The feast!
Of course, Flying Leap being Flying Leap, we had to have an alternative (read: “queered”) celebration on Fourth of July weekend, and so with Susanna as cultural ambassador and guide, we celebrated an authentic Swedish Midsommar, instead! Complete with a smorgastorta — made with love by Jess! And as big proponents of “work hard, play hard” we not only gathered to celebrate the summer together, but also for reflection on Flying Leap’s progress at this midyear point, and to continue in strategizing for the future.
Such a sweet gathering of new friends and old friends at Jess and Kim’s gorgeous and generous Catskills home, a home which was quickly dubbed “The Queer Homestead” very early into the long weekend. The name stuck. As everyone ran around preparing for our Midsommar festival and feast, cooking, and cleaning, and harvesting, and taking the pickled herring out of many varietal jars, and as I erected the maypole in the yard fashioned out of a fallen tree, some spare lumber, and hot/cold water tubing, I looked around and saw the kind of community I have dreamed about, and that I have found through Jess and Susanna (as well as the other wonderful folks who made the weekend so special, chief among them Kim, Misha, Maria, Kirby, Carla, Ben, and Scooby and Basil the dogs).
Logan and friends Maria, Misha, and Carla
The maypole, constructed by me!
It is frequent, when I find myself in shared space with Flying Leap’s people, that I really see our mission and core values are put in practice, truly, at all times, in and out of the theater, on and off the stage: we live by way of generous care for one another, through warm collaboration, with attention to accessibility, a Thorough Queerness, and a deep deep wellspring of joy. Our midyear reflections were accomplished through a kind and critical lens as we congratulated ourselves for the numerous projects we have completed this year, and as we challenged ourselves to work smarter to serve our audiences and selves with the utmost compassion and creativity as we move forward with the exciting new projects lying just ahead.
As we sat around the fire in the fire pit that Kim and Maria and Misha and Kirby had dug out, stacked stones, and made by hand earlier that day (while we reflected) I thought about the warmth generated by the people surrounding me, greater than the fire, really. And we ate good chocolate, made melty by the fire, and we sang together, in Swedish and English, and we had big decadent meals, and lovely salads, and found inventive uses of leftovers. We told stories, and we made jokes, and we got to know one another intimately as a community of fast friends brought together to celebrate the simple act of being together in the summertime.
We made family. That’s what Flying Leap does. And I couldn’t be more full of gratitude to make the kind of work we make together. Happy post-Midsommar, from your Flying Leap family.
Warmly,
Logan gabrielle
Peace and love from Logan and Jess!
As often, thanks to Kim Thai for her excellent photography. :)