Sarah's Recipe for Romance

For the past two weeks, my husband and I have been traveling through Greece. While we saw the major sights in Athens, most of our time was spent in the small village of Mikro Papingo. This mountain village has 8 permanent residents, one of whom is a dear friend and the artistic director of the theater company One Year Lease (OYL). Each summer, the members of OYL travel to Mikro Papingo to develop and rehearse their upcoming season far away from the hubbub of city life.  

During our time there, the company welcomed us with open arms. We watched performances, went on long hikes (by long I mean 8 hours of forging back and forth across a river), and joined the group for family-style dinners both at our friend’s house and the local tavernas.  

I also found the time to write and explore a few new story ideas. The long hikes allowed plenty of time to mull over possible plot lines, and it was very exciting to be surrounded by a group of artists creating their own projects.

As part of their summer experience, OYL runs an apprentice program for college students. This year, the students created and then performed Gilgamesh in the surrounding villages. For the Papingo production (performed in Megalo Papingo, the neighboring “big” village to Mikro Papingo, which has a few hundred year-round residents), the apprentices invited all of the village children to participate. It was a truly inspiring experience to watch the village children perform in front of their community along side a group of professional New York City actors and college students.  

If you’d like to learn more about the exciting new production the company was rehearsing during our stay visit the One Year Lease website. Below is a brief blurb:

“We are proud to announce that Teaser Cow, written by Clay McLeod Chapman and featuring the OYL acting ensemble will run at Teatro Circulo in New York City from January 8th through February 6th 2010. Mark your calendars and come see what happens when you cross the ancient myth of the minotaur with Fast Food Nation.”

Like most nonprofit organization, OYL relies heavily on supporters to make their artistic endeavors possible and every little bit counts. I know there are lots of nonprofits that all deserve donations (including many wonderful ones created by romance writers), but from what I saw in the tiny mountain village this one offers something special through their art. If you’d like to make a donation, please click here.

The entire trip was amazing and a great way to see a stunningly beautiful corner of the world. I promise to post pictures later this week once I have recovered from the jet lag!