As It Is In Heaven - Shakers return to Pleasant Hill

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd, To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come out right.

-- Shaker Hymn, an adaptation of Psalm 145, lyrics by Joseph Brackett, Jr., 1848

Shakers Return to Pleasant Hill
by Kim Thomas

As if spinning around and around, the story of the Shaker Community continues its grip on our collective attention as the Shaker influence is seen through history, architecture, carpentry, cooking and artful storytelling. Their history is especially interesting to our area, due to its close proximity to Lexington and its surrounds. The Shakers return to Pleasant Hill this week as UK presents As It Is In Heaven for the second year, as cast members travel to Shaker Village to perform As It Is In Heaven, in the setting that inspired Arlene Hutton's thought provoking play.

The show opens Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Meadow View Barn in Shakertown and is produced by the University of Kentucky Department of Theatre in cooperation with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.

As It Is In Heaven tells the story of nine Shaker sisters and how they responded to changes in their religion in 1838. Set at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the all-women cast of characters will be portrayed by University of Kentucky students.

The plot reveals the upheaval caused when the utopian existence of the 1830’s Shakers community was threatened by the arrival of ‘newcomers’ claiming to see angels. This insightful play musically carries its simple message that often we need not look as far as heaven to see angels here on earth, and oftentimes focus on perseverance is more important than the fleeting moments of despair that come from transition and change. The lessons learned are derived from the divisions within the commune that widen with anger, resentment, envy and fear of the unknown. That fear plays into the reactions of each character as they struggle to understand each other.

However, it is Shaker hymns that give the drama its frame. As the characters sing one Shaker hymn after another, their unison in song displays the discipline and devotion that are historically attributed to the community. In their eyes, Shakertown (as it is called today) served as a haven, a refuge from the spoils of the outside world: prostitution, abusive fathers, the misery on homesteads of labor and disease. Once that isolated comfort is breached, the relationships within shift and cause dis-ease of the soul and spirit.

About the Author

Arlene Hutton is the pen name of actor/director Beth Lincks, a Louisiana native who was inspired to write the play after visiting the Pleasant Hills Shaker village in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Of course, Shakertown has long been known for its splendid restoration of the dwelling places where the Shaker community toiled and lived for more than a century before the numbers of their believers dwindled and it had to be abandoned in the late 1920s. As It Is In Heaven premiered in 2001 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and was highly acclaimed after its opening in New York City (at the 78th Street Theatre Lab), a met with a measure of success with its moves to the ArcLight Theatre and then at the Actors’ Co-op in LA.

(author Arlene Hutton with Mischief, who inspired much of her story)

When asked about the UK presentation at Pleasant Hill, Arlene Hutton stated that she is thrilled that Village is presenting the production again, and that she first visited Pleasant Hill in 1987, during a semester as artist-in-residence at Berea College. “About ten years later, I was wanting to write a play for a large group of specific actresses and remembered Pleasant Hill. About that time I was in Kentucky visiting family and went to the Village, where I met Larrie Curry and Randy Folger, both of whom would be very helpful and supportive during my two years of research. My proposal won the Lippman Award, a grant through New Dramatists, and I traveled to several Shaker villages and conferences, spending a total of a couple of weeks at Pleasant Hill, where the play is set. During that time I discovered that several of the original Shakers, some of whom left while they were still of childbearing age, were named Hutton. My family goes back several generations in the Corbin area; it's likely some of my distant relatives were Shakers.”

As It Is In Heaven is published by Dramatists Play Service and has had productions in universities around the country, including two productions that went to the regional finals, in 2002 and 2009, for the Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival. Hutton is delighted that “several college productions have rented the beautiful costumes from the UK production; I understand the costume designer there made patterns from original dresses at Pleasant Hill.”

“Again, I'm so very happy that the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill is presenting the play once again and thank Rhoda Pollack and her cast and company for their talent and hard work!”

