WRECKAGE

Check out the past disasters! 

This terrifyingly pun-filled, half-hour vaudeville performance was presented as part of the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society's Halloween bash and costume contest.

Presented by special arrangement with Rob Hartmann.

Photo credits: Kylie Weitz

PROGRAM

Famed abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko has just been offered the biggest commission in the history of modern art.  He and his young assistant Ken work feverishly and ask:  What is art?  And who gets to decide anyway?

Produced in collaboration with Voices Productions for Voices X: Make Your Mark.
Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Photo credits: Michelle Blanchard, contributed by Doug Donald

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Inspired by the original 1936 film of the same name, this raucous musical comedy takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids fall prey to marijuana, leading them on a hysterical downward spiral filled with evil jazz music, sex and violence.

You won't be able to resist the spoofy fun of REEFER MADNESS.  The addictive and clever musical numbers range from big Broadway-style showstoppers to swing tunes like "Down at the Ol' Five and Dime" and the Vegas-style "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy," featuring J.C. Himself leading a chorus of showgirl angels. This dynamic show will go straight to your head!

REEFER MADNESS is a highly stylized satirical political commentary containing adult humor, religious parody, drug use, suggested violence and sexual explicitness.

Reefer Madness is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). 

Photo credits: Amanda Adams (performance and bios); Kylie Weitz (rehearsal); promo photo by Mike Burley/TH

PROGRAM | CAST & CREW BIOS | REHEARSAL PICS (FB)

BE A PART OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS!
Join us for the world-premiere concert and reading of this musical's first draft.

A post-performance talk-back with the cast and writer invites you to participate in the creative process of this work-in-progress. This original musical imagines the plight of a well-respected medical doctor, John Faustus, in Great Depression America. To prevent the death of his wife, Faustus makes a hellish bargain. As he struggles to reclaim his eternal soul, Faustus misses out on a life that quickly passes him by.

Inspired by The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (c. 1592) and 'Faust' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (c. 1808), two acts are set 24 years apart and feature original blues and swing music. Songs include "More," "Devil Outta Here," "Sinners Down," "Where Off / Where Now," "Goin' Down to the Valley," "Seven," and many others.

Photo credits: Kylie Weitz

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Trainwreck Productions joins fellow Dubuque County Fine Arts Society affiliates to throw a Valentine's Day Party, featuring the closing of Nash Gallery's "Erotica" exhibit, live '50s pin-up models by Rogue Collections, romantic and erotic readings by Dubuque Area Writers Guild, and a musical cabaret by Trainwreck Productions.

Photo credits: Ivonne Simonds Fals

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Three strangers are locked up together for eternity in one hideous room in hell.  The wondows are bricked up, there are no mirrors, the electric lights never turn off, and there is no exit.  Hell is not the rack and fire, but the burning humiliation of souls stripped by the cruel curiosity of the damned.

Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

Photo credits: Andrea Becker

PROGRAM

The second installment of Trainwreck's original short-play festival premiered the works of young Iowa writers -- three feminist plays.

Her Lover's Name by Andrea Berns, Waterloo, IA
A woman's psyche and shows us what happens when the past and the present intertwine.

The Dream by Tera Edmunds, Cedar Rapids, IA
The tangible and intangible aspects of the American dream for two women in a complicated friendship.

Swimming Lessons by Meg Bradley, Dubuque, IA
A teenage girl faced with a tough life decision shows us that sometimes we need others to remind us how strong we can be.

Photo credits: Ryan Decker

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The City of Dubuque and the Washington Neighborhood Development Corporation hosted the first annual Neighborhood Block Party. Neighbors planted a garden and painted a mural in the street. Trainwreck provided a mini-cabaret of musical theatre selections.

The remnants of Trainwreck's attempted production of Taming of the Shrew, DubuqueFest Fine Arts Festival goers were assaulted with these random acts of violence and the show's greatest hits.

Photo credits: Paula Neuhaus

Can just four chairs and a keyboard make a musical? Struggling writers, Jeff and Hunter, hear about a new musical theatre festival with a submission deadline just three weeks away. With nothing to lose, the pair decides to write a new, original musical with the help of their friends Sasan, Heidi, and Mary on keyboard. Jeff and Hunter begin a conversation about what to write about, ultimately deciding to write about what to write about. [title of show] -- taken from the festival's application form -- follows the friends on a journey through the gauntlet of creative self-expression. In the span of 90 minutes, they write and perform their show at the festival and learn lessons about themselves as people, friends and artists.

