Off Hours: Pride, the Playhouse's latest production and gearing up for summer events
Hello there, I'm arts/entertainment reporter Isaac Hamlet and my favorite set of five words from a song by The Mountain Goats is "the shrieking of innumerable gibbons" from "Idylls of the King."
Welcome to Off Hours, a new weekly newsletter on all things entertainment from the Des Moines Register, authored by reporters and occasional guest writers, that showcases all things fun you can do in central Iowa. If you sign up for our newsletter, you get to see this early Thursday morning in your inbox.
The Deal
Here’s the deal: With summer on the horizon, there are a lot of big events being planned over the next three months in Des Moines. CelebrAsian has already made its 2022 return, Des Moines Art Festival is only a few weeks away and deeper into the summer we'll have the behemoth Iowa State Fair on our hands.
Cool as these events are, there are plenty of smaller events and festivities happening in Des Moines alone. Just one example of programming for these comes from Dizzy Ransmeier.
Dizzy is the shop coordinator at The Slow Down Coffee Co., 3613 Sixth Ave., in the Highland Park neighborhood. Since starting at The Slow Down last August, Dizzy has introduced temporary exhibits to the specialty coffee shop.
"I'm an artist myself, and I really enjoy creating space for artists and like encouraging new and emerging artists to show their work and just giving them the space to show them," they said.
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Through the end of June, The Slow Down will have work from a dozen area artists as part of The Art of Pride Group Show. Though the event's opening reception has passed, the art will remain up — with certain pieces available for purchase — through June 30.
On top of that, Dizzy will be organizing the first Hpop (Highland Park/Oak Park) Pride Fest for the neighborhood. Running from 4 to 8 p.m. on June 18, the event will include food, live performances and work from LGBTQ artists.
Holding the upcoming Hpop Pride Fest event occurred to Dizzy not long after moving to Iowa with their partner.
"We were sitting at an all-ages drag show and I looked around and there was all these queer youth with their Pride flags on and really enjoying the drag show," Dizzy recalled. "It's so rare because so many queer events are after hours, so there's no space for them. That's why I just wanted to make like a really friendly neighborhood-sized, all-ages event, where people would feel comfortable with their families."
Next weekend's event will be a Pride celebration in the Highland Park area. Smaller than the downtown Des Moines event occurring this weekend, Hpop Pride Fest will be more like a neighborhood block party in the parking lot next to the Highland Park Hardware Co.
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Dizzy also has a band called Dizzy Shakes — which consists of Ryan Stier, Angie Barr, Amanda Gibbons and San Miller — and that group will be among the performers at next weekend's event.
Dizzy hopes to continue hosting neighborhood events like this while also making Hpop Pride Fest a growing, recurring occasion.
"I'd love to be able to like find some sort of nonprofit umbrella... to expand and have more artists and to maybe make it a more than a one-day thing," they said. "It's not about making money to shop, but about the community and (being able to use) the coffee shop as the platform for all these things."
What are summer festivals/events coming up that are unique to your neighborhood? Let me know at ihamlet@registermedia.com.
My Top Three Pride Month Events
1. Todrick Hall performance: If you're not at least somewhat familiar with Todrick Hall, then you're not a younger millennial hanging out on YouTube with a love of musicals. Todrick is famous for competing on Season 9 of "American Idol," releasing viral YouTube videos and appearing as a recurring judge on "RuPaul’s Drag Race." He performs some of his big hits such as "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels," and "I Like Boys" at 9 p.m., June 11 on the Pride Fest mainstage in the East Village in front of Raygun, 505 E. Grand Ave.
2. Broadway Sing-Along: Maybe you're less interested in listening to singing and are keener on participating in it? If that's the case, then it could be worth your time to check out local jazz club Noce, 1326 Walnut St., on June 15. The venue will be holding two sing-along shows at 6 and 9 p.m.
3. 515 Manifestival: Scheduled for June 18 in Western Gateway Park, the Manifestival is meant to highlight the work of entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups, with a focus on Black and LGBTQ business owners who will have booths showcasing their work and wares. This year's event runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
What events are you most looking forward to? Let me know at ihamlet@registermedia.com.
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Eat This, Drink That
Buffalo chicken pizza, $6.75 per slice: I'm not usually a big fan of Buffalo chicken, on pizza or otherwise, but almost a year into living in Des Moines, I decided I have enough faith in Dough Co. to give this option a chance. I'm glad I did. The pizzeria isn't too heavy-handed with the Buffalo ranch drizzle, letting it complement the onion, chicken and blue cheese, all on top of the Dough Co. crust I already love.
Get it: Dough Co., 2330 University Ave., in the Drake Neighborhood is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Dragonbomb, $5.50: Before, my favorite part of your standard shots is sucking on the lime at the end. That's now changed with the Dam Pub's Dragonbomb. Anyone who's seen my previous newsletters knows I like sweet drinks and the dragonberry rum, raspberry schnapps and cranberry juice in this drink form a delightful mix that almost made me want to savor it rather than knocking it back in one go.
