Director Krista Neumann has announced her cast for the upcoming production of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, coming in October.
Eddie Carbone, Rip Russell
Beatrice, Kathy Maxey
Catherine, Angelique VanDorpe
Rudolfo, Aaron Brewer
Alfieri, Demetrios Hadjis
Marco, Kevin Moore
Louis, Brian Tanner
Mike, Kobe E. Reese Sr.
Tony, Thomas Henrich
Immigration Officer 1, Tom Aprile
Immigration Officer 2, Brad Quinn
Mr Lipari, Nelson Gurll
Mrs Lipari, Jill VanDorpe
Two submarines (illegal aliens), Thomas Henrich and Dennis Aska
Neighbors, Elizabeth Ross, Jackie Allen

9 Parts of Desire—A Portrait of Iraqi Women in the Shadow of War—Opens at the Riverside Festival Stage, August 19th.

9 Parts of Desire Poster

Dreamwell Theatre and Iowa City Community Theatre have joined forces to produce 9 Parts of Desire, a portrait of the besieged, broken, uplifting and extraordinary experiences of nine Iraqi women living in a country overshadowed by war. Rachel Howell directs the critically-acclaimed work.

Playwright Heather Raffo, an Iraqi-American, gathered material from hours of interviews with Iraqi women. The resulting work deftly and poetically weaves the stories of a sensual and complicated artist, a radical communist, a doctor embittered by unimaginable horrors, a woman who sells scavenged items to survive, a ceremonial leader of mourning, an elderly exile, a questioning young girl, a mother longing for lasting affection from a man, a caretaker of a memorial, and an Iraqi-American living in New York during 9-11.

Originally produced as a one-woman show, Howell cast nine area actresses in the show.

“I saw this as an opportunity to lend distinct voices to these beautiful, heartrending characters,” says Howell. “The roles absolutely demand compassion, vulnerability and humor, making this a unique showcase for the diverse female talent in our community.”

9 Parts of Desire will be performed August 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28 (Extra show added Sunday, 8/29!) at the Riverside Festival Stage in City Park at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 general, $10 seniors and $8 students, available at the performance. Cash or check only please.

For more information visit www.dreamwell.com or www.iowacitycommunitytheatre.com

Reviews for 9 Parts of Desire:

“The voices are a study in contrasts: vivid and subdued, sophisticated and naive, seductive and standoffish. But they cohere to form a powerful collective portrait of suffering and endurance in Nine Parts of Desire, Heather Raffo’s impassioned theatrical documentary about the lives of contemporary Iraqi women.”–Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

“An example of how art can remake the world and eloquently name pain. . .the play brings news of the psychic life of the brutalized and allows us to think about the unthinkable.”–John Lahr, The New Yorker

THE CAST:
Amal—Jen Gerbyshak
The American—Angie Toomsen
The Doctor—Ashley Yates
Huda—Meg Dobbs
Iraqi Girl—Ottavia De Luca
Layal—Sarah Jarmon
Mullaya—Robyn McCright
Nanna—Mary Haaf Wedemeyer
Umm Ghada—Kathy Maxey

DreamHome Poster

For 13 years, we have produced many, many great productions without a “store front.” Our vision (and our audiences) have continued to grow. It’s time for us to expand our programming in a way that only a dedicated space can facilitate!

On Thursday, June 3rd, please join us at the delightful North Ridge Pavilion to help kick off “DreamHome,” a campaign to fund our move to a dedicated space. This event is an evening of music, food, drinks and monologues written and performed by local artists.

Performers will include: Janet Schlapkohl, Rachael Lindhart, Jason Grubbe, Matt Falduto, Brian Tanner, Maggie Conroy, Becca Robinson, Cheryl Walsh and Kate Thompson.

…and featuring the open mic piano stylings of Josh Sazon!

Tickets are $20, available at White Rabbit in Downtown Iowa City or contact a Dreamwell board member through our Facebook account, website or Tweet us at @dreamwell.

Get your tickets today!

We have had an outstanding past year and would love to be recognized so please go to City Voter, sign up and VOTE!!

because this...this should never have happened.

Dreamwell Theatre continues its “Season of Taboo Bijou” with Blackbird by David Harrower. Blackbird will play at 10 S. Gilbert Street March 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m.

