Theatre/Dance to present ‘Naomi in the Living Room’ April 13

The ISU Theatre/Dance will present free public performances of the theatre practicum “Naomi in the Living Room” on April 13 in Idaho Falls and April 20 in Pocatello.

The Idaho Falls performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the ISU Tingey Administration Building Auditorium at University Place. The Idaho Falls show will include I-MOVE performing some dance selections.

The Pocatello performance will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, April 20, in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center’s James E. and Beverly Rogers Black Box Theatre.

ISU Theatre/Dance also will perform the play at local high schools and during the High School One-Act Festival being held throughout the day on April 27 at the Stephens Performing Arts Center. These performances, however, are not open to the public.

The “Naomi in the Living Room” practicum explores an interdisciplinary collaboration between theatre and dance in which three performance pieces result from staging the same script. “Naomi in the Living Room,” by Christopher Durang, provides absurdist storytelling as creative inspiration for the acting and choreography.

Independently of one another and with separate casts, Theatre/Dance will create provocative interpretations and reactions to the script. After the completion of the two separate works, Theatre and Dance will culminate their expertise in a third version of the script utilizing both casts. All three works will be performed in a prescribed order as if to dissect each art form separately and illustrate how they can work together.

The creative process for Theatre and Dance illustrates independent artistic impulses and innovative approaches to staging the same script through acting and/or choreography.  The performance illustrates how an interdisciplinary process between Theatre and Dance can create dynamic storytelling through acting, movement and the combination of the two.

Shawn Bible and Angeline Underwood are the Practicum instructors who have devised this interdisciplinary production.  Their cast includes Parris Allen, Camile Carter, Regina Champion, Bridget Close, Josh Hurley and Phil Shepherd.  Angel Palmer will be designing the costumes and Danielle Matheson is the assistant artistic director.

For further information, please contact Sherri Dienstfrey at 282-3561.