Oops... I did it again! I’m not quoting Ms Spears… and I’m not simply referring to the writing of this blog (although both are probably fairly accurate right now). No, I’m referring to my purchase of a plant. I think there’s something very special and important about having life around me at the minute; something blossoming, growing and providing hope. The first thing that struck me was its name – “Peace Lily” – that simple description gave me solace, reflection and an overwhelming calmness in a moment. It gave me hope. The white Lily often symbolizes purity and modesty, aptly used in weddings; however, my main experiences of the flower is through funerals, and every now then, she will crop up in literature – formed from the milk of the breast of Hera, which Hercules didn't get to sup, or the beautiful depiction by William Blake (and I’m guessing many, many more)
Purity and death. What does that mean to us at this moment? Well, whether it’s a wedding, a funeral, a 30th anniversary or the thousand other reasons to be gifted or to symbolically make use of a Lily; one thing is for certain, we make use of them because of significance – an event, a poignant moment, an occasion, a place and a time that we will remember for a very long time. So maybe, that’s its place for me today. A symbolic closing on one chapter of life. I’m not being oh so dramatic, but we’ve been given a gift which will not be awarded to us at any other point in our lives (Please note I am using the reference of the coronavirus as a gift simply to refer to the silver lining, the positive outcome of this situation and not in ANY way saying that this is a positive or good thing) A break, downtime, back to basics. I lived in a bit of a chaotic lifestyle (which I loved) of being on the go all the time, demanding a lot of myself and pushing at every door. I’m sure I will easily return to all of it; but it definitely is a time to reflect on our ‘normal’ and what exactly it is that we need to change about those. I’ve majorly digressed. This was supposed to be a blog about our company, Ear to Ear Productions, and what we’ve been doing to stay creative and positive in this time – in true style of myself, I thought symbolism would be helpful to tie a thread through the writing, but it ended up taking me down a very different path. We were met with a lot of sad news – the cancellation of Edinburgh Festival Fringe – something we’ve been looking forward to, like, REALLY looking forward to. The cancellation of other shows we have planned in London which not only affects our financial situation but also our wellbeing and the creative juices of our wonderful team of actors – the phone call I made that day to pass on the information on Edinburgh was heartbreaking for me. But this is what we’re taking from it. We’ve hit Pause. And when we resume, we have more time – time to fundraise, time to plan more shows, time to delve deeper and more creatively into our wonderful script with (hopefully) fresh eyes. We have weekly Zoom meetings. At first, these started as distanced rehearsals / readings of the script. In the past weeks, they’ve become quizzes, written by the team (with prizes awarded), games nights and generally fun conversations. Our cast is currently recording some fun footage linked to the show, which is being released gradually. One of our cast members, a terrific artist, has opened his online business as an artist and doodler, another is releasing podcasts he’d started before this pandemic. People making their own board games from scratch, with good old pen and paper and making them adaptable so the theme and characters can change nightly. Not to mention the home workouts, classes, group play-readings and shows being put on as individuals and all the personal things we’ve each being doing that we haven’t discussed. Our writer and director has begun writing an incredible script in a genre outside of what we normally do, but something he knows incredibly well – he’s taken a leap of faith and written characters he didn’t necessarily ‘know’ how to write – and on a first reading, they are simply wonderful. We’ve been tweaking our website and delving further into the boring business side. Had companies who promised to support us in fundraisers follow through in sending donations (which has been such a beautiful and generous gift, especially at this time). These are all wonderful, inspirational ideas and processes, which our busy schedules don’t really allow us otherwise, and I think these are the things we should be looking to introduce into our new normal in some form or other when we get back to it.
“The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.”
William Blake’s words couldn't be more accurate - No thorn, no threat , just beauty and all consuming love. There’s something very poignant about the symbol of a peace lily and I’m encouraging it, along with my trusty Orchid (previous blog – check it out!) to be my symbol and foundation of hope at this time.
We are strong, we are survivors, and we are connected. We’re gifted with creativity and a legion of ideas that can keep us informed and occupied.
Stay at peace, stay joyful, stay hopeful and stay at home… but don’t stay alone.
PS. Other things I did again – watched Friends, bought candles (it’s an addiction), promised I’d do a workout and didn’t.