Get it: Dam Pub, 2710 Beaver Ave., is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
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48 Hours Off
Friday night: "Pieces of My Heart" is a new production being staged this weekend at the Des Moines Civic Center, 221 Walnut St. The work is created by Sonia Dawkins, founder of SD/Prism Dance Theatre, and sets unpublished poems of famed playwright August Wilson ("Fences," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom") to a blues and jazz score. The event, which has a 7:30 p.m. showing on Friday, also has poems from the playwright's daughter, Azula Wilson.
Saturday afternoon: After months of work, the Des Moines Botanical Garden Founder's Garden is up and running. This latest addition is a dry meadow garden that also serves to commemorate the late Tom Urban, the former mayor of Des Moines who helped revitalize interest in the Botanical Garden. Located at 909 Robert D. Ray Drive, the Botanical Garden is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Saturday night: The Des Moines Latino Film Festival wraps up with a full day of activities for the family at Riverview Park, 710 Corning Ave. in Des Moines, starting at 11 a.m. Watch short films such as the 2021 SciFi fantasy “Theo” at 12:30 p.m., “Living All of Life” (“Vivir Toda la Vida”) at 12:55 p.m., the documentary “Pushing the Limits” at 1:30 p.m., “The Boy and the Mountain” (“El Niño y La Montaña”) at 2:30 p.m., “Bye Bye Chicago” at 5:30 p.m., or the animated documentary “130 Children” (“130 Hermanos”) at 7:15 p.m. A mariachi bands plays at 3:45 p.m. and Orquesta Alto Maiz performs at 8:30 p.m. For more details on the festival, head online. It runs Thursday through Saturday.
Sunday afternoon: The Capital City Pride Parade is back and in full swing this year! The route starts at the Statehouse and moves west through the East Village along Grand Avenue. It should be fun way for many to end a weekend with no shortage of things to do.
Tell me what you're doing this weekend. I'm always looking for new things to do. Shoot me an email at ihamlet@registermedia.com.
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Someone You Should Know
Stephanie Schneider does intimacy directing at the Des Moines Playhouse and consulted with the theater for its latest production "Calendar Girls," which has shows scheduled through June 19.
“Intimacy direction is about being an advocate for actors in the space, for me whether that’s in the theater space or in the film space," Schneider explained. "A lot of my job is working out how we tell the story while fitting into the actor's boundaries."
The obvious subjects of Schneider's scene work are sex, kissing and other romantic shows of intimacy. However, as she explained, the scenes she might work with actors on are not limited to romantic subject matters. Scenes she might help with include helping actors portray familial relationships as well.
In the case of "Calendar Girls," a comedy in which the Women's Institute raises funds for a local hospital by making a nude calendar, Schneider consulted with the show's director regarding how to handle the partial nudity the show asks of the actors.
“The director had a lot of things in place already that were pretty important. I can tell she’d already created a sense of openness," Schneider said. “In this, there’s a lot of implied nudity, it can be touchy for people to present themselves that way. It’s important to have a robe for actors when they walk on and off the stage, making sure everything is secured correctly, making sure that off stage it’s just the essential people in that space.”
As Schneider pointed out, her role as intimacy director doesn't mean she's policing how people interact on stage. Rather, she works to make sure the actors are as comfortable as possible while also enhancing a given performance.
"We’ve had fight choreographers, we have dance choreographers, but we didn't have anything for these moments of intense emotion," Schneider said. “It increases our quality and level of storytelling.”
Around Town
From Todrick Hall to Drag Queen Story Time, here's a guide to Des Moines' 30 Days of Pride
5 ways to learn more about Iowa this summer, from museums to nature walks
Singer and guitarist Buddy Guy brings his legendary blues to Hoyt Sherman
Sugar Ray and the Eagles guitarist Don Felder to headline Mason City for RAGBRAI 2022
World-renowned Iowan receives honorary degree from Juilliard for his operatic achievements
My Day Job
It's the end of another week which means the gears in my head are already turning over what I'll be writing about next week.
I'll have a piece on Jeff Fleming, the director of the Des Moines Art Center, which announced he'll be retiring in April. If it's not already out, you should expect to see me writing about local musician Dan Tedesco and his music channel. Hoyt Sherman is gearing up to celebrate its centennial, so you'll likely see coverage from me on that.
Next week you can expect to read the latest newsletter from retail reporter, Hannah Rodriguez, about Puerto Rican restaurants and MMA fighters. Until next time, I'll leave you with my favorite seven-word set from a Mountain Goats song: "go down to the underworld, plant grapes."
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What to do during Pride in Des Moines plus hot summer events
