|
Living for every nickel and dime |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Andra Coberly
|
|
Thursday, 28 February 2008 |
|
|
|
|
Photo courtesy of Kerri Jones/Beet Street
Nicole Gawronski and Barbara Ehrenreich share a moment before Ehrenreich’s talk on Feb. 23.
Nicole Gawronski is not a renowned writer and activist known for chronicling the struggles of the underpaid and over-worked — but she does play one on stage.
In real life, the Fort Collins actress and social worker labors every day to help single parents and low-income families fight tooth and nail to climb out of poverty. She has spent much of her life making sure others do not drown in the increasingly rising waters of poverty, doing the work of nonprofit Project Self-Sufficiency. Inspired by her own childhood experience and a mother who led a nickel-and-dimed life, Gawronski has become a life preserver for women much like her mother: loving and hard working, but under-educated and therefore unemployed, underemployed or underpaid.
As the lead in OpenStage Theatre and Company’s production of “Nickel and Dimed,” Gawronski portrays the role likely of her lifetime, one that is more reality than theatrics. She portrays author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich, who went “undercover” for her 2001 book to experience first hand the plight of the low-wage worker. Ehrenreich in her book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,” temporarily turns in her pen as a socialist, feminist essayist and journalist and works as a waitress and a hotel maid in Florida, a nursing home employee and a house-cleaner in Portland, and a clerk at a Minnesota Wal-Mart. Her experiences, written with humorous poignancy, are at times sad, at times laugh-out-loud funny, and almost always make you thankful for your desk job.
“I never did see an ad for a political essayist or a sarcastic feminist,” Ehrenreich joked this weekend during an event put on by the blossoming arts and culture initiative known as Beet Street.
Before Ehrenreich could take the stage to talk about everything from working without water while cleaning houses to gay marriage, she quietly pulled Gawronski to the side. They talked inconspicuously for a moment about events like this one: Does the message ever leave the room? Or is it simply taken away with the dirty dishes once the meal is done and the speech over?
Ehrenreich’s message at its most basic — that those in poverty often work very hard, that there is nothing wrong with them, that they didn’t necessarily make bad choices — is one close to Gawronski’s heart. The writer reminded the audience that “American low-wage workers should be considered the country’s principal philanthropists,” being paid little to make the rest of the population more comfortable.
Ehrenreich’s story re-inspires compassion in Gawronski: After working so long with the impoverished population, at times one can begin to feel self-righteous.
“In a perfect world, I would see every person with beginner’s eyes and hear them with beginner’s ears,” she said. “I think art is a tremendous vehicle for creating compassion and I think (Nickel and Dimed) is a good reminder for that compassion.”
Gawronski admits she hasn’t read the book, but she says the part, her first leading role in a mainstage play, will likely be a memorable one. Nickel and Dimed director R. Todd Hoven says he chose Gawronski for the role because she “brought an in-depth truth” to the part. She was utterly surprised when she learned the part was hers and had been eyeing one of the smaller roles in the ensemble cast.
“I’m probably way in over my head,” she said, nervous yet ready for the challenge.
As she got older, Gawronski began acting in school plays and semi-professional productions. Her mother encouraged her to move to New York to pursue acting, but the practical, learned young woman knew better.
After getting her degree in social work from Colorado State University, Gawronski began working with battered women and low-income families. At Project Self-Sufficiency, she helps single parents, mostly women, fight for another opportunity to be a provider for their family.
“People know they are capable. They don’t want to live like I lived, with the wolf always at the door,” she said, “thinking, ‘We’ll we make the house payments, will I get to go on that field trip, will we have that $2? … My mom loved us fiercely, but we were so scared all the time.”
TO GO:
• ‘Nickel and Dimed’
• Lincoln Center Mini Theater, 417 W. Magnolia
• Fridays and Saturdays through March 22; Sundays, March 9 and 16;Thursdays, March 20.
• Call 970-221-6730 for more information.
————— | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
