What better way to spend Halloween weekend than with morbid dreams and undersea monsters?

From Thursday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 3, the University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts will present Dreams I Have About Killing My Sister, a new play by third-year MFA playwright Lisa Meyers, directed by first-year MFA director Marina Johnson.

The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. All shows will be held in Theatre B of the Theatre Building. Tickets are $5 (free for UI students with a valid UI ID) and are available at the door.

The play tells the story of two sisters—Molly, 17, and Jen, 30—as they recover from their parents' sudden death in an accident. Jen, an aquarium worker and marine biologist, is forced into the role of parenting Molly, a high school slacker who smokes too much pot. Jen has explosive chemistry and instant intimacy with Diana, 25, an art student she meets on an online dating website. Molly breaks through the haze of her anxiety by starting a sweet and tentative romance with Clark, 16, her nerdy math tutor.

Dreams is an exploration of form, blending dialogue and poetry as the play intertwines the characters' inner thoughts with their daily lives. The characters have dreams that plunge into the depths of their secret anxieties and urges, often expressed through imagery of the ocean and its magnificent, terrifying creatures.

Meyers and Johnson have worked with cast members Elizabeth Hinkler, Thomas Eslinger, Lexi Morsch, and Chelsea Wing—all of whom are undergraduates—as an ensemble to evoke through their relationships the complexities of love and grief.

“This is my first experience working on the development of a new play, and what a wonderful experience it has been,” says Johnson. “It's been so exciting to see Lisa's work develop and grow with the life that the actors breathed into it.”

The Department of Theatre Arts is part of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend this forum, contact the Department of Theatre Arts in advance at 319-335-2700.

For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the Arts Iowa website.