Dazzling and Unique Blend of Puppetry, Technology and Dance As Seen on America's Got Talent

The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is thrilled to bring Lightwire Theater's production of DiNO-LIGHT to the Coralville on Tuesday, November 11, with a public performance at 6:30pm and a special 12:30pm matinee for school groups.

Created by Corbian Visual Arts and Dance, DiNO-Light (also known as Darwin the Dinosaur) is a heart-warming original story that features a friendly dinosaur who wanders away from home and discovers a world of creatures who light up the darkness and help him find the true meaning of love. The story is told through electroluminescent puppetry, music, sound, and movement and has delighted children and adults around the world.

Tickets for the 6:30pm performance on Tuesday, November 11 are $16 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under and are available online at coralvillearts.org, by phone at 319.248.9370, and in person at the CCPA box office and Coralville Rec Center.  Special group pricing is available for the 12:30pm matinee performance; those interested can learn more by calling 319.248.9372.

Corbian creators Ian Carney and Corbin Popp met while dancing in Twyla Tharp's Broadway show Movin' Out. They immediately connected over their mutual love of art, theater, and technology.  After they discovered a product called EL wire, they developed puppetry based creatures that quickly gained personality.  "EL wire" is short for electroluminescent wire: unlike black lights, the technology can be powered by batteries and requires no theatrical lighting.

Based in New Orleans, Lightwire Theater rose to national prominence through its appearance on America's Got Talent in 2012, where the group made it to the semi-finals, and has toured extensively.  Lightwire Theater will be competing on the truTV series FAKE OFF, which premieres on October 27.

Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events.  The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others.  Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 15 school events took place at the Center in the 2013-2014 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Celebration includes 8 new 10-minute plays September 20 and special performances of Sue Gilbert's Catchin' the Babies September 18 and 20

City Circle Acting Company of Coralville presents the 2014 New Play Festival on Saturday, September 20 at 7pm. City Circle will also remount Sue Gilbert's one-woman play about pioneer midwife Annie MacFarlane on Thursday, September 18 at 7:30pm and Saturday, September 20 at 2pm.  The Festival is sponsored by Cedar Rapids-based Heuer Publishing and celebrates emerging voices in theater.

All performances take place at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts at 1301 5^th Street in Coralville.  Tickets are $12; packages for both the New Play Festival and Catchin' the Babies are $20.  Tickets are available by phone at 319.248.9370, online at coralvillearts.org, and in person at the CCPA box office and Coralville Recreation Center (1506 8^th Street).

The Saturday evening performance will feature eight brand new 10-minute plays by writers with Iowa ties.  The plays present a wide variety of tone, styles, and subject matter.  Some contain adult themes and language.

Boy In A Cage by Catherine Shook, directed by Robyn Calhoun.
An allegory of what can happen when a man's sexuality is suppressed.

Hot In The Kitchen by Christopher Okiishi, directed by Elijah Jones
A radio cooking show staring high-energy, mildly naughty hosts Phil and Phyllis.

Lovely Wonderful Thoughts by Elizabeth Breed, directed by Mary Sullivan
What if Peter Pan came to a modern-day Darling family?

On the Possibilities of Endings by Jennifer Fawcett, directed by Scott Strode
A thoughtful look at the moment before leaving this world.

Shoving It In The Alleyway by Elijah Jones, directed by Patrick Du Laney
A comedic look at a drug deal gone wrong.

The Concentrated Masses by Duane Larson, directed by Adeara Jean Maurice
A farcical look at corporate America.

They Grow Up So Fast by Duane Larson, directed by Scott Strode
A father's hilarious attempt at sending his son out into the world.

Wednesday Night Witness by Amy White, directed by Liz Tracey
Two boys' disturbing conversation in the library.

Catchin' the Babies
As part of the New Play Festival week, City Circle is also presenting a remount of Sue Gilbert's award-winning play Catchin' the Babies on Thursday, September 18 at 7:30pm and Saturday, September 20 at 2pm.  Catchin' the Babies was developed through two previous New Play Festivals and is a glimpse into early pioneer life, as seen through the eyes of Annie MacFarlane, a half-Cherokee, half-Irish midwife. In February 2007, Catchin' the Babies competed in the Iowa Association of American Community Theatres Festival and won Best Play, Best Female Actor, and Best Set Design (Michael Blake).  It is directed by John Harper. 

About the playwrights

Elizabeth Breed is an Iowa City native; her first show was produced at City High when she was fifteen.  She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where more of her plays premiered.  She has performed in both the Iowa City area and in her current home of St. Louis, Missouri.

Jennifer Fawcett is an Iowa City based writer and the Associate Artistic Director of Working Group Theatre.  Her most recent play for WGT, Out of Bounds, was awarded the NEFA National Theatre Project Award.  Other plays for WGT include The Broken Chord (Hancher commission), After Ana (In the Raw Series/Englert), The Toymaker's War, Atlas Of Mud, Telling: Iowa City (co-written with Jonathan Wei) and Odysseus Iowa (co-written with Sean Lewis).  Her play Birth Witches premiered at Riverside Theatre and was nominated for the ATCA/Steinberg Award.  She was the NNPN Emerging-Playwright-In-Residence at Curious Theatre Company (Denver) and is the winner of the National Science Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center.  A graduate of the University of Iowa MFA Playwrights Workshop, Jennifer's plays have been produced at the Tennessee Women's Theatre Project (Nashville), The Drilling Company (New York), Riverside Theatre (Iowa City), Available Light Theatre (Columbus), the Adirondack Theatre Festival (Glens Falls, NY), Alcyone Festival (Chicago), Theatre Masters (Aspen/West Palm Beach), the Hatchery Festival (Washington, DC) and in festivals across Canada.

