Banks Helfrich founded Black Cow Jumps which uses theater as an exploration of reality through life. Banks was alone walking around the stage area after the Fringe recorded announcements were finished. The rest of the cast must have been sitting in the audience. For instance Banks started talking to a woman behind me and it sounded like they had recently been in a relationship. He brought her on stage and they started to talk. They had clearly not been destined to be together for long. Banks wasn’t ready to settle into a long term relationship. he was all over the map. She had met someone new and things were working out. It was hard to tell if this was fact or fiction the line was blurred.
Another woman described her pregnancy with twins and the pain in loosing one child at birth. She didn’t abandon that life which had never stepped foot on earth but she honored how much the child had meant to her. She honored the life that might have been. The other twin lived and she raised him with the memory of his lost sister. It was an incredibly heart wrenching story. Later her son asked her what traits would make for a good president. In describing those traits to him, she realized that she was describing her ability to negotiate and reason with people. She decided that her voice was needed and she decided to run for president. With so many Democratic candidates running right now she may well be in the running. She has my vote.
Another woman talked about how she grew up wanting to have children. That was her childhood dream and she met the man of her dreams and made that dream a reality. She raised her son but soon realized she wanted to feel the rush of new life inside her again. Her family was large enough so she decided to be a surrogate mother for another couple who could not have children themselves. What she didn’t plan on was a miscarriage which left her and the couple devastated.
One volunteer from the audience was brought on stage and Banks sat across from her and developed a friendship, and rules for their relationship. I had the deepest respect for the volunteer since she had no idea what the boundaries were for this new relationship as it developed. Reality and theater were closely entwined. Banks defined Black Cow Jumps simply as “Life Soup.”
Upcoming performances are:
June 22, 2019 @ 7pm Jack Kerouac House (free event, bring something edible to share.
September 14, 2019 @ 7:15 Winter Park Public Library (free event, wine and cheese – must RSVP)
November 9, 2019 @ 7:15 Winter Park Public Library (free event, wine and cheese – must RSVP)
December 7, 2019 @ 7:15 Winter Park Public Library (free event, wine and cheese – must RSVP)