Summer Partnership in the Arts to give unique virtual performance
Madison Lotenschtein and Peter Anders
June 25, 2020
Beginning in 2018, the Summer Partnership in the Arts initiative gave the University of Iowa Theater Arts students and performers the opportunity to work with guest artists. This summer’s play, titled Breath Behind the Mask, will be performed not on a stage, but on a virtual platform: YouTube. St...
Riverside Theater searches for new home, plans ‘virtual performances’ amid COVID-19
Charles Peckman, Senior Reporter
May 29, 2020
Riverside Theater, which is known for its locally produced plays, is looking for a new home. According to a press release from the playhouse’s website, Riverside will move from its current location, 213 N. Gilbert Street, upon the expiration of its current lease. Despite the 2019 Novel Coron...
Empty stages: Performing arts put on hold in area venues
Josie Fischels, Arts Editor
April 27, 2020
The costumes are hanging patiently, the set is built, and the performance venue is secured, but for the University of Iowa’s anticipated spring production of The Light in the Piazza, the show must now wait until November before it can officially go on. The cast members would have taken their fi...
Riverside Theater’s ’30 Days of Shakespeare’ video series brings theatre to social media
Pedro Barragan, Arts Reporter
April 5, 2020
While local theaters are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riverside Theater has brought about an initiative to bring theater back to Iowa City in a new way with their 30 Days of Shakespeare video series, which began April 1 and will be posted every day throughout the month. Producing Artis...
UI Theatre Department introduces new performance series, Diverse Voices
Ashley Dawson, Arts Reporter
March 11, 2020
The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts introduced its new series, “Diverse Voices,” with Reconciliation a reading of a play written by Turtle Mountain Ojibwe member Marisa Carr. Carr’s reading took place on Sunday, March 8 in the Alan MacVay Theatre. The director and the chair of the department of Theatre Arts,...
Marat’s Dead to bring the story of the Reign of Terror into future America
Samantha Murray, Arts Reporter
March 11, 2020
The famous painting of the death of Jean-Paul Marat gets a different twist in the poster for the upcoming play Marat’s Dead. On the originally white sheet that Marat leans against, the American flag drips down in an almost impressionistic interpretation. Marat’s Dead will tell a new tale of the ...
The Iowa City Community Theater brings classic and new elements to its production of Company
Jenna Post, Arts Reporter
March 7, 2020
After its Broadway debut 50 years ago, and days after its Broadway revival’s previews began, the Iowa City Community Theater brought the Sondheim classic to the stage on Friday night. The show will run through Sunday, March 15. Company follows Bobby, the only unmarried or not engaged member of his friend group. Throughout...
Sarah Ruhl’s translation of Three Sisters to premiere at UI Theatre Department
Pedro Barragan, Arts Reporter
March 5, 2020
Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters will premiere on the theatre’s main stage today, and run through March 14. Based on a new translation by Sarah Ruhl, this version of Three Sisters intends to create a more upbeat nature to the celebrated tale of melancholy, according to director Lila Becker. As a pl...
Photos: Three Sisters Dress Rehearsal
Hayden Froehlich, Photojournalist
March 5, 2020
The UI Department of Theatre Arts is putting on a new version of the Anton Chekhov play “Three Sisters” written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Lila Rachel Becker. The dress rehearsal was held on Wednesday, March 4th, twenty-four hours before its opening. The play follows three sisters in 1900s Russia...
Company to premiere at Iowa City Community Theater
Pedro Barragan, Arts Reporter
March 4, 2020
“Someone to make you come through. Who will always be there, as frightened as you of being alive.” Lyrics first heard by theater-goers in 1970 at the Alvin Theatre are coming to the Iowa City Community Theatre stage. Stephen Sondheim’s classic Company will play Friday through March 15. C...
Twelve stories, one heart: Hancher play narrates stories of 12 immigrants’ journeys to America
Jenna Post, Arts Reporter
February 27, 2020
The Actors’ Gang, a Los Angeles-based theatre company known for its contemporary pieces and unique acting techniques, returns to Hancher for the first time since 2006 to share American immigrant stories through their original play, The New Colossus. The play, which The Actors Gang will perf...