If you haven’t seen it yet (or if you just want to laugh it up this weekend) come join us for the second weekend of Krista Neumann’s production of Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water.  Not quite convinced?  Go read this review on the Iowa Theater Blog!

http://iowatheatre.blogspot.com/2012/05/by-matthew-falduto-icct-sometimes-when.html

We can’t wait to see you there!

The ICCT Board Nominating Committee has come up with the following slate of Officers and At-Large Members for the 2012-13 Board of Directors:

President – Roxy Running
Vice-President – Brenda Christner
Secretary – Beverly E. Mead
Treasurer – David Roe
Past-President – Jill VanDorpe

At-Large, 2012-13 – Steve Hedlund, Reed Perkins
At-Large, 2012-14 – Joseph Anderson, Kristian Leitzen, Peter Weyer

Molly Prout remains to fulfill the second year of her two-year term, 2011-13.

Voting will take place at the Spring Membership Meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
2012 Board Nominating Committee
Jeffrey Allen Mead, Chair; Jennifer Brown, Kehry Anson Lane, Maria Schroeder, Paul VanDorpe

Don’t miss out on this hilarious comedy by Woody Allen!

Axel Magee (Reed Perkins) and the Hollander family (Rip Russell, Lois Crowley, and Elizabeth Litman)

Ever had one of those weeks? All Walter Hollander and his family wanted to do was tour Europe on holiday, but their vacation plans take a turn for the worse when they accidently take photos of a restricted area of the nation of Vulgaria. Mistaken identities, espionage charges and madcap escape plans ensue. Don’t miss the mayhem of ICCT’s Don’t Drink the Water!

April 27 at 7:30pm
April 28 at 7:30pm
April 29 at 2:00pm
May 4 at 7:30pm
May 5 at 7:30pm
May 6 at 2:00pm

Bill says:

I’m looking for actors and actresses for a 5 part video drama being produced for PATV18 in Iowa City. This project is specifically designed and written to be shot at various locations around the city and we are aiming for a spring and summer shoot at a flexible schedule. For an example of the kind of work that I have done look for Secret Fortunes being broadcast on PATV18 and on youtube. I am a graduate of the UI with a degree in theater arts and a published author. I am happy to answer any and all questions you have or meet with you at what ever time you find convenient. For more information on me look up Bill Albert Author, Secret Fortunes, or November Girl on facebook or www.starpointmountain.com

Questions: Contact Bill Albert at gallifrey@southslope.net

The word you are searching for is ‘farce’.

The Hollander family with Axel Magee (clockwise from top left: Rip Russell, Lois Crowley, Elizabeth Litman, and Reed Perkins)

It’s a highly developed art form. You know, one of those beyond-wildly improbable stories with boatloads of physical comedy. The situation is crazy, the characters make choices as if they were clinically insane, and the tangle of cross-purposes finally reaches a frenzied climax in which suddenly everything gets sorted out to all the good guys’ satisfaction. Like Clue, What’s Up Doc… or ICCT’s upcoming production of Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water.

Axel and Susan (Reed Perkins and Elizabeth Litman)

It’s just one of those days at the American Embassy in cold-war era Vulgaria. Just when the ambassador steps out on some business, leaving his hare-brained son Axel in charge, in rush the Hollanders, a family of American tourists, with a horde of Communist police hot on their heels. Add an embassy flunky, a crazed chef, an insulted Sultan and, of course, true love, and you may spend more time laughing than breathing! Don’t miss Don’t Drink the Water at the Johnson County Fairgrounds [April 27-28 & May 4-5 at 7:30pm and April 29 & May 6 at 2:00pm].

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, why not sign up to usher for our upcoming show? You can feel free to bring along some friends!

Otherwise, we’d love to have you come volunteer to help with anything that strikes your fancy, be it administration, props, costumes, tech, or fundraising. We can always use another pair of hands, and another set of eyes!

There’s just something about the creative process that seems more than a little mystical. How do painters, musicians and writers come up with something new? Ancient Greeks and Romans attributed the ability to fashion art of any type to the inspiration of ‘geniuses’—divine spirits that whispered creativity to the artist in his or her sleep. Now we’ve internalized this idea and call the artist a genius…if he or she can deliver the goods. We even turn successful artists into celebrities, following J.K. Rowling and Kanye West with flashbulbs and begging for autographs. It’s like we’ve assigned them the divinity that we no longer accord to the breath of dreams. But what happens when the human genius fails?

Go back to the spirits, if you’re Holly Edwards in House of Wonders, ICCT’s newest production. Holly (Jen Brown) has more than writer’s block; she has total information vacuum. An award-winning mystery writer, she accepted an advance on a new book about her deceased Great Aunt Myrta Jane (Kathy Maxey) and started investigating later—only to discover that there are absolutely no records and no one to interview. Now she’s missed one deadline, and is absolutely no closer to having anything remotely resembling a rough draft than when she started. Holly’s friends Chris (John Bednarik) and Rachel (Roxy Running) try to encourage her, but human genius has hit a dead end.

So Rachel suggests contacting the dead to see what they have to say.

Plenty, it turns out. Holly and Chris’s skepticism notwithstanding, Holly’s apartment is visited not only by her Aunt Myrta, but Myrta’s ex-husband Eugene (Chuck Dufano) and her friends Cree (Kaitlyn McCoy), Garthlene (Jill Van Dorpe) and Juneau Jim (Rip Russell), and hijinks ensue. The ghosts are chock-full of information, all right, but definitely not the information Holly was expecting! Now, is it information she can use?

House of Wonders has the special distinction of being written by local playwright, University of Iowa faculty member Kate Aspengren. I asked her why, as a writer, she chooses to write for the stage.

“Experiencing a play with an audience is one of the best things about writing for the theatre,” said Aspengren. “No two performances—and no two audiences—are ever the same, so every time is something brand new that will never be duplicated. And I’m also drawn to writing for the stage because of the immediacy of theatre. I think that allows our work to reach people in a way that isn’t always possible with other writing genres.”

To be a part of that irreplicable experience, join ICCT for Kate Aspengren’s House of Wonders, March 23, 24, 25 and 30, 31 and April 1. Performances are at the Johnson County Fair Grounds; Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30, Sunday matinees at 2:00. For tickets, visit West Music in Coralville, the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center in Iowa City, or at the theater on the day of the performance.

MR. KILROY – Brad Quinn
AMBASSADOR – Kim Qual
AXEL MCGEE – Reed Perkins
MARION – Lois Crowley
WALTER – Rip Russell
SUSAN – Elizabeth Litman
CHEF – Tara Acton
KROJACK – Ali Ajram
BURNS – Rebekah Kent
FATHER DROBNEY – Duane Larson
KASNAR – Brett Meyers
SULTAN OF BASHIR – Joseph Anderson
SULTAN’S WIFE – Rebecca Anderson
COUNTESS – Danielle Paulsen
Women in Burkas : Roxy Running, Jackie Allen, Susan Manuel

Sponsor of Gigi

https://www.uiccu.org/

Noel Vandenbosch as Gigi and Per Wiger as Gaston

Looking to liven up the chilly grey beginning of March? Ready to feel the spring arriving with something bright and fun? Then don’t forget to join ICCT at the Englert Theater for Gigi, an elegant and witty trip to turn-of-the-twentieth century Paris!

Enjoy the bubbly “The Night They Invented Champagne,” and the memorable “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.”

The orchestra is warming up, the actors are ready, we’re only looking for our audience!

Show dates and times are:

Thursday, March 1 at 7:30 pm
Friday, March 2 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 3 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 4 at 2 pm