Dreamwell Presents Sans Merci

San Merci Dreamwell

Sans Merci Poster

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“If only someone brought mercy and pity to the world, it might blossom forth. It would be a shared communion of souls, vibrant, fertile, and alive with song.”

Dreamwell presents its next play in the “Here I Stand” season, Sans Merci by Johnna Adams, at 7:30 pm on February 10, 11, 17 and 18 at the Unitarian Universalist Society. Reservations can be placed at www.dreamwell.com. Tickets are $13, $10 students/seniors. This production is recommended for mature audiences.

Published in 2009, Sans Merci is about a conservative woman who reaches out to the lover of her daughter, Tracy, who died in a vicious attack. The meeting between these two very strong and different women is intense, as they dance through their mutual grief. Each learns more about Tracy, and about her violent death. Sans Merci is about the effect one person’s definition of self can have on another human being, and what we can teach each other.

“Here I Stand” is Dreamwell’s first ever academic year season. Each of the season’s offerings features characters who choose to be who they are, despite the consequences. This season we celebrate the strength of character we can all achieve.

Directed by Meg Dobbs, the cast is:
Kelly – Nika Tipsword
Tracy – Elisabeth Ross
Elizabeth – Annette Rohlk

This production is recommended for mature audiences.

Dreamwell announces auditions for Christopher Durang’s BABY WITH THE BATHWATER directed by Rachael Lindhart.

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AUDITION WHEN and WHERE:
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m. Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room D
Monday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A

ABOUT THE SHOW:
BABY WITH THE BATHWATER is Durang’s biting comic look at what  can go wrong when inept parents set out to raise a child.  We follow John and Helen as they try to cope with a child’s needs–but they can’t put aside their own needs and the family developes a sort of emotional anarchy which is both hilarious and painful. Rehearsals will begin March 1 and the play will be performed April 20, 21 and 27, 28.

HOW TO PREPARE
Sides will be provided. No preparation necessary. Copies of the play will be on reserve at the Iowa City Public Library beginning Feb. 1.

AVAILABLE ROLES and DESCRIPTIONS:
Actors will be needed for the following roles:
2 Men:  John, the father, going from his mid 20s to mid 50s–an addictive personality.
Daisy, the child–portrayed from infancy to toddler offstage; we first see him fully as a 17-year old and follow him through his 30th birthday.  He has been dressed as a girl until this time and that has played havoc with his psyche–to say the least.  He is listed in the cast list as “The Young Man.”

4 Women:  Helen,  the mother, also going from mid 20s to mid 50s–a would-be writer who admires Judtih Krantz very much.
Nanny:  A crazy version of a child-rearing expert; she is in her mid to late 30s and then is about 65 when we see her at the end of the play.
Kate and the Principal:  Kate is a concerned mother interacting with Daisy and Helen on the playground; the same actress will play the Principal who espouses the worst trends in modern education.  Age can be variable, from 20s to 40s.
Angela and Miss Pringle:  Angela is another mother interacting on the playground; again the same actress will play Miss Pringle, who is Daisy’s concerned teacher.  She is probably a bit younger than the Principal, but age can still vary from late 20s to late 30s.
Cynthia and Susan:  Again, these roles are to be played by the same actress.  These two characters are perhaps the most sympathetic in the play.  Both are in their mid to late 20s.  Cynthia is quite pregnant when we first see her but not so much later; she would probably make a good mother if she could solve some of life’s practical problems.  Susan, whom we meet late in the play, is also going to be a great mother–because she has reasoning faculties.
Rachael’s Note:  In the original production(s) the roles of Nanny, Kate, the Principal, Cynthia, Angela, Miss Pringle and Susan were all played by only two actresses.  I intend to double the roles as above, adding two more actresses to the mix and, hopefully, giving sharper and more specific edges to these characters.

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