Living your passion on stage can be a completely different thing, when the whole world has decided to take a pause from the normal.
In conversations, on social media and in the news, we have all said in one way or another how we’re ready for the impacts of COVID-19 to be over. For some, this time has been devastating, and for others we’re simply missing the “way it used to be” with hugs, sporting events, concerts, kids in school, meals out at a restaurant, carefree shopping at our favorite stores, and a list of other things we once took for granted.
While we understand it is for the health and safety of our community, it doesn’t take away the longing for the accessibility of less than six months ago.
For the past 8 summers, one of the things we took for granted in Lake Zurich, IL was Children’s Theatre. Each summer Cricket Theatre Company, a non-profit corporation whose goal is to create community through theatre, has put on plays and/or musicals involving children from ages 6 to 19. This effort is no small feat, and is the passion project of a woman in town who already has plenty to do.
Mary Beth Euker is no average woman. By day she's a lawyer, by night she is a Village Trustee, and runs Cricket Theatre Company. I could go on about her kind leadership style and heart, because MB (for short) is a friend and inspiration to me, and to many others around town.
I got to know MB through Children’s Theatre before she formed Cricket, as my children were in her productions years ago. Not only is she a proponent of supporting the love of theatre with our local youth, she can also be seen occasionally on stage herself, or attending shows in Chicago and writing Theatre Reviews for the Northwest Herald newspaper.
There are days I wonder if Rod Stewart wrote “You’re in My Heart” about MB:
“You’re ageless, timeless, lace and fineness. You're beauty and elegance. You're a rhapsody, a comedy. You're a symphony and a play.”
In all the years I have known her, nothing seems to stand in her way. So why would I expect a pandemic to be any different?
While many theaters around the country, including Broadway, have closed down their performances during this time, MB found a way to continue. No one could have known last year when she selected this summer’s play, how 2020 would unfold. The tale chosen would reflect a different time of exceptional challenge.
The play “Letters to Sala” by Arlene Hutton is based on Ann Kirschner’s true story about her mother, Sala Garncarz. In 1940, sixteen year old Sala was sent from a Jewish Ghetto in Poland, to a Nazi labor camp. Over the course of 5 years, until the war ended, she moved between 7 different labor camps, and kept hidden over 350 letters written to her while in the camps. It wasn’t until 2004, these hidden letters were revealed to her grown daughter Ann. The play weaves together scenes from the letters, and how they were brought to light again to a new generation. The rare insight into the lives of men, women and children tell a story of pain and resilience.
MB realized there would be added challenges to bringing a show to life in the midst of a global pandemic. With a different set of obstacles, given the social distancing and health restrictions, she asked herself: “What can I do?”
Utilizing video conferencing technology; auditions and early rehearsals were held on-line. Subsequent rehearsals moved outside, and as they worked through the state’s phases of reopening, eventually made their way back indoors with the use of masks, small groups, and extra precautions.
“Letters to Sala” is typically performed by over 30 organizations each summer, but MB was in the unique position of being the only one to plan a performance this year. In order to help bring the show to life in a new way, MB reached out to the authors of both the book and play, who held a call with the cast and directors.
With flesh-toned masks, and a limited in-person audience, the show was live-streamed to over 160 households in mid-August. The spirit and passion of theatre were kept alive as MB did what many thought was not possible in this challenging time.
As Sala herself said, “One must go on bravely and courageously, even if the heart is breaking.”
As if this were not enough already, MB took the “T” from can’t and turned it into theatre for many additional people throughout the summer. In her spare time she did script readings, covering a variety of genres, in her backyard with previous cast members who were missing their own on stage opportunities. And many evenings, she read books aloud on Facebook Live for whomever wanted to listen. I even connected my own Mom in on Facebook to hear MB read.
We draw inspiration in tough times from leaders who reimagine what can be done in a positive, constructive light. For me, this grace was shown in the form of a friend who knows the power of collaboration and creativity to bring about something better. To empower your passion, you first must believe in what you CAN do.
What passion of yours needs to be empowered?