Audience Comments

Working Group Theatre, "All Recipes Are Home"

Photo by Miriam Alarcon Avila

All Recipes Are Home marked Working Group Theatre's fourth commission from Hancher, this time on the subject of food. Director Sean Christopher Lewis collaborated with local band Awful Purdies, who performed the live score. The play was jointly commissioned by Luther and Grinnell Colleges and was part of the University of Iowa's Food for Thought theme semester. After performances in Decorah and Grinnell, Hancher presented All Recipes Are Home in a historic barn on the Johnson County Fairgrounds on April 17-18, 2015.

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It was a fabulous performance!  We loved the way the Purdies spun their songs into this wonderful story.  It was totally engaging and a different venue, so much fun!  The actors were excellent, we really loved absolutely everything about it!

Susan Dirks

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As much as I could see, the performance was exceptional as have been previous Working Group productions.  The music was a masterful complement to the rest of the performance--and I usually do not like musicals. I had not realized it would be a musical.

The seating arrangement was poor.  I could only see one musician at a time and the action that was elevated above the stage floor. I had not realized that folks were saving seats before eating their picnics, so there were almost no seats left on the floor when I went to get a seat. The one I chose, unfortunately was in the back row.  And a very tall man claimed the saved seat in front of me.  He hugged his partner who was not much shorter during most of the performance, making a solid barrier between me and most of the action. (I could not sit on bleachers for an extended period.)

I understand the appeal of the barn as a setting for the play, but it didn't work out too well from my perspective.

Carolyn Dyer

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We loved it!  We loved the acting, musicians, props, sets, lighting, story, rainstorm and setting were perfect! My spouse felt the editing could have been a bit tighter but we really enjoyed it. It reminded us quite a bit of "Once." You've got this right on - keep on! Thanks for an excellent performance and story line we are still talking about. We brought cushions for the chairs and were glad we did.

Kate & Dick Rose

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I enjoyed the show very much. The acting and singing was high quality. The storyline was clear as were the character relationships.

Scott Strode

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I loved the performance. The actors/musicians were talented, entertaining and engaging. The setting, which couldn't have been more perfect for the subject matter, was beautifully organized and decorated--welcoming and warm. The songs and spoken words were well integrated. I felt like Iowa--my home--was well represented as a place where immigrants came, worked hard, and rose above their differences to work together when necessary, forging a place in this country that is surprisingly open-minded at times. Growing and preparing food together, sharing traditions from far-away homes--these are powerfully good things to do.  

Having said all that, I will also say I was surprised and glad to hear that at least one performance in Grinnell was free. I was dismayed that our performance here in Iowa City was so expensive...prohibitive to many who would enjoy and benefit from being there. Hancher rarely provides opportunities for those less privileged our community to enjoy great performances. I would like to see you make more effort to include our whole community more often, please. Thank you for asking.

Dede Dancing

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From the ground up it was good!

Sherwood Wolfson

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The Friday night show was unusual, fun and interesting.   We always enjoy their work!

Ginger Nowak

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Enjoyed the show and it was nice to have an Iowa production. Would be nice to have the production in a  more modern facility with better seating and bathrooms for us older folks.

Audrey Van Roekel

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I loved the play All Recipes Are Home.   WGT is one of my favorite groups in town and they almost always present plays based on timely topics with social implications/history.  This one was more lighthearted than others but it was easy to relate to it based on growing up in an Iowa farm community and stories from friends who grew up N of Solon on farms of Czechoslovakian heritage.   The fact it was performed in one of the 4 H barns was not lost on me.  Acting, dancing, and set design were wonderful for a local group.  Thanks so much for presenting this event and I wish it had run longer...for others to see.  We are so blessed to have talent in our community to produce this kind of production.

Kathleen Renquist

Working Group Theatre, Out of Bounds

Hancher commissioned a new play about cyber-bullying by Working Group Theatre that premiered May 1-4 at Riverside Theatre. Here are the comments audience members sent in after seeing Out of Bounds.

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I and my wife thought it was terrific. Insightful and well-acted. We stayed for the discussion.

Gene Savin

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The talk back was a public health lecture on fact and figures. No faculty or students. Disappointing.

Paul Collins

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Excellent play! It really hit home about how bullying one person can affect so many others. The actors, puppeteers and visual displays were great. 

Anonymous

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Out of Bounds was definitely in bounds!

Sherwood Wolfson

Working Group Theatre, The Broken Chord

Hancher commissioned a new play by Working Group Theatre that premiered on April 12-14. Here are the comments audience members sent in after seeing The Broken Chord.

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I thought it was terrific: very powerful and painful(to me personally) even though the ending was uplifting.

Gene

 

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It was terrific, beautifully written and acted. Having a relative with Alzheimer's  whose caretaker and wife just died, I found many scenes ringing too true and others suggesting what we may experience in the future. I couldn't figure out the role of the dance I wish the program would provide background on the play, how it was developed, etc.  I miss that information in most  Hancher programs.

Carolyn

 

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I was so impressed with "The Broken Chord" that I took notes. Alzheimer's Disease is a subject close to my heart, and the play gave me an elated perception of the condition. Kudos especially to Saffron Henke for bringing so much vitality to the role of the patient.

