Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson

Improvisation

Posted on by

This week, we’re continuing rehearsals for the Easter Play, and I’m excited to incorporate some drama-therapy-based character work into the process. Through a series of movements and prompts, participants will step into their characters to explore their desires, motivations, and challenges through light improvisation.

This will be my first time facilitating exercises like these, so I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous.   I know, however, that the only way to improve is by practicing; and honestly, I couldn’t think of a better group to practice with.

If time allows, I’ll continue with my superhero interviews, but otherwise I’m taking it easy this week. Looking forward to seeing where all of this leads!

– Mary Schwabenland

Preparation for Our Easter Play

Posted on by

This week, back from my spring break, I’m feeling refreshed and ready to dive back into creative collaboration here at common art.

First up is the kickoff meeting for our Easter Play! My plan is to start with a warm-up activity to break the ice and get everyone engaged before we do a read-through of the script, written by our beloved community member Richie Berman.  Since this script is shorter than our December play, I’m hoping we can spend more time having fun with it rather than getting too caught up in staging logistics.

Over the next few weeks, I’d love to incorporate more character work and acting exercises (with a therapeutic lens, of course), which you might see in a traditional theatre group.

Beyond that, I’m still continuing with the superhero interviews; and people are coming up with some truly creative responses. Last time, we had one superhero whose power came from sandwiches and another whose strength was fueled by friendship bracelets.  I loved seeing how much fun everyone was having with it.

That’s all for this week.  I’m excited to see where these projects take us!

Show what love looks like!

Posted on by

Lent 2C, March 16, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18. I am your shield.
Philippians 3:17-4:1.  He will transform the body of our humiliation.
Luke 13:31-35.  How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.

O God whose glory is always mercy, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Today’s choice of a Gospel text for the second Sunday in Lent always strikes me as a little jarring. It’s jarring to begin the first week of Lent with Luke’s account of Jesus resisting temptations in the wilderness before his ministry began and then to skip, over his teaching and healing all around the Galilee and beyond, to the end of Chapter 13 at the middle of the Gospel of Luke.  (Next week the scheduled portion is back at the beginning of that chapter.) The slow, almost leisurely pace of Jesus’ ministry in Luke with magnificent story-telling, prayer, and Sabbath meals is completely eclipsed in our Lenten readings from Luke’s Gospel. Our lectionary saves all those stories for the summer. Continue reading →

Spectrogram

Posted on by

Last Wednesday, I decided to do a performance-based workshop with my common art poetry group, using Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”. We mixed things up with some acting exercises, which had everyone laughing and really brought the poem to life. It was such a great reminder of how performance can transform poetry into something so dynamic and engaging. The energy in the room was contagious! Continue reading →

Preparing for Easter

Posted on by

Lent 1C, March 9, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Deuteronomy 26:1-11. Now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.
Romans 10:8b-13. The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.
Luke 4:1-13. It is written…it is written…it is said.

O God of hope, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

I’m feeling relieved that it’s finally Lent. We’ve had a longer wait than usual because this year Easter is almost as late as it can ever be, but the calendar hasn’t been the only thing making these last weeks feel unbearably long. While I’ve waited, I’ve felt keenly aware of our need for penitence and healing, for a quarantine of almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and meditating on Holy Scripture. I’ve felt our need to get right with God, in the midst of the socio-economic collapse and exiles of all kinds that are happening in our world.

Continue reading →

Interviews with Superheros

Posted on by

Last week, I had the chance to try out my superhero interviews, and I’m happy to report that they went really well! I ended up conducting four interviews, which felt like a great way to explore and practice my therapeutic skills in this setting. Since each person interprets the questions differently this format really gives me an opportunity to guide them through the conversation. It’s a mix of reflecting back what they’ve shared, offering new words or ways to summarize their experiences, and asking for clarification or digging deeper into certain themes. It feels like a collaborative process in which we’re both learning and discovering.

One of the things I loved most was that every superhero I spoke to had a power that was rooted in helping or healing others—whether through music, seeing people’s truths, transforming darkness into light, or offering protection through faith.  Considering how much passion, kindness, and community-mindedness I’ve witnessed in this space, I’m not surprised but still find myself awed and inspired.

Since I find the superhero theme naturally lends itself to storytelling,  I can’t help but feel creative potentials percolating in my mind. Imagine an Avengers-style crossover of common art superheroes, here to bring the world towards healing and wholeness. That’s a story I could get invested in.

As for this week, I’m diving back into my poetry group. While it’s not superhero-themed, I’m hoping some of the creative energy from the interviews will carry over. I’ve planned some fun acting exercises to incorporate.  I’m excited to see whether they spark creativity and engagement in the group.

This Friday is Boston Warm’s first movie day of the year!  I’ll be leading a discussion after we watch “West Side Story”, which offers  so much to unpack.  I’m looking forward to exploring themes that feel especially relevant to our community, such as division and unity, discrimination and belonging, hope and despair, and more. The movie will begin at 9:00am, so feel free to join us if you can!

-– Mary Schwabenland, 26 Feb. 2025

Superheroic Personae

Posted on by

This week, in addition to my poetry group, I’m announcing a new project I’m starting with common art. I was inspired by our play last December, “Fix the Damn Sidewalk,” written by our beloved Richie Berman, to do something with superheroes. I’ve never been a superhero person, but I realized that there’s something about superheroes that makes for a great analogous tool when one tries to get to know people.  What are your strengths, your superhuman abilities, your weaknesses, your kryptonite? In drama therapy we would call this a projective device, something fictional or separate from oneself, which allows one to discover aspects of oneself within it.

Since I wanted to bring more intention to my one-to-one conversations with common art members this semester, I thought I would add some structure and creativity to it. So I decided to start a project wherein I would interview members as if they were superheroes. My goal is to have this be a long-term thing, where members would hopefully get inspired to create their own superhero personas and create art around them. There are lots of different directions we could take it, depending on how people respond. For now, I’m just testing the waters to see who’s interested. I may begin asking people some of my questions. I don’t think it would be hard to identify the superpowers in this community. Excuse my corniness, but I am blown away by their powers and talents every week. I have no idea how they would feel about this idea, but maybe that’s my superpower: trying things and finding out. Stay tuned!

–Mary Schwabenland

Poetry Exercises

Posted on by

Update on last week’s poetry group: it went well, although not exactly as I had expected.  I started the group off with a warm-up exercise called a locogram. This activity is like a multiple-choice question, but you have to physically move to a spot in the room that represents your answer. I started off with four words taken from Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey.” These words were house, mend, stones, and voice. I placed the words on the floor in a large circle and asked the participants to move to whatever word they felt most drawn to and then explain why. Then I repeated the exercise with whole stanzas from “The Journey”. Continue reading →

Talkback after “Fix the Damned Sidewalk”

Posted on by

Last week was my first week back with common art and Boston Warm; and it felt great to be back. Everyone was still buzzing over our production of Richard Berman’s play, “Fix the Damn Sidewalk”, which was a huge success. I was immensely proud of the cast and crew for putting it all together. We got lots of laughs! At the end of the play, I led a talkback/interview session with the performers to give them the space to share something about their experience. Continue reading →

Handle with prayer!

Posted on by

Christmas 1C, 29 December 2024. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 61:10 – 62:3. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD.
  • Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
  • John 1:1-18. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

O God of love, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Our lectionary, which assigns the prologue to the Gospel of John for the first Sunday in Christmas, baffles me. Since we’re in a Gospel of Luke year, why not the story of the presentation of Jesus as an infant in the Temple eight days after he was born? The answer, I guess, is that story will be read on February 2, which is the Feast of the Presentation. Continue reading →