Artistic Director and Founding Member Rebecca Zellar reads Susan Cooper's The Shortest Day on the 21st Day of our Virtual Advent Calendar. It also happens to be the Winter Solstice and Yule (and Rebecca's Birthday) when the dark welcomes back the light, the Old Sun dies, and the New Sun takes its place. It's always an astronomical occasion, but this year also brings with it the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. If the skies in your locale aren't cloudy, take a look towards the southwestern sky an hour after sunset and you might get a chance to see this glorious treat. The last time humans saw the great conjunction occur was in 1226.
Poem copyright Susan Cooper 1974 Illustrated book published by Candlewick Press 2019
Rebecca asked Susan if she could read this poem today and received a lovely reply from Susan's daughter along with a message from Susan: ""All good wishes to the Mosaic Players, in this year that’s so unfriendly to the performing arts - and happy solstice birthday!" Thank you, Susan, for writing such a beautiful poem and allowing us to share for this 2020 Winter Solstice.
This video will be available until tomorrow at 10 am when a new virtual surprise takes its place. All the Virtual Advent Calendar videos will be available December 25th - December 31st. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and check back in with our blog each day so that you don't miss something fun!
Rebecca has a degree in theatre from Michigan State University and has acted, directed, marketed, stage-managed, adapted, written, and collaborated in the medium for over thirty years. She's thankful time has slowed down enough to allow her to realize that theatre needs to undergo a serious change, both systemically and spiritually, and she and this merry band of players intend to explore everything and anything to allow this new world to emerge and be shared.
Mosaic Players is a group of artists committed to the idea that our theatre will focus on human rights, social justice, and anti-racism. We promote dignity, respect, equality, inclusiveness, and understanding. We plan on creating original works, adapting literature, and producing shows that reflect the stories of our communities.