Come Lovers…
Come Practitioners of Empathy…
Come into a Field of Dreams
And meet your Family.
Come Belonging,
Come Rest,
Become, unironically earnest,
Becoming Our Best.
Come Noble Citizens,
Celebrants of Connection,
Seekers of Wisdom,
Of Creative Invention.
Now, Come meet our eyes,
Come into our Vibration,
As we sing out our Gospel
of Artful Restoration.
Come into our Giving,
Come slowly and Let Go.
Become the One
We hang focus on,
The Stars of our Show.
Come into the Present,
Come Relax and Come Sanity,
Come Transform Yourself,
To Believe in Humanity.
Come Trusting, Come Accepting,
Of one more chance to get it right,
Come Humbly here with Purpose,
To exchange Love and Unite.
Come Offering and Listening,
Come Refreshment to the Spirit,
As exclamations from the heart scream,
"Let me open, Let me Hear it!"
Come Electric Vibration,
Come Timeless Expression,
Come Selfless Collaboration,
Come Harmonic Progression.
Come My Family,
Let’s Jump in and Swim,
Come Nourish Yourself,
Come Follow Our Whims.
Come Kind and Come Honored,
Come Looking for Magic,
Come Whole and Joyous,
Or shattered and tragic.
Come steep in our bath of emotion,
Come Wild Delight,
Come Laughter,
Come Warm in our Hug of Devotion,
Come Happily,
Ever After.
JESS COFFMAN
Hello Dear Friends!
I am so honored to share these words with you.
Some of the actual words and phrases in "Rally Cry," were taken directly from the mouths of my fellow creators and performers, of our final show of the season with Transcendence Theatre company. On our first day, these artists that created The Gala Celebration, were asked why they were excited to be in Sonoma working for Transcendence. I listened and wrote down as many words as possible of each of their individual answers. In this particular group of artists, there was only one woman that was new to Transcendence...the dynamic, bold, laughing, loving, storytelling firecracker of Broadway, Felicia Finley. Because everyone else was a returning artist, and a bit more seasoned in experience and age, "Rally Cry" ended up being so beautifully deep and thoughtful.
I began this tradition of writing down everyone's responses during the orientation of our spring show, "Best of Broadway." I hadn't intended to do so, but everyone's answers to the question "Why Did You Get Up Today," posed by Artistic Director Amy Miller, were so inspiring. I was compelled to write them all down, not knowing what I was going to do with them later.
On the final day of our show, I decided to look back at those responses that I had written five weeks earlier on our first day. In five weeks, there had been so much learning done, on and off of the stage. That particular group of artists, had many loves and losses experienced during the rehearsal and show process. That morning, after I had completed my morning rituals, I looked at the overall themes expressed by the responses that the artists had given, and I rather quickly and thoughtfully wrote the poem "Wonderlove." I was allowed to read it before our final show, and unexpectedly cried along with most of my friends. What brought me to tears was the opportunity to record time and sentiments from the past, emotions and special moments, epiphanies from one day of my friends' lives, and read it back to them. I gathered their happinesses together and made something that represented us as a whole, and it was sacred and beautiful. When it received much appreciation, I decided to do it with each group of artists for each show moving forward. It has been a beautiful success.
"Rally Cry," is a poem, that is just that, a rally cry to gather artists and their audiences together. It is an invitation to build, create, sing, dance, rest, spread joy, and support one another, to reciprocate love and appreciation; that beautiful exchange that happens between artist and audience. I wanted it to feel like Teddy Roosevelt's "The Man In The Arena," which is Brad Surosky's personal rally cry. Before each show in our beloved Jack London State Park, he pumps up his team of artists and volunteers, by reciting this speech. It is honestly one of my very favorite parts of my show experience. This poem is dedicated to all of the artists, all of the volunteers, all of the donors, all of the audience members and supporters and especially to my boss and friend, Brad Surosky. Thank-you to all for your love, thoughtful words, and devotion.
If there is a man who has taught me to follow my dreams and my path,
no matter how crazy is it to other people, it is my Dad, Jeff Coffman.
He is a man who loves a rally cry, and who delivers one with ferocity, passion and boldness.
Thank-you Dad, for being a man who is "in the arena."
Peace, Presence and Poise,
Your Jess
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