Invisible Theatre News

Families in Conflict | Review | Tucson Weekly : Families in Conflict IT's 'Kisses' exudes humanity, while LTW's 'Wife' delivers hilarity by Nathan Christensen Iron Kisses is an odd title for the play currently running at Invisible Theatre. It penetrates the complexities of family dynamics, but does so with warmth and humanity rather than a cutting edge. The show begins with actor Dwayne Palmer alone on stage, sitting in a plain wooden chair and speaking to the audience in gentle tones. He pulls a drawing by a child out of a box and explains that the yellow lines emanating from the figure's head are not strands of hair, but rays of happiness. Then c...

'Iron Kisses' warmly embraces parents, kids who love each other 'Iron Kisses' warmly embraces parents, kids who love each other Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010 Dysfunctional families have made for some juicy theatrics - from "Medea" to "Next to Normal," we have families falling apart and deep in crisis. So it's kind of a relief to see "Iron Kisses," Invisible Theatre's latest offering. The James Still comic drama is a family-centric play that looks on the four members - parents, son, daughter - with humor and compassion. And they are our parents, our children, our next-door neighbors. The parents struggle with a son who is gay - a fact of life that is foreign to them. But they love him, and while his lifestyle confuses them, it doesn't change their love. The daughter is in an unhappy marriage, and the parents struggle with that, too - they just want their children t...

THRICE AS NICE: TWO ACTORS PLAY THREE CHARACTERS EACH IN “IRON KISSES” by Chuck Graham tucsonstage.com What is gender exactly? What does it matter? What does it really mean, aside from the biological differences in plumbing? Underneath the socially approved manners and dress for men and women, are we all the same? Playwright James Still kind of says we are in “Iron Kisses,” a one-act of domestic drama designed to contrast and compare the emotional differences of one loving family in a small Midwestern town. His play is set on two actors. The new Invisible Theatre production casts Carrie Hill and Dwayne Palmer. In lengthy monologues, each plays both parents. Then as the tension escalates, Hill becomes Barbara and Palmer becomes Billy, the grown children of those two parents, reflecting on their home lives and sibling loyalties. It is a daring theatrical manipulation, which these actors make work beautifully. With direction by Gail Fitzhugh, we see traditional parent roles transform fro...

'Iron Kisses' delves into family dynamics Just 2 actors and 4 characters will cover a lot of domestic ground 'Iron Kisses' delves into family dynamics Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 12:00 am Family. Just the word conjures up images of conflict and comfort. Love that is intense and unconditional. It's a subject that has long occupied playwright James Still, author of plays for adults and children, television programs for children, and of "Iron Kisses," which Invisible Theatre will open next week. "Mysteries of family, issues of forgiveness," he said, talking by phone from his Seattle home. "I've been writing long enough to realize that in many ways, I've always been writing about the dynamics of family." "Iron Kisses" has all the elements of a normal family: the parents confounded by their adult children, and the children by their parents. Turmo...