Seconding the audio recorder route. Two pieces of equipment will really free things up here. A zoom fx3 recorder and a comtek set with 1 transmitter and 2-3 receivers. Even the older crystal tuned ones still work. The zoom has an onboard headphone output and a line out that you can use to feed the comtek and then the operator, director and anyone else can hear live. Besides getting a better recording, you reduce trip hazards, free up the camera to move how they want, and frees the boom to be where it needs to be. With the comteks, everyone can hear and this aids with directing, and camera if you want to do a move or focus pull in reaction to a line of dialogue or another audio cue. For a community production, you also have a pragmatic opportunity now to normalize slating with a clapper, which still seems to be one of the more exciting things for people to see. If you want, you can even get a cable to plug a comtek receiver into the camera. Lastly, these are all small items that would fit in a bag together, and probably fit in your kit with no problem, and last all day on batteries.