The South on a Sunday

A small Mississippi town on a Sunday...absolutely everything is closed.

Welcome back to the south, ya'll. Hey baybee! D-yu wyant BBQ sauss? (No really - direct quote from the cashier at McD's today in Georgia.)

We had two really fun shows in a small, seemingly ghost town in east Mississippi. Talk about one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi...because thats how long it would take before you saw one other person pass you on the street. We arrived on a Sunday, and it was SHUT DOWN. Everything closed. Talk about bible belt!

The two shows on Monday were great. Someone told us before we went on the road that sometimes we will see some towns and think, "Why would they ever send us here?" I certainly had that moment. He also advised us that there is a reason for every town. There is a reason, some pivotal point that keeps people living together in a community. I think that part of that point might be the theater we performed in.

I wish I had my camera - it was a historical theater, recovered and preserved from its original 17th century conception. With three seating balconies, it was originally a segregated performance hall, with white people on the floor, middle class on the first balcony, and black people on benches on the upper decks. How crazy!! The in-house technical director was relaying some of these stories to us, apparently his family has lived in this town for decades.

We had two completely full houses. Its great to play to a full, three balcony house. A great audience, they laughed at all the jokes, were polite and did not holler or clap inappropriately, and I think we spread a lot of joy through that community. Unfortunately I will not be planning a vacation to that part of Mississippi anytime soon, but I am happy to have done a mitzvah (a good deed).

Right now we are in another deserted southern town, this time in Georgia. However, it is a Tuesday night, so there is no blaming the church on this one. I think the recession is to blame. There are so many "for-rent" signs around town.