Miami Hamilton Community Theatre and OxAct Community Theatre's newest production, Inside the Plastic Bag, hopes to lend a voice to those struggling with homelessness and indigence in and around the city of Hamilton.
According to Bekka Eaton, director and assistant professor of theater at Miami University Hamilton (MUH), the production will follow the life stories of three individuals from the CHOSEN shelter located at 622 East Avenue in Hamilton.
Eaton said she was approached by Tammie Adams, a student in her improv class at Miami Hamilton and a nurse at Mercy Franciscan at St. Raphael, which is a nursing outreach program affiliated with Mercy Hospital in Hamilton that works directly with the CHOSEN shelter. According to Eaton, Adams was touched by many of the stories she heard at the shelter and felt they would make a great production.
Working closely with three other writers, Eaton and Adams formed the production based on an improvisational scripting style.
"We took elements (of the stories) and through a series of exercises and trial and error we improvised little segments," Eaton said. "Three writers were on set at all times and they would get ideas from the actors and go home and flush them out."
Actors in the play, including three Miami students, were given the opportunity to meet with the faces behind their characters at the CHOSEN shelter.
"I think the fact that they took the time to get to know the person and get their story is very powerful," said Linda Kimble, executive director of ServeCity, the larger outreach center in Hamilton where CHOSEN is located.
A volunteer at CHOSEN suggested the production's title, Inside the Plastic Bag, saying that everyday she sees individuals come into the shelter clutching a Ziploc bag stuffed full of their most important documents, such as their Social Security cards, birth certificates and written prescriptions - and many come in with little more than the Ziploc bag and the clothes on their backs.
"Take 20 years off, and I'm sure their mothers were making their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in those same bags never thinking that their child would be in such dire straits so many years later," Eaton said.
According to Eaton, the stories were retold in order to help dispel negative connotations surrounding the issue of homelessness and indigence.
"Our desire is for people to walk away knowing that people who have troubles are no different than them and that poverty itself is not a disease," Eaton said. "There's nothing shameful about being poor - these people need your help."
Local connections
According to the Butler County Community Development Office, as of January 2006, there were a total of 183 homeless individuals in Butler County.
Eaton said Inside the Plastic Bag hopes to bring the issue of homelessness and indigence out of the shadows.
"The bottom line is to get the stories out in a way that will be heard deeply so that people take it home with them," Eaton said.
According to Kay Waldo, director of the shelter, CHOSEN sees an average of 35 guests a night. For those in need, the shelter seeks to find jobs and a place to live while simultaneously offering a fresh start - a way to get back on their feet.
"Believe it or not we have a lot of successes here, we try to promote a second chance to these people when the world (has) forgotten about them," Waldo said. "They can come in here and use this place to change their lives."
According to Waldo many believe they know the kind of people who are in need of the shelter's services - but this is not the case. Recently the shelter has served registered nurses and other professionals who are mostly victims of company downsizing, Waldo said.
In addition to volunteers, Waldo said the nurses from Mercy Franciscan at St. Raphael's have been of great help to everyone at the shelter. According to Waldo, nurses from St. Raphael's recently saved two lives at the shelter: one of a diabetic woman with extremely high sugar levels who had no knowledge of her condition and one of a man with blood pressure readings at near stroke level. Each was taken to the hospital shortly after their arrival at the shelter thanks to urgings by the nurses, Waldo said.
"They're a very grateful bunch, they love the nurses coming," Waldo said of the individuals at CHOSEN. "When they see nurses taking the time out of their day to take care of them they are so overwhelmed with feelings that they're very generous and very grateful."
According to Eaton, Wednesday night's performance played to a crowd of about 30 people in the small, classroom-like theatre. Many individuals from CHOSEN, whose stories inspired the production, were in attendance. Eaton said they were very pleased with the on-stage portrayal of the stories they had chosen to share.
A talkback session will take place after the show's November 18th performance at the Oxford Community Arts Center. During the talkback, audience members will have a chance to talk with the actors as well as the production's writers and director.
According to Kimble, Miami Hamilton has extended an open invitation for all individuals at CHOSEN or ServeCity to see the show on one of the four nights of performance. The shelter will also provide transportation for those interested in attending.
"I would think (seeing their story) will be very powerful for them, but also very challenging," Kimble said.
Patrons can see Inside the Plastic Bag followed by Miami Hamilton's new improv comedy show, All's Well That Ends at 7 p.m. Nov. 8-11 in Miami Hamilton's Phelps Hall, room 307. Tickets are available at the door only and run $8 general admission and $6 for students with ID, seniors and children 12 and under.
