08 | features
Feb. 01, 2017
FEATURES STUDENT LIFE
ENTERTAINMENT
“No Coast” play, written by Raygun owner Natalie Larimer Contributing Writer natalie.larimer@drake.edu @larimerslogic Plenty of artists can be found throughout the US, especially in big cities like Des Moines. Local entrepreneur Mike Draper has contributed in the form of witty t-shirts, via his business Raygun. But now Draper has a new project in the works, something to contribute to the theater scene of Des Moines and the Midwest.” “It’s the greatest play ever written about t-shirts, beards, bank fraud and Midwestern culture,” Draper said. His first play, called “No Coast” will debut in February of this year. While “No Coast” is based on Raygun, it’s not the history of the store. “It’s centered about a clothing store in Des Moines, Iowa, that does its own design, so the store is similar to Raygun in that some of the content is the same,” Draper said. “It’s a re-imagining of the store and the in-between of the creative side of running a business and the business side.” As it is a play about a clothing store, it has to have elements of running an actual business involved. “There are graphs of income versus expense and cash flow so anyone who watches it and wonders how a business works internally, they’re going to learn something,” Draper said. “I’m obviously not going to pitch it to people saying that there’s graphs about cash flow, but it is somewhat necessary to explain
how a business can sell a lot of stuff and bring in a lot of money while also struggling with finances.” Draper likened it to worrying about the next month’s income while also trying to come up with a funny Tweet. Once Draper had a script, he brought it to Kristen Larson, the head of the theater department at Grand View University in Des Moines. Larson is now directing the production. “It’s very unique to the Midwest and it’s really just very funny,” Larson said. “It’s very sweet and has a great cast, it’s just a good way for Midwesterners to enjoy a story with a lot of heart in it.” Draper said he would like to continue playwriting as a creative outlet from time to time. “It depends on how this turns out,” Draper said. “If this ends up being a total dumpster fire then I’m not sure it’ll motivate anyone in wanting to be in another theater endeavor with me. There’s no money in it so I’m not going to like, quit my day job and just do this.” Draper wrote the whole script in a couple hours after thinking about it for a long time while sleep-training his youngest son. When it got to Larson, it was a huge script that needed to be shaped into a polished form. The two met via a common acquaintance, Scott Siepker, who is playing the lead role im “No Coast.” Larson and Siepker own Goldfinch Theater together and have been working with each other for a couple years now, but this experience with Draper still
felt new and revitalizing. “It’s so easy and it’s fun and not burdened by a lot of drama or ego,” Larson said. “No Coast” is about Iowa in that it gives a critical viewpoint through the eyes of a local business in Des Moines. “It kind of takes the way that people think about Iowa and turns it on its head,” Larson said. “You get the view of a native Iowan who pokes fun at their own state. You’re going to have fun and it’s going to be a delightful experience.” The play takes some elements of satire, but is not classified specifically as a satirical play. “You could call it comedy. It doesn’t end in somebody dying so it’s not a tragedy,” Draper said. “It keeps the humor throughout and it kind of keeps human emotion at an arms length which. I was born without feelings, so that’s where I keep human emotions anyway.” It does not have the kind of slap-stick comedy that common in local theater, meaning that this could shape the scene of Midwestern-based plays. “In the middle of winter it is nice to get into a room with other Midwesterners and have a good laugh and hear a good story,” Larson said. Tickets are $15 each and the show will run from Feb. 10 through 17 at the Grand View Viking Theater. “I think it will be slightly above people’s expectations as long as their expectations are moderate,” Draper said.
Humans of Drake
The Times-Delphic tells the stories of Drake students and faculty Maddi Cheek Sophomore Anthropology and Sociology
Drake student shares stories of Drake Neighborhood memeber through podcast Haley Hodges Staff Writer haley.hodges@drake.edu
“NO COAST” hopes to redefine Midwestern theater productions. Draper’s play is satirical in a unique way and he hopes Iowans will appreciate his take on a humoring story . PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE DRAPER
Relays Brainstorming The Times-Delphic’s biggest issue, the 40-page full color Relays Edition, is right around the corner. Come work with the editorial staff to plan out and work on the edition at the Brainstorming Meeting on
Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Meredith Hall
When sophomore Madeline Cheek’s J-Term class in Mexico was canceled, she signed up for the “Humans of the Drake Neighborhood” class instead. “I wanted to take this class because we were going to do a project that we had a lot of liberty in,” Cheek said, and added that it counted toward her anthropology and sociology majors. While the name of the class may have been inspired by Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York” project, it aimed to capture people’s stories in a way that was different from most branch-off projects. Stanton’s “Humans of New York,” and, subsequently, “Humans of Drake,” involves a photo and provides a story. But for the Humans of the Drake Neighborhood, Cheek said her professor, Darcie Vandegrift, took to a new medium. “The medium we used to comment on the community studies that we did in the class were podcasts,” Cheek said. “So we listened to some podcasts, we did a trial podcast on a member of the class and then we did a big podcast project at the end.” “I learned that this whole underground world of podcasts exists,” Cheek said. “... It’s a great way of telling stories. We talked about it in class as a type of horizontal power because anyone can create a podcast, anyone can listen to a podcast and anybody can be part of a podcast. All you need is a cell phone, so that’s really cool.” For the final project, Cheek interviewed and did her podcast
on Lisa Grulke, a lab assistant at Drake, who lives in the area. “My partner had a connection with (Grulke), she had her for lab,” Cheek said. “(Grulke) has this reputation for being this incredibly kind and open person and a bunch of people who go to Drake know her. Our podcast is called ‘Lisa’s House’ because she invited us over to her home for the interview… and she opens her home to so many different people and students.” Cheek said that Gruike made them Norweigan waffles and coffee. She had a tea party spread with cheeses and fruits. She learned that “the most important part of storytelling is listening.” Cheek said that she has been a fan of “Humans of New York,” but was interested by this new take for her class and how it could be localized to the community around Drake. “We talked about how communities are made up of regular people and the best way to understand the community is to get into it and experience it and talk to people and find out what their experiences and needs are,” Cheek said. “The most important thing when getting involved in a community is that there are a lot of diverse needs in a community. If you only cater to one audience, your community is going to become static and ultimately fail, so the best way to keep the vibrant community is to remember and address diversity.” Cheek and her classmates’ podcasts are available through the Cowles Library archives.