Funds Will Upgrade Key Areas of Riverfront Civic Center

MOLINE - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a $4 million capital investment to update and improve the iWireless Center in Moline. Today's action is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward.

"The iWireless Center draws events and visitors from around the country and is key to the continued economic development of the area," Governor Quinn said. "These improvements will help the center better serve families in the Quad Cities for years to come."

The state investment to the Illinois Quad City Civic Center Authority (IQCCCA) is part of Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program. It will include a concourse expansion and new lower bowl area seating, as well as upgrades to the center's security and lighting systems, roof, flooring, climate control systems, plumbing and ice rink equipment. Accessibility improvements will also be made. The project will help the center stay competitive with other regional venues and continue to be a positive economic development force for the Quad Cities area.

"On behalf of the iWireless Center, we are extremely pleased that Governor Quinn and our area legislators have released these funds," IQCCCA Chairman Paul Mulcahey said. "These funds will be used to enhance the services we currently provide our community. These monies will enable us to maintain a first-rate facility for the people of our community."

The 11,000-seat facility opened in 1993. It is located at 1201 River Drive on land donated by Deere & Co. and its original construction was funded through a combination of state, local and private funds. It is the area's prime venue for entertainment and conventions and these events have a positive impact on local sales and hotel-motel tax revenues.

"The iWireless Center has been an economic boom for the area since it opened in 1993," State Senator Mike Jacobs (D-Moline) said. "The Center provides space for everything from concerts to sporting events and is the premier venue for entertainment in the region. These funds will help make improvements that will keep the arena up to date and competitive for many years."

"The iWireless Center is a well-managed venue and has a great positive economic impact on our community," State Rep. Pat Verschoore (D-Milan) said. "I have been working with members of the center to secure these funds, which will help improve this valuable asset in our community and help ensure it continues to entertain Illinois residents for years to come."

"We need to ensure that the iWireless Center remains a top destination, not only in the Midwest but in the entire nation," State Rep. Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) said. "These funds will help the iWireless Center continue to create jobs in the Quad Cities."

The iWireless Center funding is part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.

After producing five acclaimed plays, one of them a world premiere, during the company's first 13 months, Davenport's QC Theatre Workshop is set to stage its first musical with the debuting Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim.

Running Friday, November 1, through Sunday, November 17 at the QC Theatre Workshop (1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport), Last Call is an original revue of songs featuring lyrics and/or music by the legendary Sondheim, the winner of eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for 1985's Sunday in the Park with George. Lauded for such classic works as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Company, and numerous others, Sondheim has been described by the New York Times as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre," and according to Last Call's producer and music director Tyson Danner, consequently seemed like the perfect artist to celebrate in the Workshop's first musical endeavor.

"While our first season consisted entirely of plays," says Danner, who also serves as his company's Artistic Director, "we at the Workshop have been looking forward to presenting a musical that would highlight the vast talents of Quad Cities singers. And when we had the idea of producing a revue, it only made sense to feature the songs of one of the kings of the modern musical."

Created by Danner and director Mike Schulz, Last Call features performances of more than two dozen numbers from Sondheim's musical canon - songs ranging from Dick Tracy's Oscar-winning "Sooner or Later" to Company's well-known "Ladies Who Lunch" to the rarely heard "Take Me to the World" from the 1966 TV-movie Evening Primrose.

Yet the show also weaves its songs together in the form of a mostly dialogue-free narrative (conceived by Danner and Schulz) set in a hotel bar, with a group of spouses, lovers, friends, and strangers crossing paths, reminiscing, and falling in and out of love over the course of Last Call's 90-minute running length.

Says Danner, "It's a testament to Sondheim's brilliant songwriting that each of these numbers can be interpreted in so many ways. Out of hundreds of possibilities, we chose the songs that played to our actors' greatest strengths, and they've had a blast approaching the material in different contexts."

Featured among Last Call's cast are: Erin Churchill (Circa '21's Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the District Theatre's Avenue Q); Don Denton (Circa '21's Miracle on 34th Street and The Full Monty); Angela Elliott (the District Theatre's Company and Sweeney Todd); James Fairchild (Circa '21's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, the District Theatre's Rent); Kim Furness (Circa '21's Southern Crossroads, the Curtainbox Theatre Company's Time Stands Still); Patrick Gimm (Playcrafters' The Trouble with Cats, the Prenzie Players' The Rover); Mark Ruebling (Quad City Music Guild's Curtains, Countryside Community Theatre's Gypsy); Allison Swanson (St. Ambrose University's alumni presentation of You Can't Take It with You, the Curtainbox's Wit); and, in her area-theatre debut, Sara Tubbs (ComedySportz's "Sketchville" ensemble).

Only Elliott, who played Barbara in the springtime comedy boom, has performed in a previous Workshop production, and Danner is thrilled to have her joined by eight area talents appearing in their first show for the company.

"This season," Danner says, "we began holding open auditions for every production, and we were overjoyed to have such a strong turnout for Last Call. It has been a delight to work with both longtime colleagues and performers we haven't had the chance to collaborate with before.

"Each time an actor appears for the first time in a Workshop production, they bring new ideas that make the theatre more dynamic and exciting. We're sure our patrons are going to enjoy this incredible cast."

As with the Workshop's five previous productions, Last Call will be presented under the company's popular "Pay What It's Worth" policy, which allows patrons to determine their own ticket prices following each performance.

, call (563)650- 2396 or e-mail qctheatreworkshop@gmail.com, or visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim performances

Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 2, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 3, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 10, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 17, 3 p.m.

