Coming of Age in Chore Boots gives Riverside audiences one woman’s perspective on the slice of history she grew up in.

By Isaac Hamlet  |  [email protected]

History allows for several perspectives. A narrative relayed through broad events is often forced to gloss over the more intimate details. Coming of Age in Chore Boots gives audiences one woman’s perspective on the slice of history she grew up in.

Friday, the one-woman show returns to Riverside Theater, 213 N. Gilbert St., after a two-year absence. At 7:30 p.m., audiences have another chance to experience a show written and performed by University of Iowa graduate Janet Schlapkohl.

“It’s a personal memoir based on growing up in the rural Midwest in the ’60s and ’70s,” Schlapkohl said. “It has a young person’s perspective on the events going on during that time, one being the Vietnam War and the other being the Woman’s Rights Movement.”

The show débuted at Riverside in 2013.

“It attracted an audience that was sort of atypical for us,” said Sam Osheroff, the theater’s artistic director. “[It brought in an] audience outside of Iowa City and Coralville, and I think it’s important we speak to that audience as well.”

With the exception of the original stage manager, everyone involved in the play’s previous outing has returned to help it happen again, including director Tim Budd.

“Janet Schlapkohl has done a little bit of tweaking with writing, but we know the show works, so there’s not a lot we had to mess with,” he said. “What will be different this time around is Janet. Having done the show before, I think she feels more comfortable with it. She’ll be able to give a richer, deeper performance of it.”

Tim Budd, the director of Coming of Age in Chore Boots talks about what he hopes the audience will take away from seeing the show this time around. (Audio compiled by Isaac Hamlet & edited by Lily Abromeit)

Schlapkohl estimates she portrays roughly 15 characters during the time of her show, including a younger version of herself.

“We don’t have clear recall; we have impressions of events and that’s the way the story comes together,” she said. “It’s chronological, but I will occasionally take the perspective of adult Janet looking back.”

Though she doesn’t consider herself a professional actor, she does accept the title “animated storyteller.” By recalling the mindset of the younger version of herself, she’s able to achieve the mentality needed for the performance.

“The physicality comes with just remembering what it’s like to be a child,” she said. “I’m not trying to act like a child; I’m trying to think about what it’s like to be one.”

Both Osheroff and Schlapkohl said the show gives an individual point of view of a pivotal time. A big pull for the show, in their opinion, is the humor permeating its narrative.

Part of this enjoyment comes from the varied cast of characters portrayed by her. She plays farmers, school teachers, friends, and family from her life.

Click here to check out a photo slideshow.

“These [characters] are people that aren’t specific to my generation,” Schlapkohl said. “Everyone has these sorts of people in their lives. But they’re not stock characters by any means. I have enough friends who do an impression or an imitation when they’re telling a story — that’s what this is. It’s embodying the characters of people I encountered.”

Those who saw past stagings of the show will see few changes from what worked before; those who are new have the opportunity to see what audience two years ago found so engaging.

“The play tracks a young girl growing up during the Vietnam War, through the farm crisis of the ’80s to the present day,” Budd said. “Even if you weren’t born yet, I think it’s a nice personal history lesson.”

THEATER
Coming of Age in Chore Boots: A One Woman Show
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Dec. 6
Where: Riverside Theater, 213 N. Gilbert
Admission: $12-$30