More Snow

Yesterday and today, too. As long as snow and ice stay on the roads, we won't be. We've rescheduled some of the shows for next week, but just for the record, this snowstorm has created for us a six-day weekend. That's almost a week-long weekend.

But the temperature is higher today and the sun came out. Our show has had its rest, and must rise again soon.

Snow

The snow hit Cincy hard yesterday and last night. Two separate storms, one giant dump. A series of Level-2 and -3 winter emergencies all across the Tri-State, and 40,000 people without power--people, breathing warmth into hands cold and hard as porcelain, baking with the gas oven open just to make kitchens bearable, or lying under folded blankets to contain body heat. There is no driving to warmer climes, no cars idling in driveways or around corners, no cars at all, on the roads, anywhere, besides plows and patrols.

Drivers will be ticketed in Cincinnati today if there is no emergency drawing them out of their homes. The roads are empty but of walkers, puffy with layers and hats. Almost every business, and certainly every school and daycare, is closed today, a white, gray, and blue day, a snow day.

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So in other words, we're off again today.

Plowed

Our show in Lima, OH, today was canceled because of inclement weather. Our artistic director, Kelly, called early this morning to say that she was concerned that even if the weather was fine two hours north of us, we would still have to drive through what is looking like the worst winter storm this year. She called back a few minutes later to declare today, wouldn't you know it, a snow day.

All of us have graduated college, and yet we still get snow days. How cool is that.

The Faces of St. Boniface

We performed this morning at the St. Boniface School in town. The children were wonderful and responsive, booing with Teresa during the scene after the Kings' house is bombed, and clapping as Justin finished the "I have a dream" speech. There were a few moments when they laughed and we wondered why--Justin's first entrance, for instance, was apparently hilarious--but we were still delighted in our bafflement. They say that any publicity is good publicity; for us, any response is good response. There's nothing more deflating than performing for a room filled with quiet people staying quiet.

The principal of the school had tears in her eyes after the show. She came to each of us after our bows, shaking our hands and saying thank-you. She also asked that we cut Q&A short so we could sing "We Shall Overcome" with the students before they filed out of the auditorium. As stirring as it is easy to learn, the song kept us in high spirits as we dismantled the set and loaded out of the gym.

Erlanger

We performed in Erlanger, KY, for a small library crowd yesterday afternoon. Justin's brother, mother and uncle came to see the show, and we all got to meet them afterward. Though there were few spectators and even fewer questions, they all seemed impressed by our work and the story we told. (Sometimes, I guess that's all that matters.)

Tomorrow we perform at St. Boniface School in Cincinnati, a morning show. Then, the rest of the day is free, a more and more common phenomenon lately. We enjoy the large gaps in our touring schedule, for it allows us to do other things; at the same time, though, every day we don't perform is another day that we have not shared our story with anyone. This show is as touching as it is informative--and as the ancient Roman Horace put it, the purpose of art is "to edcuate and entertain." This show does both.

All this goes to say, I enjoy how much time off we've had lately, but I wish we could do more shows.

Indianapolis

Our morning show in Indianapolis went well, despite starting at a frigid 8:50 AM. The students, though some were still rubbing sleep from their eyes, were attentive. The questions, we've begun to notice, tend to circle around the death of Dr. King, especially as soon as the word "conspiracy" crops up in our responses. (Officially, a man named James Earl Ray was convicted of the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr., but apparently some of the evidence is suspect and many believe there is more mystery to the murder than history records. Maybe so.) The problem with the students asking about the assassination and conspiracy theories is that it feeds on a kind of morbid fascination that schools in general do not encourage. While we want to encourage them to research to find the truth of things, we do not want them also to miss the point of the story in the process.

(On a side note, there is a historiological argument for ignoring assassins--not out of respect for the assassin, but rather as a kind of disrespect, a disregarding of their fame. Many assassins target victims not only for social/political gain, but also to make a name for themselves. By allowing their names to be forgotten in the wake of the victim's legacy, the argument goes, history can vindicate the victim and scrap the villain.)

So, my solution is fairly simple. When the question is of the "What are the conspiracy theories" variety, we nip it in the bud. It's not that we do not want to answer the question, but rather that we want to divert their attention to what is most important. So we define the word conspiracy, which is essentially any group of people who meet in secret for a shared purpose. In other words, planning a surprise party is just as much a conspiracy as is planning an attack. Once the kids understand this, they are more apt to realize how apocryphal a lot of conspiracy theories are. Certainly, there was a conspiracy to kill Dr. King--the assassin surely did not act without encouragement, at the very least--but as to who, what, and where questions, well, there are simply no easy answers at the moment.

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After the Indianapolis show, we drove back two hours to Cincinnati, where we lunched shortly at a Donato's before doing our second show. The Children's Theatre had the performance videotaped for archival purposes, and despite a slight false start (the sound system froze briefly for the opening number, so Marva sang a capella), the show was another success.

Newport Public Library

We have just finished our second show of this tour of Coretta Scott King: A Stride Towards Freedom. The style hearkens back to the Freedom Concerts of the Civil Rights Movement, taking on the form of a story and a concert. Our lead, Marva Williams, sings and acts beautifully as our Coretta, and her male counterpart, Justin Hailey, plays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., her husband. Teresa and I chime in throughout the show, playing everything from narrow-minded southerners to King supporters. All of us have felt the historic impact of Inauguration Day, as well as the deep meaning this story holds for African-Americans, and all Americans.

Again, we have only performed the show twice, once at the Akron Civic Center in northern Ohio (a trim four-hour drive away), and today at the Newport Public Library in northern Kentucky. And as we take our bows, we see tears in many an eye, silent tribute to the Kings and the Movement that has brought about the nomination, election, and inauguration of our 44th US president, Barack Obama.

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Tomorrow we perform in Cincinnati at the Nativity School, and at night we will drive to Indianapolis for an early morning show. Audiences have been strangely enthusiastic about the story we tell, which is I believe a testament to the spirit of hope and community that makes America great. Whatever differences we have, whatever varying opinions we hold, this show reminds us that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. It stares into the darkness of our past and reflects back the light of progress and optimism, and we are happy to bring this light to Americans of all ages.