Transcripts
The show must go on
We were displaced from our building for the fall semester. To a certain extent we tried to take it more philosophically because as theater artists we do theater wherever we can or have to—the actual costume shop itself is now in Studio Arts [Building].
We immediately started conversations talking about what we were going to do with the next season. What was most immediate, what was the most obvious was that we had to postpone. So we didn’t do our first show in that first slot and the first show that opened was not until November.
At the same time, almost immediately we started to plan how soon we could get back into the building. So much of theater is about community building and you come together as this group. You get all comfortable with one another and then you put on a performance for an outside audience. You have to have a solid foundation and then you present on top of that—so finding ways to do that outside of our building was an interesting process throughout the fall. But it becomes easier and I think it was easier for the students when we got back into the building.
We started back in that last week of the semester, and everybody was excited. It really was kind of a celebration, kind of a coming home and unpacking. Part of it, too, for those of us in design, our offices face the river. Just visually, I think, the difference between being able to look at that river every day when we come in and seeing the different changes in the river, we’ve all talked about it—we can watch the eagles come in and land, and dusk and dawn sometimes, all kinds of changes that go on with the river. So I think almost feel a little bit of a kinship with it, and so it was sort of nice to be back in that environment again.
Audio File
Here is a link to the slideshow audio file.
Photo Gallery
Theatre seats bagged in plastic.
Students constructing a theatre set.
Students working on set construction. Theatre seats bagged in plastic in background.
Production staff make props.
Young woman backstage painting a theatre set piece with a broom-like brush.
Old-fashioned family photos made for a stage set.
Lighting crew working backstage. Many ropes and levers visible.
Costume shop manager, Bonnie Jenkins (retired), looking over the shoulder of the intimate apparel designer, Jeanette Porter.
Scene from the costume shop. Five dress forms visible. Student stands on a ladder and hunts for supplies from a high box as another woman sews.
Closeup of corset.
Industrial spools of thread.
Loyce Arthur sits on plastic-covered theatre seat watching rehearsal. Two woman are on stage.
Two woman rehearse a scene.
Director Tisch Jones sits with her feet up on one of the bagged theatre seats watching rehearsal.
One woman touches the arm of another as they gaze at each other.
Two actors laugh on stage as several people look on from the audience.
A man and a woman on stage. An empty wine bottle and two glasses are in the foreground.
Stage manager works on a computer during rehearsal. Two actors are on stage in the background.
Member of the stage crew silhouetted with a broom . Family photos hang in the background as part of the set.
Young man buttons his shirt in the dressing room while another jokes at his side.
Young woman in a dressing room applies makeup from a compact.
Two female actors on stage. One, dressed in Victorian garb, trims a thread from the other woman's corset.
Three women on stage. Staircase and family photos are in the background.
Two women in Victorian costumes sit on an ottoman on stage.
Woman wearing a corset with garters sits on a bed with a patchwork quilt.
Links to other slideshow transcript/gallery pages:
- Isabel Barbuzza: Artists find unity in revamped facility
- Gayle Blevins: Softball squad makes spring splash
- Chris Coretsopoulos: Researchers scramble out of high-tech home
- Keri Hornbuckle: Engineering students embrace educational opportunity
- Renée Houser: Finding a place for displaced classes
- Julia Howell: Iowa City welcomes myriad musicians
- Nancy Kraft: UI Libraries lend hand to preservation efforts
- Rod Lehnertz: Living with the river remains a priority
- Ferman Milster: Power Plant surges back after shutdown
- Kate Tomka: Students choose service over spring break
- Larry Weber: Mitigation group boasts expertise from across campus