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A FRESH LOOK
Look to FRESH PRODUCE for new works, new looks at old works, and, most importantly, an ever-widening range of voices that speak to the Midwestern experience. "Concert Reading?" What's That?
Using lecterns, a stage-directions narrator, and no technical elements, these readings focus entirely on the story and the actors--literally, the play's voices. |
ALWAYS FREE!
These concert readings, developed by artists from around the Midwest, are just as professional and compelling, but slightly more economical than our major productions. Therefore, in the interest of making live theatre more accessible, these concerts will have NO admission charges. DON'T MISS THESE! THIS SEASON... Trapped in your hometown, trapped in your own lies, or trapped in love, these productions have something exciting and desperate to say about our complicated existence. |
ALWAYS FREE!
SAT. Dec. 4 | 7:30pm
SUN. Dec. 5 | 2:00pm* *Talk back with cast & company to follow *Join us an hour before each performance for a free happy hour hosted by Art Terrarium.* In-Person at Art Terrarium 106 11th St. Des Moines, IA 50309 https://artterrarium.com/ -or- Stream Online |
Synopsis
Karen and Lee have nothing in common except for one thing: they’re both employees at the local Dairy Queen, where they’re stuck working the 4th of July. Karen wants to run away from their small town while Lee is focused on climbing Dairy Queen’s corporate ladder. Things take a turn when they discover their manager has abandoned them. Reigning over a large quantity of ice cream and some hidden vodka, two teenagers grapple with the realities of life versus their imagined futures. Will they find their American Dream under the fluorescent lights of a Midwest Dairy Queen?
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Click the image to read Diary Queen Memories from our cast and crew.
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Claire Boston (Karen, Diary Queen) and Erin Tracy (TheatreMidwest Communications Director) talk to John Busbee of The Culture Buzz podcast about Dairy Queen.
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The Company
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CAST
Karen --- Claire Boston Lee --- Giovanni J. Bahena Sheila --- Krista Berry Narrator --- Jordan Leckband PRODUCTION CREW Director --- Deidra Mohr Stage Manager --- Meghan Leckband Dramaturg --- Jordan Stangeland |
THEATRE TheatreMidwest: The Friendly Hour. Director - Hitler's Tasters. Kata Klysmic Productions: The Rocky Horror Show, Vagina Monologues; California Theatres: Young Frankenstein, Burning Opera LA, Ragtime in Concert, Company, Not Your Mama's Broadway, The Nitch, Stepping Out, Marat/Sade, Mousetrap, Laramie Project; FILM/TV My Friend Max, That Night, Lost Soulmates, Antique America.
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Claire Boston - Karen
ACTING - TheatreMidwest: Atlas of Mud, When the Messenger is Hot. Giving Tree Theater: Silent Sky, Pride and Prejudice, Puffs, The Tin Woman. Theatre Cedar Rapids: Dracula, Underground Play Festival. Dreamwell Theatre: Visages. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art: Twelfth Night, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. REPRESENTATIVE ROLES - Mirrorbox Theatre: Rolling. Dreamwell Theatre: The Humiliation Play. 50/50-An Arts Production Co.: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Dracula, All the Natalie Portmans. DIRECTING- Theatre Cedar Rapids: A Walking Shadow. EDUCATION - Buena Vista University: BA Theatre. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art: Classical Acting Diploma. 
Jordan Leckband - Narrator
ACTING: Newton Community Theatre: Les Miserables, The Sound of Music. Cedar Falls Community Theatre: Oklahoma! University of Northern Iowa: Die Zauberflote. DIRECTING: Nodaway Valley High School: Cinderella, Little Shop of Horrors. Guthrie Center High School: Annie. CREW: TheatreMidwest: Atlas of Mud (sound). Newton Community Theatre: The Odd Couple (sound). BUSINESS: Music Teacher, Des Moines Public Schools. EDUCATION: University of South Dakota: MM Music Education. University of Northern Iowa: BM Music Education |
Giovanni Jesus Bahena - Lee
ACTING: Des Moines Playhouse: Cabaret. Carthage College: Twelfth Night, A Doll's House: Part II, God of Carnage, Ajax, How to Succeed..., Mother Courage and Her Children, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Regina Taylor Project; A Seat at the Table. Lakeside Players: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ADMIN: The Science Center of Iowa, Barrington Stage Company, StageWest. 
