As each year passes by, the community I once so deeply entwined myself with becomes just a bit more distant. Before, when I went to a competition, I could barely walk a few feet without running into a close friend I spent seasons repping the same sets over and over with. Time marched on, and we then became teachers, watching as our students took center stage. Another few seasons go by, and I find myself rooting for the teachers more so than any performer. And now almost a decade since my age out, many former colleagues and students, like myself, have begun diverging and finding other priorities in our lives.
Still, I insist on going to a live winter drumline show each season. While the people I can excitedly run into number less than the fingers on a hand, I still appreciate the activity and the art. However, I would be lying if I denied the discomfort we had when Samantha and I walked around the lot at Toyota Arena. Nervousness isn’t to be unexpected after all these years I suppose. The activity and the people have changed so much. So much so that we felt like foreigners, with a nonsensical dread of being exposed that we didn’t quite belong.
To then have RCC perform their show about Home was unexpectedly coincidental. The show itself did such an amazing job for such a simple concept.Â
Instead of narrowly prescribing what a home is or should be, RCC’s approach was expansive and loose, describing what a home could be. There is of course the physical manifestation of a house, illustrated by the prop front entrances or unique pieces of furniture. But instead of limiting itself to the physical boundaries, the show also plays with the idea of the symbolic definitions of home. It can be a family member welcoming you with open arms or perhaps it's a place of play and discovery. Home can be where one find’s support, either through life’s inevitable trials or the celebrations in times of triumph. It can be that old family lamp with special meaning, or maybe just a single person to lean on. Or, if you’re fortunate, it can be a staircase full of those you love. As long as one feels safe, unjudged, heard and allowed to dream, then the home can manifest in any form.
While the show itself was brilliant, the metanarrative of winter drumline as home was the crucial element that effectively led to the overwhelming transference with the audience. So many young performers were enraptured by the show due to the relevancy. Many actively pursue winter drumline precisely because of that yearning for a home, to have the safety to aspire and to belong. This activity creates the space for play and self-discovery, all while creating art that has the potential to communicate meaning in ways words rarely do by themselves. And it was also a helpful reminder, that even if another decade passes, even if at that point I recognize absolutely nobody, this crazy activity, and some tennis courts in a small community college, will always be home.
