Of Farms and Fables combines the efforts of professional and non-professional artists by engaging artists in farm work and farm workers in storytelling and acting. The result will be an original performance in October of 2011 which will engage performers and audience in dialogue about local agriculture, farming, and the future of small family farms in Maine.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

At the Sill (Jennie)

Oh, it is an exciting time.  Last week, for me, was chock-full of meetings:
  • Tuesday afternoon: met with Renee, Claire, and Travis.  Discussed initial concepts for costumes, props, and puppetry.  
  • Tuesday evening: met with Cory via Skype to discuss the ALMOST FINAL draft of the play. 

  • Wednesday lunch: met with Emily to draft the initial rehearsal schedule.  Miraculously, everything fits (so far) into our allotted rehearsal hours!
  • Wednesday afternoon: met with Chris Price to discuss initial scenic design concepts and USE OF SPACE.
These are early sketches/notes of mine, and are not likely to have much in common with the final design!
  • Wednesday evening: met with the Advisory Board to discuss PR efforts, the Kickstarter campaign, and volunteer recruitment.
  • Thursday afternoon: met with Gregg and Heather at Camp Ketcha to answer venue questions like: how much power do we have?  Chatted with Heather about initial approaches to her lighting design.
Gregg discusses the venue with Camp Ketcha director Tom Doherty.
  • Thursday night: attended the Maine Farmland Trust “Forever Farm” event at Broadturn Farm, where I chatted with the interns and saw Penny for a moment.  Even Eddie and Bec were there!  I got to show them the newly renovated barn facilities . . .
Stella guards the Forever Farm.
  • Friday morning: worked at Broadturn.  Harvested potatoes and beans with Croix.
  • Friday afternoon: met with Scott Nash and Nancy Gibson-Nash of Nashbox Metropolitan.  This powerhouse team of artist/illustrator/designers is creating our publicity materials.  We met to discuss their most recent sketches and next steps!
Last week was marked by a barrage of in-person meetings, but I conducted a lot of phone meetings as well.   I talked with three new cast members, one funder, one farmer’s market, a new fiscal sponsor, and an insurance company, just to name a few.  I get so caught up in the business of moving from one moment to the next, that I sometimes forget just how diverse my day has been.  I forget to pause and notice the remarkable experiences I've had, the thrilling conversations, the new information I've absorbed.  Talking with a farmer about e-coli mastitis one moment, discussing the use of picnic coolers as tables the next, and finishing up with the intricacies of special event coverage.  Amazing!  It is an exciting time full of exchanges, ideas, arrangement . . . all of the many pieces of the project are traveling on their own course to completion, beginning to complement each other, and occasionally colliding with one another.  Three days before the start of rehearsals (!!!!!!!!), I am taking this moment to breathe.  Like watching a flower unfold at the sill, I am taking a moment to notice the daily, the hourly growth of this project we call: Of Farms and Fables.  
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