Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, directed by Ron Clark. Most recently Daniel assistant directed/stage managed The Toymaker’s War for Working Group Theatre and directed All in the Timing at Cornell.

Home base: Mount Vernon, IA is my home base at the moment as I go to Cornell College 

“The ensemble of this company is great. Getting to know each other is just as important as getting to know the character that we become.”

Fun fact about Daniel: I lie and say that I'm allergic to nuts. I'm not. Shhhh...

Hobby or Hobbies: Sign Language, Singing, Puzzles, Sleeping, Changeovers.

Kalen Harriman

Rosalind in As You Like It and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice

Kalen Harriman is happy to return to Iowa City after a wonderful year in Montana. She has previously been seen on the Riverside's stages in Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo & Juliet, Mary's Wedding, and Boom. Other credits include Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks), As You Like It (Montana Shakespeare in the Schools), & Trojan Women Project (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble). She has studied at Southern Methodist University, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, under the tutelage of Carlson & Hart, and with a heart full of curiosity.

“It’s the perfect setting for the Forrest of Arden in As You Like It. One of my favorite moments is arriving in the forest and being able to actually take in the real trees and grass, and air, and all that nature that we are surrounded in-it’s a real experience.”

Home base:  Chicago, IL

Fun fact about Kalen: I’m considered petite next to my brother, mom & dad--I’m the smallest of the 4!

Hobbies:  Hiking at Hickory Hills or Woodpecker Trail while I’m here and, of course, all things yoga

Tuesday, June 26 is a Family Night for As You Like It. On Family Nights up to 2 adults accompanying an youth will recieve their tickets at the youth price.

Check out the links below to watch the Green Show for As You Like It.

Click here to see Part 1 of the As You Like It Green Show.

Click here to see Part 2 of the As You Like It Green Show.

Click here to read the full review.

June 28, 2012 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Riverside Theatre, 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City, Iowa

Speakers: Gary Whittington, Business Unit General Counsel, AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; James Wine, Nyemaster Goode, P.C., Des Moines, Iowa; Steve Steine, MECCA Services – Community Based Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Services, Iowa City, Iowa

Accreditation CLE Credit: 2.5 hours of Iowa CLE credit has been applied for (including 1.0 hour of ethics credit).

Theatre Presentation: Participants are encouraged to attend the Riverside Theatre’s presentation of The Merchant of Venice, which runs now through July 7.  No CLE credit is given for the performance.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW: 

Are promises made to lenders sacred, or do creditors risk disaster when they enforce their remedies strictly? Should a creditor who is a reprehensible outsider enjoy less legal protection than one who is one of us? What moral hazard arises from a failure to enforce the law of contracts? William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice has concepts of contract law and creditors’ rights at its core. In this CLE program, the speakers will identify these ancient concepts of creditors’ rights that will resonate to lawyers today who enforce or defend against the enforcement of debt obligations. The speakers will explain their relevance under current Iowa law and in bankruptcy, from the point of view of a secured real estate lender during and after the Great Recession. In addition, there will be an hour long ethics presentation on the issue of substance abuse.

I. CREDITORS RIGHTS ISSUES (3:00 – 4:30) Gary Whittington and Jim Wine

A DOMINANT TREND: STRICT ENFORCEMENT FAVORING CREDITORS

“…And, I beseech you.
Wrest once the law to your authority;
To do a great right do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.”

“It must not be; there is no power in Venice
can alter a decree established:
‘Twill be recorded for a precedent:
And many an error by the same example
Will rush into the state. It cannot be.”

• Reluctance of courts to reform contracts
• Differences from the cycle of the early 1990s
• Enforcement of Springing Guaranties as Deterrent to Bankruptcy

LEGAL DEFENSES TO ENFORCEMENT: TOUGH, IF THE CONTRACT IS AIRTIGHT

“Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more,
But just a pound, be it but so much
As makes it light or heavy in the substance . . .if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.”

• Lenders beware! Drafters of contracts must live with their mistakes!
• Borrowers beware! Sophisticated borrowers can’t plead ignorance!
• Impossibility of performance as defense: Nice try, but no cigar.
• Trump: Recession as Force Majeure
• Cherryland: Another lesson for drafters of boilerplate, but favoring lenders

HOW CAN A BORROWER IN DEFAULT FIND MERCY?  BANKRUPTCY AND WORKOUT ISSUES

“The quality of mercy is not strained
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
upon the place beneath . . . Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of the pleas,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence  ‘gainst the merchant there”

• Bankruptcy and Discharge as the “mother lode” of mercy.  

“Give me my principal, and let me go.”

• The cram-down plan: how afraid should lenders be? Discussion of cram down requirements, valuation of property, plan feasibility, LaSalle Partnership
• Recent case law on credit bidding for equity under LaSalle.
• Till analysis and exposure to low, restructured rates.
• Workouts and Mortgage Modifications
• Fraudulent Conveyance Issues

LENDER LIABILITY IN THE GREAT RECESSION: WHEN DOES A LENDER GO TOO FAR?

“There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me. I stay here on my bond.”

 “For, as thou urgest justice, be assured:
Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desir’st”

•  Equitable Subordination as Punishment for Lender Overreaching
• The Yellowstone case
• Residential foreclosures, robo-signing,  defective foreclosures.

LOAN DOCUMENT LESSONS FROM THE GREAT RECESSION

• Changing credit standards
• Personal Liability and Recourse Issues
• Reserve Requirements/Cash Management
• Single Purpose Entity Requirements

THE SERVICING STANDARD: SUPER SECRET INSIDER TIPS

“Be merciful
Take thrice the money, bid me tear the bond”

• Explanation of the servicing standard and how it guides special servicers
• Decisions on the margins: hidden agendas of special servicers
• How borrowers can use the CMBS servicing standard to their advantage
• Hidden incentives of special servicers that borrowers can exploit
• Understanding lender capital issues

II. ETHICS: MAYBE THE DUKE OF SAXONY’S NEPHEW NEEDS TREATMENT – CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY ISSUES AND TREATMENT (4:30 – 5:30)

“How like you the young German, the Duke of Saxony’s nephew?”

“Very vilely in the morning when he is sober, and most vilely in the afternoon when he is drunk: when his best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast. An the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him. . .I will do anything, Nerissa, ere I will be married to a sponge.”

• Thirteen Myths About Substance Abuse Treatment
• Continuation of Care Overview – Chemical Dependency
• Stages of Chemical Dependency

About the Speakers:

Gary Whittington serves as Business Unit General Counsel for AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he has acted as lead counsel for loan enforcement in connection with a $14 billion commercial mortgage loan portfolio.  Gary received a B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1976 and a J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas in 1987.  Gary serves on the Board of Directors of the Riverside Theatre Company.

James Wine is a shareholder at Nyemaster Goode in Des Moines, Iowa, where he practices primarily in the areas real estate and real estate finance.  Jim serves on the Board of Regents of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, is a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and serves on the Council for the ABA Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section (“RPTE”).  Jim has previously served as Chair of the Mortgage Lending Committee of the RPTE.  Jim received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1979, and a J.D. from the University of Iowa, with high distinction, in 1982.

Steve Steine is the Director of Outpatient Services for MECCA (Community Based Substance and Behavioral Health Sciences) in Iowa City, Iowa.

Today meet Kelson Michael McAuliffe and Kelly Gibson

Kelson Michael McAuliffe

Leonardo/Antonio’s Servant/Ensemble in The Merchant of Venice

Kelson Michael McAuliffe is excited to be appearing in Riverside Theatre in the Park this summer as a member of the Apprentice Company. He recently graduated with BFA in acting from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Past credits include El-Fapumy in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Samuel Byck in Assassins, and Snug the Joiner from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“Just a bunch of wonderful talented people who want to share what they love with the community! And have fun while we do it!”

Hometown:  Baltimore, Maryland

Fun fact about Kelson:  I have a twin brother

Hobby:  Rap/Freestyle

Kelly Gibson

Phebe/Ensemble in As You Like It and Portia in The Merchant of Venice

Kelly Gibson is gratefully delighted to join Riverside Theatre again after appearing last summer as Muriel in Ah, Wilderness! and Silvia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. She has appeared regionally at Kansas City Actors Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Coterie Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, KC Fringe Festival, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Kelly holds a BFA from CU-Boulder and an MFA from UMKC where most recently she played Hermione in The Winter’s Tale. This fall, Kelly will head to London to play Gloria in ShootHorses at Arcola Theatre. She sends love to her soulful family and mentors.

“Innocence, nature, revenge, faith, princesses, disguises, soul mates, kingdoms, corruption, romance, healing, promises, clowns-who hasn’t, at some point in their lifetime, dreamed of living in a fairytale, if even only for a fleeting moments?”

Hometown: Denver, CO

Fun fact about Kelly:  I am head-over-heels in love with my family

Hobbies:  Fiddling/violin, drinking Chai, lounging with my kitty Bhakti, yoga, skiing/boarding in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, dreaming, devouring poetry, frolicking outside

Corin (John William Watkins), Phebe (Kelly Gibson), and Audrey (Maura Clement), recently slipped away from the Forest of Arden for the afternoon and explored Iowa City.

During their adventures in Iowa City they made a lot of new friends and had a chance to see what life is like in the big city! Click here to see a video of their adventure.

Today meet Jessica Dean Turner and Tim Budd

Jessica Dean Turner

Messenger/Ensemble in The Merchant of Venice

Jessica Dean Turner is a recent graduate of the BFA Acting program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and she is thrilled to be making her debut at Riverside Theatre in the Park as a member of their apprentice company. Her previous credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania/Hippolyta) and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Saint Monica) at the U of I and King Lear (Fool/Doctor/Gentlemen) at the Great River Shakespeare Festival.

“Lovely language, lovely people and (Lord willing) lovely weather.”

Hometown & Home base:  Chicago

Fun fact about Jessica: Certified to combat with 3 weapons-cannot drive a car

Hobbies:  Blogging, poetry, online window shopping

Tim Budd

Touchstone in As You Like It and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice

Tim Budd is thrilled to be back on the Festival Stage for this seventh summer! Tim just finished acting in Mayberry for Working Group Theatre. Other recent work includes performing in Walking the Wire: This Will Never Work and The Cripple of Inishmaan on the Gilbert Street Stage. An Iowa native, Tim finished his studies toward an MFA in acting at the University of Iowa and works full-time at Prairie Lights Bookstore. He will be appearing this fall in True West, The Santaland Diaries, and The Exit Interview, all at Riverside Theatre.

“It’s always exciting to be a part of productions that are so unlike anything else offered during the regular theatre season here in Iowa City-company members from all over the country, unparalleled language, incredible costumes, and the stars above you!”

Home base:  Iowa City (since 1988)

Fun facts about Tim:  My mother was a homecoming queen and these 2 plays will be my 16^th and 17^th Shakespearean productions I’ve acted in

Hobbies:  Books/reading & movies

Tomorrow...don't miss the free Green Show of The Merchant of Venice at the Ped Mall near Washington St. at 12:10 p.m. or the opening of The Merchant of Venice that evening at 8 p.m. at the Festival Stage in Iowa City's Lower City Park.

