For 2016 UNI alum Dylan Nicole Martin, being the Assistant Stage Manager for the play “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress,” has been an inspiring, gratifying and healing experience.
Based on the children’s book Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, by Christine Baldacchino and Isabelle Malenfant, the play follows Morris Micklewhite, a little boy who loves astronauts, painting, doing puzzles, and wearing a bright tangerine colored dress in his school’s play box. However, some of his classmates make fun of him for wearing the dress and with the help of his imagination and space-animal friends, Morris finds astronauts can wear dresses too.
Directed by Heidi Stillman, the play is making its world premiere next month at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis – known as the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people. The cast for this production is made up of five children and one adult.
Martin relates to the message behind this production saying, “As a nonbinary person who has also had people say, ‘no, you’re not supposed to wear that,’ it is very healing to watch and have solidarity together. As a trans nonbinary person, it’s not always a sad story. There is a lot of joy that can be found, even through that hurt and through that adversity.”
Originally from Cedar Falls, Martin was immersed in the theatre world from a young age, and participated in several shows put on by Gretta Berghammer, a former UNI Theatre professor. “I grew up being in Gretta’s shows and didn’t quite realize people actually played sports because I thought everybody just went to play practice in the evenings.”
Martin decided to attend UNI to pursue theatre and found their experience to be beneficial for navigating their career after graduating with a Bachelor’s in Theater Design and Production.
“The theater department at UNI makes you scrappy, and it makes you do a little bit of everything,” they said. “I can always relate back to my experience at UNI because I was treated like a professional with agency, who was still allowed to be a student and ask questions. That’s something I also try to impress upon the young people I work with.”
Martin is putting their experience to use at the Children’s Theater Company, and is excited to be assisting with putting on Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress for the very first time. As the Assistant Manager of the production Martin does a variety of tasks to ensure the play goes smoothly.
“Within the greater stage management team I am in charge of rehearsals keeping track of props and scenic shifts as well as supporting the actors in anything that they need,” Martin said. “When we get to the actual performance, I am the one backstage overseeing and supporting the actual stage crew and then working also with the performers to make sure they make their entrances or help them with any other issues that come up.”
Martin hopes this play will allow people to reflect upon the experiences of young people who experience similar situations to Morris Micklewhite.
“This is a very real experience for a lot of young people,” Martin said. “There is a line in the show where Morris says to his teacher, ‘Miss Mellow, am I doing something wrong?’ There are young people out there trying to figure out why they are being told who they are and how they move through the world is wrong. I hope they are bolstered to support those people, and overtly be an ally for them to remind them that whoever they are, exactly as they are, is perfect and wonderful.”
Martin continued, “I’ve been telling my queer adult friends to bring some tissues because they are going to see themselves on stage, and it might be a lot but it will be very healing and welcoming.”
While the play will only be performed in Minneapolis for the time being, Martin encourages people in Cedar Falls to either read the book or even make a trip up to Minneapolis to catch a show. Martin also encourages current UNI Theatre students to reach out and connect. More information about the play can be found at childrenstheatre.org.
