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Community Performance Inc.

October 09, 2008

aWalking

One last bit on Swamp Gravy—this has to do with a tie in, not only to hard times, high gas prices (or no gas), and also to healthy living. When I got to town a few weeks ago, there wasn’t any gas to be found in the town. But that was OK. I needed enough to get me back to the airport. We parked the car and walked to most everywhere we needed to go. We walked to the theater for work, we walked to the grocery store, to the drug store, to the coffee shop, to meetings. Usually, we’d fill the tank up 3 times while we’re there. This time, we used ¼ of a tank of gas in the whole 6 weeks of rehearsal. That gas was used for trips to the home depot in Bainbridge, to buy lumber and supplies we couldn’t get locally.

In one instance, we’d been on a walk. There were some broken tree branches after a big wind storm. The branches would be perfect for the bottle tree we needed in front of the spooky lady’s house on one of our stages. So Richard grabbed one enormous branch and I grabbed another and we started dragging them down the road. Usually, we’d have gotten someone with a truck to do this, but we thought, let’s just stick to the no-gas policy. We were trying to come up with stories, in case anyone stopped to ask us what we were doing as we walked down the road dragging giant tree limbs behind us. In the end, we figured the best story was the truth, and one that no one would doubt.

“Uh, we’re with Swamp Gravy…”

No other explanation necessary. We could hear the interior conversation in the townfolks’ minds: “Those Swamp Gravy people are always doing something strange. Bless their hearts.”

Others in the cast are walkers, too. The Stobers. Kristina. Some others. I’m hoping that by continuing our no-gas policy that others will, next season, begin to do the same- not just to fight the gas crunch, but to fight the wieght crunch. It’s all part of a healthy lifestyle- fewer emmissions, and a good workout. Not to mention the chance to slow down and take in all the pretty things along the way that you might miss when you’re driving. Could be something beautiful in nature. Or it could be a person with a terrific story that could be used in the next play, like Nancy, who I met walking the other day. She shared her story (and her shade umbrella) with me the other day as we came upon each other walking. She was holding her umbrella, shielding herself from the sun, and told me this was the custom in her country- to always carry an umbrella. Then, she told me of her life in the Phillipines, and then coming here to Colquitt. Terrific story. It gives me, personally, so many more opportunities to do the work I do, and at a deper level, by slowing down and being open to what is right around me.

We’re walking in Franklin County, now, too, where we can. We’re living in a beautiful house on the lake. It even has a hot tub and a private boat dock. (whee!) The house is a distance away from the theater. So, when we drive into town, we park the car and walk to where we need to go- to the theater, or to the Depot for meetings, or to the grocery store. Our cast members from Royston and Canon are car-pooling, and many of them are doing what we’re doing- walking to the Grocery store about ½ mile down the roadfrom the theater, instead of driving there. Carpooling is big in this cast. Their play is titled, appropriately enough, “The Last Hard Times” – Not to be confused with this hard times. So the things we heard about in the play, we’re doing now. Like walking. Like ride-sharing. And even though Richard and I have to use the car a little bit more here, we still try to get in those 10,000 steps a day. And some of our actors are getting inspired to do the same thing. And—Richard and I were inspired to start this after a friend of ours, Chris Wieland, who works with the international YMCA, was talking about their promotion of the 8,000 steps a day routine, when Chris was in Colquitt working on our upcoming Community Performance film, “The Garden of Gratitude”. What I find so wonderful in working with the community of citizens in the town and the community of artists from out of town, is the huge mixture of wisdom, that we can then bounce around and between us, find a good use and a way to implement it. All for now. Off to some meetings.

   

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