(L to R) Eric Damon Smith as Bassanio and John William Watkins as Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre company, will open its second Riverside Theatre in the Park production, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice on Friday, June 22. Kristin Horton directs.

For tickets and information, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672.

One of Shakespeare's less frequently produced plays, The Merchant of Venice introduces characters rich in complexity, humor and, most of all, flaws. To help Bassanio win the heart of the wealthy heiress Portia, Venetian merchant Antonio borrows money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Amid the blossoming love and comic pursuits of the heart, Shylock's loan goes unpaid and Antonio must suffer the consequences.

“At the heart of Merchant, what’s at stake and repeatedly put at risk throughout the play are the very things that unite and define us,” said Director Kristin Horton. “Promises and contracts concerning love, family, friendship as well as the commercial are put at risk and often to chance. The stakes couldn’t be higher - for the characters or for us, the audience, as we negotiate our own world that in many ways might not be so dissimilar.”

New York based director Kristin Horton directs. Horton is a recipient of fellowships and residencies from NEA/TCG, Sundance Theatre Lab and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Horton, who received her MFA at the University of Iowa, teaches at New York University.

Post-performance Talkbacks will be held immediately following all performances of The Merchant of Venice.

Several returning actors will appear in featured roles in The Merchant of Venice: Kelly Gibson (The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Ah, Wilderness!) as Portia, Kalen Harriman (Mary’s Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Boom) as Nerissa, Jim Van Valen (A Steady Rain and Ah, Wilderness!) as Laauncelot Gobbo, and Tim Budd (Walking the Wire, The Cripple of Inishmaan) as Antonio. Theodore Swetz will appear as Shylock. Swetz is also director of the Riverside Theatre in the Park production of As You Like It. Horton, Swetz and Budd are all Riverside Theatre associate artists.

The production features costumes by Lindsay Davis, scenic design by Shawn Ketchum Johnson, lighting design by David Thayer, and music composition and design by Mark Bruckner.

Riverside Theatre in the Park also includes Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Theodore Swetz, which opened Friday, June 15. Following this weekend, As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice will be performed in rotation until July 8.

Riverside Theatre in the Park is performed outdoors at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park every summer.

To make an evening at the park, audience members are invited to picnic before the show. Wraps, desserts, and beverages are available at the box office before the show and during intermission.

One hour before each main stage performance, patrons may gather at the Green Show Stage (located next to the pavilion) to brush up on the plot of that night’s play with original story theatre versions of the evening’s play performed by the Apprentice Company.

Directions to Lower City Park and information about parking can be found at www.riversidetheatre.org.

Single tickets for Riverside Theatre in the Park range from $17-$39 with discounts available for students, seniors, and youth.

A Summer Nights Pass is also available for those wishing to purchase tickets to both shows. Passes should be arranged through the Gilbert St. Box Office at 319-338-7672. At the Festival Stage, passes may be purchased up until 30 minutes before curtain.

Patrons are also invited to take advantage of Family Nights. On Family Nights, up to two adults accompanying a youth will receive their tickets at the $17 youth price. Remaining Family Night dates are June 24, 26, and July 3. Family nights are sponsored by funding from the Johnson County Community Foundation. Family Night performances begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets to Riverside Theatre in the Park can be ordered by calling the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672. The Riverside Theatre Box Office is open Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Single tickets may also be ordered online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

During their adventures in Iowa City they made a lot of new friends.

Today meet Andrew Bosworth and Eric Damon Smith

Andrew Bosworth

Jailer/Stephano/Ensemble in The Merchant of Venice

Andrew Bosworth is new to Riverside, and was last seen locally in The Mousetrap at the Old Creamery Theatre. Elsewhere, he has performed in The Chosen (In Tandem Theatre, Milwaukee), Into the Woods, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Annie (Way Off Broadway, Fairfield), and Hamlet/Taming of the Shrew (NC Shakespeare). For more, visit http://andrewbosworth.weebly.com.

“I’ve been to just about every rehearsal, and every character is certifiably fascinating. It’s exhausting to consider, in the best way.”

Home Base:  Austin, Texas starting in August

Fun fact about Andrew Bosworth:  I’ve been living out of my suitcase since February 2010

Hobbies:  Video gaming, sociology

Eric Damon Smith

Oliver in As You Like It; Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice; and Music Captain

Eric Damon Smith is an actor and director who is making his Riverside debut. Recent credits include Jaques in As You Like It (Muse of Fire), Mosca in Volpone (City Lit) directed by Sheldon Patinkin, Jamie in Long Day’s Journey into Night (Polarity Ensemble) and his Jeff Award nominated turn as Flaminio Scala in the regional premiere of The Glorious Ones (Boho and Theatre on the Lake). Other credits include work with Northlight Theatre, Remy Bummpo, and Milwaukee Rep, where he returns this fall to perform in Gutenberg the Musical.

“There’s a lot of love, many kinds of love, on our stage and you’d be remiss to miss it!”

Home base: Chicago

Fun fact about Eric Damon Smith:  Great vegetarian cook

Hobby: Avid tennis player

Don't miss the free Green Show of The Merchant of Venice on Friday, June 22 at 12:10 p.m. on the ped mall near Washington St.!

 
At Riverside Theatre in the Park, the Green Shows are performed one hour before curtain. These 20-minute story theatre versions of the evening’s play allow the audience to brush up on the plot in advance of the evening performance.
 
The nightly Green Show—and this preview performance—showcases the work of the Riverside Theatre in the Park Apprentice Company.
 
Green Shows are filled with humor and are family friendly.

Riverside Theatre in the Park runs now through July 8, featuring The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, directed by Kristin Horton and As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Theodore Swetz.

For more information about Riverside Theatre in the Park, please call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672.

Audrey (Maura Clement), Corin (John William Watkins), and Phebe (Kelly Gibson) recently slipped away from the Forest of Arden for the afternoon and explored Iowa City.

One of the many places the trio visited was The Haunted Bookshop. They had a great time chatting with the staff!

Look for more photos and videos from their afternoon in the big city in the coming days.

Today meet Maura Clement and F. Tyler Burnet

Maura Clement

Audrey/Ensemble in As You Like It

Maura Clement is making her Riverside Theatre debut. Regional credits include Meg in Crimes of the Heart (Steel Beam Theater in St. Charles, IL) and the Courtesan in The Comedy of Errors (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). She graduated from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program. Maura lives in Chicago where she performs, writes, and teaches knitting. Her musings can be found at http://clementineknits.blogspot.com.

“Where else can you see men in velvet pants, a sunflower as tall as Tim Budd, or a Russian wrestler?"

Home base: Chicago

Fun fact about Maura: I was a professional Segway tour guide.

Hobbies: Knitting, writing, eating chocolate

F. Tyler Burnet

Charles/Silvius in As You Like It and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice

F. Tyler Burnet is tickled to join the fine folks of Riverside Theatre in the Park for the first time. A Washington native, he moved to Chicago after college. He recently earned his MFA in Acting from the University of Georgia, and is fresh off an internship with the Milwaukee Rep, where he worked on 7 of their 13 productions this season.

“I love the way these shows balance one another: all the ways love is expressed in the two.”

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Fun fact about F. Tyler: Used to teach and direct at Chicago’s Second City

Hobbies: Ice cream, hiking, fishing

Don’t forget The Merchant of Venice opens on Friday, June 22! Call the Box Office at 319-338-7672 to order your tickets today!

Trainor calls As You Like It, "a delightful piece with many amusing devices, clever exchanges and hilarious set pieces."

Click here to read the review.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read about this summer's Riverside Theatre in the Park.

Click here to see the PC's photo gallery for Riverside Theatre in the Park.

Click here to read the story.

Look for even more photos of As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice in the coming weeks!

Ryland Thomas as Orlando and Kalen Harriman as Rosalind in As You Like It. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

(L to R) Tim Budd as Antonio, Kelly Gibson as Portia, and Theodore Swetz as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

At Riverside Theatre in the Park, the Green Shows are performed one hour before curtain. These 20-minute story theatre versions of the evening’s play allow the audience to brush up on the plot in advance of the evening performance.

The nightly Green Show—and this preview performance—showcase the work of the Riverside Theatre in the Park Apprentice Company, actors, directors, and stage managers.

Green Shows are filled with humor, family friendly, and are especially appealing to kids.

Riverside Theatre in the Park runs from June 15 - July 8, featuring As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Theodore Swetz, and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, directed by Kristin Horton.

Ryland Thomas as Orlando and Kalen Harriman as Rosalind in As You Like It. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Riverside Theatre will kick off its summer season, Riverside Theatre in the Park, on Friday, June 15 with As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Theodore Swetz.

For tickets and information, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672.

In As You Like It, Rosalind, Shakespeare's most breathtaking heroine, and her boyfriend Orlando find themselves in the enchanted Forest of Arden, where “all the world's a stage,” and where sudden infatuation is as confusing as it is beautiful. As You Like It has everything people adore about Shakespearean comedy: mistaken identity, cross-dressing, madness, mayhem, laughter, and romance…plus an original score and a cappella singing!

Kansas City based director Theodore Swetz directs this romantic comedy. Swetz is a founding company member of American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and is currently head of graduate actor training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

“I believe we all need a little bit of ‘Arden’ in our lives – a place to reinvent and rejuvenate. We hope that a starry night at the Festival Stage gives our audiences one such escape,” said Swetz.

Several returning actors will appear in featured roles in As You Like It: Kalen Harriman (Mary’s Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Boom) as Rosalind, Jim Van Valen (A Steady Rain, Ah, Wilderness!) as Jaques and Tim Budd (Walking the Wire, The Cripple of Inishmaan) as Touchstone. Additional guest artists hail from Kansas City, Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York City.

The production features costumes by Genevieve Beller, scenic design by Shawn Ketchum Johnson, lighting design by David Thayer, and music composition by John Mistler.

Riverside Theatre in the Park also includes Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, directed by Kristin Horton, which opens Friday, June 22. As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice will then be performed in rotation until July 8.

Riverside Theatre in the Park is performed outdoors at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park every summer.

To make an evening at the park, audience members are invited to picnic before the show. Wraps, desserts, and beverages are available at the box office before the show and during intermission.

One hour before each main stage performance, patrons may gather at the Green Show Stage (located next to the pavilion) to brush up on the plot of that night’s play with original story theatre versions of the evening’s play performed by the Apprentice Company.

Directions to Lower City Park and information about parking can be found at www.riversidetheatre.org.

Single tickets for Riverside Theatre in the Park range from $17-$39 with discounts available for students, seniors, and youth, as well as those wishing to purchase tickets to both shows.

Patrons are also invited to take advantage of the four Family Nights, which will take place on June 17, 24, 26, and July 3. On Family Nights, up to two adults accompanying a youth will receive their tickets at the $17 youth price. Family nights are sponsored by funding from the Johnson County Community Foundation. Family Night performances begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets to Riverside Theatre in the Park can be ordered by calling the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672. The Riverside Theatre Box Office is open Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Single tickets may also be ordered online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

This year our guest artsits hail from Iowa City, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York City and Denver!

The current facility has approximately 600 sq feet which we use for costume storage, plus 600 sq feet of working shop space for designers and stitchers. From September through April, shop activity is minimal; from May-July the size of our costume staff increases to 5-6 for our season in the Park.

