Of all the lessons OSF has taught me about art and life, perhaps the biggest is the importance of snacks. Sweet or savory, homemade or store-bought, full of sugar or full of protein, snacking is a big deal at OSF. Maybe it’s because we tend to work long, odd hours and sometimes you just need that 11pm pick-me-up; maybe it’s because of the wonderfully high population of fantastic bakers in the company. Or maybe it’s the community spirit of sharing food, gathering around the snack table on a rehearsal break or passing muffins around the meeting table. There’s no better icebreaker than chatting about food and comparing favorite recipes and combinations.
Here’s the real secret to OSF snacking: if you want to be in the room with the best snacks, work on a project with Lue Douthit. She may be the director of the literary department, but I’m convinced her real job is Provider of the Snackage. It was Lue who taught me the importance of a well-balanced snack table: savory and sweet, fruits and veggies as well as chocolate and chips, and always a gluten-free option for those who need it. And once a snack table has been established, it becomes a community project. Everyone contributes to it, and you end up with a food collage of people’s homemade recipes, impulse purchases, and sometimes even their leftovers. The snack table becomes the heart of the rehearsal room, a central topic of conversation, and the ultimate test of your self-control (today my self-control utterly failed me because KETTLE CORN).
There’s something familial about sharing food, and the OSF family has perfected the art of community snacking – an art for which I am deeply grateful.
The FAIR Experience 
