OCTOBER 15, 2009 ISSUE
ASU Presents Still Life with Iris October 28 to November 1
Family-Friendly Play Incorporates Multiple Arts
In Still Life with Iris, the main character Iris (Ariel Nicastro, center) is taken from her family and loses all of her memories when the land’s rulers take away her “Past Coat.” She is able to access a single memory of her family table by rubbing a button she managed to save from the coat. Photo by Anna OakesA young girl named Iris will lead audiences young and old to the fantasy land of Nocturno in Still Life with Iris, a play presented by the ASU Department of Theatre and Dance Wednesday, October 28, through Sunday, November 1.
Show times at the Valborg Theatre on campus are at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
“This play is widely produced for young audiences across the country,” said Director Teresa Lee. “It will have beautiful visual images, magic effects, and…an underscore of Mozart’s music. It incorporates all the arts, so it will be a true interdisciplinary art experience.”
Still Life with Iris, written by Steven Dietz, is an imaginative adventure about a little girl’s search for home. Iris lives with her mom in the land of Nocturno, a magical place where the workers labor at night to create all the things seen in the world by day. And in Nocturno, memories do not reside in people’s minds, but instead in their coats, called Past Coats.
The rulers of Nocturno, determined to have the best of everything on their island, take Iris away from her home and bring her to Great Island to be their daughter. The rulers, the Great Goods, take her Past Coat away to ease the pain of missing her family. Iris is able to keep a single button from her coat, however, which serves as a clue to help her get back home.
The play explores the themes of identity, home and the courage to overcome obstacles in order to fulfill dreams, Lee said. Through metaphoric, poetic and illustrative language, the play captures the wonder of the natural world, she said.
The concept of memory also factors heavily in the play.
“I think the play explores memory by raising the question about the relationship between personal identity and memory,” Lee said. Iris has an image of her memory—the “still life” of her table and chairs from home—which she can access by rubbing a button she found from her Past Coat.
“In this production, the cast spent time making collages of their characters that would later inform the costume designer as to what items went into making up their Past Coats,” Lee said. “This was a fun and informative process for the actors.
“The challenges for the actors have been to create characters that are based in ‘magical realism,’” Lee added. “The characters are not real people, but they live in a fantastical world that is shaped by human needs.”
Ariel Nicastro plays the role of Iris, and the cast also features Colleen Longo, Rebecca Booth, Rebekah Boroughs, Anneliese Moffitt, Joe Watson, L.B. Brown, Kerry Dunlap, Ryan Sheehe, Victor Rivera, Josh Warthen and Murray Nickel.
Season sponsors of the Department of Theatre and Dance are Boone Bagelry and Joe’s Italian Kitchen. The department also thanks Stick Boy Bread Company and Tupelo’s World Café for their support.
Tickets to Still Life are $12 for adults and $6 for students. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time. For tickets or more information, call 828-262-3063 or click to www.theatre.appstate.edu/performances.
The Valborg Theatre is located at 480 Howard Street, behind the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Parking is available on campus in faculty lots, the Belk Library parking deck and behind the Turchin Center.
Want To Go?
Dates: Wednesday through Sunday, October 28 to November 1
Times: 7:00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday/2:00 p.m. Sunday
Location: Valborg Theatre, ASU
Cost: $12 adults/$6 students
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