The Mahomet-Seymour High School Drama Department will present Leaving Iowa: Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7pm, and Sunday, November 15 at 2pm. Tickets: Students/Seniors $6 in advance ($7 at door). Adults $7 in advance ($8 at door). Tickets are available from cast members, Mahomet IGA, or Will Call by going to www.mshsbusinesscrew.weebly.com. All performances are in the High School auditorium.
Leaving Iowa, by Tim Clue and Spike Manton, is the story of Don Browning, a middle aged writer, who returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home. But when Don discovers Grandma’s house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa searching for a proper resting place for his father. The action shifts from the present to Don’s memories of the annual, tortuous vacations of his childhood. Leaving Iowa is a postcard to anyone who has ever found himself or herself driving alone on a road, revisiting fond memories of his or her youth.
Actor Interview
Four questions of four actors.
“Anyone who has gone on a family road trip, will understand this play,” said Julia Robbins, one of the characters in Mahomet-Seymour High School’s upcoming production of Leaving Iowa. Here are four questions asked of four actors in next weekend’s production.
Name: Kiel Ledin. I play the Dad.
Year in school: 9th grader
How many MSHS productions have you been in?: This is my 1st.
What is a family vacation memory?: “I went with my family to Florida with the wrestling team. They had a tournament at Disney. We were following another car to go out for pizza and my mom made a quadruple lane change, across a divided highway, over a body of water. I was scared out of my mind.”
Name: Julia Robbins. I play Sis.
Year in school: 9th grader
How many MSHS productions have you been in?: This is my 1st.
What is a family vacation memory?: “We went on a family cruise and we stopped at a city near the Bahamas. My dad lost his money, his credit cards and his pass to get back on the ship. I thought we were going to have to leave my dad there.”
Name: Markus Caparron. I play Don (the protagonist)
Year in school: I’m a junior
How many MSHS productions have you been in?: 9 in total.
What is a family vacation memory?: “We were in Charleston, South Carolina. We had to take a bus back to the hotel. The driver was really nice, but the bus was very crowded. I got up so someone else could take my seat, so I had to stand in the aisle. The bus was weaving through traffic since Charleston is a big city. I had to hold on as we went.”
Name: Sara Mason. I play the mom
Year in School: I’m a senior
How many MSHS productions have you been in?: I’ve been in 10.
What is a family vacation memory?: “On my 12th birthday, we went to Tennessee and stayed in a hotel. I got up in the morning and the floor was wet. I told my mom, who said I was imagining it. She got up and realized the floor was in fact wet. It turns out, the lady next door to us had left the bathtub running and she flooded the entire first floor.”
Director Interview
In her own words,
an interview with Chris Taber
A case of laryngitis left Mahomet Seymour High School’s fall play director unable to speak to be interviewed. Instead, we relied on email.
Here are the words of fall play director Chris Taber about the upcoming performance and her new role with MS schools.
Hi Chris.
Congratulations on your new role as director of Mahomet Seymour High School’s fall play.
I see you live in Mahomet. How long have you lived here?
I’ve lived in Mahomet for 12 years, to the month as a matter of fact! I have two kids, one in 7th grade and one who is a freshman.
Is this your first experience with MS drama or did you work with previous productions at Mahomet Seymour?
This is my first experience with MS drama, other than as an audience member attending productions! I have directed many productions, mostly where I work in Champaign Unit 4 Schools. I also act a lot in the CU area, usually at The Station Theatre in Urbana but have also been onstage with CUTC and Parkland College.
What is your title with MSHS?
I am Director of the Fall Play. Since I hold a full-time teaching job with Unit 4, I don’t have the time to be in charge of the entire MSHS Drama Department. Ellen Ericson is the Drama Club sponsor, with Elizabeth Nielsen as Assistant Drama Club sponsor. They deal with the day-to-day business of keeping the club going!
What is your role with Unit 4?
I am in my 8th year teaching at Franklin Middle School in Champaign. I teach Drama all day to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I also sponsor their Drama Club, putting on a “Celebration of the Arts” each December (which highlights the work done in the Fine Arts classes) which includes performances by my Drama Club students. Each spring I direct the all-school musical.
You are working on “Leaving Iowa” as the fall play. When and where are the performances?
There are three chances to see Leaving Iowa: Friday November 13 and Saturday November 14 at 7pm, and Sunday November 15 at 2pm. Tickets: Students/Seniors $6 in advance ($7 at door). Adults $7 in advance ($8 at door). Tickets are available from cast members, Mahomet IGA, or Will Call by going to www.mshsbusinesscrew.weebly.com. All performances are in the High School auditorium.
We’re also doing a matinee for 7th graders on Tuesday November 10. It’s a great way for the cast to experience an audience before opening night!
How many are in the cast?
The cast is comprised of 29 students! We have at least that many more working behind-the-scenes as well!
Why did you chose “Leaving Iowa?”
I spent many hours researching and reading script excerpts, trying to find the “perfect” piece for this group! I wanted a nice mix of humor and sentiment. Humor for high-schoolers can be hard to find, with most scripts being too “cheesy” or, frankly, inappropriate! I also wanted it to be a good acting challenge for the students, so I looked for a variety of emotions for the kids to sink their teeth into. With each script, I also had to consider the number of total parts; I didn’t want a huge cast, but too small meant not many students could get involved. I also had to consider the number of male and female parts.
I have a great friend who teaches Drama at a Fine Arts High School in Colorado, and he recommended Leaving Iowa to me. After reading it, I knew it was perfect: There are basically 4 large roles, with several medium sized roles, and many smaller roles. Our protagonist goes on a journey emotionally, which means great fun for the actor! The medium and smaller roles are mostly comedic characters that our lead comes in contact with on his journey.
Leaving Iowa has flashback scenes to family summer vacations. Have you or your cast members been reliving any memorable family trips during the production?
The leads and I have shared fun (or horrific) memories of family vacations. I hope that when they’re adults they can look back fondly on not only the story of Leaving Iowa, but also this rehearsal process. I hope they can see all their crazy familial memories with a soft heart!
Where do you see the MS drama department heading? Traditionally, they did a smaller fall play, a spring musical and other student-directed productions. Will the department keep this general format?
It’s the plan of all of us now involved in leading MSHS’s Drama Department to offer the same opportunities to students that had been done in the past. We are working very hard to maintain the quality that this department has always been known for!
