The Rural We: Lia Russell-Self, Part 2
When we last spoke with Lia Russell-Self — producer, director, performer, writer and stage manager — they said, “Stay tuned for more. I’m here in the Berkshires, I love being here, and this is definitely not the last you’ll hear from me.” They were already associated with WAM Theatre and had begun working on The Suffrage Project related to the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. Now, they are also focused on The People of Color Ensemble, WAM’s new intergenerational ensemble composed of people of color from all backgrounds engaging creatively around discussions through the lens of race. The public is invited to an opening reception of its online exhibition on July 26.
Since the shutdown, I’ve been rethinking a lot of things — how we want our lives to look like right now, how to be creating and relating. In this time of quarantine, if you didn’t like yourself before, you have a lot to look at and delve into! I’ve grown a lot in the past three, four months — I’m connecting with nature more, been getting into gardening, witnessing the growing of life.
At WAM, we have a Teen Ensemble, and last year we began to get feedback from older women who wanted to have a similar experience. There are no spaces in the Berkshires available to women over 65 to create together, and be activists around their art and creativity. So the Elder Ensemble was created.
But there are so many communities that want and deserve the same right now. Trenda Loftin and I organized the People of Color Ensemble. It was going to be a two-day workshop at the end of April, a test to see if it could grow and continue. Then COVID hit. We first thought we'd move the workshop to August, but decided to have a checkin on Zoom. At that meeting, it was immediately obvious how important this group was going to be, and that we couldn’t wait until August. In this area, it’s so hard to find localized support around race. We had 10-12 people show up, and there was just this gush of joy to be with other people of color. Most of them are from the Pioneer Valley and the Berkshires, with a few in Columbia County.
People of Color Ensemble
We work as an ensemble, meeting every other week. It’s not a group of specifically theater people, but people who want to be creative with their work. We have farmers, nature-based educators, teenagers, mothers. It’s become a beautiful, healing environment that is so creative, even when some people felt they couldn’t be creative at this time.
We don’t come in with a script. We see what people bring to the space, and start building and making scenes, incorporating what people are good at. Everyone has a voice. The ensemble has become so important to the people in the group. I often hear them saying, “I can’t wait to get to Thursday so I can be with my people.”
I’m also currently working with Artists at Work, which pairs artists with cultural organizations to address current issues. I’ve been chosen to be one of the artists and I’m working with partners The Mount and The Rusty Anvil to focus on queer youth of color in the Berkshires and lead workshops on healing and reconnecting to nature.
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