Meghan Leckband - Stage Manager
STAGE MANAGEMENT Stage West The Norwegians; LIGHTING DESIGN TheatreMidwest: Brilliant Traces; Simpson College: The Marriage of Figaro, Betrayal; Des Moines Social Club: Fat Pig. ACTING Winterset Stage: The Quiet Man of Kerry; Simpson College: The Glass Menagerie; Spencer Community Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors. BUSINESS Cadence Academy Preschool. AWARDS 2020 Terri Lynn Lokoff National Childcare Teacher Award Winner. EDUCATION Simpson College: BA Theatre and Communications; Upper Iowa University: BA Early Childhood Education and Special Ed |
Krista Berry - Sheila
ACTING: Graceland University: The Importance of Being Earnest, Macbeth, Clown in 39 Steps, Heathers. EDUCATION: Graceland University 
Jordan Stangeland - Dramaturgy
ACTING: Southwest Minnesota State University: The Awesome 80’s Prom, Young Frankenstein, Trenchcoat in Common, Miss Electricity, Sense and Sensibility. COSTUME DESIGN: Southwest Minnesota State University Drama Club: You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. COSTUME SHOP ASSISTANT: Southwest Minnesota State University: Young Frankenstein, Sense and Sensibility, Hi Ho Robin Hood. PROP DESIGN: Southwest Minnesota State University: Sense and Sensibility. |
The Playwright
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Sarah Loucks is a playwright and theatre maker living in Austin, Texas. She aspires to write plays as if they were songs, as if they were science experiments, as if they were myths, where words burn and people fly. She writes about Iowa, where she grew up, and Texas, where she lives now. Sarah produces her plays under the name MouthRadio and is a core member of the Austin physical theatre ensemble, Gale Theatre Company.
In 2015, Sarah produced her play, The Prostitute and the Cow, as MouthRadio’s inaugural production (The VORTEX). With Gale Theatre Co, Sarah wrote Wail, (The VORTEX) which was awarded Best Non-Traditional Theatre by the Central Texas Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2015. She also worked as a dramaturge and creator for Gale’s W.K. (NOLA Fringe, The VORTEX, Houston Fringe). W.K. was nominated for Best Original Script by Broadway World Austin Awards and Best Drama by the B. Iden Payne Awards in 2014. Sarah has studied Viewpoints and Suzuki with Gale Theatre Company, Grotowski technique with Double Edge Theatre, and Commedia dell’arte with the Rhodopi International Theatre Lab in Smolyn, Bulgaria. Sarah graduated from Bard College with a B.A. in Theatre. She was awarded the Carter Tobin Prize for overall contribution to the theatre program at Bard College in 2013. |
Box Office Now Open!SynopsisNot only did Sarah Boyd build her company, Tactix, from scratch using nothing but willpower and fortitude, she also sits on the precipice of truly saving this planet by ushering it into the post-plastic era. With her eyes steady on her next round of funding, Sarah must persevere through a late night interview with a particularly tough reporter, a lawsuit aimed at a person from her past, and the waffling of her CTO. It's a heavy load, and Sarah knows that she is the only one great enough to bear it.
Actress: Katie Braden; Video Editing: Claire Boston; Script: Claire Boston; Original Music Composition: Kyle Shedeck.
