Spoon River

Chloe, Sam, & Lori in "Spoon River Revisited"

1 May 2004 -- The Reedy Point Players presented an evocative series of vignettes in "Spoon River Revisited."  This was done with significant contributions from three member of the Assembly of The New School.

Chloe and Sam Baker, both students in the School, with their mother, Lori, are members of The Reedy Point Players, an amateur dramatic company in Delaware City.  On the evenings of 29 & 30 April, and 1 May 2004, the group presented dramatic scenes adapted from some of the poems written by Edgar Lee Masters called "The Spoon River Anthology."  The performances were given on the stage at the Delaware City Library, before a full house of about 100 people.

Chloe played two roles:  First, as the sole player in the segment called "Zenas Witt," Chloe played the spirit of a 13 year old girl who died of a wasting disease.  Chloe's performance was strong and heart-rending.  In a second role, Chloe played a supporting part as one of the children of "Lois Spears."  In contrast to her role moments before, in this scene Chloe was vivacious and charming.

Sam Baker worked on the stage crew of the production, as a member of the paint crew.  He assured me that, though the sets seemed to be gray, they were painted "purple" so that they would look gray under the lights.

Chloe and Sam's mom, Lori Willing, made her début as "Mrs. Samuel Gardner," the spirit of a woman who loved gardening in life, and offered a metaphor of the soul, based on her changed perspective of trees, from the grave.

Both of the Baker children have some experience of dramatic productions, since they both spent part of the first semester of the 2003-2004 school year as "extras" in the soon-to-be-released film, "The Village."  You can see Sam and Chloe this Summer in a theater near you.

Congratulations are due to Chloe, Sam, Lori, and all of The Reedy Point Players for their fine performances and thought-provoking production.