We want to thank Andrea Chapman Day for her contribution to the CET website design, as well as Greg Johnson of IowaCityWebDesignArtist.com. Mary Vasey was also an essential contributor to the website design.
Website Designers
Reply
Media Review: Iowa City Press Citizen, “‘A different kind of holiday show’ hits the stage” (15 December 2011)
Below is an article from the Iowa City Press Citizen, Dec. 15, 2011 , “‘A different kind of holiday show’ hits the stage” [source]
* * *
City High and University of Iowa students, along with community members, will come together on stage this weekend for a performances of “Vaudeville Dreams.”
This original play is present by Combined Efforts Theatre, a nonprofit organization that gives performers with and without special needs an outlet to perform original plays.
Jason Grubbe, the show’s director, describes the show as a drama with comedic elements and music.
“It’s a different kind of holiday show. It has comedy, pathos, compelling characters and a compelling storyline,” Grubbe said.
The story follows a boy who used his imagination to create a world of Vaudeville performances in order to try to make sense of his world.
“Without a spoiler, it is a story about the judgments that we make on what we consider to be reality and how we make sense of that through our dreams and imaginations,” said Janet Schlapkohl, the writer of the show and founder of Combined Efforts.
Schlapkohl, a former special education teacher at City High and MFA playwright candidate at UI, opened Combined Efforts Theatre in 2002 to give people with special needs an outlet to perform.
“I found the overwhelming talent of my students, who could sing and dance and wanted to be on stage, to be inspiring,” she said.
Schlapkohl says “Vaudeville Dreams” can evoke different emotions in different people.
“It can be humorous, surprising, not maybe what people expected,” Schlapkohl said. “They might find some aspects of the play sad or poignant.”
The performance opened at UI last weekend and will gain additional actors from City High this weekend. The basic storyline is the same, but the City High performance includes additional vaudevillian aspects. Schlapkohl said last weekend’s show was a success.
“Audience response was the highlight for me because it was satisfying not just to me, but to the actors as well,” Schlapkohl said.
City High students are excited to have an opportunity to participate in this production.
“It’s a great opportunity for students in special education. It gives them an opportunity to work in a theater,” said Sophie Neems, a City High senior. “It’s also great for me because I get to work with a diverse group of people.”
Grubbe, a professional actor, has been working on shows with Combined Efforts for the last few years. His son, who has special needs, introduced him to the organization.
“It’s rewarding to help them in a situation that allows their talents to come out,” Grubbe said.
Vaudeville Dreams
About the play: A boy uses his imagination to create a world of Vaudeville performances in order to try to make sense of his mother’s losing battle. He blends the things he sees and hears on the radio, from friends, his special education teacher, and others he meets even briefly to make a world he can control because he cannot control his mother’s fight. The audience sees the world of Vaudeville as he does on occasion, but also tracks his story in what we consider reality.
Review: Iowa Theatre Blog, “Only One More Performance of Powerful Triangle” (8 October 2011)
The following is a reprint of the review of Triangle provided by Gerry Roe of the Iowa Theatre Blog.
* * *
Iowa City – The story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factor Fire on March 25, 1911, is legendary. At the time, it was one of New York City’s greatest disasters, with 146 (some sources say 147) people dead, some by smoke inhalation, some by fire, and many who chose to leap to their death from the top three floors of the building. Most of those who died in the fire were recent immigrants, predominantly Jewish and Irish women, many in their twenties, some as young as 14.
How do you stage a disaster like this on a small stage with limited resources? You get Janet Schlapkohl to write it, that’s how, and Jason Grubbe to direct it. With a small cast, key characters doubling in contrasting roles, and an exceptional commitment to telling a story, the play makes us think as well as feel.
Heidi Biebler plays Essie Schilman, a recent immigrant from Germany and a Triangle factory girl as well as Irene Clemmens, a Vassar student who is not, we eventually learn, a typical Vassar girl from a wealthy family. Claire Wool doubles as a Russian immigrant labor organizer and Alva Schneider, a Vassar student organizer. Ali Heath doubles as a Russian immigrant factory girl and a Vassar student. Clarissa Jolly more than doubles as a NLPCP organizer, Methodist Episcopal Church member, and a Vassar College employee. Megan Reif and Katherine Smith double as Italian immigrant factory girls Josephine and Francesca and as Vassar girls. Ryann Sirois doubles as factory girl Esther, a German immigrant, and as a Vassar girl. Rounding out the cast are Alex Grubbe as a shop foreman, Kalvin Goodlaxson as a Policeman, Spencer Rideout as Luigi, brother of Josephine and Francesca, and Evie Stanske as a street vendor.
Sound confusing? Well, it isn’t because the writing and direction, not to mention the acting, keep it all straight for us. The characterizations are extremely well drawn and executed. Safe in the audience, we all knew what was happening and whom we were watching. We see the gradual awakening to exploitation and the inchoate union movement. We even see striking workers, gulled by promises the employers had no intention of fulfilling.
The real tragedy of the play is that the fire need not have claimed all these lives. Exit doors were locked, some doors opened inward so the crush of desperate workers prevented anyone from escaping, the fire escape could not bear the weight of multiple bodies, pulling away from the building and sending the workers precipitately to their death.
This is a grim topic for a play but the magic of theatre prevents us from leaving the performance defeated and depressed. I don’t want to reveal the wonderful ending of the play, our last glimpse of the six factory girls we have come to know, but I will tell you it is powerfully effective and will stay with you.
