Season Information
09/10 Season
The Voice of the Prairie
Before talk radio, before shock jocks, before Garrison Keillor . . . there was country boy Davey Quinn.
By John Olive
Directed by Lynne Griffin
May 29 - June 20, 2010
Previews: May 26 - 28, 2010
Box Office: (858) 481-1055
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THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE celebrates a time of itinerant radio, when, before there were networks, sponsors and regulating agencies, a broadcaster could be a one-man road-show radio station. Traveling from town to town, such an entrepreneur could discover banjo players and blues singers or, in the case of the hero of John Olive's play, a farmer named Davey Quinn telling shaggy stories about his boyhood adventures. According to the Los Angeles Times, THE VOICE OF THE PRARIE “successfully captures Americana in amber, preserving its antique beauty with exquisite care and genuine affection.” Three actors embody close to 20 characters creating magical theatrical memories in this epic adventure of young love and redemption.
JOHN OLIVE (Playwright) John Olive is a widely produced and award winning playwright, a novelist, a screenwriter and a popular teacher of creative writing. John’s plays include: Standing on my Knees, Minnesota Moon, The Voice of the Prairie, Evelyn & The Polka King, Killers, The Summer Moon, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Careless Love, among others. Producing theaters include: the Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Globe, Steppenwolf, Wisdom Bridge, South Coast Rep, Alley Theater, the Guthrie, Actors Theatre Of Louisville, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ACT/Seattle, and many others. Lately John has written many plays for young audiences, both adaptations and originals: Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Johnny Tremain, Jason & the Golden Fleece, The Magic Bicycle, Pharaoh Serket and the Lost Stone of Fire, Water Babies, among others. These plays have been widely produced, at Seattle Children’s Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Stage One Louisville, Oregon Children’s, the Arden Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre Co., Dallas Children’s Theatre, Main Street Theatre, and others. Awards include: Jerome Fellowship, 2 McKnight Fellowships, National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship, 2 Bush Fellowships, Society of Midland Authors Award For Drama (Standing on my Knees), Kennedy Center Award For New Plays (The Summer Moon), Rockefeller Residency (Wisdom Bridge). John has written screen and teleplays for: Disney, Amblin Entertainment, ShadowCatcher Entertainment, Yorktown Productions, Lorimar Television, among others. He has developed material at the O’Neill, Sundance, New Harmony Project, PlayLabs, etc. John has two prose projects going: a YA novel called Smartass and a nonfiction book about bedtime stories, Tell Me A Story In The Dark. Currently, John teaches screenwriting at the University of Minnesota. John lives in Minneapolis with his wife Mary and their son Michael.
David Meyers* David, Poppy
Jason Maddy Davey, Leon, James
Amanda Sitton Frankie, Frances
In addition to the characters listed above, each actor portrays assorted other characters and voices.
*Member of Actors' Equity Association
| Director Lynne Griffin | Light Designer M. Scott Grabau |
| Assistant Director & Original Music Sean Sullivan |
Costume Designer Renatta Lloyd |
| Scenic Designer Marty Burnett | Sound Designer Chris Luessmann |
| Scenic Artist John Finkbiner | Props and Set Dressing Annie Bornhurst |