Formally a stalwart of the Iowa City Community Theatre and then a founding member City Circle Acting Company, Sue Gilbert has worked in theatres all over the Midwest as an actor, director, designer, costumer and now playwright.  She has appeared on stage in shows as diverse as The Rocky Horror Show, The Lion in Winter, A Little Night Music, Gypsy, Come Back Little Sheba and The Boys Next Door.  Sue is also a historical re-enactor across three centuries teaching children and adults about the lives and skills of our ancestors.  Her work as a re-enactor led to writing Catchin' the Babies, the family stories about her 2x Great Grandmother that became a play.

Elijah Jones is a recent graduate of Iowa City High School.  He got his first stage experience at The Second City Training Center in Chicago and has performed for City Circle and other local theater groups for the last four years.

Duane Larson lives in Cedar Rapids and has previously had plays produced for TCR's Underground Festival and MVLCT's Slices of Life, and has been a member of the Black Dogger's playwriting group. Duane has performed with TCR, MVLCT, ICCT, and Usher's Ferry Theatre, among others.

Christopher Okiishi is a native Iowan and over 20 year resident of Iowa City.  His work has been seen at Riverside Theater (Walking the Wire), SPT Theater (Tales from the Writer's Room), No Shame Theater (including seven "Best of" and one "Best of Best of" events), and Working Group Theater (Was the Word).  His play Faithless was made into an independent film in 2001.  He divides his days between four mental health facilities as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Catherine Shook is a senior at the University of Iowa, focusing on creative writing.  She had her playwriting debut last year at the University's 10 minute play festival with her piece Just One Puff and recently completed a staged reading of Too Few To Mention for the fall non-mainstage season.

Amy White of Mt. Vernon is a member of the Black Doggers playwriting group and serves on the board of directors of Mt Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre.  Her plays and monologues have been produced locally bu MVLCT, Dreamwell, City Circle and Riverside, and by groups as far as Kansas City and Madison.  Her most recent production was Someone Who Knew Her, based on the 1959 murder of Lisbon teenager Marlene Padfield.  Amy is a volunteer speech coach at Mt Vernon High School and director of the Lisbon Public Library.

YOUNG FOOTLITERS HOLDING AUDITIONS FOR THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE JULY 9 & 10

Youth Entering Grades 4-12 Encouraged to Audition for September Production

Young Footliters invites youth entering grades 4-12 to audition for the September 12-14 production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, adapted by Joseph Robinette from the C.S. Lewis novel and directed by Matt Falduto. Auditions are Wednesday, July 9 and Thursday, July 10 from 6pm-8pm in the lower level of the Coralville Public Library.

Those interested in auditioning should sign up for an audition slot by visiting www.coralvillearts.org or www.youngfootliters.wordpress.com.  Auditioners may prepare a short monologue or be prepared to do a cold reading from provided scripts.  Auditions are competitive; Young Footliters will cast as many children and teens as feasible but cannot guarantee all will be cast.

Performances are at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.  The participation fee will be $40 per actor.

As part of its 2014 tour, OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe, a program of Des Moines Metro Opera, Inc., will perform a reduced version for five singers of Gaetano Donizetti's romantic comedy The Elixir of Love on Friday, March 28 at 7:30pm at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 5^th Street in Coralville.

Donizetti's The Elixir of Love mixes love, jealousy and mysterious libations in a romantic comedy. Young Nemorino is in love with the wealthy but fickle Adina. When Sergeant Belcore also sets his sights on Adina, Nemorino turns to visiting "doctor" Dulcamara for an "elixir of love," guaranteed to turn Adina's head and win her heart. Heads turn, but who wins her heart? The Elixir of Love lasts approximately 2 hours with an intermission, and is sung in English with piano accompaniment.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $8 for youth ages 12 and under.  Tickets may be purchased by phone at 319.248.9370, online at coralvillearts.org, and in person at the CCPA box office and the Coralville Recreation Center at 1506 8^th Street.

OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe members are handpicked from nationwide auditions of more than 800 singers to share their love of opera with audiences of all ages. The talented young performers of the 2014 OPERA Iowa troupe are: soprano Bevin Hill of New York, NY; mezzo-soprano Stephanie Schoenhofer of Lima, OH; baritone Zachary Ballard of Roslindale, MA; tenor Joshua Weeker of Kettering, OH; and bass Alex Soare of Schaumburg, IL. The music director is Scott Arens of Ann Arbor, MI and the technical director is Thomas Plummer of Crown Point, IN.

Des Moines Metro Opera, founded in 1973, is an independent, non-profit, professional opera company dedicated to bringing world-class opera productions and vital performing arts education to central Iowa. In addition to providing mainstage productions, Des Moines Metro Opera is responsible for OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe, which brings opera to classrooms across Iowa and to nearly 24,000 students, OPERAtion Opera Community Outreach Program, which works with more than 30 human service agencies to provide opera to underserved and at-risk audiences, the Apprentice Artist Program, one of the largest singer-training programs in the country, and two new programs: The Design and Production Internship Program, a training program for students within the theater arts who wish to expand experience and gain the skills necessary for a successful professional career; and Raising Voices -Rising Stars program which gives high school musicians the opportunity to explore career opportunities from the rare vantage point within a professional opera company.

Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events.  The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others.  Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 16 school events took place at the Center in the 2012-2013 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.