'Ivan the Terrible' takes Dark Alley

Last weekend, Bloomington Playwrights Project premiered "Ivan the Terrible," the last of this season's Dark Alley Series plays, on its Lori Shiner Studio stage. Written by local resident Marta Jasicki, "Ivan the Terrible" is a short, hopeful and comedic drama.\nLocated only a few blocks from Kirkwood Avenue, on Washington Street, BPP's Dark Alley Late Night shows have been the home of some of Bloomington's more cutting-edge risqué plays.\n"(BPP) has just a risk-taking ability that a lot of other theatres won't go near" said Phil Kasper, who is directing "Ivan the Terrible."\nDark Alley plays are more avant garde than mainstream plays and contain strange and, sometimes, offensive subject matter. Kasper said the plays are designed to appeal to a younger crowd with "a nighttime rhythm."\n"These plays are snappy, fun, and stimulating," Kasper said.\nMost stage plays are about two hours long, but Dark Alley shows are usually shorter, running about 40 to 50 minutes in length and sometimes even shorter.\n"Some are only 20 minutes long," said Sonja Johnson, developmental director of the BPP.\nJohnson said she helped fund "Ivan the Terrible" as part of the Dark Alley Series because it is snappy and stimulating. It is the second play in a trilogy by Jasicki and continues to tell the story started in her first play "It's All Good." "Ivan the Terrible" follows the exploits of Ivan Johnson, played by Luke Scherschel, who is accused of a brutal crime against his ex-girlfriend as part of a sinister cult headquartered in Bloomington. As the trial approaches, Ivan's case receives national attention because it pits the cult leader -- a transexual pizza delivery driver who claims to be God -- against a prominent conservative radio talk-show host/lawyer. \n"'Ivan the Terrible' is about the concept of blending all things together and seeing all creation with equal value," Jasicki said. "(Ivan conveys) hope for someone like me who delivers pizzas." \nThe playwright plays a shared friend of the two, Marta, named after herself, who is pulled into the courtroom because of her strange philosophy and God complex. \nJasicki said she champions those with dreams and wishes, but is stuck in late-night, third shift, minimum-wage jobs. She said she hopes those who see this play might find value in it.\n-- Contact staff writer Sara Darbro at sdarbro@indiana.edu.