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Now playing
ISU Theatre presents two plays at the same time.
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Death, taxes and ISU Theatre's performing schedule.
If you can count on death and taxes, it's been a pretty sure bet that
you can also predict when ISU Theatre students will be on the Fisher Theater
stage.
Runs of ISU Theatre's shows typically play over two consecutive weekends,
with performances set for Friday and Saturday evenings and a Sunday afternoon
matinee.
The performances in the evening and Sunday afternoon have remained the
same.
But you can no longer count on the same play showing over the three consecutive
days.
The ISU Theatre productions of "True West" and "Dearly
Departed" are currently in rep at the Fisher Theater. "True
West" opened earlier this month and still has a show set for Dec.
4. "Dearly Departed" premiered a week later and will conclude
on Dec. 3 and 5.
"Because of the academic calendar this year and the way Thanksgiving
week fell, we had to do shows at the same time in order to fit in three
shows this semester," said Robin Stone, ISU Theatre faculty member
and the director of "Dearly Departed." "We've never done
this since I have been here and so far it hasn't been that difficult."
That doesn't mean there haven't been challenges in producing two shows
at the same time. The costumes and sets for both plays were designed by
the same individuals.
And one student, Rachel Rhoades, has roles in both "True West"
and "Dearly Departed."
Then there is the time off between shows.
"We’ll do several brush-ups and read throughs before we close in
December," said Patrick Gouran, ISU Theatre faculty member who is
directing "True West." "We have a long time - three weeks
- between our closing and reopening."
Gouran and Stone both agree that the lines will come back to the performer
regardless of the timeframe between the shows.
"I once had to do a play two years after playing the same character
in the previous show," Gouran said, "and the lines came right
back to me. I suspect that will be the case with these actors. They'll
slip right back into character without much difficulty."
"True West" and "Dearly Departed" are different types
of plays. A black comedy, "Dearly Departed" explores the cultural
traditions and mores of rural life in the American South, including mobile
homes and mullets.
Sam Shepard's "True West" is a contemporary family drama set
in Southern California. The play follows two vastly different brothers
who return home while their mother is out of town. The younger brother,
Austin, is a college graduate and professional screenwriter. His brother,
Lee, is a desert-dwelling petty thief.
"The two brothers are totally, completely and utterly different,"
Gouran said.
Austin is working on an original screenplay, but his older brother has
a story that the movie’s producer likes much better - an archetypal and
trashy western. The producer scraps plans for Austin's script and asks
the younger brother to write the screenplay for Austin's idea.
"This causes a lot of jealousy and anger between the two brothers,"
Gouran said. "It's more than just a story of brotherly conflicts
though. Sam Shepard's work brings out basic emotional aspects of human
beings and 'True West' is not exception."
By contrast, "Dearly Departed" revolves around the death of
the patriarch of a poor Southern family. The struggle to get him buried
involves the whole family including the not-so-grieving widow who wants
to put "Mean and Surly" on the tombstone.
Amidst the chaos, the Turpin family turns to their friends and neighbors
for help through the funeral.
"'Dearly Departed' is an extremely funny, if somewhat satirical look
at a very dysfunctional family in the South," Stone said. "It's
a humorous look at the complex nature of family relationships. While the
play is set in contemporary times, many of the characters' mindsets are
still in the '50s and some in the '80s."
Tickets for both shows are $13 for adults, $12 for seniors and $7 for
students and children. All ISU Theatre tickets are available at the Iowa
State Center Ticket office at 515-294-3347.
"True West"
"Dearly Departed"
Around LAS
November 15 to December 5, 2004
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