Current mood: relieved
Shortly after participating in the V-Day monologues on campus, I was approached by three different people to consider participating in the plays at the first Rain Barrel Festival on April 26. Yeah I know, 5-minute plays about water conservation don't sound especially glamorous, but I was really psyched that yet another opportunity had fallen in my lap so quickly after resuming my theatrical aspirations.
Ultimately, I ended up being in three of the five plays written by local (women) playwrights and directed by Kim Stinson-Hawn as part of her inaugural unveiling of her Theatre Appalachia group. They were all quite engaging and entertaining, and I had the good fortune to play three different parts that are distinctly different from my personality. In Kim's "Water Depression," I played "Water" that was flaked out and hopped up on prescription drugs to a "Tree" who was seriously annoyed by my loopy, spacey behavior. (Internally, Beck's song "Nightmare Hippy Girl" kept coming to mind... and believe me, I've encountered plenty of real-life versions to somewhat model this character on...)
In Toby Wilcher's "Matter of Perception," I played one of two snooty society women obsessed with pools, spas, Derby Day, and protecting their neighborhood from radical hippies with solar panels, rain barrels, and organic gardens. Toby's granddaughter Lenore played a contrasting role of a young African woman wandering through our superficial banter in search of a clean river to sustain her family. (Again, I had plenty of working models for this role as well...)
Finally, in Mary Owens' "Leaky Logic," I was one of four caricatured consumers with varying degrees of sustainability savvy: "We Need," "No Problem," "I Need," and "Maybe." This one was really fun but tough because the banter was so quick and repetitive in a spiraling kind of way. My character, "No Problem" was the quintessential naysayer who doesn't believe that a water crisis exists or requires attention.
I had a great time getting to know some new folks and hanging out with some old faves; but I must admit.... I'm so relieved that Earth Month is finally over! A month-long marathon of (mostly) successful events on campus has been rewarding, but enough is enough. I truly love the fact that I got to wear a completely different hat at the Rain Barrel Festival that didn't include MERJ or the College!
So what will be the next dramaturgical endeavor that reveals itself?! There are auditions for the Quilt Extravaganza plays soon, but I heard that the rehearsals for this are pretty arduous even though the plays are only 10 minutes long. Then there's also the Rosebarn Theatre (between Berea and Richmond) and the new Berea Arena Theater to consider, but at this point I don't think I can commit to a serious rehearsal schedule that a full-length production would entail. Last night, C'OB also mentioned something about a play that Mitch is trying to recruit people to audition for, so we'll see what happens. I actually like the way in which the V-Day and RBF opportunities serendipitously presented themselves, so I might just wait for the next act to come to me...
p.s. Actually, now that I think of it, the newest opportunity has perhaps already presented itself in the recent invitation to co-produce the new film festival as part of the annual Clear Creek Music Festival. Much more on this to come in the near future.... Awwwww yeeaahhhh!
