Culture
LittleVillageMag.com
The highlight of the Sonnet Project for many, certainly, will be the April 23 marathon reading. Scheduled for the Weatherdance Fountain Stage on the Ped Mall, the event will offer a chance for theater artists and audiences to indulge something that has been denied to many for over a year now: the opportunity to gather and share words. The event will be livestreamed as well, for those who are unable to attend or who are still uncomfortable gathering. This experience, as well as the collaboration with Iowa City Poetry and Prompt Press on the Free Generative Writing Workshops and really, all of the programming for this month, are a proof of concept for Knight’s vision of a theater that reaches beyond itself. “One of the things I’ve been excited about since I’ve gotten to Riverside is surprising people,” Knight said, referencing productions like Men in Boats and Feast. that pushed the boundaries of how Riverside’s former Gilbert Street space could be used. But more than that, he said, “I love the idea of expanding the experience beyond what’s in the theater.” Part of the reason he was so thrilled with Neumann Monson Architects’ ideas and proposals for Riverside’s new home in the Crescent Block Building is, he said, that “this space gives us the opportunity to program more.” As he and the rest of Riverside’s core team collaborated with Neumann Monson to refine and expand those ideas, “The biggest thing I cared about was that it was a flexible space,” he said. With a dedicated elevator and first-floor entrance, the space will offer improved accessibility for both audiences and artists, also feeding Knight’s goal of expanding professional opportunities for the community. But pandemic aside, it will be months before the space is performance-ready, and in the meantime, as the past year has shown us, you can’t keep artists from making—or facilitating—art. Amidst a world of clamor and unrest The theater magnifies our very best Riverside’s youth programming has been a core facet of the larger community for years. Will Power, their regular Shakespeare outreach to schools, went virtual this year with a series of videos featuring the versatile and engaging Crystal Marie Stewart. Episode 10 centers on (you guessed it) sonnets, giving some framework for one core aspect of the Sonnet Project: the Youth Sonnet Contest. Writers in grades 7-12 have until April 23 to submit their original sonnet on the prompt of reflections on the past year (or hopes for the future). Two winners will be chosen—one 7th or 8th grade poet and one high schooler—and announced on April 30. Students can get some extra practice at the Free Youth Generative Sonnet Writing Workshop on April 11, led by Lisa Roberts of Iowa City Poetry and Jenny Colville of Prompt Press. The Sonnet Project offers a beautiful cross-disciplinary consideration of a form that, perhaps more than any other, serves as a link between theater and the more formally literary arts. From page to stage, it promises to be a delight. Genevieve Trainor never could choose between theater and poetry— and feels most comfortable in any circumstance where such a choice is rendered moot.
EDITORS’ PICKS: April 2021
EVENTS: April April 2021 Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 9-11
‘Acting Out While Staying In’: An Evening of Virtual Comedy,
City Circle Theatre Company (coralvillearts.org), all day, $12-17 Several of eastern Iowa’s most
beloved playwrights are behind this evening of short plays centered around the theme of the living room. The three original half-hour productions are “Working For A Laugh,” by Paul Story and Janet Schlapkohl; “... And Quarantine Makes Three,” by Brian Tanner; and “Scandinavian Death Cleaning,” by Christopher Okiishi. City Circle offers up comedy delights for you to enjoy from the comfort and safety of your own living room. Virtual theatre events around the CRANDIC: Friday, April 9
Friday and Saturday,
Fridays at 8 p.m.
at 7:30 p.m.
April 9-10 at 7:30
Out the Box readings,
‘Sonnets For An Old
p.m.‘The Tragical
titles TBD, Mirrorbox
Century,’ Riverside
History of Doctor
Theatre (mirror-
Theatre (riversidet-
Faustus,’ Iowa City
boxtheatre.com)
heatre.org), $10-15,
Community Theatre
available to stream
(@ICCT1956), dona-
Friday, April 16
through April 18
tions accepted, reser-
Zooming Into Spring,
vations required (also
Rich Heritage
showing Sunday,
of Cedar Rapids
April 11 at 2 p.m.)
Theatre Company (@ RHCRTheatre), donations accepted
48 April 2021 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV293
