Coming of Age in Chore Boots

Janet Schlapkohl, author and performer of “Coming of Age in Chore Boots,” will read from her play and discuss the experiences of women during the 1980s farm crisis when she visits Grinnell College on Thursday, Feb. 18.

“Chore Boots – Women Experienced the Farm Crisis of 1980” will start at 7:30 p.m. in the main lounge of Mears Cottage, 1213 Sixth Ave., Grinnell. The event, sponsored by the Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies, is free and open to the public.

“Most conventional Midwest farmers might be men, but the farm crisis of the 1980s did not affect them alone, it had ramifications in their families and beyond,” said Jon Andelson ’70, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Prairie Studies at Grinnell College.

“Janet experienced the farm crisis as a young woman,” Andelson added. ”She was there. She’s told her story in her one-woman biographical play ‘Chore Boots,’ which she will read from and discuss. She also will talk about the role of women in that crisis, and of how people find their way out of crises.” A question-and-answer session will follow.

Schlapkohl holds master's degrees in playwriting and education from the University of Iowa and a bachelor's degree in biology from Iowa State University. She is the founder of Combined Efforts Theatre, director of Country Camp, LLC, and the recipient of the Isabelle Turner Human Rights Award, the Richard Maibaum Award, and the Finkbine Award for Human Rights. She also was selected as a 2014 Visionary Playwright by Theater Masters.

Her plays have been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Colorado, and across Iowa. She has performed her monologues and one-woman shows at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, the Looby Theatre in Nashville, Stage Left Studio in New York City, and in Grinnell at The Loft Theatre in the Grinnell Arts Center. She lives on an acreage in Iowa with her husband, a veterinarian who works with large animals.

Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. You can request accommodations from the event sponsor or Conference Operations and Events.