I found inspiration last Friday night on the campus of St. Agnes under the tent. And then I found it again the next night, same time in the same place. At Mass, you might ask? No. In fact, they hadn’t celebrated Mass under the tent at St. Agnes in nearly a week since the St. Catherine’s Players temporarily took over the space to rehearse for their musical review in celebration of their 40th anniversary as a performing arts ministry at St. Catherine of Siena Church. And frankly, calling a 40th anniversary celebration doesn’t do justice to the emotional, and arguably, spiritual impact that was felt from both performances this past weekend. In fact, I would characterize it more as a family gathering or reunion that we have been so desperately seeking these past 16 months.
And I say that because most of the people I spoke to during the opening reception on Friday and again after the performance on Saturday, commented on how good it felt to come back together again as the community of St. Catherine’s and St. Agnes after such a long hiatus of suspended community celebrations. The words that kept coming back to me from the people I spoke with were words like “family”, “. . .you could feel such warmth throughout. . .”, “. . .the night had a great vibe. . .”, “. . .it felt so good to get back together with the St. Catherine’s community for a shared experience that’s been missing for so long.” What was atypical of the audience comments I heard were that they weren’t focused on an individual performer or performance, rather, it was all about how much fun it was to see friends, fellow parishioners and familiar faces involved in the various aspects of “re-staging” what has been a 40 year tradition at St. Catherine’s.
And we paid tribute to the many people who were involved in initiating and maintaining that four decade old legacy that is SCP (St. Catherine’s Players). Friday and Saturday nights performance both contained video valentines from ALL 5 of our previous directors. And what all of them waxed poetic about in regard to St. Catherine’s Players was the opportunity it afforded them “. . .to make lifelong friends. . .”, “. . .to perform on stage with my two sons. . .” and “. . .how St. Catherine’s became my adopted home parish. . .”--that last quote coming from a non-Christian. Theatre, by the very nature of what it does and how it does it, tends to attract self-centered people who ask you to, “Look at me, listen to me or pay very close attention to what I’m doing.” But that was never the goal of St. Catherine’s Players. Created with the desire to build a more catholic (intentionally spelled with a small “c”) community extending past the boundaries of our own parish and into the greater Riverside area, Fairfield County and beyond, SCP has cast a very wide net with members past and present stretching from Westchester County in New York to Litchfield County in Connecticut.
After Friday night’s performance we held another 40 year tradition, the SCP Board always hosts a reception for the cast, crew, band AND AUDIENCE free of charge as gesture meant to give back to the audiences that have always been so supportive of our theatrical efforts. And this support manifests itself in so many ways, like the half dozen women of our parish who volunteered to bake some 400 cookies to help deliciously feed those in attendance at the opening night reception. My favorite customer was a little girl who couldn’t have been more than 6 years old, who asked me, “Are the cookies free?” “Yes,” I replied. She then surveyed the vast offerings (remember, we had 400 cookies) and picking up one bag of chocolate chip cookies and another bag of short bread cookies she asked me, “Which one is better?” I looked at the little girl and replied, “I really can’t answer that. . .so I guess you’re just going to have to try them both.” She asked, “REALLY??” I nodded my head to her and I received the widest smile. That exchange, for me, was priceless.
And speaking of young people, it’s hard if not impossible to find a parish activity like SCP that involves members from the ages of 8 to 80, and that is no exaggeration. It has always warmed my heart to see the younger performers help shepherd some of the older ones by the hand to lead them off a darkened stage or onto it when the lights black out for a scene change. My favorite story involves the 8 year old who got to be friendly with my wife during rehearsals of a show several years ago when she was working crew with me. With all sincerity, the little boy told her, “You know, you should try out for the show next year. I bet you could get a part!” FYI, my wife was a theatre major in college and performed in a couple of SCP productions before he had even been born, but she was so charmed by his sincerity she thanked him very much for his encouragement. And it is that kind of encouragement and ensemble mentality that makes SCP the kind of “safe haven” that so many of our younger people desperately need. And likewise, we older parishioners need to be mindful and more sympathetic to the challenges facing today’s younger generation that are so different and more invasive into their personal lives than anything we faced as a result of social media. And role modeling is a very big part of how SCP has been a supportive ministry to the younger members of the cast and crew through the various “teachable
moments” that have cropped up over the years. And nobody comes more readily to mind when I think of teachable moments for our younger members than Wendy Blumenthal and Jody Breakell, SCP producers from 2015 to 2020,
In fact, at Saturday night’s closing performance a video tribute was shown honoring Jody Breakell and Wendy Blumenthal for all their contributions of time and talent to SCP not just as producers but throughout their many years of service in the parish. And again, the common theme that consistently resonated with all the video and audio testimonies played was their inclusiveness, their welcoming warmth and the respect they demonstrated and demanded from and for each and every member of the cast, crew and orchestra. They would remind the troupe that as in our own respective families, we celebrate when other members of our family succeed, we encourage them when they fail, but we always support them in their efforts because we love one another. Theatre can be an excellent virtual classroom for teachable moments both on and offstage.
This is where you can help St. Catherine’s Players maintain their successful 40 year run that has touched so many lives of so many parishioners and non-parishioners alike. And no, I’m not going to ask for money. But I am going to ask if you would be willing to volunteer in next year’s production of “Annie”? The show should be a blast and is our third time staging it at St. Catherine’s. It has a lot of kids, a lot of adults, will require Depression era period costuming, mood lighting, onstage set pieces and a crew of people willing to help scene changes during the show. I make this candid request for volunteer help because with the passage of time (i.e., 40 years) people age out or move away and pass away. As a result we are very much in need of “young blood” to help us pass the baton to the next generation of SCP participants. And again, to me, SCP is much more than a theater group, it’s a ministry that helps bring people of every stripe together for a common goal. Yes, we want to entertain our audiences to the best of our abilities, but we do it first as a community and we do it for our community with love and respect for one another. And if you’re a techie willing to volunteer your time and talent during January and February 2022, please reach out to me at dpulick@gmail.com, we need to hear from you SOOOOOO badly and we will be SOOOOOO grateful.
So where did I find inspiration last week? I found it, as I always find it, in the people who comprise St. Catherine’s Players on-stage, back-stage and in the audience of our community tent. And I feel so blessed and grateful for being a part of it since 1985!
