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Welcome to ISU Theatre’s 2021-22 Season! Theatre is fellowship. Theatre is communion. Theatre is grace. Theatre is empathy. Theatre is family. Theatre is community. Theatre is joy. Theatre is catharsis. Theatre is LOVE. We are so grateful to continue to engage in this profound ritual with one another and all of you!
Thank you for your support of ISU Theatre and our students, faculty, and staff over the last year while we innovated and experimented to bring nine different theatrical events to life in the virtual realm.
As we emerge from such an isolated and challenging “nowtimes,” we invite you to share in the magic of gathering together once again to explore the stories of our gorgeous humanity and wonderous world. This season presents tales of revolution, transformation, community, friendship, passion, joy, and so much more!
Some of this season will feel very familiar: five productions performed in Fisher Theater, including a classic American opera, a spring musical, and a modern adaptation of Our Town. But as Arudahati Roy said in March 2020, “the pandemic is a portal” - and we remain committed to the forever journey of creating an “aftertimes” that is more just, inclusive, reflective of and connected to our community. And so, we will also be performing two productions – Climate Change Theatre Action and the puppet extravaganza Iowa Insect Pageant at various locations throughout the community. In addition, we are empowering our students by elevating the student-led One-Act Festival to a central place in the season. And for the first time ever, tickets for all ISU Theatre shows will be free for ISU students and youth.
While so much remains uncertain, we treasure the blessing of coming together – to share our stories, to commune with one another, to reflect on what was, and imagine all that can be! Thank you for continuing to join us on this journey of emergence, exploration, and renewal.
Much love and joy!
Brad Dell
Chair, Department of Music and Theatre
Climate Change Theatre Action
September and October 2021
Climate Change Theatre Action is a series of performances and events that will bring community members together to imagine--and plan--a more hopeful and sustainable future. In partnership with the Iowa State MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment, the EcoTheatre Lab and the International Climate Change Theatre Action Initiative (CCTA). All performances free. Click here for performance dates and times throughout the Ames community.
Corners Grove
October 14-17, 2021
A story about growing up, hometown, friendships, and drinking in parking lots.
A reverent nod to OUR TOWN, this play follows a group of young people in the town of Corners Grove from high school into adulthood as they deal with leaving home, falling in love, gender identity, and the death of Whitney Houston.
Street Scene
November 12-14, 2021
An epic, tragic, joyful opera about community.
In collaboration with ISU Opera Studio and the ISU Symphony Orchestra.
Youthful desire, forbidden love, and brutal vengeance simmer to an explosion in the diverse melting pot of a 1940s New York City tenement. As the heat of the day builds, a family is pushed to an eruption that changes the community forever. Soaring operatic arias and duets rub shoulders with jazz and the jitterbug. With numbers such as ‘Lonely House’ and ‘Moon-faced, Starry-eyed’, it’s no wonder thatStreet Scenewas awarded Best Original Score at the first Tony Awards in 1947.
Contains adult content and language.
One-Act Play Festival
March 3-6, 2022
Contemporary shows, new directors, bold and refreshing.
Experience the fresh perspectives and innovative talents of ISU Theatre studentdirectors! For the first time, our annual Advanced Directing One-Act Play Festival stars in our season lineup. Multiple one-acts will be performed nightly. Witness the bold and daring storytelling of our incredible students!
Contains adult content and language.
Produced by Advanced Directing Students.
Untitled Baba Yaga Musical
April 7-10, 2022
A vibrant new musical, reimagining a classic Russian fairy tale, developed and workshopped here at ISU!
When Sylvie, a teenage girl with a passion for the environment, realizes her new stepmother comes from a family made rich from deforestation, the girl’s only hope in saving all she holds dear is venturing deep into woods. Racing against time, Sylvie must earn the trust of the mythical witch Baba Yaga to intervene with her magic before it is too late. Weaving in enchanting Americana music and issues of the contemporary climate crisis this story asks us all: What do we do when our own forest is under threat?
Iowa Insect Pageant
April 2022
A puppetry extravaganza celebrating and enlarging some of Iowa's smallest creatures.
Bees and butterflies and beetles, oh my! Flying, swimming, crawling, and climbing, insects are all around us. In this uniques interdisciplinary, multiform, insect extravaganza, some of our smallest Iowa neighbors will be made large through puppetry. This collaboration with the Iowa State Department of Entomology is an experience for all ages.
Performed in the Ames Community. Check this space for dates and times.
Free and open to all.