Notes On The Play
Director’s Note
The first answer is “No, but my father grew up in Iowa. In a little town called Independence. He was even married in the Little Brown Church in the Vale.” You can’t get much more Iowa than that. The real spark behind this work comes from being children of parents from the now dubbed “greatest generation.” Leaving Iowa is a toast to their idealism and character, and perhaps a little roast of their undying dedication to the classic family road trip. Leaving Iowa is a postcard to anyone who has ever found themselves driving alone on a road, revisiting fond memories of their youth.
-Tim Clue
More About The Show
Leaving Iowa was developed in a suburban Chicagoland theatre before it was noticed by Jeff Daniels’ and his Purple Rose Theatre, an organization solely focused on supporting Midwestern plays and playwrights. If not for the experience with director Tony Caselli, and a dedicated cast and crew, this play and these words would not exist. The Purple Rose is to be forever applauded for their commitment and effort to not only this work, but other struggling writers as well. Fortunately, the show also premiered to critical praise and achieved record sales in its debut.
Leaving Iowa premiered at the Purple Rose Theatre Company on January 22, 2004, in Chelsea, MI. Directed by Anthony Caselli. John Lepard as Don, Grant Krause as Dad, Elizabeth Ann Townsend as Mom, Teri Clark as Sister, and Jim Porterfield as the male chorus.
About the Authors
SPIKE MANTON
I was born on a farm in upstate New York, but my parents moved us to a bustling metropolis of almost two thousand people, where I grew up in your standard 1960’s family unit of four kids, two parents and one station wagon. As child number three, I am very familiar with the seating location known as “the way back”. After graduating Bradley University, I moved to Chicago, quit my cushy Procter & Gamble sales job, got married and began a career in standup comedy. Standup lead to some cable TV shows like Evening at the Improv, MTV and Comedy Central and more importantly, a career in radio. Over the past 10 years I have been on The Steve Dahl Show, ESPN Radio and the LOOP. Along the way, I have been trying to create, write and produce from right here in Chicago with my college friend, Tim Clue. Leaving Iowa is the best example of executing that plan to date. Finally, I need to credit my wife, Tami for the work she did with the production. It was way more than Group Sales, and while I’m still not sure I recommend working with your spouse, I am way more than grateful.
TIM CLUE
My first writing gig was – and still is – stand-up comedy. However, in 1991 I established Short Story Theater with Marco Benassi, a multimedia theatrical company that combined short fiction adaptations with documentary footage. Greek Streets was the theater’s inaugural work; using short stories by Chicago’s Greek scribe Harry Mark Petrakis. Other Definitions of Confinement premiered at the National Jewish Theater in 1993 and introduced the life and writings of Russian political prisoner Dmitry Stonov. In 1997, Coloring Potential, focused on the stories of Chicago’s inner-city youth. In 1999, Spike Manton and I wrote and directed a Chicago-based television sitcom pilot Tiny Pig that made into the ‘can’, but not on TV. Like all failed projects, it is currently being adapted into a comedy musical. Leaving Iowa is also being written as a screenplay. I grew up in Rochelle, IL, and I still live in Chicago with my wife, Kathryn Lake, with one cat, no kids, and no station wagon.
