NEWS ARCHIVE JULY 1999

Arts Fest Appearances:  Ready

Last year’s performance of Black Bart at Arts Fest ’98 left something to be desired.  Granted, the weather was extremely hot, and the audience loved the show; but let’s face it:  it was probably DIM’s roughest performance ever.

This year, DIM decided to get a jump on Arts Fest by getting King to Knight’s Pawn performance-ready by the end of June.  The effort has really paid off.  Under the direction of DIM veteran Lyla Moreland, the cast delivered a near-seamless performance for the residents ofWesely Gardens in Des Moines on July 1.

Though the cast learned some lessons at the performance (primarily about projection, as the senior citizens tend to be hard of hearing), the cast pulled together for a solid presentation.  The audience was truly appreciative, and hosted a nice cookies-and-punch reception following.

The performance was a good warm-up for the upcoming Friday night performance at Arts Fest, July 23 at 7 PM.  King to Knight’s Pawn, a medieval allegory written by Greg Wright, runs about thirty minutes.  Look for discussion and cookies after the show!

DIM is also slated to open the Art Festival program with an hour of improvisational comedy, at 7 PM on July 21.  Check out the action as DIM makes an effort to work Biblical themes into the improvisational act!

Chi Rho Sequel:   Set

The Chi Rho Files: Investigations of the Unorthodox made its debut January 15-17 this year.  The first draft of the script for the sequel to the Chi Rho Files has been completed. The DIM-penned script staged an interesting science-fiction premise:  what might 20^th- century Christianity look like if Jesus had been sent to the Jews in this century?

The script postulated the existence of an organization called IU Central, whose mission is to check out fledgling religious sects.  IU (Investigators of the Unorthodox) operatives infiltrate these sects, attempting to determine if they have gone off the deep end of orthodox religious thought.

Patty Cram, set to direct the Chi Rho sequel, has the following words for Chi Rho fans.

Murder in the Cathedral:  No Go

DIM gets an unexpected break this summer as the production of T. S. Eliot’s classic gets shelved.  Auditions were held Monday night, July 5, and though advance interest in auditions was at an all-time high, only nine of the fifteen speaking parts could be filled based on the turnout.

Director Greg Wright decided that, since little investment had been yet made in the production, it would be best to shelve the effort for now.

Any feedback at all on how to increase turnouts for auditions, or whether DIM should attempt such productions in the future, would be greatly appreciated.   Please call 206-241-6149.

Ten Little DIMwits

DIM’s ties to Redmond’s Redwood Theatre get stronger as Mike Brunk is recruited to direct the 1999-2000 season opener, Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians.  Last year, Mike served as a member of Redwood’s judging panel.  Mike also worked with Redwood board members Judy Schwanke and Michelle Tuck on DIM’s 1997 production of Saint Joan.

Jenn Cram will be replacing Mike on Redwood’s judging panel, joining Dave Stark and James Gunn.

Moses Parts

Russ Monson was invited to portray Moses at Pleasant Valley’s First Chance Camp July 8-10.  You may remember Russ as Joab in last year’s Enemies, among other roles.  Russ’ improvisational skills came to bear as the tough audience grilled him on details of Moses story.  For example:  “Where did Moses get his Reeboks?”  Russ’ prior experience as God in DIM’s 1996 Moses story, Of Might and Men, helped as well.