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SAT. Feb. 12 | 7:30pm (cst)
SUN. Feb. 13 | 2:00pm* (cst) *Talk back with cast & company to follow at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden -or- online stream. ALWAYS FREE! |
The Company
ACTING - TheatreMidwest: Thanksgiving Play. The Phipps Center for the Arts: 84 Charing Cross Road, Population 485, Savannah Sipping Society. YellowTree Theater: Expecting Isabel, Steel Magnolias. THEATRE SERVICE - The Phipps Drama Council and Play Selection Committee. STAGE COMBAT CHOREOGRAPHY and TRAINING - St Catherine / St Thomas Universities: Richard III, Good Morning Juliet, Good Night Desdemona, Antigone. Sandbox Theatre: Zelda Wonderland. Red Performance Lab: Ravenous. Zanzibar Productions Full Frontal: Love and Lobotomies. Simpson College Theater: Henry 5, Noises Off, Kiss Me Kate, several workshops. EDUCATION - University of Missouri – Columbia: BA Theater Arts. University of Nebraska – Lincoln: MFA Theater Performance. Actors Center Chicago: 4 semesters Meisner Technique under Victor D’Altorio and Eileen Vorbach; Society of American Fight Directors: Actor Combatant, Proficiency in Hand to Hand, Rapier + Dagger, and Quarterstaff, ongoing training in Found Object, Knife, Short Sword, and Broadsword.
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CAST
Sarah Boyd --- Katie Braden Jennifer Weaver --- Erin Tracy Alexis Lyons --- Jacklin Stonewall Narrator --- Audrey Kaus PRODUCTION CREW Director --- Jennifer Allton Stage Manager --- Eliz Tomaras Dramaturg --- Claire Boston Vertical Divider
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Katie Braden - Sarah Boyd
ACTING - TheatreMidwest: When the Messenger is Hot, Atlas of Mud. Ivy Theatre Company (NYC) Co-Founder: A Real Boy (59E59), Reach, Mill Fire, Outside/Inside, The Perfect Wife, Like Poetry (LaMaMa), Incongruence, Black Ice. The Secret Theatre (NYC): The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Romeo and Juliet, Edward II, The Spanish Tragedie. Shakespeare Forum (NYC): The Scarlet Letter, Romeo and Juliet. Workshop Theater (NYC): Acting: Full Frontal. Directing: Turtles & Bulldogs, After, Vowed & Wowed, Food for Thought. FILM - Wherever You Go Pictures (NYC): Unpacking. EDUCATION- Gregory Abels Training Ensemble, NYC, Certificate. Simpson College, Iowa, BA Theatre Arts. 
Audrey Kaus - Narrator
THEATRE: TheatreMidwest: Stripped, Hitler's Tasters. Des Moines Playhouse: The Addams Family. Stagewest: Carrie, the Musical. Theatre Simpson: Kiss Me Kate, Tartuffe, These Shining Lives, Waiting for Philip Glass. OTHER: Into the Woods, Thoroughly Modern Millie. |
Erin Tracy - Jennifer Weaver
AUDIENCE SERVICES TheatreMidwest: The Friendly Hour; Simpson College: Box Office Manager, House Manager, Audience Services (Undergraduate Assistant.) THEATRE DESIGN Theatre Simpson: Eurydice (Costumes), Festival of Short Plays (scenic), A Year With Frog and Toad (Hair & Makeup); ACTING/DIRECTING TheatreMidwest: Nickle and Dimed. Theatre Simpson: Spring Awakening, Necessary Targets, Henry 5, The American Dream, Pride and Prejudice; Carroll Community Theatre: Steel Magnolias, Wizard of Oz, Annie, Peter Pan (Director); Kuemper Catholic High School: Speech Coach, Assistant Musical Director 2011-2021. BUSINESS: Graphic Illustrator - Taylored Expressions. GRAPHIC/AD DESIGNER The Graphic Edge, Carroll Daily Times Herald, Kingman Row Entertainment, Carroll Library, Donna Reed Foundation, 
Eliz Tomaras - Stage Manager
STAGE MANAGEMENT - TheatreMidwest: Brilliant Traces, The Thanksgiving Play. Theatre Simpson: A Year With Frog and Toad, The Servant of Two Masters, Fall From Grace (Festival of Short Plays 2011) DRAMATURGY - TheatreMidwest: Nickel and Dimed. DESIGN - - Theatre Simpson: Back Story, Betrayal, Women Beware Women, Festival of Short Plays 2012. ACTING - - Theatre Simpson: Henry 5, Peer Gynt |
