The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will present MOLD and Dust and Ash, two one-act plays that take different looks at how our past affects us, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, in Theatre B of the UI Theatre Building.
The double-bill features plays by third-year Master of Fine Arts playwright Deborah Yarchun and second-year Master of Fine Arts playwright Lisa Flora Meyers. “The two plays have certain things in common, including their titles, and seem to comment on each other,” says Alan MacVey, departmental executive officer of the Division of Performing Arts and head of the theatre arts department. “Together they make a unique evening that includes both serious drama and quirky comedy.”
Yarchun’s MOLD, a horror/comedy, tells the story of an anxious young woman battling both her dirty apartment and her own psychic dirt.
“I was inspired by my apartment. I found it online before moving to Iowa City,” Yarchun says. “When I first arrived, the hallway was like stepping into a nightmare—dim lights, a hole in the wall. I also noticed a lot of my plays either functioned like psychological thrillers or romantic comedies. I wanted to write a play that combined the two genres.”
Dust and Ash, by Meyers, is a magical ghost story, where two childhood friends are haunted by myths, monsters, and ghosts of their past.
“This play was inspired by my own struggles with grief and restlessness, as well as my deep personal and historical passion for Jewish myth and culture,” Meyers says. “I wanted to tell a love story, a friendship story, and a family story, and connect the strong feelings of love and loss to the ancient magic we all carry inside us.”
Both plays are directed by Master of Fine Arts film directors: Katarzyna Plazinska directing MOLD; Remington Smith directing Dust and Ash.
Scenic designer Josh Christoffersen is working with both shows creating a space that functions differently in each play. In MOLD, for example, the apartment setting functions like an increasingly malicious additional character. Undergraduate, graduate, and community actors will bring these two exciting worlds alive on stage.
Admission is free for UI students with a valid UI ID and $5 for general audiences. These productions contain mild violence and adult language/situations.
The Department of Theatre Arts is a unit of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. For accommodations at the event, contact the department at 319-335-2700. For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events, visit the new Arts Iowa website.