QC Theatre Workshop

1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport, Iowa, 52804

(563)650-2396

info@QCTheatreWorkshop.org

QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Facebook.com/QCTheatreWorkshop

SPAMALOT, ANGELINA BALLERINA, LORIE LINE AND MORE AT THE CCPA IN NOVEMBER

The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts will welcome local, national, and international talent for a variety of November events.

The schedule includes:

·        City Circle Acting Company's production of Monty Python's SPAMALOT (October 25-November 1, performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm).  This Tony-Award winning  musical is "lovingly ripped off" from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Tickets are $12-$27.

·        Flutes for Food (November 6 at 6:30pm) Students of West Conservatory teachers Megan Hofeldt, Beth Ramsey, Shivhan Dohse, and Sarah Beland perform in solos, duets, and small group ensembles.  The program concludes with the West Music Flute Choir of over 40 flutists performing Simple Gifts. The price of admission is a non-perishable food item to benefit the Johnson County Crisis Center, North Liberty Food Pantry, and Coralville Ecumenical Food Pantry.

·        Vital Theatre Company's national tour of Angelina Ballerina The Musical (November 10 at 1pm and 4pm

·        The Alejandro Ziegler Tango Orchestra (November 12 at 6:30pm).  Directly from Buenos Aries, the Alejandro Ziegler quartet will perform classical tango, mixed with their own compositions.  Ziegler's style of tango music reflects both innovation and tradition.  Audience members are invited to dance on the stage during the concert.  Tickets are $12-$23; patrons have the option of adding on a special reception with the artist at Mendoza Wine Bar for an additional $8.

·        Lorie Line: Born in Bethlehem (November 14 at 7:30pm).  Lorie Line's 2013 Holiday Tour begins in Coralville and will feature favorites and brand new seasonal songs.  Expect all the elements that make a Lorie Line show successful: signature musical arrangements with her Fab Five, colorful costumes, stories, world-class musicians, and most importantly, bells!  Tickets are $48.

·        Kirkwood Instrumental Jazz Ensembles featuring Gabe Medd (November 22 at 7:30pm) Kirkwood Community College presents the Kirkwood Jazz Ensemble and the CR Jazz Big Band in concert under the direction of Kirkwood's Director of Instrumental Jazz Studies and Jazz Educators Hall of Famer Al Naylor.  Guest artist Gabe Medd is a Coralville native who is finishing his degree at Julliard.  Tickets are $7-$12.

·        City Ballet of Iowa: Winter Dances (November 24 at 2pm).  This dance performance features City Ballet, Edith Ballet Academy, and Movment Dance Co.  Tickets $6-$10.

·        2013 Generations of Jazz (November 25 at 7pm) features the Silver Swing Big Band, a subset of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center New Horizons Band, with Iowa City High School Jazz Ensemble, West Brand High School Jazz Band, West Liberty High School Jazz One Ensemble, Lin-Mar's Colton Center Jazz Ensemble, and Moline High School Jazz Ensemble.  This event is free and open to the public.

Further information on these events and details on other upcoming events are available at CoralvilleArts.org.

Tickets for most CCPA events are available by phone at 319.248.9370, online at CoralvilleArts.org, and in person at the CCPA box office at 1301 5^th Street and Coralville Recreation Center at 1506 8^th Street.

Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events.  The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others.  Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 16 school events took place at the Center in the 2012-2013 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Iowa Insurance Division Continues to Inspire Students to Create Good Money Habits

Minneapolis, MN (October 18, 2013) - For the seventh year in a row, the Iowa Insurance Division will sponsor a unique, theatre-based program for middle schools throughout the state that will entertain and educate tens of thousands of students on the ways they can create good personal money habits.  Mad About Money II: Pay Yourself First! opens on October 21 and will play to 100 Iowa middle schools at no cost to the individual schools.  It is an entertaining and inspiring program - featuring live, educational theatre performances by professional actors - that also includes print and Internet curriculum for use in the classroom and at home.

All the characters in Mad About Money II: Pay Yourself First are play by two experienced improvisational actors who play eight different characters in the 40-minute program that's performed for the entire school.  Students learn important lessons about their money management and buying habits through four comical and informative sketches, including:

• Wages minus deductions equals take-home pay
• Saving and investing always have some risk involved
• Don't let advertisers make your decisions for you
• What is "opportunity cost?"

The program is produced by The National Theatre for Children (NTC), and while performances and educational content are completely scripted, the shows themselves are built to incorporate moments of improvisation.  At the beginning of each scene, actors solicit information from the audience that is then humorously integrated into the show.  "Using humor to illustrate a particular point about money management is really powerful with this age group," says Craig Goettsch of the Iowa Insurance Division. "That's why we keep bringing these NTC programs back year after year.  It's never too soon to begin good money habits, and we want to expose these ideas to as many Iowa students as possible."

But the financial education doesn't stop with the end of the audience applause.  Following the performances, students return to their classrooms to complete print activities and digital classroom games that further reinforce the financial literacy concepts from the show. Combining live, educational theatre with interactive classroom activities and homework assignments enhances retention of the important lessons.  "Our goal is to help educate the future generation of earners, savers, spenders and investors," continues Mr. Goettsch.  "That's why we're offering Mad About Money free-of-charge to the schools.  The smarter they are with their money today, the better off we'll all be in the future."

The Mad About Money program and format was the focus of a study conducted by financial literacy researcher Dr. Lewis Mandell.  His study provided empirical evidence that NTC-style productions?live educational theatre combined with print and classroom activities - positively influence student attitudes on personal finance.  For a copy of Dr. Mandell's study, please contact NTC.