Photos: Contributed

PROGRAM | AUDIENCE REACTIONS

Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrief brilliantly assume the fictitious personae of Ernest in order to escape their burdensome social obligations.  Their false identity, however, causes them greater headache when the women they love realize they claim to be the same Ernest.

Originally staged in 1895 London, England, this production of the classic show is told in the Formal English Garden with contemporary (dare we say "hipster") dress, and alley staging providing two distinct shows for the audience watch around it.  Full of Wilde's wit and zingers, this production promises to be uniquely theatrical and engaging.

Photo credits: Ryan Decker; promo photo by Mike Burley/TH

PROGRAM | DIGITAL DUBUQUE GALLERY

Better Off Dead by Kimberly Madden
After their happily-ever-after, this play imagines a fairy-tale prince and princess in couple's therapy.

One Shot by Alex McCarthy
When offstage actors hear an unexpected gunshot on the set of Hamlet, they plot how to take control of the situation.

A Barbie Story by Meghan Hartsell
Despite a dream-house, -car, and -career, Barbie lives anything but a dream-life with the demands of the modern world, her "boyfriend" Ken... and her sister Skipper.

A pair of approaching water's edge suicide attempts prompt the characters Life and Death to engage in their business-as-usual; a game for the live of musician Youth and dancer The Girl.  Life and Death make the competition interesting by allowing the two to meet, making the stakes of the game all-or-nothing.  Will the potential lovers choose Life, or will Death claim them both?  The game must be played.

Photo credits: Duane Decker

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Jerry is a loner seeking companionship.  Peter is a business and family man seeking solitude.  A chance encounter of the two strangers, one stranger than the other, at a Central Park bench pushes the man on the straight and narrow to an act he didn't beleive himself capable of.

Catch the captivating one-act at either of the two showings -- one day only.  Don't forget to bring a folding chair - you're gonna need the edge!

Photo credits: Susan Decker

PROGRAM

Teams drew a genre, character, prop, line of dialogue and were given 24 hours to write and rehearse a brand-new 7 to 15 minute play that performed in a world premiere workshop for an audience and judges the next night.

Thank you...
We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to everyone that made TWP's 24-Hour Theatre Project 2010 such a success. Congratulations to teams Magical Maple Syrup and River City Troupers for the outstanding plays! Special thanks to Mindframe Theaters for providing the venue and our judges Doug Donald, Lenore Howard, and Gary Arms for providing their expertise at the performance and workshop. The event raised our donation goal for Dubuque Multicultural Family Center's after-school Drama Club program!

The 2010 Plays...
Backtracking* by River City Troupers: Drama, splatula, rail conductor, "I don't suppose you have a better idea."
Adventures of Random Man by Magical Maple Syrup: Comedy, mirror, plumber, "Can we trust you?"

*People's Choice Award Winner

Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillian with his own video blog, is attempting to join the prestigious Evil League of Evil, but his efforts are thwarted by the egotistical superhero Captain Hammer. To make matters even worse, Hammer begins dating Horrible's crush - Penny, a beautiful and optimistic advocate for the homeless he meets at the Laundromat. Faced with the task of impressing the League and Bad Horse, the thoroughbred of sin, can Horrible overcome his own incompetence, ruin the day, kill the hero, and still get the girl?

A stage adaptation of writer-director Joss Whedon's sensational three-part web-series of the same title, the Trainwreck Production will include a touch of cinema and cinematic effects. The August 1st Midnight showing will also include a special audience superhero/supervillian costume contest. Don't miss out!

Photo credits: Kristina Nesteby

A famous artist invites her old friends to enjoy her new pool.  Her friends have struggled to make a living as artists while she has acheived international success.  When the art world protegee encounters a horrific accident, her friends are pushed to a bold decision.  Could their friend, lying in a coma, become their greatest work of all?  Is this their chance for success?

Trainwreck Productions' inaugural performance, inspired by a true story, this shocking new play by British playwright Mark Ravenhill (author of Shopping and F**king) exposes professional rivalry, jealousies and the innermost thoughts nobody wants to confess.

Photo credits: Ryan Decker

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