"The Baskets" World Premiere

Last night The Baskets opened for the first time ever, anywhere. The audience wasn't has big as we would have hoped, but they were very appreciative. It was a great experience to gauge their reactions throughout the show. They loved the opening story - an old one about the Greedy Father and the creation of basket materials. When I finished it and jumped forward millenia to the 90s, it seemed like they were a little disappointed - they were just having so much fun in the world of the First People! But they really started to get into it when I began to hang pictures up on the network of clothes lines we rigged up above the stage. When I went back to an old-time story, I could feel them kind of sit up. Something's changed? What's happening? Then they got really curious - it was our Flood story, so it was a recognizable theme, and yet markedly different from the Bible version they're probably used to. After the show, Chris and the young woman up after me in the church told me that everybody was smiling as they left. Today we're going to hit the street (there's only one in Wakefield) advertising to see if we can't bring in a few more people for the Sunday show. Also, we're going to teach a class on devising theater based on family histories.

Oh, and when I asked if anybody had ever heard of the Hoopa Tribe during the play, about three people raised their hands. So right on, Hoopas.

Our venue.