The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

‘Gidion’s Knot’ set for stage this weekend

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Up Up And Away Photography
Corryn, Gidion’s mother played by Doreen Loring, reads a note that was given to her son by a girl. The play “Gidion’s Knot” will be preformed in Public Space One on March 4, 5, 11, and 12 at 7:30. (The Daily Iowan/Karley Finkel)

Parent-teacher conferences: Children’s best or worst efforts will reach the ears of their mothers and fathers. However, Gidion’s mother and teacher must discuss something much more tragic than failing grades

Dreamwell Theater’s Gidion’s Knot, by Johnna Adams, is set for the stage this weekend and next at Public Space One, 120 N. Dubuque St.

In the play, Gidion, an imaginative fifth-grader with a knack for writing, has completed suicide. Over the course of the play, his teacher, Heather, and mother, Corryn, question what could have led this bright boy to his horrific decision

Despite the play’s title, Gideon never appears on stage.

“Gidion is very present throughout the show, just in [the actors’] expressions and how they talk about him and the impact he has on both of them,” director Matthew Falduto said.

Doreen Loring (Corryn) and Michele Payne Hinz (Heather), the only two actors, have their own ideas of what Gidion was like and the kind of person he was. Gidion is a cute, bright student who hears things others wouldn’t hear in the mind of Loring. Hinz imagines him as a boy who’s lost, taller than the rest of the class, whose hair is never combed. These visions give life to a boy the audience never gets to see.

The show is scripted to seem like a conversation. The lines sound natural, and the script even includes pauses. Additionally, the show will only be around 70 minutes, as the subjects the women discuss are pretty heavy.

“It’s been challenging to have this conversational tone over these very weighty topics and to get it to sound natural and yet powerful at the same time,” said assistant director Madonna Smith.

Smith worked with Dreamwell many years ago; *Gideon’s Knot* is her first show back in Iowa City.

Loring and Hinz have both had a difficult time adapting to being on stage for the show’s entirety. They each have about two minutes off stage. The show continually builds to a climax, so there is no intermission.

“There are a lot of starts and stops,” Loring said. “It flows naturally watching something that is actually happening.”

Heather is a second-year teacher who is very new to children, having none of her own. Hinz can relate to her character because she’s been a teacher for years.

“I’ve been teaching for a really long time, and most days, I still feel like I’m a newbie teacher,” she said. “It’s one of those things where the target keeps moving, and you never know exactly what’s going to happen on any given day.”

Falduto has been waiting years to put on this production. Adams is a playwright people are really going to pay attention to in future, he said.

“It’s a play that will change you,” he said, “It will have you leaving the theater asking questions, and that’s what good theater does.”

Theater

Gidion’s Knot

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday, March 11 & 12

Where: Public Space One, 120 N. Dubuque

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