A Cocoon of Living Threads
by Carla Reuben-Carbone

When Andres San Millan came to America in 1983 from Eibar, Spain, he had less than $100 in his pocket, knew only two words in English—post office—and had no sure place to stay. When Marguerite San Millan came to Manhattan in 1984 from Denton, Texas, she also had less than $100 in her pocket and no sure place to stay. What they had in common besides an incredible daring was a passion for dance, theater, and a willingness to do whatever it took to pursue that passion.

They met in the Alvin Nikolais Dance Studio and were married a year later. Some time after their first child, Ezra, was born, they began to perform puppet shows at his birthday parties, using puppets that Andres created to fill the roles of the characters Marguerite had written. The news spread, and soon they were doing puppet shows at other parties, hospitals, benefits, churches, parades—providing the impetus for the birth of the Cocoon Theatre.

The next year their daughter Magda was born. Then came Ana. The city, they felt, was not a place they wanted to raise their children. In the West Village, they contributed their talents and time to a parade entitled Save The Waterfront, and there they connected to the Rhinecliff writer Cynthia Philip, which eventually led them to Rhinecliff.

While settling into their new home in Rhinecliff, found through the Penny Saver, they met Eddie and Barbara Fisch, who introduced them to the Rhinebeck Theater Society (RTS). Since RTS was not doing a children's program at that time, Cocoon began to run summer workshops at the Morton Library, RTS's original home. Their first show, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, was a huge hit. Performed by children and adults, it was a wonderful mix of comedy and life lessons for all ages. They also choreographed many of RTS's musicals and performed as well as choreographed dance concerts at the summer home of RTS, the Tent on Route 308. In the winter, they performed and taught in libraries, schools, private parties and fairs all over Dutchess and Columbia Counties while supplementing their income with house painting and house cleaning.

Their car became a back stage, piled high with costumes, sets, make-up and scripts. They were constantly on the move, their kids often sitting beneath the piles of things necessary to mount a show. One day, Marguerite, looking in the rear view mirror at all the chaos in the back seat, decided it was time to find a permanent home for the Cocoon Theatre.

The Blue Roof
In 1997, they moved into some vacant apple storage space in the Blue Roof Market in Clermont, where they could transform a large street level area into a theatre and use the upstairs as an office and living place. Finally, they had a home and a theatre all in one to create their art.

For three years the San Millans worked their magic in Clermont with children and adult workshops and performances. Marguerite adapted fairy tales and children's books, weaving the stories into an original and imaginative staged interpretation. It was always a delight to attend their plays: the excitement from the child actors and audiences could be felt in the back row. Original musicals, adapted, written and directed by Marguerite, included The Von Trapp Family Story, The Little Princess, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, as well as adult dramas such as The Blind. There were also original Bard student productions, Artist In Residence programs, art shows and a magnificent full evening of modern dance entitled Fool's Journey, choreographed by Elaine Colandrea.

The space at the Blue Roof had its drawbacks, however. "Our landlord raised bees, and our audiences had to make their way through them to get inside. He also made apple cider, so we would have to listen to the constant crunching and straining of apples all through the night. Marguerite was pregnant with Isabel and she needed her sleep," Andres recalled with a smile. After three years, a raise in rent, the swarms of bees and the crunching of apples finally forced their exit in the middle of their Lord of The Flies rehearsals.

They booked Lord of the Flies at The Center for the Performing Arts. At its first performance, fate again intervened for the San Millans. Lulu Scripps, a devotee of the theatre and the wife of the well-known local philanthropist Sam Scripps, was enthralled with the production. Afterwards, she approached Andres and Marguerite. Sam had contributed money to many theatre ventures but Lulu, his wife, had not. Cocoon had so inspired her with its original approach that she insisted they find a place in Rhinebeck and become a nonprofit organization so that the Samuel H. Scripps Foundation could contribute to their theatre.

The New Cocoon
In November 2000 Cocoon Theatre moved to their present address across the street from the Beekman Arms. The San Millans, with their characteristic joie de vivre, transformed the strange maze of rooms and outlets into a charming, intimate, very versatile theater with dressing rooms and storage space. There is a large, well-maintained fish tank, and a hamster that sometimes comes to visit. It is a cozy place, very welcoming to children and adults alike.

As a nonprofit, educationally minded arts organization, Cocoon Theatre is dedicated to bringing fine, visual, and performing arts programs, workshops, classes and performances to students, adults and audiences of all ages. Particularly inspiring for Cocoon are works that stress the creative process and offer thought provoking material that is relevant to the lives of each performer. Their wide and varied range of programs reflects this mission. There is the Cocoon Modern Dance Company, a Choreography Workshop, Actor's Theater, Young Actors Summer Workshop. Weekly classes for children, teens and adults are offered in Modern/Ballet, Creative Movement, Improvisation, Scene Study, Adult Dance and Adult Exercise. A course entitled "Silent Movie" accepts 15 students who study silent movies, observe dance concerts, collectively create an original script and perform full evening shows to music. For local playwrights, there's the Playwright's Festival, a venue to mount scenes and/or full productions.

One of Cocoon's truly innovative programs is Living Threads, a multi-media theater project integrating dance, drama, music and art and making connections among groups often separated by society. For this community-based program a creative team, mostly teens, interviews people from a particular group, collectively creates an original performance piece and performs the work before an audience. In Collage, teens who interviewed senior citizens about their lives were deeply moved by their stories, particularly those of World War II. One of the senior citizens was a concentration camp survivor. In When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade, the students interviewed people whose lives had been affected by cancer. The result was a performance at Benedictine Hospital's fundraiser for their Oncology Department.

Once a year, the Cocoon presents an adult drama. Plays such as; Antigone, The Crucible, A Bright Room Called Day, We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! The Skin Of Our Teeth and A Man For All Seasons have been performed under the direction of the innovative and talented Ellen Honig.

The Fever, a one-person show staring Marguerite San Millan, was written and originally performed by playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, mostly in people's living rooms. Ellen Honig directed Marguerite in a performance staged at The Cocoon, but from there the show will be going on to a house in Kingston and one in Texas. The creative team is willing to bring it into other private venues as well. As Rebecca Daniels wrote for the Woodstock Times "It will definitely provide you and your guests with an unforgettable and worthwhile experience…"

Not so long ago family, friends, and a good deal of Rhinebeck mourned the passing of Sam Scripps. Unfortunately, even with Lulu surviving him, his death also put a portion of the Cocoon's funding at risk. When the word got around that the beloved Cocoon might be in jeopardy, hundreds of letters poured in expressing the great appreciation and love so many people felt for the San Millans and their original approach to the arts.

"The letters were such a gift," says Marguerite. "What I have always appreciated about Lulu [Scripps] is she didn't care about how much money we made or fame or being exposed. It was for the art itself. The satisfaction of creating a work of art … reaching for it … whether we make it or not … and have everyone participating … being a part of it."

Don't miss the Cocoon Theatre's next adult production, The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, directed by Michael Juzwak. It will run April 4 20. Performances by the Choreography Workshop for students will be May 1 4. The Little Prince, an original adaptation is coming May 29 June 8. See the calendar for more specifics. You can register online now for one of their many, innovative programs at cocoontheatre.org.