1. David and I are thinking of getting an air conditioner. I have lived in Indiana and Pennsylvania for a combined 12 years without AC. And now, we are seriously thinking of it: a window unit, and central if we had the money for it (that shit is expensive…). But using AC makes more global warming, which makes us need more AC. I feel like a rat on a wheel.
BUT
(and unrelated)
2. I’ve been day dreaming about making theatre. I’m sending my play out into the world to contests and workshops (fingers crossed for it to get chosen), I’m organizing a reading this summer, and I’m thinking about what comes next. And I’m talking about it with other theatre artists. And I’m writing grants to make it happen. It’s Baby Theatre. Get ready.
BUT
(related)
3. There is NO MONEY for anything extra. And I feel greedy for wanting grants or Kickstarter money or even audience members to make art when Pennsylvania Public education is falling apart, when people are hungry and hot (or cold, depending on the season…), when the basic needs are not being met. I BELIEVE in theatre and in art. But I’m not stupid; I know that arts education isn’t going to replace any regular education and I especially know that art isn’t going to feed hungry kids.
There was one little girl I worked with this school year. She was always hungry. She came to drama club regularly, but she was always hungry. All of her characters were hungry. All of her plot lines were about getting food. She loved drama, but it didn’t make her tummy stop rumbling.
BUT
(I’m trying to think here…)
(hungry kids make it hard to see a brighter side)
4. I got a call about teaching creative drama this summer. I don’t know the whole story, but I guess the Reading School District isn’t offering the summer school/free lunch programs they have offered in the past (see #3). So local non-profits (I don’t know who, but I’m guessing churches and Boys and Girls Clubs) are stepping up as much as they can to offer lunch and programming during the day. Which gives me hope again. I can’t fill their bellies, but I can fill their hearts and imaginations once their bellies are full.
It just puts everything in perspective.
Forward Movement 