Joe

 

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As a five year live in caregiver of an elderly woman with dementia, I have first hand knowledge of the trajectory of care and the individual nature of decline.  Being a caregiver can be isolating, bewildering, frightening and rewarding (all at once).  It was, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done and the accomplishment I'm most proud of.

It's extremely important to the dignity and integrity of caregivers and care recievers that their stories be told with accuracy, sensitivity and depth.  The Working Group Theatre accomplished all this and more in their wonderful, original production of the Broken Chord.

The writing, direction, stage design, acting and community collaboration of this performance created a story of Alzheimer's as ethereal and mysterious as the disease itself, with real and useful information for anyone going through this experience with a loved one.  Even if you have not gone through this experience, chances are you will, as the narrative rightly described Alzheimer's as an "epidemic" with far reaching consequences for all of us.

To me, this project illustrates the arts at its best and highest, use:  deeply moving, instructional, compelling to look at and stirring of new awareness and dialogue.  I am most impressed with the Working Group Theatre's creation, and grateful to Hancher for commissioning the piece.

Sarah Neary, LMSW
Volunteer Program Coordinator
Iowa City Hospice

 

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The Broken Chord brought me deeper into the world of a person with Alzheimers than I could imagine being able to go. 

 Watching the archivist struggle as she lost her connections to both past and present was wrenching -- though alongside the overwhelming sense of loss were cherished moments of humor and love. Saffron Henke was superb.

The interweaving of the archivist's story with the accounts told by different caregivers created a heartbreaking portrait of what happens to our personalities and relationships as memory fragments and recedes. 

I can not imagine anyone leaving the theater yesterday without being profoundly moved by what they saw and heard.  Many of us were in tears.

Sally Scott

 

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The production was effective, moving and brought to mind the emotions and tasks we have experienced with our aging parents, including effects on sibling relationships and the whole business of business unfinished.

Two suggestions:

-I like the idea of the lobby displays but really didn't attend to them because I arrived with group of friends, talking outside, and heading straight into theatre; also did not go there during intermission. I don't know if more could have been done to highlight that or maybe add some to program. Could also for me just have been the fine day and talking outside and then heading straight in.

-We didn't know there would be a talk back until we were almost out of the seating area; we needed to keep going with another commitment but if there was an alert about a talk back after performance we missed it.

Finally, kuduo to all. The combination of speech, movement, and other affective modes of communication have been hallmarks of your productions and they were there in spades on Sunday.

David

 

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I would like to say thank you for the production of "The Broken Chord." To say that it was moving, is an understatement. I have never seen seen so many people that were so moved by a theater production.

It was informative without being preachy and it was just so very, very real.  The actors were incredible - i know many of the actors and stopped seeing the people that I know and saw the characters.  Which is not only a testament to the actors but also to the writing.

I also appreciated the opportunity for the talk-back session following the performance.  I would have, however, appreciated the opportunity to actually "talk-back."  To be able to ask questions of the experts.  I understand that on Friday night the actors were in the talk-back session?  I would have liked to have had the chance to hear their experiences and how it affected them.

I think it is too bad that it was only available one weekend. This is a show that more people should have the chance to experience and even with the great pre-show press, I think word would have spread and it could have reached many more people.

Once again, thank you for t his amazing production.  I have been thinking of it and processing it all week.  So, thank you.

Carol Grow Johnk

 

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Tremendous production.
Tremendous lesson.
Tremendous playwright.
Tremendous cast.
This should be seen by everyone.

JAW

 

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We enjoyed the play.

1/ It was well written and very well performed.

2/ I probably did not learn any new facts but the play presented what I knew in a powerful way.

3/ Quite apart from any purpose to inform people (including people like me on the edge of 80), the play as theater was worth seeing as good theater.

4/ There was a poltical view (challenging what is one's "self"; minimizing the cognitive dimension of people) that I didn't agree with, but that was very low key and did not get in the way of the dramatic content of the play.

William Buss

 

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That program was amazing and so professionally done, as it was informative and visually suburb!  It really should be put on film, so that all can see this treasure!   It was “spot on” in all aspects.   Please keep this group supported for WHATEVER they want to put on the stage.   They are VERY talented.

Ginger

 

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After the performance I couldn't find my way home!

Sherwood

 

 

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I was thinking of sending Saffron Henke a note to the effect of "Thanks a lot for making my wife and me cry! I hope you're happy." But irony isn't always obvious in email, so let me just say that it was a production worthy of Hancher: intelligent, creatively staged, and emotionally powerful. I do hope you're all happy with it!

Steve Parrott

 

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I thought The Broken Chord was "spot on."  As a caregiver to Dave, my spouse who has early onset the visual variant of Alzheimer's, I identified with the stories, the emotions and the educational information presented.  Kudos to the interviewees, the writers and the actors all of whom did a marvelous job!  I think this show needs to be taken "on the road."  It is so difficult as a caregiver to explain the disease and what is involved in  care giving.  This play says so much!  I think it would be good for everyone to see this!  And with the projected numbers of people who will be impacted by Alzheimer's in the coming years everyone SHOULD see this!  Thank you for all your work so beautifully presented!

Kathy Good

 

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Great Quality performance!  It deals with an important community issue.
A partnership that is worth many more performances.

Bob Welsh

 

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Broken Chord was very well done. The actresses and actors were great also. It brought funny memories of my father who had Alzheimers and lost his battle to the disease in 2000. I think it was well orchestrated and got the point across.

Thanks, Sara.