While one space for both costume storage and working space is ideal, we will happily consider all creative possibilities!  If you can provide or help identify a home for this integral part of the theatre’s operation, please call Jody Hovland at 887-1360.  A donation of space (or a rent reduction) is tax-deductible.

at the Festival Stage in Lower City Park

Riverside Theatre invites the public to an open rehearsal of Shakespeare’s As You Like It on Saturday, June 2, from 2-4 p.m. at the Festival Stage in Lower City Park, Iowa City.

Get a glimpse of a Riverside Theatre in the Park show in the making!

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s most well-know romantic comedies where “all the world’s a stage” and sudden infatuation is as confusing as it is beautiful. This show is filled with mistaken identities, madness, mayhem, laughter, and even some songs--making it fun for the whole family.

Come for all or part of the rehearsal. Light refreshments will be served.

This is a free, family-friendly event; no ticket required.

For more information contact the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672.

Click here for full job description and information on how to apply for the position.

Discuss Shakespeare's As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice with directors Theodore Swetz and Kristin Horton, and your host, Shakespearen scholar Miriam Gilbert. This event is free and open to the public.

For more infomation on these events call 319-338-7672.

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at an early phase of the production's artistic development: the company's first read-through of the paly with the director. Afterwards, audience members will be invited to repsond--and your feedback will help shape the production. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. This is a free a event; no tickets are required.

This event will take place at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City.

For more information call 319-338-7672.

This year marks the 13th Annual Riverside Theatre Will Power Poetry Contest (for grades 7-12) sponsored by MidWestOne Bank. Thank you to all students who entered and to the teachers who encouraged them.

Riverside Theatre is especially grateful to Andrea Keech, who has enthusiastically supported the Will Power program at Northwest Junior High since 2000.

Selected entrants are being honored at the Will Power dress rehearsal performance of As You Like It on June 14. Winning entries are on display in May at MidWestOne Bank, 102 S. Clinton Street in Iowa City, and in June at the Iowa City Public Library.

Special congratulations to the following winners:

First Place – Junior High

Maria Shriver

Northwest Junior High, Coralville

Grade 8

The Rest is Silence

--Hamlet, Act V, Scene ii, Variant from the First Folio

Silence speaks

When nature’s near

It licks the lips

And rests the ear

Silence kills

When jealous hearts

Come face to face

And winter starts

Silence lives

In every place

When time reveals

A lover’s face

Silence fades

When patience fails

When chaos grows

And noise prevails

Second Place – Junior High

Brooke Barnette

West Middle School, Anamosa

Grade 8

The Crown

In the pillaged castle hall

Hopes lay withered

Broken dreams scattered

Upon the floor

Unity ripped apart

At the seams

A crown lays there

Dusty, forgotten

It tells of tale

Of love, and hope, then despair

Oh, all the stories

It must hold

I sit and wonder

What its tale

Might have been

My mind imagines
A world filled

Of ancient legends

A brand new kingdom

A beloved prince

Doing his duty

And serving his people

Then meeting a princess

His dreams has come true

Then terror and suffering

His kingdom fights for its life

To no avail

The enemy wins

His perfect dream

Is no more

But this tale isn’t over

A jewel upon the crown

Tells the end

Of the tale

It tells of hope

Of a new beginning

The old has gone

But new is yet

To come

New Kingdoms will arise

Peace and Happiness are there

On the horizon

Third Place – Junior High

Ryane Scott

Prairie Point Middle School, Cedar Rapids

Grade 8

A Warming Trend

Like a red on a rose,

That blows in the winds

Traces of love,

And not of sins,

Showers of hope,

And summers end,

Days of happiness,

And letters to send,

Questions to ask,

And answers to lend,

Things to do,

And rules to bend,

Love is love,

A warming trend

First Place – Senior High

Anna Egeland

West High School, Iowa City

Grade 12

Impact of fragile wing on dense oil

I

Sensation of falling.

Surge:

Flutter of heart

Release:

Flutter of wings

II

Ebb and flow

Of a crumpled aluminum heart

Ink that pulses

Through hollow bones,

Leaves behind empty space

A dimple in the crust:

A reminder of what once was

III

The sticky crinkle of cellophane

Is a sorrowful sound

And it hurts your ears.

Second Place – Senior High

Ashton Duncan

West High School, Iowa City

Grade 11

To Calmer Waters

For those who have walked between the ages

in exotic places’ spice dust traces,

remember time in Renaissance faces,

found a player’s game in the world’s stages…

To those who have been too long called sages,

recaptured seas, forgotten in stasis,

heard old soul tales from the lips of graces,

very stories scrawled in century’s pages…

Those who have foxes loved and lions feared,

been stared back by abyss-ended pier.

Who have been brutish, short, ‘til hope appeared,

had the great, light burden: a pen held dear.

To those who lived, loved, prospered, pioneered:

good night, good luck, to all who sailed here.

The Recliners (l to r) Bahri Karacay, Ann Aschoff, Paul McCray, Jack Stapleton, Kevin Hanick, John Bayless and John Kramer in Concert at Riverside Theatre on May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Photo by Steve Faribault.

The Recliners in Concert

Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $25 for adults, $15 for students

To order tickets call the Box Office at 319-338-7672

Proceeds from the concert to benefit the Janet G. Altman Fund for Music

On Saturday, May 5, Riverside Theatre will be rockin’ with songs from Iowa City’s most eclectic ensemble, The Recliners. With their wide ranging repertoire there will be something for everyone, from classic ’60s and ’70s numbers to songs by contemporary singer-songwriters, Irish melodies to bluegrass, from Van Morrison and the Beatles to the edgy rock and traditional ballads of Richard Thompson. Proceeds from this special concert will benefit Riverside Theatre’s Janet G. Altman Fund for Music, which was established in 2008 to enhance collaborations in music and sound at Riverside Theatre. The fund celebrates the memory of Janet Altman, a longtime Riverside friend.  

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at an early phase of the production's artistic development: the company's first read-through of the paly with the director. Afterwards, audience members will be invited to repsond--and your feedback will help shape the production. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. This is a free a event; no tickets are required.

Then, on Thursday, May 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Riverside Theatre, join us for a Thursday Theatre Talk about this summer's Riverside Theatre in the Park productions.

Discuss Shakespeare's As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice with directors Theodore Swetz and Kristin Horton, and your host, Shakespearen scholar Miriam Gilbert. This event is free and open to the public.

For more infomation on these events call 319-338-7672.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre company, will produce Riverside Theatre in the Park from June 15 - July 8, featuring As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Theodore Swetz, and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, directed by Kristin Horton.

This is the 13^th season of the four-week event, formerly called Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival.

“Emphasizing the outdoor setting will, we hope, remind people about how magical live theatre in the outdoors can be. As the play begins, night begins to fall, the birds sing, the stars come out. It transports you to another time and place,” said Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland.   

Tickets for this summer’s Riverside Theatre in the Park will go on sale on Friday, May 4 at noon.

In As You Like It, Rosalind, Shakespeare's most breathtaking heroine, and her boyfriend Orlando find themselves in the enchanted Forest of Arden, where “all the world's a stage,” and where sudden infatuation is as confusing as it is beautiful. As You Like It has everything people adore about Shakespearean comedy: mistaken identity, cross-dressing, madness, mayhem, lust, laughter, and of course plenty of romance, both heartbreaking and joyous. 

“This romantic comedy celebrates the importance of love and has a soothing transformative effect on all who enter its world,” said Swetz.

Arguably one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, The Merchant of Venice introduces characters rich in complexity, humor and, most of all, flaws. To help Bassanio win the heart of the wealthy heiress Portia, Venetian merchant Antonio borrows money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Amid the blossoming love, romance and comic pursuits of the heart, Shylock's loan goes unpaid. Antonio must suffer the consequences of defaulting on the loan - and therefore pay the penalty: a pound of his own flesh. Post-performance Talkbacks will be held after all performances of The Merchant of Venice.

“Shylock is a man desperately grasping for respect in a world infected with hatred and greed – he is a tragic character who can't escape this infection himself. A more modern play one will not find,” said Swetz, who will be portraying Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in addition to directing As You Like It.

The Merchant of Venice and related audience education and outreach efforts are supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Riverside Theatre in the Park is performed outdoors at the Riverside Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park every summer. This Globe-inspired theatre set against a bluff and adjacent to a willow-ringed reflecting pond, seats 472.

“It’s always exciting for us to assemble the summer company -more than 30 actors, directors and designers from New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, as well as right here in Iowa City. Actors play roles in both productions, and often understudy additional roles, so their time here is very full,” said Hovland.   

Several returning actors will appear in featured roles this summer: Kelly Gibson (Ah, Wilderness!) as Portia, Kalen Harriman (Mary’s Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost) as Rosalind, Jim Van Valen (A Steady Rain, Ah, Wilderness!) as Jaques and John William Watkins (Guys on Ice) as Gratiano.

Single tickets for Riverside Theatre in the Park range from $17-$39 with discounts available for students, seniors, and youth, as well as those wishing to purchase tickets to both shows. Special pricing is also available for groups of 10 or more.

Four Family Nights will take place on June 17, 24, 26, and July 3. On Family Nights, up to two adults accompanying a youth will receive their tickets at the $17 youth price. Family nights are sponsored by funding from the Johnson County Community Foundation.

Tickets can be ordered by calling the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672. The Riverside Theatre Box Office is open Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. After Memorial Day, the Box Office hours change to Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Single tickets may also be order online at www.riversidetheatre.org

Performance Schedule

June 15, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

June 16, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

June 17, 7 p.m. - As You Like It*

June 22, 8 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

June 23, 8 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

June 24, 7 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice*

June 26, 7 p.m. - As You Like It*

June 27, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

June 28, 8 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

June 29, 8 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

June 30, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

July 1, 7 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

July 3, 7 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice*

July 5, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

July 6, 8 p.m. - As You Like It

July 7, 8 p.m. - The Merchant of Venice

July 8, 7 p.m. - As You Like It

* Family Night, where up to 2 adults accompanying a youth will receive their tickets at the youth price.

Click here to read the latest news from Riverside.

On Saturday, May 5, Riverside Theatre will be rockin’ with songs from Iowa City’s most eclectic ensemble, The Recliners.

With their wide ranging repertoire there will be something for everyone, from classic ’60s and ’70s numbers to songs by contemporary singer-songwriters, Irish melodies to bluegrass, from Van Morrison and the Beatles to the edgy rock and traditional ballads of Richard Thompson.

Proceeds from this special concert will benefit Riverside Theatre’s Janet G. Altman Fund for Music, which was established in 2008 to enhance collaborations in music and sound at Riverside Theatre. The fund celebrates the memory of Janet Altman, a longtime Riverside friend.  

The concert is Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students.

To order tickets, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672, noon-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. 

Click here to read Eastern Iowa Life's review of A Steady Rain.

Click here to read Iowa Theatre Blog's review of A Steady Rain.

Click here to read the program guide for A Steady Rain.

Audience Education Volunteer Jorie Slodki's Between the Lines, a regular feature on this blog, gives theatre goers the inside scoop into productions at Riverside with short essays with important factual information such as playwright biographies, production histories, and explanations of historical context and references.

