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RIVERSIDE
THEATRE – A RICH AND DIVERSE HISTORY
Ron
Clark, Jody Hovland
and Bruce Wheaton founded Riverside
Theatre in 1981. The first play, The Exercise, opened in
January 1982
and ran for two weeks in a rented space with a total budget of $100.
After eight
years of operating out of Old Brick, and
with a larger company and an expanding
schedule, the company looked for
a permanent space to call home.
In 1990, within 15 weeks,
Riverside Theatre signed a lease,
gutted a former beer distribution warehouse, tearing out walls and
removing the
second floor, built a stage, hung the lights and laid the carpet – all
while
rehearing for a new show.
Contractors estimated the
conversion would cost up to
$200,000. However, many of the workers were volunteers, local
businesses gave
discounts on materials and hired workers reduced their rates. For less
than
$50,000, the space was converted to a 3,200 square-foot theatre with a
118-seat
house and a proscenium stage that can be converted to three-quarter or
round.
Storage for costumes and props as well as dressing rooms are in the
basement.
Today, Riverside Theatre
is the only resident, professional,
non-profit theatre company within a 30-mile radius of Iowa City. It has
a full
season of works, both classic and new, plus a touring schedule and a
summer
youth program in the classics. Riverside Theatre employs more than 100
artists
each year including actors, designers and technicians. Year-round staff
includes five full-time employees and six part-time employees. The
organization
is governed by a 15-member volunteer board of directors and is
supported by
hundreds of volunteers each year.
Something
for everybody…
Riverside Theatre
programming strives to provide engaging,
intimate and thought-provoking professional theatre for its audiences.
As a
result, it has produced numerous world premieres, regional premieres,
classics
of world theatre and tours that include The National Archives and The
Smithsonian Institute.
The company also has
provided a public forum to discuss sensitive
social issues that represent the diversity of the community. Some of
these
issues range from racial injustice, age discrimination and sexism, to
rape,
domestic violence, AIDS, homophobia and homelessness.
Including
the kids…
The Young People’s Company
and Young People’s Workshop
introduce local high school and junior high students to all the
technical and
artistic aspects of the theatre. Professionals work with the company
members in
voice, movement, character development, costume, lighting, sound, set
design
and stage management. The goals of YPC and YPW are to create an
accessible
opportunity in professional theatre for local youth, enhance their
education
and appreciation of live theatre, provide an affordable theatre
experience for
are families and develop future audiences. In return, Riverside Theatre
contributes to the community’s quality of life by reflecting its
creativity and
diversity.
Riverside
Theatre hits the road…
For the past 16 years,
Riverside Theatre has also taken its
shows on the road including The National Archives and The Smithsonian
Institute. In keeping with the Company’s philosophy of intimate and
personal
theatre experiences, the company trains volunteers in the sponsoring
organizations to stage manage and execute technical positions. In
addition,
Clark and Hovland, experienced teachers in the Iowa Arts Council’s
Artists in
the Schools/Communities program as well as instructors at Cornell
College, make
themselves available for post-production discussions and theatre
workshops for
any and all ages.
Riverside
Theatre takes to the park…
The company’s newest
venture is the Riverside Theatre
Shakespeare Festival that premiered in June of 2000. The fruit of this
partnership with the City of Iowa City is a permanent outdoor theatre
facility
and an annual Shakespeare production in City Park. Wile the City built
the
facility, Riverside Theatre raised over $500,000 to fund the first four
years
of production for the new festival. The first production, Twelfth
Night, was wildly successful, selling
out every
performance. In addition, with support from Iowa State Bank & Trust
Company, Riverside Theatre launched a new educational program, Will
Power, to
introduce area eighth graders to Shakespeare. The Festival’s second
production,
As You Like It, in the summer of 2001,
was a thoroughly modern take on
the themes of love, and was also a stunning success In the summer of
2002, the
Festival grew again, producing two plays in repertory over five weeks. The
Comedy of Errors featured an original score by internationally
renowned
pianist and composer Dan Knight, and the Festival’s production of Romeo
and
Juliet was more profound and relevant that ever, set in Jerusalem
with the
Capulets as Palestinians and the Montagues as Israelis.
Riverside Theatre
continues to provide diverse programming
that includes new and challenging artistic experiences for its artists
and
audiences.
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