Home    About Us    News    Current Shows    Past Shows    Academics    Scholarships    AP0    Faculty
The Morningside College experience cultivates a passion for life-long learning and a dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility.

Please send questions or comments about this site to moss@morningside.edu

News

Updated, 11/24/2009

Fall 2009 & Spring 2010

 

October 28 , 2009

Morningside College theatre department

to present “Agnes of God”

The Morningside College theatre department will present John Pielmeier’s “Agnes of God” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, November 12-14, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 15, at Klinger-Neal Theatre, 3700 Peters Avenue.

“Agnes of God” tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth to a newborn that dies and then claims the death was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior clash during the resulting investigation.

The play has a cast of only three characters, who are Martha, the psychiatrist; the mother superior; and Agnes, the novice. There are no other actors on stage.

The play was adapted for a movie in 1985 that starred Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, and Meg Tilly.

Cast members are Whitney Gries, a senior from Onawa, Iowa, as Dr. Martha Livingstone; Geana Schneider, a senior from Merrill, Iowa, as Mother Superior Miriam Ruth; and Madalyn Mardesen, a sophomore from Elliott, Iowa, as Agnes. Gries is also the production’s costume designer.

The play is directed by Bette Skewis-Arnett, professor and chair of the theatre department. She is also the play’s scenic designer. Brittney Foxhoven, a sophomore from South Sioux City, Neb., is stage manager. Art Moss, assistant professor of theatre, is the lighting designer.

Members of the crew include April Parkison, a senior from Omaha, Neb., graphic designer; Andrew Curry, a sophomore from Urbandale, Iowa, backstage manager; Mackenzie Deeds, a senior from Sioux City, house manager; Tom Chilton, a junior from Sioux City, assistant house manager; and Tyrel Drey, a senior from Storm Lake, Iowa, light board operator.

General admission is $5 for adults and $1 for students.

Back to Top

August 21, 2009

Morningside theatre department

to present “Beowulf”

Morningside College’s theatre department will present a one-man performance of “Beowulf” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, and on Saturday, Sept. 12, with a high school student matinee at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, at Klinger-Neal Theatre, 3700 Peters Avenue.

Arthur Moss, assistant professor of theatre at Morningside College, adapted the Old English epic into a one-man show, and he will be featured in the performance.

In the original poem, Beowulf gains fame and fortune as a young man when he kills two formidable monsters and eventually becomes king of his people. Later, when Beowulf is an old man, he must battle a fire-breathing dragon. Although he kills the dragon, he is mortally wounded, and the poem ends with his funeral.

Moss shortened the first half of the poem down to about a third of its original length, and he wrote an interpretation of the poem that follows the style of the original. He also wrote a framing device that puts the poem in a specific context.

“Art Moss has written a gripping adaptation of ‘Beowulf’ that translates the sound and vocabulary of Old English poetry into a modern idiom,” said Marty Knepper, professor and chair of English and interim chair of theatre at Morningside.

Moss has more than 30 years of experience in theatre. He has a Master of Fine Arts in acting and directing from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and he has trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

“‘Beowulf’ is probably the most influential poem ever written,” Moss said. “It’s been turned into plays, musicals, video games, movies, cartoons, graphic novels, you name it. In my version of ‘Beowulf,’ I’ve tried to make the language straightforward and powerful, so the poem should be fairly easy to follow. It’s an exciting story.”

General admission is $5 and $1 for Morningside students and other area college students with a valid ID.  Reservations can be obtained by calling the Klinger-Neal Theatre box office at 712-274-5197.

Reservations for high school classes may be made by contacting Marcie Ponder at ponder@morningside.edu or 712-274-5126. There is no admission charge for the high school student matinee.

Back to Top

August 24, 2009

Morningside College sponsors annual theatre trip to Wisconsin

The Morningside College English and theatre departments are sponsoring a trip to Spring Green, Wis., Sept. 24-26 to see classical plays produced by the professional American Players Theatre company. The trip is open to the public. 

This year's plays include a Shakespearean farce, a Noel Coward comedy and the most famous Shakespearean play about war.

Shakespeare's “The Comedy of Errors,” about two sets of twins causing confusion in one city on one day, is full of slapstick humor and word play. Underlying the farce is a serious exploration of loss and identity. The witty comedy in Coward's “Hay Fever” revolves around the stylish and eccentric Bliss family on a country weekend at home with befuddled guests. “Henry the Fifth” is a panorama of England at war with France, the English forces led by prodigal son Prince Hal, now the King of England. Hal must prove himself as politician, warrior, rhetorician and wooer. He must also confront the painful ethical quandaries of war deep in his own soul. A possible alternative play is Eugene O'Neill's American tragedy “A Long Day's Journey into Night.”

APT's open air theatre is located in a wooded area along the Wisconsin River. It features comfortable seating, a bus to take people up the hill, a snack bar and a gift shop. The trip will allow free time for exploring the area, as well as a chance to talk with APT actors and technical staff.

"The APT experience is a mix of the best classical theatre professionally produced with the beauty of nature and most of the amenities of an indoor theatre," said Marty Knepper, trip organizer and chair of the English and theatre departments. "The Spring Green area is full of wonderful arts and crafts shops, outdoor opportunities such as golfing and hiking, and major tourist attractions such as the House on the Rock and the Frank Lloyd Wright School.”

The group will leave Sioux City on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. and travel by car pool to Spring Green, returning on Saturday, Sept. 26, at about midnight. The group will stay at Spring Valley Inn, a hotel designed in Frank Lloyd Wright style.

Information on the trip, including a registration form, is available in the "Activities" section of the English department Web site: webs.morningside.edu/English. The cost of the trip – $275 for adults – covers travel, hotel, tickets and some meals.  Students are eligible to apply for a travel grant that lowers the cost of the trip to $195.  The travel grant application is also available on the Web site. The deadline for trip registration is Sept. 15. There is room for 25 persons on the trip, so those interested should sign up early.

Back to Top

Older News

Morningside College theatre department to present "The Mime" 02/10/2009
Morningside College theatre department to present "Macbeth" 02/05/2009
Morningside College theatre department to present "The Dining Room" 11/14/2009
Morningside College theatre department to present children's musical "Rapunzel" 09/23/2008
Morningside College sponsors annual theater trip to Wisconsin 08/15/2008
Morningside College presents "Symphony in Sneeze" 08/08/2008
Morningside College presents "The Emperor's New Clothes" 07/24/2008
Morningside College presents concert version of Broadway musical "Side Show" 06/27/2008
 

Back to Top