“In these hands and in these dishes, solace here to find
Constant human ties that bind
There’s a blessing at this table
Making room right next to me …
Keep us mindful and humble
Ever close to what is real
This food we were brought up on
We raised it in these fields”
“Blessing,” by Sam Gleaves
Kentuckians often have corn in their bread and corn in their bourbon. But corn is not usually the topic of their entertainment. Until now.
Productions of In These Fields: A Folk Opera, written by author Silas House and musician Sam Gleaves, both of Berea, are being performed throughout the Commonwealth.
When the Southern Foodways Alliance asked House and Gleaves to write a show about corn, both admitted they were concerned about how to fill a 45-minute show about a field crop. But when they began to research and brainstorm ideas, they saw how the history and culture of the South are revealed through this iconic grain. A series of monologues and songs, the work is a meditation on those who have raised, prepared and eaten corn.
The chronological story begins with a Cherokee woman in the 1830s and ends with a modern gay man. In between, audience members meet a slave, a sharecropper, a beauty pageant contestant and a female moonshiner. It touches on fever-pitch moments in the history of the South, like slavery and civil rights, and shares the very human stories that make up that history. Gleaves’ songs are new but include elements culturally relevant to the characters. For example, he incorporates a Cherokee tune with new words and the words of an African-American spiritual with a new melody.
The SFA commissioned In These Fields for its annual symposium last October. Headquartered at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the Alliance “sets a welcome table where all may consider our history and our future in a spirit of respect and reconciliation.” The goal is for its staged events, like In These Fields,“to serve as progressive and inclusive catalysts for the greater South.”
In that vein, In These Fields is more than just entertainment. Gleaves and House believe that artists have the responsibility to talk about big issues. So themes like classism, racism, sexism and homophobia are explored in the story. Another important Southern theme is restoring a sense of pride for cultural foodways. “Food shame is an important topic in the rural South,” said House, noting he doesn’t know any Southerners who weren’t looked down on at least once for their soup beans and cornbread or pickled bologna and saltines. Often, those judgments about food are extended to the people and the culture of the South. “We are proud to celebrate working-class people,” Gleaves said.
While covering weighty topics, In These Fields does not feel like a lecture. It is at its heart about people’s stories. It tries to honestly present Southern food and culture in neither a vilified nor a romanticized way. It portrays true life that is complex and messy, yet celebrates the history of one of the most widespread staple crops in the Americas.
The two friends had kicked around the idea of collaborating for years. When approached by the SFA and asked to do just that, they couldn’t refuse. “Collaboration is dangerous to do with a friend,” House quipped, but both said they had a great time working together on this project. Being respectful of each other’s ideas was key, as well as being open to how the music could shape the monologues, and the stories could shape the music.
Each is an artist in his own right. House has written five novels, three plays and shorter pieces for The New York Times and NPR. His numerous awards include Appalachian Writer of the Year and recipient of the prestigious Caritas Medal, a tribute to his commitment to social justice.
Gleaves learned to play traditional music as a teen at the local barber shop in his rural Virginia hometown and has performed both nationally and internationally. He released his debut album, Ain’t We Brothers, last November. Novelist Lee Smith calls him, “amazingly talented … the best young songwriter around.”
The term “folk opera” might be new to some. A folk opera by definition centers on folk people and uses folk components in the production. The In These Fields characters are rural Southern people, and it features folk stories, music and dance. Gleaves added one more folk dimension to the production: There is no score for the music. After writing the songs, he taught them to the musicians using a traditional process. They listened and picked up the music by ear. He points out that process also creates a living work, in which each performance is different.
House and Gleaves consider themselves lucky that everyone they hand-picked for the cast said yes. While all needed to be close to Berea for rehearsals, House and Gleaves don’t believe that limited their choices. Adanma Onyedike Barton, a theater professor at Berea College and skilled actress and director, portrays the slave and beauty queen in the show. Carla Gover, an accomplished musician and dancer, performs as the Cherokee woman. Fiddler and harmony singer Deborah Payne embodies the moonshine character, and gifted pianist Jason Howard portrays the sharecropper. Talented musician Brett Ratliff plays with the ensemble. One of their greatest contributions, House said, is, “They all care deeply about this place, about Kentucky, Appalachia and the South, yet they understand the complexities of their history.”
All the players are multifunctional—as musicians, actors, directors, dancers and writers—and for some, including House in his acting debut, it was the first time to perform on stage. It was Gleaves’ debut writing music for a theatrical production.
The cast had an instant rapport because they already knew one another. Gleaves and House chuckle when sharing another apropos way they developed their working relationships—by eating together. “At rehearsals, it just sort of happened,” Gleaves said. “We would take tea breaks and also share a big potluck with the best Southern food,” House chimed in.
In These Fields has taken on a life of its own, more than House or Gleaves ever imagined. They believed they were finished after the October 2016 performance for the Alliance. But the inspirational show has generated a lot of interest in Kentucky. In December 2016, the cast performed a sold-out show at ArtsPlace in Lexington. The Warren County Public Library presented a production at Bowling Green’s Capitol Arts Center in March. The Hindman Settlement School hosts a production at the June 5-10 Appalachian Family Folk Week. This fall, there are plans to perform in Letcher County. Because of the schedules of the busy cast members, the group has had to turn down requests for performances.
After the staging in Bowling Green, an audience member approached House in tears. She has been in Kentucky for only two years, and the performance made her homesick for her native India. She kept thinking of the big meals her family had back home and the special dishes her mother made. While the dishes and ingredients were different, the connection around the table was the same.
“We thought we were writing a celebration of food, but we really created a celebration of community,” House said. Through writing and sharing this piece, House and Gleaves have realized the two are inextricably linked.
The last song of the show, “Blessing,” is an original composition by Gleaves. In just a few words, he encapsulates a blessing that many families share before a meal, the blessings received when sharing food at a common table, and the blessing of working the land to provide this sustenance for bodies and souls. Fittingly, the production closes with a welcome table full of both food and community.