Our next guest blogger, Gareth Mann Sitz, is a member at Congregation Kneseth Israel, is a director and producer of plays, a poet, and a retired teacher. Except she still teaches a memory writing group and a poetry workshop at Gail Borden Library. Her latest play will debut at the Elgin Fringe Festival the weekend of September 17-20. http://www.elginfringefestival.com Here she teaches us about community:
As an only child, I have spent most of my life reaching out to other people. I have always had an instinctive need for community—to be part of a supportive and nurturing group of people.
As an adult, I find that one of my purposes in life is to build community in any setting in which I happen to find myself. My world is the theatre, and I have been directing plays since I was seventeen years old. I have always felt that being in a play builds community. For the duration of the rehearsal period, the cast and crew becomes a family. If the director does her job well, this communal spirit enables the artistic process to proceed smoothly.
As a theater practitioner, I want my actors to become close to one another, to have a sense of belonging. I want them to feel accepted as they are, and I want them to feel that their contributions to the creative process are valuable. When cast members arrive at rehearsal, I want them to feel an immediate sense of knowing and being known, that they are part of a community.
In 2008, I founded an all female improvisation and acting troupe called Femmeprov. Over time, we have developed into a writing and performing cooperative. We meet on a regular basis to process our ideas, and we develop scripted material through group process. Time passes quickly during our sessions, and we laugh a lot, tickled with the wit of our comrades.
Our quality time together extends beyond the confines of our theatrical activity. In addition to working on our scripts, we have lunch and dinner together on a regular basis. We sometimes attend plays in the Chicago area with other group members, and we make an effort to attend productions in which any of our members is involved.
Our group ranges in age from 16 to 75 years of age. What we have in common is a commitment to creating theater that will entertain and enlighten people about issues that are important to women.
Our core group of women has morphed over time, yet any of the women who have participated in script development since 2008 are included in our social activities, whether or not they are still involved on a regular basis. We have been known to have 15-20 women gather for half price burgers at our favorite local pub. It’s not uncommon for people to bring their friends or relatives to join us. Once in awhile, we even welcome a man to our table! Newcomers to the acting troupe, usually referred by other members, have been embraced fully into the process. Our community has been enriched the past year with the addition of younger members, and we love the intergenerational aspect of our work together.
I lovingly refer to Femmeprov as “my gals.” The degree of comfort and mutual admiration is phenomenal. I feel very fortunate to be part of such a close knit artistic community.