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Community Performance Inc.

October 16, 2008

Continuing to catch up from the computer meltdown…here’s a posting from last week.

We arrived in Franklin County, ready to rehearse the remount of “The Last Hard Times”. Ticket sales are brisk, even in the shaky economy. Our first scene, “Cardboard shoes and newspaper linens”, held with mary and And Robin, took on an entirely new meaning. We’re having some real dialogue about these scenes, vis-à-vis the current financial situation. This play was set during the last great depression, and this scene in particular tells of how some people in Carnesville turned every room in their house into a bedroom to take in boarders to make money. Including turning the kitchen into a bedroom. It was the only way to make some money and survive for these families. Another family in Carnesville saw that happening, and opened a sort of coffe-shop/diner. So kids would wake up in the morning, get dressed, and go across the square to get a small bite to eat at the café, which took not only pennies and nickels for the coffee and breads, but also used the barter system to keep running- eggs, chickens, ham, vegetables, milk, were traded for service.

We stopped the regular rehearsal of the scene to talk about the words of the scene, and the story, and how it has taken on new meaning since we originally did this show in June. The financial world has changed so much in those four months, it’s a different world people are living in now, and these stories have a new power to them. Mary Ann said she finds strength in performing, because it gives hope “They did it, they made it throiugh, we can too.” We talked about the idea of time-banking, something Richard and I are beginning to bring into the field of community performance, to animate avaiable resources in the cmomunity, and to get it working to proved goods and services, even in times where cash money is not available. So many of these stories, like Cardboard Shoes, ( in which cardboard was used to replace the sole of a shoe after it wore out) illustrate how people in their region, 70 years ago, made a life thruogh such a system- barter system, time banking, however you want to call it. After our discussion with the actors, the scene took on a meaning much deeper that it was originally performed. The actors are really feeling the words, that come from storeis expressed by people who lost everything in the big crash of ’29. Cast members, whose portfolio balances dropped by as much as 40% this week, are bringing a new experience to their roles, and the result is rich. And bittersweet.

   

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