READ OUR FANTASTIC REVIEW OF OPENING WEEKEND.

Fifteen years ago, a series of encounters happened between Una and Ray that should never have happened. Ray was 40. Una was 12. They haven’t seen one another since. When Una tracks Ray down and shows up at his place of work, both of them are faced with the shattering—and unexpected–consequences of trespassed innocence.

Blackbird received the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The New York Post says, “This haunting, powerful, incendiary work is the sort of daring theater far too absent from our stages these days.” The Associated Press called it a “fascinating and unnerving ninety-minute cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and sexual intrigue, with genuine theatricality and undeniable shock value.”

Blackbird features Erin Mills as Una and Rip Russell as Ray. Angie Toomsen directs. Rich Riggleman is the technical director.

Due to language and adult themes, Blackbird is intended for mature audiences.

Tickets are $12 regular, $10 senior, and $8 student. Reservations can be made at www.dreamwell.com or 319-541-0140.

Opens November 13th

The Playboy of the Western World Poster

Concluding its “Season of Inciting Theatre,” Dreamwell Theatre presents “Playboy of the Western World” by J.M. Synge on November 13, 14, 20, and 21 with all performances at 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society (at Iowa Avenue and Gilbert Street). Directed by Rich Riggleman and assistant directed by Meg Dobbs. Tickets are $12 regular, $10 senior, and $8 student. Reservations can be made at www.dreamwell.com or 319-541-0140.

When young renegade Christy Mahon stumbles into a remote pub on the Irish coast he soon catches the eye of every woman around with his daring story, including the innkeeper’s beautiful daughter Pegeen Mike. Christy is on the run after murdering his father and now women chase him everywhere, Pegeen begins to fall in love with him, and life is good… until his father turns up to tell his side of the story!

First produced in 1907, this play sent shock waves through the dramatic world, pushing the limits of decency and stoking an already red-hot nationalistic fire. Though met with near instant rioting and controversy, it is now considered a masterpiece of poetic drama. The cast is led by Kevin Moore as Christy and Ottavia De Luca as Pegeen.

Cast
(in order of appearance)
Pegeen Mike………………………………………….Ottavia De Luca
Shawn……………………………………………………….Brad Quinn
Michael………………………………………………………Tom Aprile
Philly……………………………………………………..John Crosheck
Jimmy……………………………………………………….Gary Tyrrell
Christy ……………………………………………….K. Michael Moore
Widow Quinn…………………………………………..Robyn McCright
Susan…………………………………………………………..Erin Mills
Nelly……………………………………………………Elizabeth Dobbs
Sara………………………………………………………Elisabeth Ross
Old Mahon…………………………………………………Brian Tanner

Dreamwell has produced original plays in the past, but this is the first time they have ever had a competition. “We wanted to try something new to encourage Iowa playwrights,” said co-Artistic Director Chuck Dufano. “We’ve always been committed to producing original work. Hopefully, this festival will be a good vehicle to make that happen.” Plays should be emailed to joust@dreamwell.com by March 1, 2010. The specifics are listed below.

-Playwright must either currently live in Iowa, or have significant ties to the state
-Must be a full length play – 2 hour running time at most
-Please keep the set simple
-Please provide a cover sheet with the following information: Name, Email, Phone number, Title of play, How the play fits the theme, Character list
-Must have never been performed before, not including staged readings
-Send as Word document or .pdf

Email submissions to joust@dreamwell.com.

Twenty -four actors (on a first-come, first-served basis) needed for the 2009 All-In-a-Day Theatre Festival at the historic Englert Theatre. Dreamwell Theatre and City Circle Acting Company of Coralville will once again join forces for their second annual collaboration.

The end result: 6 brand new 10 minute plays written, created, and then performed at the historic Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

Last year’s event was a smashing success and this year we’ve upped the ante with a new venue. The directors and writers have been chosen, but we still need actors. We have 24 roles available on a first come, first serve basis. To reserve a slot, you must submit the form below.

Dreamwell and City Circle’s
All In a Day Theatre Festival Actor Form

Time commitment: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Friday, July 31, and 8:00 am – 11:00 pm Saturday August 1.
By submitting this, I am committing to acting in the Festival.

Thanks to all who participated!