Click here to read Between the Lines for A Steady Rain.

(L to R) Jim Van Valen as Denny and Martin Andrews as Joey in A Steady Rain by Keith Huff.

Up next at Riverside Theatre is the area premiere of the gritty and complex Broadway thriller, A Steady Rain by Keith Huff, directed by Joseph Price.

A Steady Rain is about two Chicago cops, Joey and Denny, who are lifelong best friends and partners on the beat until a chain of events spirals out of control threatening their jobs, their friendship and their lives.

 “Joey and Denny grew up together and have always lived ‘back to back’ knowing that they could rely on one another no matter the circumstances,” Price said.  “We meet them in a sort of internal affairs purgatory...the men face a world where all seems lost and we witness their struggle to make sense of that world.”

This gripping duologue features area actors Martin Andrews as Joey and Jim Van Valen as Denny.

A Steady Rain was performed on Broadway in 2009 and Huff is currently working on adapting the play for EON Films. Huff is a graduate of the UI’s Playwright Workshop.

"The lives these characters live, what they see and are asked to do on a daily basis - it's slowly wearing them down - destroying them.  Both of them are looking for salvation.  Only one can find it. It's an exciting story to tell with complicated characters to explore," said Andrews.

Andrews is the Producing Director for Working Group Theatre and an MFA graduate of UI. He last appeared at Riverside Theatre in Working Group Theatre’s The Toymaker’s War and Riverside’s All My Sons.

Van Valen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College and an MFA graduate of UI. He was last seen in Riverside’s summer productions of Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A Steady Rain also features lighting design by Bryon Winn, sound design by Katherine Horowitz, and costume design by Adriana Fernandez.

A Steady Rain contains strong language and adult content.

Tickets for A Steady Rain, March 30 – April 15, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30 there will be a reception and conversation with Huff.

Riverside Theatre will host a Thursday Theatre Talk for its upcoming production of A Steady Rain by Keith Huff, on Thursday, March 22 at 5:30 p.m. The talk will take place at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert Street, Iowa City. The event is free and open to the public.

Though A Steady Rain calls for just two actors, these characters, Joey and Denny, Chicago police officers and best friends,  evoke a wide and complicated world, ranging from Denny's family to crime victims to criminals--as well as a whole series of questions about how these men cope, more and less successfully, with the stresses of the job.

Join Miriam Gilbert, University of Iowa Department of English, and Matt Johnson, retired Captain in the Iowa City Police Department and a former Commander of Field Operations, as they explore the problems--and the solutions--that police officers confront.

Riverside Theatre’s production of A Steady Rain is an area premiere. The playwright, Huff, is a graduate of the University of Iowa Playwright’s Workshop. A Steady Rain was performed on Broadway in 2009 and Huff is currently working on adapting the play for EON Films.

A Steady Rain contains strong language and adult content.

Tickets for A Steady Rain, March 30 – April 15, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Patron Services Manager - Riverside Theatre

Job Description

The “face” of Riverside Theatre, the Patron Services Manager is often the first and most important contact for all patrons.  The PSM maintains relationships, answers questions, and provides any assistance necessary during the ticket sales process to ensure a positive experience at the theatre.

The Patron Services Manager position is 25-30 hours/week and year-round.  Benefits include health, Paid Time Off, paid holidays and more.  To apply (cover letter and resume), or for more information, contact  Jody Hovland, Artistic Director, artistic@riversidetheatre.org.  Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Primary Responsibilities Include:

The 2012 Will Power Poetry Contest

For Grades 7-12

Words Out of the Box

(Sonnet if you want it)

Whether it be slam-style, sonnets or Robert Frost, it all comes down to the Word!

Out of the box and onto the page—we want to hear what you have to say.

This year Riverside Theatre is expanding its Will Power Poetry Contest to include POETRY OF ALL KINDS—from hip-hop to punk rock, Shakespearean to Langston Hughes.

So, what's YOUR word?

DEADLINE: APRIL 10, 2012

Here’s how to enter:           

1.      Submit your poem on one side of an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper. Do not include your name here.

2.      On the flipside, write or type your initials followed by your birth date. (By doing this you are assured anonymity when the judges look at your work.)  

3.      Next, fill out the Entry & Release Form.  Click here to download the entry & release form. Any evidence of plagiarism will disqualify the entry.

4.      Final step!  Deliver your poem and Entry Form by APRIL 10, 2012 to:

Will Power Coordinator, Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St. Iowa City IA 52245

OR send as an email attachment to artistic@riversidetheatre.org

• Contest winners—in Jr. High and High School categories—will receive 2 free tickets to the special Will Power performance of Shakespeare’s As You Like It on Thursday, June 14 at the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s lower City Park.  Winners will be recognized at the performance.  Family members may purchase additional tickets.
• Winning poems will be printed in the summer playbill, and selected entries will be proudly displayed at MidWestOne Bank and at the Iowa City Public Library.
• Riverside Theatre will notify all winners.

All classes are at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert Street, except where noted. To enroll in classes at Riverside, call 319-338-7672.

To enroll for classes at Willowwind, call 319-338-6061 or email Heather Younker at heathery@willowwind.org.

June 18-22, Grades 5-8 at Riverside Theatre

Tuition $100 per class.  Bring a sack lunch and stay for both classes, with a

combined tuition of $175.

IMPROV & FUNNY VOICES!

10 a.m.-12 noon

Taught by Kelly Rebecca Gibson

Learn what it is to “say yes” to spontaneous offers, building scenes and creating stories out of thin air. We’ll also explore the basics of creating character voices and dialects. Through the many different active improvisations, you’ll be ready to trust your instincts and let your imaginations fly!   

MYTH MAKER ACTING CLASS

12:30-2:30 p.m.

Taught by Jennifer Fawcett

What do Persephone, Aphrodite and Zeus have to do with your life today?  A lot!  In this class we’ll take an ancient Greek myth, break it apart and re-assemble it for today’s world.  Using writing, improvisation and theatre games, we’ll create an original short play to be performed on the last day of class. 

June 25-29 at Willowwind School

Tuition $150 per class. To enroll, call 338-6061 or email  heathery@willowwind.org

STORYTELLERS

GRADES K-2

8:30-11:30 a.m.

Taught by Kalen Harriman

Experience a story from the inside!  Use your voice, body & imagination to explore different books & fairy tales. 

COMIC IMPROV

GRADES 3-6

12:30-3:30 p.m.

Taught by F. Tyler Burnet

Trust your instincts, think on your feet, create new characters and story lines on the spot!  You’ll also learn nose grabs, ear pulls and other playful clowning techniques.

For High School Students at Riverside Theatre  

Tuition $125 for AUDITION, $325 for YOUNG PEOPLE’S INTENSIVE.  Enroll in both for a combined tuition of $425.

AUDITION! 

Grades 8-12

June 25-29, 12:00-2:30 p.m.

Taught by Kelly Rebecca Gibson.

Whether auditioning for a school play, a local theatre, or a college theatre scholarship (yes, they do exist and may be substantial!) – this class will make a big difference.  Learn how to select and prepare both contemporary and classical monologues as well as make strong choices for a cold reading.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S INTENSIVE

Grades: 8-12

Dates: July 2, 3, 5-7, 9-13, 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Taught by Martin Andrews and Jennifer Fawcett

In this two week intensive, you will build relationships with peers who are as serious about theatre as you are, participating in exercises and scenes designed to stimulate your imagination, increase your concentration, and develop the skills needed to act with honesty and theatrical energy. We will ask and seek answers to the following questions:  How do we define acting? How do we create truthful moments on stage?   How do we use our voice and body to inhabit a character? What is our relationship to the text, our fellow actors, and the audience? There will also be specialty workshops taught by professional guest artists, Tuition includes admission to a performance of Riverside Theatre in the Park, and specialty workshops by RT guest artists.  YPI culminates with a public showcase on July 13 at 7 p.m.

TEACHING ARTISTS

Martin Andrews has an MFA in acting from the University of Iowa, and is the Producing Director of Working Group Theatre.  A voiceover artist and actor, he is performing this season in Toymaker’s War (WGT) and Mayberry (Hancher) as well as A Steady Rain for Riverside Theatre.

F. Tyler Burnet appeared this season at Milwaukee Rep in productions including To Kill A Mockingbird  and A Christmas Carol.  He has an MFA from the University of Georgia and has taught improvisation for both youth and adults, including 3 years at Second City.  He will be seen this summer in As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice.

Jennifer Fawcett has an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Iowa.  Also an actor, Jennifer appeared at Riverside Theatre in Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well as in her solo play, goat show. Associate Artistic Director of Working Group Theatre, Jennifer’s award-winning plays have been produced in the US and Canada.

Kelly Rebecca Gibson returns to Riverside’s teaching roster this summer - and to play Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Phebe in As You Like It.  She has taught youth classes at both Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.  Kelly has an MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Kalen Harriman performed and taught this season with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and its educational tour.  She returns to Riverside to play Rosalind in As You Like It and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice.  Other credits include Milwaukee Rep and, for Riverside, productions of Boom, Mary’s Wedding, Love’s Labours Lost and Romeo and Juliet.

Walking the Wire: This Will Never Work

March 2-11, 2012

Some ideas sound crazy, others really are…creating a homemade medical device, falling in love with a Barbie doll, channeling direct orders from God, moving to a far away city to chase a dream.

Walking the Wire, Riverside Theatre’s annual festival of original work from playwrights across North America, will bring to the stage a wide variety of potentially implausible scenarios as part of this year’s theme, This Will Never Work.

This year’s Walking the Wire is directed by Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland. The show is sponsored by Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT).

“Walking the Wire has all the theatricality of an aerial act - a single performer telling a story in a single spot of light. And this year’s theme insures plenty of daring twists and turns as well,” Hovland said.

With over 100 submissions from across the U.S. and beyond, the dozen monologues reflect a diverse range of original work from playwrights both near and far. 

The 12 playwrights whose work will be presented are: Brent Boyd (North Hollywood, CA); Dave Carley (Toronto, ON); Ron Clark (Iowa City); Mark Harvey Levine (Pasadena, CA); Deborah Magid (Cleveland Heights, OH); Gordon Mennenga (Iowa City); Mike Moran (Mount Vernon); Amanda Petefish-Schrag (Maryville, MO); Gwendolyn Rice (Madison, WI); Janet Schlapkohl (Iowa City); Jen Silverman (Astoria, NY); and Amy White (Mount Vernon).

Three area writers, Clark, Moran and Schlapkohl, will perform their own work, with an additional cast of actors including Tim Budd, David Busch, Fannie Hungerford, Katherine Smith and Jessica Wilson.

Walking the Wire runs March 2-11. Showtimes are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for 60 and over/30 and under, $15 for youth (18 and under). $15 student rush tickets are available 20 minutes before curtain on a first come, first served basis for any remaining seats. Tickets can be purchased online at www.riversidetheatre.org, by phone at (319) 338-7672 or at the Riverside Theatre Box Office. The Box Office is located at 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City. Box Office Hours are: 12 - 4 p.m. Monday – Friday, and one hour before performances.

