Playboy of the Western World

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 Theatre is accepting submissions for our first ever playwriting competition. The Dreamwell Writers Joust: A Fear Festival will feature a full production of the winning play in December 2010 as well as staged readings of two or three runners-up. The winner will also receive a $100 cash prize. In order to fit in with the theme of the 2010 season, “Taboo Bijou,” the submitted plays should reflect the following theme: subjects we fear to talk about. “There are lots of subjects people are sometimes afraid to talk about,” said Dreamwell founder Matt Falduto. “Death, racism, sex… but don’t think we just want serious plays. Comedies that tackle taboo subjects are more than welcome, too!”

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.