« Reconstituting the Garden | Main | catching up »

Community Performance Inc.

April 16, 2008

I’ve been receiving nearly daily reports on the goings-on in Franklin County, and it’s giving me chills! This is an extraordinary group putting on this project called “Land of Spirit”. They really know how to generate and motivate an entire community behind their efforts. They are building capacity for the project and creating stakeholders by charging other motivated and interested people with the responsibility of caring for and working for this project. This isn’t just about a couple of leaders delegating duties to others. iI is way more than that. It’s about the leader's ability to co-produce with the entire community. That's what is going on here. And it's exciting.

As more people become responsibile for certain aspects of the project, the entire project grows and strengthens. A mistake often made with these Community Performances, especially new ones, is that the leader -or a few leaders in a small core group- feel tasked with carrying out all of the duties required. In a very short time, the effort becomes extremenly taxing on those few individuals. When these projects work best is when leadership is shared. Because as these responsiblitites are shared, there's an entire network that gets built, assisting the growth of the project. They get the village, the town, behind this effort, and pretty soon, EVERYONE is caring for this new project, not just a few. This is how to build a strong base of support. It is also the secret to Community Performance. remember, the goal of CP isn't a play. (Haha, says the playwright.) The play is a reason, a way, to get to the goal- which is about building stronger neighborhoods and communities, as people are drawn together in celebration of their heritage and culture. Good results happen when the acotrs, about a hundred of them, come together in this celebration, and in doing so, get to know each other at a deper level, and community is strengthened that way. however, when More people have ownership of the project, in all areas, so many more people are building connections, and sharing ideas of what's worked in the past, how their community has been strong in the past, and how it can become stronger in the future. This sharing of duties and expanding of leadership beyond the rehearsal room is a theory preached during the Swamp Gravy Institute. But it's rarely followed through, unfortunately.

I say unfortunately, because these projects are just too big to sustain successfully for any length of time without taking this approach to sharing the leadership. Land of Spririt is doing it, though. For every job or detail that needs to be done- leading up to the show, durign the production, and after it- the Land of Spirit leaders have already found or are actively finding people to handle these areas.

They are utilizing all available resources, creating new jobs, too. For instance- a woman in the community makes banners, like church banners. They’ve decided to utilize her skill, and she has made banners, one each, representing all of the communities in the county- the name of each town and images from that place are on the banner. The banners will be hung all around the theater that we’re transforming, so when people come in, they’ll look around and somewhere in the place, they will see themselves.

A quilter is making a giant quilt, with the name of the play (The Last Hard Times) with quilted images from the play- like the mule. They are going to do a new quilt for each new play, and will hang them in the lobby area. They’re starting this tradition with this very first play.

Two truss companies in the region built the stands- a huge undertaking. Local carpenters are building (have mostly completed) the exquisite stage, featuring a ramped, zig-zag leading up to the main stage, as well as a ramped crescent-shaped pod stage in the middle of the floor.

Local electricians wired the space for three-phase.

It was not air-conditioned, so they asked city council for (and received) an air conditioning unit.

They have been running stories- not ads, but stories, with pictures, about the project and the people working on it- featuring folks like our wonderful carpenters. These stories have been running once a week for the past month and a half, and they have a multitude of different stories and different angles which will continue to run every week right up to opening weekend and a bit after. Very savvy. It shows all of the aspects of the project- different people involved, different profiles, the stories are not just about “the show”, but the reason behind doing the show—it is a gravitational force, pulling people together, and it is these folks they are featuring in their stories. They also made a big deal about the first public readings, and auditions, which I’d already written about as being heavily attended.

For all of the restaurants in the region, they’ve created table cards, with play information, dates, and it also invites people to eat at the restaurant after or before the show. 1,500 of these have been distributed. (Did I mention the leaders are with the Chamber of Commerce?) So other businesses once only loosely connected are joining in the effort and becoming vitally connected.

They’ve got their most amazing detail person from the chamber (Vivian) who is handling the stage manager job, and the first brilliant thing she did was recruit a group of people to, along with her, do all of the work necessary—which is a LOT. She realizes she has to get everything done, but doesn’t have to do everything herself. Vivian has been my go-to person so much already, before we even had the first read-through, while I was still working on the play, I was calling and asking her for transcript details, phone numbers, information on different people who’s stories I wanted to use- she’s got one of those memories and also connections- her family has been there forever, so she also clues me in on local do’s and don’ts. She’s awesome.

There’s a pattern designer/maker in town who is going to be one of our costume people. There are people who sew, who are also working on costumes. One will design patterns, the others will sew.

The leaders had a meeting night before last, I think, for volunteers who didn’t want to be in the show but wanted to be involved. They had a nice get together with folks, told them about the show, explained the story line to them a little, got them really excited, and then these folks signed up to do these various important jobs, from parking, ticket sales, program and ad sales, concessions, ushers, etc.

We go there in 12 days, and I imagine a goodly portion of the props will be there already, as they’ve already gotten their props person. She was in on our design meeting two weeks ago. One of the requests was an old Indian motorcycle, which will be broken down in the “medicine man” scene. We got a note two days ago that said “About that motorcycle- it doesn’t have to run, does it?” Ask and ye shall receive, eh?

A man who likes to work with metal—Henry is his name I think- crafted us a still. (For any feds reading this: it is an art piece, completely not usable, and only for the stage.)

And the man who runs the Last Medicine Show will be in the production, but not only that, he will do the preshow, in which he does pieces from his act. He joined the medicine show in 1936, and took it over a couple of years later from the founder, Doc Chamberlain, who turned the entire show over to him, lock, stock and animals. Doc also handed over the patent for the original snake oil. Tommy owns that patent, too, and will pitch it in the preshow. He gave me a bottle the last time I was there. Tommy Scott is 91 years old and still does his show, which has played continuously since 1890. Tommy is the preshow. That in itself, is worth coming to see. Entertainment and history all rolled into one.

What I’m trying to say is that for every person coming forward to work on this project, they not only say yes, but find a central way for each person to participate, which only strengthens the entire project.

Its exciting stuff, folks. And I dig this play. I dig the Philosopharmer. I dig all the characters. This is one I want you to come and see, not just for the show, but for the whole experience of witnessing the birth of a new project. I’ve never seen a first project this amazing. Of course, I wasn’t around yet when Swamp Gravy started, I was still in school. I joined up with Richard Geer’s band of merry community performance travelers a few years later. So I didn’t get to experience that first-time moment of Swamp Gravy, and I always felt like I missed out. I’m a second generation community performance artist, now training the third generation. But I’m here for this first-time project, and it’s going to be amazing. It already is. This is one to witness. Swamp Gravy should be very, very proud of what they have inspired.

   

« Reconstituting the Garden | Main | catching up »