Naperville Central presents “Leaving Iowa”
Are we there yet?
It's the classic question from the back seat of the family car. And it's the question that Nick Ciliak asks when he describes the flashbacks to family road trips in the comedy “Leaving Iowa.”
As the male lead, Ciliak and the rest of Theatre Central, Naperville Central High School's drama club, will perform the play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, in the Black Box Theater.
The play is about Don Browning's journey to find the proper resting place for his father's ashes. In the process, Browning remembers those vacations in scenes that will resonate with families who disagree but ultimately come together on the road, the cast says.
Both the set and the venue will help capture the tight-knit, “claustrophobic” feeling of a family in a car, said Tom Ulbrich, the play's faculty director. In fact, the audience will sit just two to three feet from the actors in the Black Box Theater, a new venue for Theatre Central's fall main stage show.
“It just lends itself to a nice, intimate venue,” Ulbrich said.
The theater contains a thrust stage so the audience surrounds the actors on three sides — a style the group has never tackled before.
“I'm always trying to find a challenge for my students,” Ulbrich said. “I'm looking at this as a real educational experience for my actors.”
The production also marks the first time Theatre Central has used digital images onstage. Appearing on a screen behind actors, the images will orient the audience during the family's trips, Ulbrich said.
Georgia Stirtz, who plays Browning's sister, said Theatre Central experiences its own family dynamic. She pointed to the group's slogan: “Welcome Home.”
“We envision this group as our second family,” Stirtz said. “We all love each other.”
The production continues at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 4 to 12. Tickets, $5, are sold at the door.
If you go
What: “Leaving Iowa,” staged by Naperville Central's Theatre Central drama club
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 4-12
Where: The Black Box Theater at Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave., Naperville
Cost: $5
Info: (630) 420-3885