Hey Friends and Pollywogs,
It's Colleen here, Artistic Director of Frog in Hand. Yup, I introduce myself to y'all frequently, but I bet you already know me! Well I'm writing you today because I've got a breathtakingly well written poem to share. It was created by the talented Ankita Alemona. You remember Ankita from Frog in Hand's 2021 Summer Company - she's a dancer, choreographer and performer. Ankita even wrote one of these blogs, you can check it out here - and she spoke about her time with the Summer Company on the (Art)Versations Podcast with Bri Clarke.
When I read this poem, I thought it beautifully reflects the time our creative team spent together, preparing for and eventually performing our show Stories in the Woods. Those performances were held at an important time for the Summer Company, as it was their last of 9 weeks with us. We're sharing it on the blog today as a way to celebrate our summer season, a way to find closure. Of course there's something new already brewing at Frog in Hand, but I'll chime in at the end to let you know what we've got coming up.
First, on to Ankita's poem.
The Courage to Create
By Ankita Alemona, September 2021
A circle, in the grass,
A group of dancers
Smiling ~ eyes
We begin, masked
I turn to Maria
“I danced with you on ZOOM”
And now, here we are,
We are more than just a box.
Frog in Hand, rehearsal in progress, the sign reads
Take your time,
take care of yourself,
do what you need to do
I can no longer be with just me
This is an empathetic group
It takes courage
To show up,
to be here…
To still be here
To be clear
That this is where we are meant to be.
We carry the year with us
Unwell, slow, different
A new exhausted
Diagnosis, diagnosed
Walking down the stairs is…
Enough
It is as if an alien has entered me
And the body that could once
jump,
kick,
turn,
punch
I don’t know where she is.
I develop a new relationship – with my bed
Is your body ready,
to move again?
The sun is shining,
It has been shining, throughout
Teasing me
Inviting me
Asking me
How about today?
Today, I dress up,
I am going to
Dance
Summer is us, together,
A group of artists
With the courage to
Show up.
In conversations in-between,
There are glimpses of the year,
The anxieties, the challenges,
The cancelled shows
The community, longing to reconnect
These fears, shift –
To laughter,
Togetherness,
Smiles and listening
Opening night, in the dark,
Glowing paint on my body,
The slow arrival of dusk,
Changing colours in the sky
The ninja-game,
Or cloud watching?
We have a mission, a purpose, together
We are putting on a show,
We are pulling ourselves through a process
We are fighting, together
We are finding, within ourselves,
Daily,
The courage to create.
Welcome back.
Mmmmm.
Such a lovely piece of writing. Thanks Ankita, for sharing.
It's Colleen again (I'm back, as promised). I'm delighted by what we accomplished this summer, the projects, training, research and exploration... Thanks to our collaborators, crew, audience, guests... and even you! since you're reading this - for your support. Special shout-out to the 2021 Summer Company - you folks are simply fantastic.
Today is the first day of Fall, and many of you know our in person experiences are winding down. However, we've got a radical radio play you can hear whenever, wherever you like (War of the Worlds Reimagined). It's easy to access from the Frog in Hand Ko-Fi shop right here, and it's only $10 to experience this full-length, sci-fi audio drama. We've also got upcoming classes, workshops and events - including the much-anticipated return of our Writing Circle class with Andrew Gaboury... So stay tuned Pollywogs! Colleen out!
