HONESDALE, PA — It’s said that neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their rounds. So when bad weather looked imminent on a cold, dreary, overcast Saturday morning, a group of local performers about to embody the spirit of the Post Office decided their show must go on as well.

In a combination of street theatre and civic engagement, local Farm Arts Collective director Tannis Kowalchuk joined forces with political theatre professor and member of the Unstoppable Voters Project Larry Bogad, and Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble members Leese Walker and Rolf Sturm to bring a performance titled “Delivering for Democracy” to the streets of Honesdale and Hawley.

Dressed up as mailboxes, the traveling troupe danced to the tune of “Please Mr. Postman” while singing their own election-themed lyrics. The dancers also passed out fliers with information about both mail-in and in-person voting to passersby.

“We wanted to do something that is cheerful and uplifting and de-escalating in this time,” Bogad said. “We just wanted to say it’s safe to vote; you can by mail, you can also vote by dropbox, you can vote in person.”

Kowalchuk stressed that the message of the performance was strictly non-partisan: “Get out and vote.” The mailbox costumes helped counter any negativity that exists about voting by mail.

“How can you really yell at a dancing mailbox?”
Kowalchuk asked. “Exactly, it absorbs that energy and just reflects it,” Bogad added.

For coverage of the 189 PA Legislative District race between Rep. Rosemary Brown and Adam Rodriguez, visit www.riverreporter.com/news.