The play will be presented again tonight (Saturday) at 7:00 p.m. by Combined Efforts Theatre. See it if you can; it is a remarkable accomplishment.
Directions: Take Highway 1 in Southwest Iowa City toward Kalona. Turn left (South) on Maier Avenue (gravel). It takes an S curve and winds past a subdivision (on the left). The first intersection is Osage. Turn right(West). It will be on the right, the only property on the road.
TRIANGLE: A Play About the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
TRIANGLE: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was a horrific, heart-breaking event in early twentieth century America. It was the worst workplace disaster until 9/11. Fifty thousand people marched in the streets of New York after the tragic fire. The repercussions of the needless and preventable deaths of the young women who agreed to a strike settlement after enduring fourteen weeks of bitter cold and hunger on the picket lines the previous winter galvanized public opinion.
The links of labor corruption, and industry abuse reverberate today as advantage is taken of those whose situations create a lack of choice.
The play focuses on a small group of women whose lives are impacted by the larger events of garment workers strike, and subsequent fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. The relationship between the women uncloaks the influences of family, race, nationality, religion and social status, and education.
Cast members are doubled for a compelling argument about social justice, zealous politics and personal relationships. Prestigious society matrons, socialists, college students, and suffragists wove an agenda then tear at the fabric, that bound them in America. The play explores on a personal level, the friendships and private lives of the women.
* * *
TRIANGLE by Janet Schlapkohl
October 7 and 8 at 7:00 PM
3418 Osage SW, Iowa City
Combined Efforts Theatre presents a unique Immersion Event. The performance places the audience members in the midst of the action on the streets and in a shirtwaist factory of 1911 New York City. This special event celebrates the lives of the young women of the TRIANGLE.
Tickets available at the door -$8.00 ($5.00 for audience members arriving in period costume) or reserve by calling 319-354-3369.
Halloween Writing Competition!!
Combined Efforts Theatre is seeking short scripts or original songs to be performed as part of an evening of Halloween-related theatre. Scripts may be scary or comical. Or both!
Selected pieces will be performed outdoors on Saturday, October 29. A celebration (with bonfire) will follow the performance.
Guidelines:
- All submitted work should be 3-5 minutes in length. Please time your work before submitting it.
- Include contact information (name, address, email address, phone) with your submission.
- All submitted work must be original or in public domain.
- All entries will be read by the CET artistic committee. Unfortunately it will not be possible for the committee to provide feedback and entries will not be returned.
- Plays will be performed outdoors. Keep production needs simple. Think costumes and props instead of lights and special effects.
- The artistic director may require small revisions to selected entries.
- All rights remain with the author.
To submit:
- Email submissions via attachment to combinedeffortstheatre@gmail.com.
- Put “Halloween” in the subject line.
- All entries must be submitted by midnight on October 14.
Review from: Iowa Theatre Blog (6 August 2011)
IOWA THEATRE BLOG (6 August 2011)
“Mystery at the Country Fair-Sweet as Pie”
Iowa City – Android GPS is only as smart as you tell it to be. So, if for some reason you manage to type in the wrong address, it seems likely that you will find yourself on the wrong side of the city looking for a farm that just isn’t there. The show was a minute from starting as I finally arrived at the farm where Mystery at the County Fair was being held. With a sigh of relief and a silent “Thank You” to the sky for letting the rain stop, I took my seat in front of the large wrap-around porch decorated in American flags and patriotic paraphernalia. It was a step right back to the county fairs of my youth.
Writers Kate Aspengren, Mary Vasey and Janet Shlapkohl brought to life a glimpse of rural Iowa tradition and tailored their work to the lives and memories of anyone who has knowledge of small town life and county fairs. The characters are people that could have been pulled right out of my own head. They were relatable, realistic and funny!
Throw in some adorable goats and there are more than enough laughs and “awwws’ to last all evening.
There were many actors in the show who were just a blast to watch. Mary Vasey, playing Nancy, the wife of the fair organizer. With her slowly emptying bottle of hard cider, she showed a feisty, down-to-earth view of life. Rip Russell and Kathy Maxey, who played 2 Hollywood TV producers in search of Americas Best County Fair, wandered into the first scene much like myself, with unusable GPS-enabled cell phones.
They each gave their best to play the out of place “city folk” Katherine Smith as Agnes Lola Hammer – always second best – showed her character’s sweetness and frustration as she struggled to understand why she was destined to be the runner-up in everything she endeavored.
This is the first time I have ever experienced this particular style of show. Each scene was played at a different location around the farm and as the actors moved through the farm the audience followed. We were led to each destination by a barbershop style quintet. The intermittent music in this show was enjoyable and fitting. Several of the main characters were given small songs to sing during each scene, adding a nice variety to the show and keeping the audience entertained and on our toes.
This is a short show, shorter than I expected, and I found this refreshing! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a 3-hour musical as much as the next thespian but I don’t feel that every piece of theatre needs to be long and complicated to be enjoyable. There weren’t any unnecessary scenes to draw out the action, the characters all rounded out their purposes and the audience got an hour-long slice of theatre – forgive the expression – sweeter than apple pie.
With only one more show Saturday August 6th at 7:00PM, I highly recommend you take an hour of your evening and drive out to see this great little show. Mystery at the County Fair is playing at 3418 Osage st SW, Iowa city, just a short drive off of Hwy 1. Tickets are available at the gate and more information about Combined Efforts Theatre can be found at www.combinedefforts.org.
