Synopsis
This piece is the first play for young audiences to receive the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays Award. Still Life with Iris is a fantastical adventure which centers on a little girl's search for the simplest of things: home. Iris lives with her mom in the land of Nocturno—a magical place in which the workers make, by night, all of the things we see in the world by day. Also, in Nocturno, memories do not reside in people's minds but instead are kept in their coats (called "Past Coats"). The rulers of Nocturno, the Great Goods, are determined to have the "best" of everything on their island—and therefore take Iris away from her home and bring her to Great Island to be their daughter. To ease the pain of this separation, they remove her Past Coat, leaving her with no memory of her home or her family. All that remains of Iris' past is a single button from her coat. Using the button as a clue, Iris joins with friends she meets on her journey—Annabel Lee (a young woman from the sea) and Mozart (the composer, age 11)—and frees herself from the Great Goods. She returns to Nocturno, having found her past, and her home.
Notes
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Details
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Status
In stock
- Type of Show Full-length Play
- Product Code SG2000
- Cast Size 9
- Min. Royalty Rate $110/perf
- Cost $11.95
- Approx. Run Time 60 min
Categories
- Target Audience Young Audiences | Middle School | Family (all ages)
- Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre
- Genre Drama
- ISBN(13) 9781583426791
Customer Reviews
- "Still Life with Iris is a magical journey about the importance of memory and family. The production gives each actor an opportunity to explore and develop wonderful characters and promotes creative design in set, props, and costumes. It can be as simple or as complex as you'd like! Audiences of all ages will enjoy this wonderful show."
- Review by Joe Sendek, Perry HS Theatre, Perry, Ga.
- "This is a great show for newer-to-theatre students. Lots of great opportunities for comedy and serious moments."
- Review by Kendall Snyder, Rushing Middle School, Prosper, Texas
- "This was a fun and great show to work on with middle schoolers. "
- Review by Josee Axberg, Maple Grove Middle School, Maple Grove, Minin.
- "This was such a beautiful script. My students really enjoyed how the story weaved together so many different ideas. The mix of humor and depth of characters was just what my middle schoolers needed to dig deep into a character yet still have a great time and experience with the comedic moments. It was also fun to design and direct for me!"
- Review by Robin Leigh James-Ostrander, Hughes Springs Junior High, Hughes Springs, Texas
- "Incredible ensemble piece, I love the way it is written."
- Review by Velocity Brown, Linda Jobe Middle School, Mansfield, Texas
- "This script is a wonderful example of a well written drama that plays for all ages and performed by high school students. It has many lyrical qualities, both comic and intense emotional moments. With a splash of mystery."
- Review by Dave Denninger, West Lutheran HS, Plymouth. Minn.
- "Still Life With Iris is a magical and fantastical play filled with imaginative and allegorical elements. Appealing to children and adults, Dietz takes us into the contrasting spheres of Nocturno and Great Island as Iris adventurously explores her place in the world."
- Review by Nancy Vitulli, Cranston High School West, Cranston, R.I.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
- "The most challenging aspect was figuring out the glass case scene. A great piece for young actors to get challenge themselves to make 2 characters different even though they were the same person in Matternot/Dad and Mom/Overlook."
- Tip by Josee Axberg, Maple Grove Middle School, Maple Grove, Minin.
- "We used projections in our show to help with all the props that were needed, especially when it came to the Great Goods. We also made past coats from jackets at Goodwill and added patches and buttons."
- Tip by Haley Crowe, Whitesboro Middle School, Whitesboro, Texas
- "Keep the set simple to allow for easy and fluid transitions from one setting to another. Allow time to develop the soundscape of the production that is driven by Mozart music."
- Tip by Nancy Vitulli, Cranston High School West, Cranston, R.I.
Productions
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stageworks Theatre | Houston | Texas | 5/1/2025 | 5/10/2025 |
| Theatre Albany | Albany | Georgia | 10/28/2024 | 11/14/2024 |
| Conway High School | Conway | South Carolina | 11/9/2024 | 11/9/2024 |
| C.H. Yoe High School | Cameron | Texas | 12/9/2024 | 12/10/2024 |
| Wyoming County East High School | New Richmond | West Virginia | 10/24/2024 | 11/30/2024 |
| La Grange PAC | La Grange | Texas | 1/29/2025 | 1/29/2025 |
Downloads
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- Your local copy shop should be able to create prints from a file saved to disk. They might even be able to increase the size of the poster for you (although some loss of resolution will occur).
Gallery
Perry High School, Perry, GA