Shylock is one of Shakespeare's most famous—and most controversial—characters.  During this presentation Gilbert will ask, is he a knife-wielding villain or a misunderstood victim?  The talk will also examine how our view of Shylock has been influenced by figures from literature, from history, and from his various stage representations.

Riverside Theatre is receiving support from the National Endowment for the Arts for The Merchant of Venice and accompanying audience education and outreach efforts related to the theme of “the other” in the play.

Events featuring experts, scholars, community and religious leaders, aimed at confronting and countering notions of anti-Semitism, as well as additional types of other-focused hatred and prejudices will be presented this spring. Watch the Riverside Theatre website, www.riversidetheatre.org for more information.

In addition to The Merchant of Venice, this summer’s Festival will include a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The plays will run in rotation from June 15 through July 8, 2012. The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It will be performed at the Riverside Festival Stage in Lower City Park. This outdoor venue is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and contains 472 permanent seats. Tickets for the Festival will go on sale in late spring. For more information go to www.riversidetheatre.org or call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672.

Diamonds or Denim, Riverside Theatre’s annual fundraising gala, will include a new and unique element this year, one-of-a-kind birdhouses.

The birdhouses were decorated by local artists, community members, members of Riverside Theatre’s Board of Directors and patrons of the theatre and look like anything but ordinary birdhouses.

Using paint, paper, cloth, lights, feathers, beads, metal and re-purposed materials, the birdhouses have been transformed by their designers into original pieces of art.

“When we distributed birdhouses to area artists and friends of Riverside – we had no idea they would come back to us with such unique designs,” said Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland.  “They are truly one-of-a-kind art objects – who would have thought a simple wooden birdhouse would generate such wildly imaginative and whimsical ideas?”

The only way to see these creative creations is to come to Diamonds or Denim.

The birdhouses will be part of the table decorations at this year’s fundraising gala and will be sold within the evening’s silent auction.

This year’s Diamonds or Denim will be held at hotelVetro suites & conference center in the Plaza Towers, 201 S. Linn St. Iowa City, on Friday, February 24, starting at 6 p.m.

The event features a silent auction, live auction, raffle drawing, music by Iowa City’s most eclectic ensemble The Recliners, appetizers and desserts provided by local eateries, and a cash bar.

This year’s raffle offers two fabulous prizes. The first raffle prize is a 14K two-toned white and yellow gold diamond bracelet. The second raffle prize is a $1,000 Visa ® Gift Card, usable anywhere Visa is accepted. Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25 and can be purchased by calling 319-338-7672. Raffle tickets will also be for sale at the event.

The professional live auction by Sharpless Auction offers a wide variety of unique experiences including dinners, excursions, accommodations in popular vacation destinations, and parties.

The silent auction will feature many unique items including jewelry, art, autographed books, handmade creations, and much more.

Regular tickets for Diamonds on Denim are $55 each ($45/ticket is tax-deductible) and tables of 10 are available for $500 ($40/ticket is tax-deductible). Discounted tickets are available for Riverdog Pass Holders for $50 each ($40/ticket is tax-deductible). Tickets can be purchased online at www.riversidetheatre.org, by phone at (319) 338-7672 or at the Riverside Theatre Box Office. The Box Office is located at 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City. Box Office Hours are: 12 - 4 p.m. Monday – Friday. Tickets can also be purchased at the door the night of the event. Tables of 10 must be arranged through the Box Office.

All proceeds from the evening will support Riverside Theatre programming.

• 1 week stay at LuAnn Reynolds & Dave Parson's Grand Cayman Island condo
• Burgers and brats barbecue party for 10 in Michael Lensing's garden
• Downtown literary walk with Maggie Conroy & Kate Aspengren
• Dinner for 6 at the historic Manville Heights home of Donald Black & John Chadima
• Gourmet picnic and 4 tickets to one of this summer's Shakespeare plays
• Paella party for 6 at Terry Bole's home
• 1 week at Julie & Carl Schweser's oceanfront cottage on Carolina Beach, NC
• Murder mystery dinner party at the home of Heather & Aaron Warner (your choice of 3 themes!)
• Dinner at Baroncini Ristorante
• Homemade pizza party at Jody and Ron's house
• A tour/guided viewing at Palisades-Dows Observatory
• A Thai spring roll-making party for 10 in your home, with an expert from New Pi. (With paired tastings of sake, beer & wine!)
• 1 week in Downeast Maine for up to 4 adults or a family at Beth & Tom Walsh's guesthouse
• Wine tasting with Wally from John's Grocery, plus hors d'oeuvres for 8 (April 7th)
• Minneapolis Theatre Getaway: Tickets to a show at the Gutherie plus lodging!
• Dinner at Basta's "family table" 4 to 5 courses accompanied by wine
• Advanced tickets to The Recliners in concert at Riverside Theatre (May 5th)
• Back by popular demand: a piano lounge party at Julie & Carl Schweser's home (April 21st)
• 12 bottles of Cakebread Cellars wine...plus a Cakebread Cellars cookbook!

Friday, February 24th

at hotelVetro suites & conference center, 201 South Linn St, Iowa City

Doors open at 6 p.m.

6 p.m. Silent Auction

8 p.m. Live Auction, by Sharpless Auctions

9 p.m. Raffle Drawing

Appetizers and Desserts provided

Music by Iowa City's most eclectic ensemble: The Recliners!

Cash bar

This year's raffle

Diamond elegance: a 14K two-toned white and yellow gold diamond bracelet. Courtesy of an anonymous donor. Value: $2,800.

Shop (Locally) 'Til You Drop: A $1,000 Visa (R) Gift Card, usable anywhere Visa is accepted. Sponsored by Hills Bank and the Riverside Theatre Board of Directors. Value $1,000.

Raffle tickets are $10 or 3 for $25

Sampling of the live auction: 1 week in Dave Parsons & LuAnn Reynolds' Grand Cayman condo, Literary walking tour hosted by Maggie Conroy & Kate Aspengren, Dinner at Baroncini Ristorante, Minneapolis theatre getaway

Check back later this month for more information on the live auction including updates on auction items and resources to help prepare your bidding strategy.

Regular Tickets: $55 each ($45/ticket is tax-deductible)

Riverdog Pass Holder Discounted Tickets: $50 each ($40/ticket is tax-deductible)

Table of 10: $500 ($40/ticket is tax-deductible) - to book a table contact the box office at 319-338-7672

To order Diamonds or Denim tickets call the box office at 319-338-7672

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Click here to print a ticket order form, mail order forms to: Riverside Theatre, 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City IA 52245

Riverside Theatre announces auditions and interviews for its 2012 Shakespeare Festival Apprentice Company on Saturday, February 4. 

Full-time apprenticeships are open to undergraduate, graduate students or others seeking a professional experience in the areas of acting, directing and stage management.  Interested applicants should schedule an audition (actors) or interview (directing and stage management positions) at Riverside Theatre on Saturday, February 4, 2012 beginning at 12:30 p.m. by calling 319-338-7672.  Complete information on the Apprentice program and application requirements is available at www.riversidetheatre.org. 

The Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival hires a company of 14 professional actors as well as a 10-member Apprentice Company to produce two classical plays which run in repertory.  2012 will mark the Festival’s 13^th season in Lower City Park, and will feature productions of Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice.  The 8-week apprentice contract period is May 15- July 9.  All apprentices receive $75/week as well as housing for non-local interns.  Training includes weekly master classes with company members and guest artists.

For more information, please refer to www.riversidetheatre.org or e-mail Jody Hovland, artistic director, at artistic@riversidetheatre.org.

For more information about the Apprentice Company and Auditions click here.

(Left to right) Lloyd (John Watkins) and Marvin (Randal Sanderfeld) examine their minnows in Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy, which opens at Riverside on Jan. 20. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy, about two ice fishing buddies, opens at Riverside Theatre January 20 and runs through February 19.

In this manly musical, long-time pals Lloyd and Marvin spend their free time in a ramshackle ice fishing shanty outside of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. As the guys anxiously await their opportunity to appear on a popular cable TV fishing show, they scramble to protect their beer from fellow angler, Ernie the Moocher.

They pass the time by fishing, swapping jokes, playing cards, talking about their romantic problems – and occasionally breaking into song and dance about snowmobile suits, beer, and fish.

With songs like “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit” and “Fish is de Miracle Food” Guys on Ice is sure to be a roaring good time that will charm your wool socks off.

“This show has a cult following like you wouldn’t believe, and rightly so,” said John Watkins, who plays Lloyd. “It's a terrifically written show with fabulous music, a big heart, sidesplitting humor grounded in Ernie, Marvin and Lloyd's candid simplicity, and a halftime show where you can win prizes.”

Book and lyrics are by Fred Alley and music is by James Kaplan. The show is directed by Riverside Theatre Resident Artist and Production Manager Ron Clark, who previously appeared as Marvin in the 2007 and 2009 productions of Guys on Ice.

Watkins and Randal Sandersfeld play Lloyd and Marvin respectively. Watkins appeared as Lloyd in the 2009 production of Guys on Ice. This is Sandersfeld’s first appearance on the Riverside stage. Ryan Westwood rounds out the cast as the dreaded Ernie the Moocher. Westwood was last seen at Riverside Theatre in End Days.

Guys on Ice also features lighting design by Courtney Schmitz Watson, choreography by Patrick DuLaney and accompaniment by Ruth Baldwin. The show is sponsored by ACT. Ernie the Moocher’s popular “Half-Time Show,” an audience quiz game, features prizes provided by Fin and Feather.

“I think the reason a lot of people don't know about Guys on Ice is that those who do are trying to keep it all for themselves,” Watkins said.

Tickets for Guys on Ice, January 20 – February 19, are $15-$29 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online, or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Join us on Saturday, Jan. 14 from Noon-3 p.m. for an outdoor fish fry to celebrate the opening of Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy.

The fish fry will be held outdoors in the parking lot off 319 E Bloomington, behind Murphy-Brookfield Books.

Tickets for the fish fry are $10 for a meal of fried fish served with sides, dessert and hot beverages.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 319-338-7672 or by stopping by the box office at 213 N. Gilbert St.

Proceeds from the event benefit Riverside Theatre.

Little Dog Pass $57: With the Little Dog Pass enjoy one ticket to Guys on Ice, Walking the Wire, and A Steady Rain, all for the under $60. Plus, get discounted tickets to Diamonds or Denim, discounts at area restaurants on the day of the show, free coffee in the Riverside lobby, and $1 off beer and wine in the lobby.

Gift Certificates: Available in any amount. Treat a couple to a Gilbert Street date night, share the magic of the Festival with a family...whatever you choose!

Small Miracles CD $10: Share Ron Clark's holiday storytelling with family and friends. The CD is a recording of the entire Small Miracles production with original composition by Dan Knight.

Stop by or call the Box Office at 319-338-7672 to shop locally and check a few items off your list today!

One of the many reasons we work in the American theatre is the tradition of creating family with our collaborators. It is a wonderful thing to know that after over three decades here at Riverside Theatre, we have “artistic family” all over the country. Mark Hunter was an important member of that family. Sadly, Mark died suddenly on November 6.

Since 1995, Mark directed steadily here at Riverside Theatre and in 2002 we were blessed to have him join our faculty at Cornell College. His career was marked by great integrity and imagination. Mark consistently inspired us to do more innovative and exciting work at both institutions.

