COMMUNITY: RADIATING JOY - MERIAH SAGE

As I’m packing to go to GLMCC (which my husband and I affectionately call “Chekhov Camp”), I’m reflecting on my past experiences there and absorbing my excitement about getting there this time. Why do I look forward to it so much? Submersion in a technique I love is part of it. Artistic freedom and a safe space to create, fail, explore. Rigor. Being challenged and supported. All of those are true. But what I love most is the community and connection. The community lifts me. Embraces me. Sees me. I feel so connected, trusted, and trustful. When I left my final year (of 3) of training, I cried most of my way home. I thought I was leaving my new artistic self (an actor after years of directing and teaching) behind. Here I am, three years later (on the other side of a pandemic), going back again as an actor with a new ensemble, working on a new project. Joy isn’t expansive enough of a word.

What is the OCG ensemble doing at GLMCC? Some of us are training- actually doing one of the mods (year 1, 2 or 3), others are there to observe, others come in just in time for rehearsal after full days at other jobs and lives. As a company, we are there to rehearse (Tuesday and Wednesday) and share part of our process with everyone at the consortium (Thursday evening). We will be sharing a rehearsal- a part of our process and receiving questions, feedback and thoughts from any/everyone at GLMCC.

We’ll share our process, a few tableaux (frozen images) of the beginning, middle, and end of our show, a few strategies being applied for the first time in a new way, and a few scenes (the first two show climaxes) that we blocked yesterday for the first time. It’s honestly a little naked to be sharing something that isn’t “performance ready”. It requires a lot of trust in our audience and in our ensemble. I can’t wait. We’ll share our process, get feedback and responses from this GLMCC community (students and master teachers), and take it with us for the next leg of this journey.

My advice from today: Breathe. Receive. Radiate. Connect with your community. Bathe in the joy.