Jacklin Stonewall - Alexis Lyons
STAGE MANAGEMENT Theatre Midwest Hitler's Tasters COSTUME DESIGN East Marshall Performing Arts: Sister Act ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE: Martha Ellen Tye Theatre: Jesus Christ Superstar, Company, Nunsense EDUCATION: Iowa State University Aerospace Engineering (BS), Industrial Engineering (MS) 
Claire Boston - Dramaturg
ACTING - TheatreMidwest: Dairy Queen, Atlas of Mud, When the Messenger is Hot. Giving Tree Theater: Silent Sky, Pride and Prejudice, Puffs, The Tin Woman. Theatre Cedar Rapids: Dracula, Underground Play Festival. Dreamwell Theatre: Visages. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art: Twelfth Night, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. REPRESENTATIVE ROLES - Mirrorbox Theatre: Rolling. Dreamwell Theatre: The Humiliation Play. 50/50-An Arts Production Co.: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Dracula, All the Natalie Portmans. DIRECTING- Theatre Cedar Rapids: A Walking Shadow. EDUCATION - Buena Vista University: BA Theatre. London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art: Classical Acting Diploma. |
The Playwright
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Rachel Bublitz is an award winning and internationally produced playwright. Her full-length play “Ripped” had its World Premiere with Z Space in San Francisco, directed by Lisa Steindler, and was awarded the 2020 Will Glickman Award for the best premiere play of the Bay Area in 2019. “Ripped” was developed around the country with readings at the Problematic Play Festival, San Francisco Playhouse, Athena Theatre Company, Wyoming Theater Festival, and the Road Theatre Company. “Ripped” won the 2018 Detroit New Works Festival, and the production at Z Space received seven nomination in the 2019 Theatre Bay Area Awards, including Outstanding World Premiere Play.
In her move to Salt Lake, Rachel found a wealth of new theaters and artists to collaborate with. In Salt Lake she’s received multiple readings with Salt Lake Acting Company (“Ripped” and “Burst”) and joined the Plan-B Lab. In Park City, Rachel’s had three commissioned works from the Egyptian YouTheatre; “Cheerleaders VS. Aliens” (a sci-fi comedy directed by Alicia Washington, World Premiere in 2018), “The Night Witches,” (directed by Alexandra Harbold, World Premiere in 2019, at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival to a sold out run, a remount is planned for Spring 2020 in Park City), and “The Summer I Howled” (a horror comedy, to be directed by Jamie Wilcox, World Premiere in October 2020). Plan-B Theatre will tour Rachel’s play “Presenting: Super Cat & Reptile Robot In The Tremendous Tickle Trouble” for their 2019/2020 Elementary School Tour. In Cedar City, at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Rachel had the pleasure of having the first public reading of her full-length environmental thriller “Burst.” Rachel has published plays with Dramatic Publishing ("The Night Witches"), Playscripts ("Ghost House"), Stage Partners ("The Red House Monster"), Pioneer Drama Service (“Cheerleaders VS. Aliens”), Eldridge Plays & Musicals (“Much Ado About Mathletes”), YouthPLAYS (“Cleaver Catherine”, “No Talking Allowed!,” and “The Elves”), and PlayGround Publishing (“Reading Babar in 2070”). She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. When she isn’t writing, she’s chasing after her two viking-like children. |
Don't Miss It |
After these free Fresh Produce events, don't forget about our fully-staged finale of Season 4, Kitchen Killers featuring Trifles by Susan Glaspell, One Mean Blueberry Pie by C. Denby Swanson, and Uisce Beathe by Keele Kurtas-Chapman.
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