His hand as a director was always gentle; Mark led rather than pushed. His vast knowledge of dramatic literature and ability to find his way into brand new and contemporary classics helped Riverside expand its artistic boundaries and create extremely challenging work. His last production with us was Arthur Miller’s ALL MY SONS. That was a show that none of us will ever forget.

We honor Mark’s memory by rededicating ourselves to the high standards he always held us to. We will always miss him but in the hardest of times like these we are comforted by our extended family who loved him so much.

A big thanks to everyone who voted for Riverside!

Click here to see what the Press-Citizen has to say about Riverside Theatre.

To reserve a table call 319-354-1001.

If you can't come, pass this information on to others to help spread the word!

Click here to read the latest news from Riverside Theatre.

Enjoy Riverside Theatre shows and special perks during the second half of our 2011-2012 Gilbert Street Season with the Little Dog Pass!

For $57 you’ll get one ticket to Guys on Ice, Walking the Wire, and A Steady Rain. With this savings it’s like seeing one show for free!

Plus you’ll get these additional savings:

• Discounts at area restaurants the day of the show
• Free coffee in the lobby
• $1 off beer and wine in the lobby
• Discount on Diamonds or Denim tickets
• Tickets to The Toymaker’s War for $12

    To order call the Box Office at 319-338-7672!

Have your portait taken with Santa Ron Clark.

Not just for kids...families, pets, and couples are welcome!

Call 319-338-7672 for more info.

$10 for the digital file from your sitting.

All proceeds benefit Riverside Theatre.

Photos will be taken on the stage at Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City.

Click here to vote for Riverside.

The are still seats available for the Sunday, Nov. 6 performance as well as all performances during the final weekend.

Click here to read the latest news from Riverside.

Click here to see the video.

Our deep thanks to all submitting writers for supporting this new works festival.

“Double Barrel” – Brent Boyd, North Hollywood, CA            

“Bert, One Year Later” – Dave Carley, Toronto, Ontario         

“Third” – Ron Clark, Iowa City, IA

“Nicole” – Mark Harvey Levine, Pasadena, CA

“The Cowboy” – Deborah Magid, Cleveland Heights, OH

“Shakytown” – Gordon Mennenga, Iowa City, IA

“In Hank’s Brain” – Mike Moran, Mt. Vernon, IA                     

“Lost in the Flood” – Amanda Petefish-Schrag, Maryville, MO 

“Toots” – Gwendolyn Rice, Madison, WI

“A Pigeon in a Dress” – Janet Schlapkohl, Iowa City, IA

“Mia” – Jen Silverman, Astoria, NY

“Inner Child” – Amy White, Mt. Vernon, IA              

Click here to read Diana Nollen's review in The Gazette.

Click here to read Matt Falduto's review on The Iowa Theatre Blog.

Don't forget to vote for Riverside Theatre for Best Theatre Group.

Click here to vote!

Between the Lines is here to help.

Written by our audience education volunteer, Jorie Slodki, Between the Lines gives theatre goers the inside scoop into productions at Riverside with short essays with important factual information such as playwright biographies, production histories, and explanations of historical context and references.

Click here to read Between the Lines for The Cripple of Inishmaan.

Riverside Theatre is once again selling holiday wreaths.

This year's offerings include a teardrop swag, wreath, and a centerpiece.

Prices range from $20-$26.

All proceeds benefit Riverside Theatre.

All orders must be placed by Tuesday, November 1.

Orders will be available for pickup after Wednesday, November 16 (we'll notify you by email when they've arrived).

Click here for more information or to print out an order form.

Questions? Email Jennifer Holan development@riversidetheatre.org.

(Left to right) Tim Budd as Johnnypateenmike, Kristy Harstgrove as Kate, and Osean Perez as Cripple Billy in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre company will present The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, October 28 through November 13. Ron Clark, Riverside’s Resident Artist and Production Manager, directs. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a co-production with Cornell College.

In this wickedly hilarious Irish comedy, set in 1934 on the remote island of Inishmaan, Crippled Billy dreams of a world away from his adopted aunts, their tiny village store, and their nosy fellow villagers. When he hears that a Hollywood film crew is working nearby, Billy hatches a plot to land a part. What follows is a tale of adventure, loss and redemption.

“Cripple explores the widely held stereotypes about the simple joys of small-town life, and fills the stage with the dark humor that is essential for its characters to survive,” Clark said.

In its thirty-one year history, Riverside Theatre has produced a number of Irish dramas including Stones in His Pockets and Dancing at Lughnasa.  Additionally, the company has produced two other McDonagh plays: The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West. 

“Audiences have raved about the work and thoroughly enjoyed the fine storytelling of these Irish plays.  The colorful and exuberant language and the carefully drawn characters are immensely appealing,” Clark said.

The playwright, Martin McDonagh, is generally revered as one of the great contemporary voices of the Irish theatre. McDonagh is the first playwright since Shakespeare to have four professionally produced plays running simultaneously on London stages.

The Cripple of Inishmaan is the ninth collaboration between Riverside Theatre and Cornell College since 1996.

“The Cripple of Inishmaan is also a perfect fit for a co-production with Cornell College, where I have been an artist-in-residence for twenty-five years.  The roles break down very nicely to allow lots of great work for the student-actors while allowing Riverside to employ some of its best resident actors to play the more mature roles,” said Clark.

The Cripple of Inishmaan features Riverside Theatre favorites Tim Budd and Kristy Hartsgrove, who were last seen in All My Sons as Dr. Jim Bayliss and Sue Bayliss.

The role of Crippled Billy will be played by Osean Perez, a senior at Cornell. This is Perez’s first appearance at Riverside. Returning to Riverside will be Alec Hynes in the role of Babbybobby. Hynes is a junior at Cornell, who was last seen at Riverside as Eglamour in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at this summer’s Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival and has previously appeared on Gilbert Street in the last co-production as Peter Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank.

The Cripple of Inishmaan also features scenic design by Christopher Domanski, lighting design by John Wilson, costume design by Jenny Nutting Kelchen, and sound design by Clark.

All music in the production is courtesy of The Beggarmen, one of the region’s best Irish music ensembles. The Beggarmen will perform in concert at Riverside Theatre on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $20 with all proceeds benefiting Riverside.

The Cripple of Inishmaan contains adult language.

This production is supported in part by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council.

The Beggarmen. Photo by Ritu Jain.

Get in the mood for The Cripple of Inishmaan at Riverside Theatre with one of the region’s best Irish musical ensembles, The Beggarmen, on Saturday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverside Theatre.

All music featured in Riverside Theatre’s upcoming production of The Cripple of Inishmaan will be provided by The Beggarmen.

Since their first performance at a small pub in Iowa, The Beggarmen has gone on to headline folk festivals and concert halls throughout the Midwest, greeting audiences with their unique style of Irish music.

Original founding member Brad Pouleson (vocals, low and high whistles, uilleann pipes, and mandolin) is joined by veteran Celtic/folk guitarist and singer Keith Reins, renowned fiddler and singer Tara Dutcher and Joe Dutcher on bodhran, Irish flute, and vocals.

Also appearing at the concert will be world class Irish step dancer Taylor J. Best, who is a student at the University of Iowa.

Tickets for the concert are $20 and can be ordered through the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert St., (319) 338-7672 or purchased at the door the night of the concert.

All proceeds from the event to benefit Riverside Theatre.

For more information on The Beggarmen go to www.beggarmen.com for more information on The Cripple of Inishmaan and Riverside Theatre go to www.riversidetheatre.org.

After 8 years and at least 50 coats of paint, the stage decking was in serious need of replacement. 

Big thanks to (left to right) Technical Director Zachary Begley and volunteers Steve Bender, Jim Brown, David Rust and Ron Clark (not pictured), who got it all done on a single Saturday.

The floor was replaced just in time for the kick off of the 2011-2012 Gilbert Street Season.

Click here to read what IASoupMama has to say about Feet First

Click here to read the review

The video features footage from the show as well as commentary from writer and performer Megan Gogerty.

Click here to see the promotional video for Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth.

Between the Lines, written by our new audience education volunteer, Jorie Slodki, will give theatre goers the inside scoop into productions at Riverside with short essays with important factual information such as playwright biographies, production histories, and explanations of historical context and references.

The first edition of Between the Lines is for Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth which is written and performed by Megan Gogerty and will have its world premiere at Riverside Theatre, Sept. 9 - Oct. 2, 2011.

Click here to read Between the Lines

Riverside Theatre will be celebrating its season opening with a reception at Chait Galleries, 218 E Washington St., from 5:30 - 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1. Suggested donation $10.

Megan Gogerty. Photo by Bob Goodfellow.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s only professional theatre company opens its 31^st Gilbert Street season with the rolling world premiere of the free-wheeling one-woman show, Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth by Iowa City playwright and actor Megan Gogerty.

The show runs Sept. 9-Oct. 2, at Riverside Theatre, 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City. The show is directed by Los Angeles guest artist Alexis Chamow and performed by Gogerty.

Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth is a mostly-true story about a woman who gives birth and then a few years later becomes a mother.

“Feet First is about Megan's attempts to be a working artist, ardent feminist and a mom.  And Alexis came to Iowa City to direct the play with her baby girl in tow. Talk about art imitating life and vice versa,” said Riverside Theatre Resident Artist and Production Manager Ron Clark.

Sharing stories of a harrowing trip to New York City with a baby, being trapped in a house with a moody toddler, and Dolly Parton as a feminist icon Gogerty uses her quick wit and sharp-eye to take on politics, pop culture and parenting.

"Everything in this story is true. And some of it actually happened,” Gogerty said.

Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth is a rolling world premiere with Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre. After its initial premiere in Iowa City, the show will have a second premiere at Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta in December as part of their Bold Voices Series where the show will run from Dec. 2-19.

“Rolling world premiere is an initiative of the National New Play Network - of which Riverside Theatre is a proud new member.  Theatres are encouraged to mount the same new play within a twelve-month period. The result is a ‘rolling world premiere’ through which a playwright develops a new work with different creative teams, for different communities of patrons - and hopefully attains the polish and momentum needed to attract the attention of other producers,” said Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland.

“When Megan premiered her last solo show at Riverside Theatre in 2008, Megan Gogerty Loves You Very Much, she continued to develop the script throughout the run and afterwards, so that by the time she toured it to Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta later that season, it had morphed into Hillary Clinton Got Me Pregnant.  So this time around it seemed like a no-brainer to include Synchronicity in our conversation about this new premiere - and they were as excited as we were.” 

Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth features scenic design by Scott Olinger, lighting design by Drew Bielinski, sound design by Gogerty, and original music by Christopher J. Clark.

Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth runs September 9 – October 2 at Riverside Theatre. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for over 60/under 30, and $15 for youth (18 and under). $15 college student rush tickets are available 20 minutes prior to the show with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.riversidetheatre.org, by phone at (319) 338-7672 or at the Riverside Theatre Box Office, which is located at 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City. Box office hours are: 12 - 4 p.m. Monday – Friday.

