How to Live in America is a musical about three calamities we hear about all the time: homelessness, wildfire, and random gun violence. The plot follows three characters who experience each of the calamities first-hand. Virgil is a middle-aged professor turned reporter who is fired for saying the wrong thing. Vince is a young person who experiences homelessness; whom Virgil mentors as he works his way into a stable housing situation. Kristen is a young woman who loses her husband in an urban wildfire. The music deals with how these characters cope with their misfortunes. The play is meant to encourage us all to reflect on this question how do we live this heavy life with an easy heart and an open soul when every day there's trauma around each bend.
I am presenting this original musical in a performance on June 24th at 7 PM at the Nativity Lutheran Church at 15 Grove Street in North Conway, NH.
The performance on June 24th is the culmination of a collaborative workshop lasting a week. Musicians, cast, and crew will influence the final form of this musical—which is a work in progress. It is designed in a skeleton form with room for including individual stories. These stories will be woven into the play during a week of rehearsals. After this performance, I hope the play will be produced in other venues.
A cast and crew of about 20 people bring the musical to life. The talent showcased includes singers ages 11-ish and older; musicians playing guitar, bass, violin, and oboe; organizers; and a teen singer/songwriter.
I hope the workshop and performance will raise community awareness of the calamities we face, in particularly the problem of homelessness and housing insecurity in our own community. The Way Station is a resource center that can offer help to our neighbors in need. For more information, contact Ellen Schwindt at ellen.m.schwindt@gmail.com.
