• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search Menu

The College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • Jobs in IU Theatre & Dance
    • High School Summer Programs
    • Dance for Parkinson's Disease
    • About Bloomington
  • Undergraduate
    • Theatre & Drama
    • Musical Theatre
    • Contemporary Dance
    • Courses
    • Scholarships & Awards
    • Advising
    • Honors Program
    • Student Experience
    • Career Preparation
    • Senior Showcase
  • Graduate
    • M.F.A. Degrees Overview
    • Acting M.F.A.
    • Directing M.F.A.
    • Dramaturgy M.F.A.
    • Playwriting M.F.A.
    • Theatre Technology M.F.A.
    • Costume Design M.F.A.
    • Costume Technology M.F.A.
    • Scenic Design M.F.A.
    • Lighting Design M.F.A.
    • Sound Design
    • Financial Support
    • Scholarships & Awards
    • Career Preparation
    • How to Apply
  • Research & Creative Activity
    • Publications
    • Creative Activity
    • Facilities & Resources
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Giving Opportunities
    • Theatre Circle
    • Stages Newsletter
    • Alumni News
  • News
    • Guest Artists
    • Collins Memorial Lecture
    • Media Resources & Press Releases
    • Departmental News
  • On Stage
    • Current Season
    • IU Summer Theatre
    • Independent Projects
    • Past Productions
    • Ticket Information
    • Location & Parking
    • Auditions
    • Become an Usher
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
  • Guest Artists
  • Collins Memorial Lecture
  • Media Resources & Press Releases
  • Departmental News
  • Home
  • News
  • Media Resources & Press Releases
  • Water by the Spoonful

Memories, Connection, and Redemption churn in IU's production of Water by the Spoonful

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

IU Theatre continues the Bicentennial 2019–2020 season with the Pulitzer Prize winning play Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Water by the Spoonful is the second play of Hudes’ Elliot trilogy that dramatizes the story of Elliot Ortiz, an Iraq war veteran from a Puerto Rican community in North Philadelphia. In this play, Elliot returns home from his time in Iraq and is confronted by ghosts. As the play begins, Elliot is working at a restaurant while acting on the side, trying to move forward but still haunted by a figure from his past. His cousin Yazmin, once on track to be a tenured music professor at Swarthmore, finds herself newly divorced and professionally dissatisfied. In a chat room run by haikumom, aka Odessa Ortiz, Elliot’s birth mother, recovering addicts seek connection and recovery.

Trained as a composer and musician, Hudes weaves jazz into the structure of her play, specifically the dissonant free jazz of John Coltrane. “Dissonance,” Yazmin tells her students in regards to Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, “is still a gateway to resolution.” We feel the improvisational nature of jazz and the power of dissonance in Hudes’ play as we oscillate between North Philly and the online world of the chat room. According to the 2011 Variety review of the play, “Everyone in the play is living day to day—or spoonful by spoonful […] enabled, hindered, and supported by an ever-interrelated reach of family and friends […] When cyber meets the real world, anger gives way to forgiveness and resistance becomes redemption; the heart of the play opens up and the waters flow freely." Water by the Spoonful is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.

Rachel Nicole Pierce, third year M.F.A directing candidate, directs IU’s production. Rachel’s work on this production is in partial fulfillment of her M.F.A thesis in Directing. Joining Rachel on the creative team are faculty members Allen Hahn (Lighting Designer), Eric Mayer-García (Dramaturg), Heather Milam (Cutter/Draper), and M.F.A students Megan Branham (Sound Designer), Christopher Mueller (Scenic Designer), Ben Ramos (Technical Director), and Rachel Saylor (Costume Designer).

 

Details

What: IU Theatre presents Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes

When: November 8–9 and 12–16 at 7:30pm and November 16 at 2pm

Where: Wells-Metz Theatre, Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave.

Tickets: Regular admission is $20 for adults, $10 for students. (812) 855-1103 or theatre.indiana.edu.

For more info and interview requests, please email Madison Colquette at mcolquet@indiana.edu.

  • Faculty + Staff Intranet

Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance social media channels

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

The College of Arts & Sciences

Indiana University

Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice

The College of Arts & Sciences

  • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Faculty
      • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Jobs in IU Theatre & Dance
    • High School Summer Programs
      • Midsummer Theatre Camp
      • Summer Dance Intensive
      • High School Production Intern Program
    • Dance for Parkinson's Disease
    • About Bloomington
  • Undergraduate
    • Theatre & Drama
      • Theatre & Drama Minor
      • Stage Management
      • FAQs
    • Musical Theatre
      • FAQs
      • How to Audition & Apply
    • Contemporary Dance
      • Dance Minor
      • FAQs
      • How to Audition & Apply
    • Courses
    • Scholarships & Awards
    • Advising
    • Honors Program
    • Student Experience
      • Get Involved
      • University Players
    • Career Preparation
      • Internships
      • Post-Graduate Opportunities
    • Senior Showcase
  • Graduate
    • M.F.A. Degrees Overview
    • Acting M.F.A.
    • Directing M.F.A.
      • Productions
    • Dramaturgy M.F.A.
    • Playwriting M.F.A.
      • Productions
    • Theatre Technology M.F.A.
    • Costume Design M.F.A.
    • Costume Technology M.F.A.
    • Scenic Design M.F.A.
    • Lighting Design M.F.A.
    • Sound Design
    • Financial Support
    • Scholarships & Awards
    • Career Preparation
    • How to Apply
      • Acting M.F.A.
      • Playwriting M.F.A.
      • Directing M.F.A.
      • Design Technology M.F.A.
      • Transfer Students
      • International Applicants
  • Research & Creative Activity
    • Publications
    • Creative Activity
    • Facilities & Resources
      • Theatres
      • Teaching Spaces
      • Production Spaces
      • Public & Support Spaces
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Giving Opportunities
    • Theatre Circle
      • Join Theatre Circle
    • Stages Newsletter
    • Alumni News
  • News
    • Guest Artists
      • Past Guest Artists
    • Collins Memorial Lecture
      • Past Collins Lecturers
    • Media Resources & Press Releases
    • Departmental News
  • On Stage
    • Current Season
    • IU Summer Theatre
    • Independent Projects
    • Past Productions
    • Ticket Information
      • Seating Charts
      • Purchase Methods
      • FAQs
    • Location & Parking
    • Auditions
    • Become an Usher
      • Usher Policies
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
    • Undergraduate
      • Theatre & Drama
        • Theatre & Drama Minor
        • Stage Management
      • Musical Theatre
        • Sequence of Courses
      • Contemporary Dance
        • Contemporary Dance Minor
      • Advising
      • University Players
      • Honors Program
    • Graduate
      • M.F.A. Degrees Overview
        • Acting M.F.A.
          • Evaluation + Retention
        • Directing M.F.A.
          • Assessment + Evaluation
        • Playwriting M.F.A.
        • Design & Technology M.F.A.
      • Scholarships, Awards, & Financial Support
    • Productions & Auditions
      • Auditions
        • Open Calls
      • Production Biography Update Form
    • Student Handbook
    • Policies & Guidelines
    • Resources & Opportunities
    • Courses