Riverside Theatre will celebrate its 31^st season opening with a reception at Chait Galleries, 218 E Washington St, Iowa City, on Sept. 1 from 5:30-7 p.m. This will be a chance to meet and mingle with the playwright and the director a week before the show opens. Suggested donation for this event is $10.

This event will be a chance to meet and mingle with playwright Megan Gogerty and the director Alexis Chamow of Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth, which opens at Riverside Theatre on Sept. 9.

Feet First In The Water With A Baby In My Teeth is a mostly-true story about a woman who gives birth and then a few years later becomes a mother. The show runs Sept. 9-Oct. 2, at Riverside Theatre, 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City.

Suggested donation for this event is $10. Donations can be made at the box office prior to the event or at the door that evening. For more information contact the box office at 319-338-7672.

The 2011-12 season has two roles available in Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical (Marvin, age 30-50; Ernie the moocher, age 25-40) as well as selected roles in the annual monologue festival, Walking the Wire.

Those wishing to audition are required to prepare one contemporary monologue (2 minute maximum) plus 16 bars a cappella, if auditioning for the musical. 

To schedule an audition please call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672. Box office hours are noon to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

For more information on the 2011-2012 season, contact Artistic Director Jody Hovland at artistic@riversidetheatre.org.

• Assist with processing Ticket Sales by Phone, Mail, Fax, & Website at box office on Gilbert Street.

• Assist with entering all Sales into Wintix Box Office System: tickets, donations, classes, fundraisers, in-kind donations, misc. at box office on Gilbert Street

• Assist with ensuring the lobby and restrooms are clean & welcoming for Patrons at the box office on Gilbert Street

• Assorted other duties as assigned including assisting Marketing and Development with mailings, brochure and poster distribution.

HOURS: 8-10 hours a week during regular Box Office hours of Noon to 4pm, Monday thru Friday.  Days are negotiable.

PAY RATE:  $7.75/hr

CALL OR EMAIL NAN MARTIN, PATRON SERVICES MANAGER AT:

319-338-7672 or boxoffice@riversidetheatre.org

But then, we've never had two young mothers as the primary collaborators on a project before.

FEET FIRST IN THE WATER WITH A BABY IN MY TEETH, features the work of playwright/performer Megan Gogerty and director Alexis Chamow. Both women have kids . . . really little kids like four months and three years old.

So they will be dropping the kids off at child care and coming in to rehearse like mad women for four or five hours straight,

FEET FIRST . . . is about Megan's attempts to be a working artist, ardent feminist and a mom. Alexis came to Iowa City to direct the play with her baby girl in tow. Talk about art imitating life and vice versa.
Rehearsals start today.

WE ARE SO EXCITED!

- Ron Clark, Artist in Residence/ Production Manager

Glad you asked! We've borrowed this notion from the National New Play Network - of which Riverside Theatre is a proud new member. NNPN is the country's alliance of non-profit professional theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays for the American theater. And one of their initiatives encourages theatres to mount the same new play within a twelve-month period. The result is a "rolling world premiere" through which a playwright develops a new work with different creative teams, for different communities of patrons - and hopefully attains the polish and momentum it needs to attract the attention of other producers.

When Megan premiered her last solo show at Riverside Theatre in 2008 -Megan Gogerty Loves You Very Much - she continued to develop the script throughout the run and afterwards - so that by the time she toured it to Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta later that season, it had morphed into Hillary Clinton Got Me Pregnant. (and was named one of the top ten plays of the year by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) So this time around it seemed like a no-brainer to include Synchronicity in our conversation about this new premiere - and they were as excited as we were. Although the particulars are different from theatre to theatre, we negotiated a sharing of the directing fee as well as an exchange of marketing and design information. The security of having two producers on board right away allows Megan an extensive developmental period, artistic attention in two distinct parts of the country - and a base from which to begin booking additional touring performances. And you can say you saw it FIRST at Riverside Theatre!

-Jody Hovland, Artistic Director

Primary duties include assisting the development director with preparations for Riverside Theatre's annual fundraising event, Diamonds or Denim (held in February, 2012). Responsibilities include maintaining master spreadsheets of event donations, developing donor recognition letters, creating event signage, assisting with auction item solicitations and helping with post-event analysis and follow-up. Other assistance needed with fall annual campaign mailing and donor appreciation events. A minimum commitment of 3 hours/week is necessary.

Hours are flexible but should be available weekdays during office hours (9:00 a.m.-5 p.m.).

For more information contact Jennifer Holan at 319-887-1360 or development@riversidetheatre.org

Volunteer Marketing Intern

Tasks would include but not limited to: distributing promotional materials and posters to local businesses, prepping small bulk mailings before they are taken to the post office (labeling postcards, stuffing envelopes), researching groups and organizations to target for group rate promotions, updating the theatre's flickr account, imputing event information into local online calendars, and creating spreadsheets for various projects.

This volunteer internship position is flexible, approximately 5 hours per week during the school year and/or summer.

For more information contact Sarah Burnett at 319-887-1360 or marketing@riversidetheatre.org

Volunteer Educational Tour Coordination

Fall/Winter, unpaid, approximately 30-45 hours. Primary duties include scheduling of the annual Will Power area school tour (an outreach program of the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival) and coordinating the Will Power Poetry (junior high) and Sonnet (high school) contest.

Volunteer Costume Shop Assistant

Completely flexible, 5-10 hours/month. Organizing and maintaining costume stock - including sizing, sorting, occasional laundering, restocking after productions.

Contact artistic@riversidetheatre.org for more info about these volunteer opportunities.

Posting is on JobNet (job #114016)

8-10 hours/week

Flexible on specific days and hours but should be available 2 or 3 weekdays, sometime between 9:00am-5:00pm for a total of 8-10 hours per week.

Attendance at 1-2 evening special events during the year may be requested.

Duties include:

• Entering donations into donor management software
• Creating mail merged acknowledgement letters
• Special event planning tasks
• Filing
• Assisting development director with other projects as needed.
• Experience with Microsoft Office--mainly Word and Excel; Publisher a plus.
• Good people skills and attention to detail.
• Contact Jennifer Holan at development@riversidetheatre.org. or 319-887-1360 for more info.

Qualifications:

• Experience with Microsoft Office--mainly Word and Excel; Publisher a plus.
• Good people skills and attention to detail.

Contact Jennifer Holan at development@riversidetheatre.org. or 319-887-1360 for more info.

Tickets can be purchased online through our website or thought the box office, which is open Monday-Friday from Noon-4 p.m. at 213 N. Gilbert Street, Iowa City. Tickets can also be ordered by calling the box office at 319-338-7672.

Riverside Theatre's 31^st season of professional theatre includes a freewheeling solo show by Megan Gogerty, a quirky Irish comedy by Martin McDonagh, a heartwarming holiday treat, the return of an ice fishing musical favorite, the annual monologue festival, and a gritty theatrical thriller.

FEET FIRST IN THE WATER WITH A BABY IN MY TEETH

September 9 - October 2, 2011

Written and Performed by Megan Gogerty

Directed by Alexis Chamow

She should totally have this parenting thing down. So why has she locked herself in the bathroom, the sounds of Dora the Explorer muffled only by her tears? Megan Gogerty returns to Riverside with the laugh-out-loud, solo show she previewed during Walking the Wire in March 2011.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN

October 28 - November 13, 2011

By Martin McDonagh

Directed by Ron Clark

A wickedly dark comedy about a teenage orphan in an excitement-starved Irish village stirred into a frenzy by the arrival of a Hollywood film crew. A co-production with Cornell College.

SMALL MIRACLES

November 25 - November 27, 2011

Written and Performed by Ron Clark

From his unforgettable role as a department store Santa to the 10-cent bell that became a family heirloom, Ron's storytelling will captivate you and bring to mind your own holiday memories.

GUYS ON ICE: AN ICE FISHING MUSICAL COMEDY

January 20 - February 19, 2012

Book and Lyrics by Fred Alley

Music by James Kaplan

Directed by Ron Clark

It's back! The smash hit musical about ice fishing, cold beer, good bait, and the Green Bay Packers returns to Riverside.

WALKING THE WIRE: THIS WILL NEVER WORK

March 2 - March 11, 2012

Directed by Jody Hovland

Our annual monologue festival of original monologues from playwrights across the country. This year's theme is sure to yield tales of square pegs and round holes...hare-brained schemes...and skeptics proved wrong!

A STEADY RAIN

March 30 - April 15, 2012

By Keith Huff

Directed by Mark Hunter

Two Chicago cops must face the worst sides of themselves---and each other---when a series of harrowing events spirals out of control.

Submission Guidelines

1. Riverside Theatre is seeking original monologues with the theme of This Will Never Work (tales of round pegs in square holes. . .hare-brained schemes. . .and skeptics proved wrong).  Up to two submissions per author of original, unpublished and unproduced monologues less than ten minutes length (please read it aloud and include the approximate performance time on the first page of your submission; all lengths of up to ten minutes will be considered, with the objective of choosing monologues of varying lengths).  Selection considerations: Intentionally paired monologues that present two voices or points of view on the same moment will be considered. Monologues should have strong forward action and a clear dramatic event or moment. Copy requirements: double spaced in a minimum 12 pt. font, and including the playwright's name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.
2. Simple is best.  Since "Walking the Wire" typically includes 10-12 monologues, it is important that each one require as little production as possible; set-pieces, props, or effects needing set-up, strike, or special technical support may disqualify an otherwise excellent submission.
3. Email submissions (Word document attachment) must be dated by midnight CST September 15, 2011.  Final selections will announced on Riverside Theatre's website, www.riversidetheatre.org on November 1, 2011.  
4. Writers will be credited in all marketing and playbill materials; no royalties will be paid. Walking the Wire will be produced March 2-11, 2012.  Playwrights are entitled to two complimentary tickets to any single performance; tickets are not transferable.
5. Submissions should be emailed to: artistic@riversidetheatre.org

The shows slated for the 2011-2012 Gilbert Street Season are hot!

This season includes a freewheeling solo show by Megan Gogerty, a quirky Irish comedy by Martin McDonagh, a heartwarming holiday treat, the return of an ice fishing musical favorite, and a thriller recently produced on Broadway:

FEET FIRST IN THE WATER WITH A BABY IN MY TEETH

September 9 - October 2, 2011

By Megan Gogerty

She should totally have this parenting thing down. So why has she locked herself in the bathroom, the sounds of Dora The Explorer muffled only by her tears? Megan Gogerty returns to Riverside with the laugh-out-loud, solo show she previewed during Walking the Wire in March 2011.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN

October 28 - November 13, 2011

By Martin McDonagh

A wickedly dark comedy about a teenage orphan in an excitement-starved Irish village stirred into a frenzy by the arrival of a Hollywood film crew. Co-production with Cornell College.

SMALL MIRACLES

November 25 - November 27, 2011

By Ron Clark

Get in the holiday spirit with a reprise of this moving and personal tribute to Christmas past, by Riverside Theatre's resident artist, Ron Clark.

GUYS ON ICE: AN ICE FISHING MUSICAL COMEDY

January 20 - February 19, 2012

Book and Lyrics by Fred Alley

Music by James Kaplan

It's back! The smash hit musical about ice fishing, cold beer, good bait, and the Green Bay Packers returns to Riverside.

