Novelty Flourishes in Plays All year long the Prairie drama department tried new and exciting things. They began in the fall by staging a production composed of four original one-act plays. It was held on October 27 and 28, in the Little Theatre. The plays, which have not been published, were written by Howard Blanning. Howard is a member of the University of Iowa Writers Workshop, and has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa. The four plays ranged in theme from the creation of man to the destruction of man. "Man the Maker” dealt with man’s creation, "Placia” was about the bureaucracy of society, and "Ratzo at the Helm” portrayed the downfall of man and society. The comic relief of the night was "First Night”,an amusing little Arabian Story. "Winnie the Pooh” was the children’s play. It wasn’t an original script, but it did have something unusual about it. It had a double cast. Since the show toured to different elementary schools during the day, an alternate cast was needed so that not everybody would have to go on every tour. That way none of the actors missed too much school. The show was performed on December 15 in the Little Theatre, and it toured for three days during the week after that. "Arsenic and Old Lace” was the final drama production of the year. It was held on May 9 and 10, in the Little Theatre. "Arsenic and Old Lace” is a very well-known comedy, which was written in the early 1940’s. Besides the brilliant performances of the actors, the highlight of Prairie’s production of the show was the set. The play requires a rather elaborate set, since it must include steps leading to an upper floor, several doors, a window, and a window seat. Only a few people did most of the work on the set, but they labored long and hard. They worked almost every free moment they had, especially the last two weeks before production. The end result was extremely realistic,and well-built. It was definitely the best set out of all the three dramatic plays. Above Left: Winnie the Pooh (Lisa Campbell) ponders one of her many problems, such as how to rid the forest of an overly maternal kangaroo, and how to get more honey. Left: Teddy Brewster (Bill Wims) trys to get Dr. Einstein (Brice Highley) to believe that he (Teddy) is Theodore Roosevelt, while the murderous Jonathan Brewster (Darren Bogner) looks on, in a scene from "Arsenic and Old Lace.” Above: Officer O’Hara (Brenda Boland), in another scene from "Arsenic", attempts to tell Mortimer Brewster, a dramatic critic (Matthew Clothier), about the plot of the play she’s writing. Mortimer can’t listen, however, because he’s sort of "tied up” at that moment. Plays 41
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