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"The Nitch" Set to Tour Iowa's Rural Theatres and Opera Houses

Ian Miller and Zach Mannheimer in IPR's Des Moines studios.

Iowa has dozens of opera houses and performance venues outside of its urban hubs. Some of these are still in use, others that used to get used quite a lot, don’t anymore. “The Nitch,” a touring vaudeville style show and integrated arts learning program based on a book of the same name, is trying to change that. 

"This is a form of theatre that was popularized in the late 1800's before cinema really took hold. It works with multiple performances or skits back to back, and it was wildly popular at the turn of the century. We hope to revive that in a sense and use The Nitch as the anchor," Miller explains. "It will incorporate juggling, acts of acrobatics and music, which will change per location." 

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, join host Charity Nebbe as we learn more about a book that became a variety show that became an education program. Zach Mannheimer, Vice President of Creative Placemaking at Iowa Business Growth and Ian Miller, who is co-creator for the project, join the show. Mannheimer says that the production is still looking for a few performers and hopes the tour will inspire some creativity in rural Iowa. 

"We'll be announcing at lest two more dates before the end of the tour. We want these communities to adopt the show and keep doing it on their own, whether it's the Nitch or something else. That would be real success for us, if all of these communities were doing this on a regular basis with or without us," he says. 

Find out more about "The Nitch," and find tour dates and locations here.

Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa