New Quad-Cities Theater Group Presenting Susan Glaspell Play
The New Athens Players — a new theater group in the
QCA — will present:
SPOTLIGHT ON SUSAN GLASPELL — a 1 ½ hour program of three short stage pieces connected to the famous and yet still frequently neglected Pulitzer-Prize-winning
Davenport writer, Susan Glaspell. Glaspell, along with her husband, George Cram Cook, were active in the arts and literary scene in the
Quad Cities in the early 20th century; together they moved to the East Coast and founded the Provincetown Players, a ground-breaking theater company in which Eugene O’Neill got his start.
Directed by Mischa Hooker.
Show Dates:
•• Fri., Mar. 3: 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., Mar. 4: 7:30 p.m.
• Sun., Mar. 5: 2:00 p.m.
Location: The Village Theatre (211 E 11 St., Davenport, IA)
Tickets: $12 each (senior / student / military discount: $10); or 2 for $20 cash
Reservations: Email NewAthensPlayers@gmail.com (be sure to request reservations at least 24 hours before showtime; reservations are official when you receive confirmation email; any unclaimed reservations will be released for general purchase 10 mins before showtime)
Seating: General admission; doors will be open 30 minutes before performance time
The three pieces on the bill are:
• Susan Glaspell’s most famous one-act play, Trifles — a play that demonstrates the quiet solidarity between women in the context of a murder trial (based on a crime and investigation Susan Glaspell reported on in Des Moines)
• A dramatization of Susan Glaspell’s short story, “The Rules of the Institution” — a piece that showcases a young woman’s rebellion against arbitrarily imposed traditions of behavior
• A memorial of Susan Glaspell’s husband Jig Cook and his untimely death in Greece, made up of excerpts from the poetry of Cook, along with the reminiscences of Susan Glaspell and fellow Quad Cities writer Floyd Dell: “An Iowa Seer Comes Home to Greece: Memories of Jig Cook”
Concurrently and in sympathy with this production, but not formally affiliated with the company, Susan Glaspell scholar Marcia Noe will be giving a
public lecture, “What Was in the Water in Davenport? The Story of Three Davenport Writers,” at the Davenport Public Library at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, sharing some of the insights and researches from her new (2022) study Three Midwestern Playwrights: How Floyd Dell, George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell Transformed American Theatre. [
https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/event/9765700]
Inspired by the example of Susan Glaspell and the Provincetown Players, the NEW ATHENS PLAYERS plan to produce plays that are small-scale and intimate, yet adventurous and creative. With one foot in the traditions of the past and one foot in the innovative possibilities of the present and the future, we will pay homage to dramatic classics of all sorts, including the works of Susan Glaspell and the Provincetown Players, and those they drew on and influenced in turn, while also presenting newer works that give voice to the concerns and issues of the present.
In keeping with the goal of highlighting the often unrecognized achievements of Susan Glaspell, the NEW ATHENS PLAYERS will produce at least one piece written by Susan Glaspell or adapted from her work each season. In forging new theatrical ideas and aims, The Provincetown Players were relentless experimenters and especially presented programs of multiple one-act plays by different writers; this tradition of experimentation and attention to short forms will be continued in many of our programs.
The name of the group is inspired by a particular suggestion George Cram Cook made, that after their experience with the Provincetown Players, they should “gather the old Davenport crowd together … and make it a new Athens!”
Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.
