PATCHWORK THEATER * REMEMBERING STEVE SMITH * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter

MORE PATCHWORK THEATER

COMING TO COFFEESHOP

PERHAPS you've seen one of these shows:  Voices of Youth (2002), Good Evening from Bill's Coffeeshop (2004), "Good evening from the Red Rooster (2008). Or any one of the other shows produced for coffeeshop stages over the last 10 years or so. Each represents what I've come to call "patchwork theater," a collection of stories from the lives of people in a community.

I'd like to do more of these shows in the future. Uptown Bill's offers a perfect stage for such productions (and the original Bill's Coffeeshop, too). Now that I'm back in Iowa City, I'm starting to think about what should be the first production. Should it focus on Bill? or Jane Addams? Or the legacy of Hull House? Or stories from the coffeeshops? Or a combination of things?

REMEMBERING

STEVE SMITH 

I've been thinking a lot about Steve Smith lately. If you were  customer of the original Bill's Coffeeshop between 1998 and 2008, you probably remember him. He was very tall and very thin, so tall and thin that he went through a time of being called "Stick." Steve died a little over two years ago, but his spirit is still around. It's in the coffeeshop and in the people who knew him.

Steve's spirit is also present at every concert on the Ped Mall in Iowa City. He was a fixture at Friday night concerts for a lot of years. You could always find him down in front of the stage. And he was, of course, dancing. Perhaps one night this summer, one of the bands will play a tribute to Steve. That would be nice.

AN IOWA CITY

ORIGINAL

Friday Evening Concerts are a special part of Iowa City. Summer concerts aren't unique to Iowa City, of course. But few other communities have worked as hard to create a great place for music. Thee space has improved significantly over the last decade, with the addition of the new library, lots of space for outdoor dining and the children's playground.

But nothing has done more to improve the Ped Mall than the Wearherdance Fountain. It's a grand addition to the area.