WALKING THE WIRE: THIS WILL NEVER WORK

March 2 - March 11, 2012

Our annual monologue festival of original monologues from playwrights across the country. This year's theme is sure to yield tales of square pegs and round holes...hare-brained schemes...and skeptics proved wrong!

A STEADY RAIN

March 30 - April 15, 2012

By Keith Huff

Two Chicago cops must face the worst sides of themselves---and each other---when a series of harrowing events spirals out of control.

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City's resident professional theatre will open their 31^st season in September with shows scheduled from then until April 15, 2012.

Riverside Theatre prints 2 playbills a season, one for the fall and another for the winter/spring portion of our Gilbert Street Season.

Ad sizes range from ¼ to full page (2.1 x 3.6 inches to 4.5 x 7.5 inches) and the cost $340-$800, for an ad in both playbills.

Contract for the 2011-2012 playbill advertising are due July 29.

For more information call 319-887-1360 or email marketing@riversidetheatre.org.

Click here to see the full 2011-2012 Playbill Ad Contract

Click here to watch the Green Show for Ah, Wilderness!

Video by Marketing Director Sarah Burnett

Watch our video to see what you've been missing or if you've already been to the Festival relive some of the highlights from the Two Gentlemen of Verona and Ah, Wilderness!

Click here to see a video of the 2011 Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival

Video by Martin Andrews of Working Group Theatre

Ah, Wilderness! will be performed this Friday, July 8 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 10 at 7 p.m. Two Gentlemen of Verona will be performed on Wednesday, July 6 at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, July 9 at 8 p.m.

Patrons are invited to picnic on the grounds while watching the Green Show, 60 minutes before curtain. The Green Show 20-minute story-theatre version of the evening's play helps audiences become familiar with the plot. Green Shows are performed by the Festival Intern Company.

Festival performances take place at the Riverside Theatre Festival Stage, Lower City Park, Iowa City. Tickets range from $17-$39 with discounts for students and seniors. Youth tickets can be purchased for $17 each. To purchase tickets, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672 or order online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

Can I picnic before a show? Absolutely! The grounds are open 90 minutes before the performance. Wraps, chips, desserts, and an assortment of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are available for purchase at the box office before the show.

What if it rains? Festival performances continue during a light rain, so please bring a wrap (no umbrellas, please). For a heavy rain, the show may be delayed up to 45 minutes. If a performance has to be canceled due to severe weather, tickets may be exchanged for another performance of the same production. Refunds are only available if the performance is canceled before the first act is completed. For refunds, mail the tickets to the Riverside Theatre Box Office, 213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City IA 52245, with a note requesting a refund. All Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival refund claim must be received by August 1, 2011. (Service charges are non-refundable.)

Why can't I bring an umbrella? Umbrellas block the view of those behind you. A wrap is fine, and the Festival Box Office sells inexpensive rain ponchos, too.

What if there are mosquitoes? To keep the bugs at bay we offer complimentary bug spray at the Festival box office.

Can I bring alcohol to the show? No, possession or consumption is illegal on city property except where a special license has been granted--as it has been to Riverside Theatre. As a licensee, we are required to prohibit the possession or consumption of any alcohol not sold by us on the Festival grounds. Beer and wine are available for purchase at the Festival concession window.

If it is called a Shakespeare Festival, why is there only one Shakespeare play? It's actually very common for Shakespeare Festivals across the country to perform the work of other playwrights. There are just too many classics to limit the festival to Shakespeare!

Where can I park? There are some parking spaces-including handicap parking-located directly in front of the Festival stage. Additional parking is just a short walk from the Festival stage. Festival goers may park in any of the parking lots in Lower City Park.

How early should I arrive? If you would like to picnic on the grounds before a show, you may arrive as early as 90 minutes before the performance. If you would like to see the Green Show performed by the Festival Company Interns one hour before the performance, you should arrive a bit over an hour before the night's performance begins. Seating for the evening's performance begins approximately 30 minutes before the show opens.

What is a Green Show? A Green Show is a 20-minute "story theatre" version of the evening's play that allows the audience to brush up on the plot in advance of the evening performance. Traditionally, the Green Shows feature much humor and are especially appealing to kids.

Where can I see a Green Show? Green Shows are performed on the Green Show stage near the pavilion.

Rush tickets will be available starting at 6:40 p.m. with the performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona beginning at 7 p.m.

Join the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival Company for a hysterical, madcap romp through Verona and Milan, as we follow two love-struck gentlemen, their servants, and a lackadaisical dog in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Those families unable to attend a Family Night can purchase a 1 Show Family Pack, which allows two adults and up to three kids to attend one performance, on any night they choose for $85.

Tickets and play information are available at the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672.

"These performances are perfect for families looking for affordable, professional entertainment," said Jody Hovland, Artistic Director at Riverside Theatre. "We know parents are interested in sharing the Festival experience with their children, but a night out can be a big expense. The Family Night and 1 Show Family Pack discounts make a big difference."

The grounds open 90 minutes before performances. Families are invited to bring a blanket and picnic on the grounds while watching the Green Show, 60 minutes before curtain. The Green Show's 20-minute story-theatre version of the evening's play allows both adults and kids to become familiar with the play's plot. Green Shows are performed by the Festival Intern Company. Traditionally, they feature much humor and are especially appealing to kids.

Festival performances take place at the Riverside Theatre Festival Stage, Lower City Park, Iowa City.

Tickets range from $17-$39 with discounts for students and seniors. Youth tickets can be purchased for $17 each. Weeknight rush tickets are available 30 minutes prior to curtain for $19 Tuesday-Thursday. To purchase tickets, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672 or order online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

In this madcap romp, a young man's folly drives the action in what may have been Shakespeare's first comedy. Young masters Proteus and Valentine are the best of friends until Proteus falls for the new object of Valentine's affections, Silvia.  Forsaking Julia, Proteus sets out to betray his unsuspecting friend, only to find that both Silvia and Julia have a thing or two to teach him about loyalty and love.

"This is a great big, sweet, cupcake of a show! Two Gents is full of joy and intrigue - the company is bringing terrific imagination and energy to the stage.  I recommend it as a great family evening," said Ron Clark, Riverside Theatre Resident Artist and Director of the Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona features Zachary Andrews, Chad Bay, Patrick DuLaney, Jennifer Fawcett, Kelly Gibson, Samuel Alexander Hawkins, Jody Hovland, Alec Hynes, Peter Eli Johnson, Cristina Panfilio, Sean Parker, Christopher Peltier, Alex Shockley, Zoe Sigman, and Jim Van Valen.

The show also features a 12 year-old rescued pit bull from Solon, Big Red, as Crab the dog.

The costumes are designed by Renee Garcia, and scenic and lighting design is by Courtney Schmitz Watson.

Here are a few highlights of the show, all photos by Bob Goodfellow.

(Left to right) Peter Eli Johnson, Patrick DuLaney, Zachary Andrews, and Sean Parker harmonize before the opening scene of Ah, Wilderness!


Dinner time at the Miller house on the 4th of July.


Things just got a little more interesting at dinner.


Belle (Cristina Panfilio) and Richard (Christopher Peltier), get a little friendly.



A late night at the Miller's.

Muriek (Kelly Gibson) and Richard (Christopher Peltier) enjoy a moment under the moonlight.

At the Festival, the Green Shows are performed one hour before curtain. These 20-minute story theatre versions of the evening's play allow the audience to brush up on the plot in advance of the evening performance. The nightly show-and this preview performance-showcases the work of acting, production, and stage management interns from the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival Intern Company. Traditionally, the Green Shows feature much humor and are especially appealing to kids.

Click here to read the Iowa Theatre Blog review of Ah, Wilderness!

Prior to the start of the show there will be a performance of the Ah, Wilderness! Green Show by the Festival Interns. The Green Show is a short, ~ 20 minute, story version of the play along with background information on the playwright. Green Shows are generally humerous and suitable for family entertainment.

For those not attending tonight's opening performance and Green Show are invited to join us for a free preview performance of the Ah, Wilderness! Green Show at ~ 12:10 p.m. in downtown Iowa City on the ped mall (near Washington St).

A big thanks to the University of Iowa Theatre Department, F.W. Kent Collection of Photographs, University of Iowa Archives, and the University of Iowa Libraries for supplying Riverside Theatre with copies of these pictures.

Dinner on the 4th of July at the Miller's.

Photo provideded by F.W. Kent Collection of Photographs, University of Iowa Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.

Essie chasing after Tommy.

Photo provided by F.W. Kent Collection of Photographs, University of Iowa Archives, University of Iowa Libraries

At the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival, the Green Shows are performed one hour before curtain. These 20-minute story theatre versions of the evening’s play allow the audience to brush up on the plot in advance of the evening performance. The nightly show—and this preview performance—showcases the work of acting, production, and stage management interns from the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival Intern Company. Traditionally, the Green Shows feature much humor and are especially appealing to kids.

The Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival opens this Friday, June 17 at 8 p.m. with Ah, Wilderness! written by Eugene O’Neill and directed by Theodore Swetz.

The Festival also includes performances of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Ron Clark, which will open on June 24. Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona will then be performed in rotation until July 10.

Eugene O’Neil referred to Ah, Wilderness!  as “a sort of wishing out loud.” The Miller family of 1906 is held together with a special love of acceptance. And, in this ideal family, there still are moments of aloneness, great sadness and absolute silliness.  But most of all there is a wish, and that wish is pure and simple: a wish for a sense of place, inclusion, and love. 

Living in the world of 2011 I find myself at times aching for a simpler time.  A time that is not dominated by electronic superficiality.  A time when humility and responsibility are valued, and a time when we are encouraged to struggle with big ideas as we forge an intimate commitment to each other.  Can you hear it?  Can you hear me wishing out loud?

It is prom season as I write this. Last Saturday, I saw bevies of teenagers heading to restaurants dressed in their finery. In the local paper, an entire page of color photos was devoted to arrays of young women and men looking like they were ready to hit the red carpet at the Oscars. I was amazed at their appearance of sophistication and poise.

It was about 11:00 p.m. when I spotted the two boys running away from the girl on Jefferson Street. The boys were laughing with vests unbuttoned, their cummerbunds and ties askew, as she was pulling off her gold, high-heeled sandals to run faster and keep up with them. Are they three beautiful kids living out a funny story that they will share with their friends at school next week? Or - are there broken hearts in the trio? Does she secretly love the best friend of her original date and now the guys are both rejecting her? Did the boys and girl decide that since none of them had a date they would all go to prom together and now they are overwhelmed and scared by the affection that two of them are unexpectedly feeling?Two Gentlemen as well as their girlfriends and empathize with the dilemma they are facing. Or if your adolescence was like mine, you may see more of yourself in Launce and his dog, Crab.

Resurrect a few of your own memories and you can be in the middle of that picture. Admit to a couple of the painful mistakes you made as a youngster when you were figuring yourself out and you can be flying down the street with those kids. Just as easily, I hope, (if we are effective in our storytelling) you can identify with the title characters of

Photo by Bob Goodfellow

Big Red as Crab the dog and Patrick DuLaney at Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Photo by Bob Goodfellow

This is a guest blog post

by Bruce Wheaton Co-Founder and Associate Artist