The Rural We: Jody Brookes

Growing up in England, Jody Brookes attended a Waldorf School and earned two degrees in theater. When she was in her thirties, she thought “it was a good time to see what was happening over here.” She knew that the Camphill movement, which follows the same culture as Waldorf, was strong in Columbia County. Brookes fell in love with Hudson and joined the tri-town Camphill community. She became the program director of Camphill Hudson, the first urban Camphill in North America. Brookes directs the Camphill Hudson Players, an integrated theater company of people of all abilities, which will be performing “Togetherness,” an original multimedia production at Hudson Hall on April 8 and 9.

Camphill Hudson is a thriving, all-ability community. Its mission is to integrate people with developmental disabilities with the wider community through many different ways. We have two life-sharing houses on Allen Street, as well as Solaris, a center for the social arts, located on Warren Street across from the Presbyterian Church. Prior to the pandemic, we hosted many different groups there, fulfilling our role in the community to be of service. We’ve hosted an international theater workshop, and nonprofits have used the space. We have had weekly community dinner nights at Solaris, where volunteers from the local community came in and cooked for us, or our members and volunteers would cook and serve the meal. Anyone was welcome to come eat with us and the dining room would be packed. We hope to get back to that.

I direct the Camphill Hudson Players, formed in 2018 with a signature piece, “Portraits of Us.” The mission was to showcase who we are as a community of all abilities, an honesty portrayal that was funny and yet poignant. The following year we created “Food Talks,” exploring our relationship to food and the role it plays in the local community; it was a series of funny and eye-opening vignettes based on the actors themselves talking about eating healthfully and sourcing food locally. We were poised to perform again in 2020, but when we couldn’t due to COVID, we created an online show, “Cooking With Friends,” a cooking show with animation. The Players have toured locally, performing their original productions in other Camphill communities, schools and other organizations.

Tammy Dillon, executive director at Hudson Hall, came to see our first production and welcomed us to perform at Hudson Hall, which is going to be amazing. “Togetherness” is a response to what we’ve all just gone through. There’s a lot of video footage, dance, and 14 different vignettes including comic sketch scenes, looking at what it means to be together again, both the positive and negative aspects. The format allows me to highlight an individual’s strengths. For instance, one of the actors is hard of hearing and is a fantastic dancer and will be doing a hip hop dance sequence. Most importantly, the show will be uplifting, fun and inspiring. We want people to see our performers are not just doing a good job, we want the audience to appreciate the craft they’re offering.

The Players offer a message of inclusion, acceptance and positivity that is suitable for all ages. “Togetherness” will involve lots of glitter, dancing and comedy, responding to the time.