Location, Location, Location
UK Theatre Professor Dr. Rhoda-Gail Pollack explained how it came to be that the UK decided to present As It Is In Heaven at Shakertown. “I directed a program of short plays by Arlene Hutton in 2001 at the University of Kentucky. The Department of Theatre invited Hutton to come to Lexington for the production. It was then that she told me about a new play about nine Shaker women that she was working on at the time and it would be set about Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. The idea for the play interested me and in October of 2002, UK was able to produce the play before it was even published. I directed this production and the Music Director was Donna Phillips who is the Director of Music at Shaker Village Pleasant Hill. The Staff at Pleasant Hill was interested in our presenting the play there, but there was no performance facility large enough to stage the play.”

In December of 2007, Dr. Pollack was invited to the Village to see the old tobacco barn situated on a knoll that had recently been made into a performance venue. “It was perfect for us to stage As It Is In Heaven, Pollack stated. “Nancy Jones, the Chair of the department of Theatre agreed for UK to produce the play for performances in late May and early June, 2008. The play was very successful and immediately, UK was invited to mount a production for 2009. I have directed all three of the productions.”

Pollack believes the play is very entertaining as it demonstrates the Shakers lifestyle, music, dance of the time when the Period of Shaker Manifestation began in 1838. “It brings the Shakers to life and demonstrates their liveliness. It has been called in reviews 'a moving portrayal that is a thought-provoking piece.' Audiences of all ages have enjoyed this play across the United States and in several countries abroad.”
Donna Phillips, Shaker Village music coordinator, will be the music director for the play. Phillips explains that since all the songs are a cappella, there will be no orchestra or musical accompaniment and the show will be performed in an open-air barn overlooking the restored Shaker community that inspired its author.

As It Is In Heaven

Much like the spiral staircases that were marvelously constructed throughout Shakertown, the cyclical nature of spiritual life is demonstrated throughout As It Is In Heaven, the play premieres this Friday in the setting that inspired Arlene Hutton to write the play. Hutton craftily illuminates throughout this work how rigidity can cause barriers to and eventually may void all belief systems to the point of frustration. She also makes a statement about the how strikingly different the dynamics are between the eyes of innocence, the power of experience, and the validity of prophetic visions.
The thread of evidence of what happens in many religions is woven into the fabric of Hutton’s story of sisters in the Shaker commune. The eldest of the sisters, Hannah, is a ferocious authoritative figure who is shocked and appalled by the visions of angels proclaimed by the fragile young newcomer, Fanny. Eventually, all the sisters (except Hannah) declare they see angels and revelations which clash with the orderly pattern of work and prayer Hannah has spent a years to achieve. The source of the elder Hannah’s frustration understandably has to do with her inflexible sense of duty, her devotion to precision and order. Accordingly, she is dismayed at the lack thereof that exists when the sisters feel a ‘gift’ of laughter or an idea, and they run off and follow it, leaving the plough in the field or the churn in the butter. However, the women of assorted ages, backgrounds and talents, are bonded by their spiritual life, and the support that enriches their sisterhood.

The Shaker Society

The Shaker Society, a Protestant monastic community, rebelled against the formality of the Church of England and sought to imitate the primitive Church. The sexes were segregated, practicing celibacy, pacifism and a community of goods. Their name came from the turning and shaking that for them were dances of religious ecstasy.

Dining reservations may be made at the Trustees' Office Dining Room before or after the play. Call 859.734.5411 x360 or 800.734.5611 x360 for reservations.

Reservations are welcome if seating is available. Accommodations are also available should you wish to stay at The Inn at Shaker Village during your visit. Call 859.734.5411 x211 or 800.734.5611 x211 for reservations.

Weekend Performances

Friday, May 15 - 6 PM, Opening Night

Saturday, May 16 - 2 PM and 6 PMSunday, May 17 - 3 PM

Performances also scheduled for May 22 through May 24.

Tickets may be purchased directly from the Singletary Center for the Arts Box Office.$15 Adults / $12 Seniors / $10 Students, Children and UK FacultyPhone: 859.257.4929 or Online: http://www.uky.edu/SCFA/index.php

(Pick up an issue of Ace Weekly to see the published article)