“That’s how we live: having to fight not to feel lost as often as we feel found.” This line from James Goldberg’s introduction to New Play Project’s Lost & Found show was an excellent description of the theme that ran through this series of NPP’s religious plays (for the uninitiated, see the introduction to my last NPP review). I’ve decided once again to review each play individually:

Hope of Israel
Playwright: Arisael Rivera
Director: Maelyn Gándola
Asst. Director: Sierra Ortega
Actors: Hunter Brown (Jacob), Becca Esmerelda Bailey (Kaitlyn), Christian Cragun (Ryan), Brissa Porter (Emily)

Synopsis: Four college-age friends find their casual banter turning into a discussion about what they would do if they weren’t Mormon. This initial tongue-in-cheek discussion takes a more serious turn when one of the friends reveals that she seriously struggles with understanding the law of chastity.

Comments: Ari Rivera, a longtime participant in New Play Project, is very good at writing casual scenes with quirky yet realistic characters and snappy dialogue. As I may have mentioned previously, he has the makings of an excellent sitcom writer. It was intriguing to see his talent applied to a more serious subject. While watching “Hope of Israel,” I at first found the transition from banter to serious a bit jarring, but then I remembered that college students’ discussions often play out this way. The more weighty conversations are often book-ended with jokes and flirtatious teasing. This is an example of one of Terryl Givens’ paradoxes of Mormonism: the disintegration of sacred space. It’s one of the things I appreciate most about student and singles wards: those moments when the young adult preoccupation with self (and the opposite sex) is set aside to make space for more sacred things. This sounds sappy, but I love going to church Sunday morning and seeing the kid who was juggling knives at the ward talent show the night before sitting at the sacrament table, white-shirted and dark-suited, ready to perform a sacred ordinance. I think that “Hope of Israel” in a way illustrated this paradoxical duality of Mormon student life.

The ending scene in “Hope of Israel” is a priesthood blessing, and I was impressed by how respectfully this was done: hands laid on a head as the lights fade to black. I don’t have much of a problem seeing certain priesthood ordinances displayed in works of film or theatre, so long as they’re warranted. But in this instance, the actual words of the blessing weren’t as important as this moment of two male friends offering to give spiritual strength and comfort to a friend who clearly needed it. I felt that the way this scene was done showed a sensitivity to the audience, which I appreciated.

Safe and Sound
Playwright: Ben Crowder
Director: Brian Ramos
Asst. Director: Anna Ellsworth
Actors: Maelyn Gándola (Abbie), Parker Wilkinson (Dave)

Synopis: Dave, recently home from his mission, visits his friend Abbie and discovers that her activities over the last two years have become increasingly, well, unorthodox. She talks about her theories regarding the City of Enoch and the lost 10 tribes of Israel, and confesses to recently have discovered the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon on eBay!

Comments: This was very good. I laughed aloud more than twice. Ben Crowder is getting better as a playwright, and Maelyn Gándola did the script justice. The plot was tighter than some other of Ben’s pieces, allowing the interaction between the characters to be the focal point, which for me works best in plays of shorter length. But then, I tend to be more interested in character development than plot development in general.

One of the fun things about this particular play was the almost science fiction turn that it took once Abbie started talking about all of her wild theories. Ben Crowder let his imagination wander to all kinds of bizarre National Treasure-like conspiracies (what exactly was Abbie planning to do with a map of the Granite Mountain record vault?), with very entertaining results. The conspiracy/science fiction elements of this play reminded me of some of the modern Mormon “last days” fiction currently being written by such authors as Wendie Edwards, Linda Paulson Adams, Jessica Draper, Chad Daybell, Stephanie Black, and Greg West (I should in full disclosure mention that I haven’t yet read any of these authors), only Ben uses these elements satirically rather than seriously.

Up Deer Creek
Playwright: Melissa Leilani Larson
Director: Rachel Herrick
Costumes: Bethany Merkling
Actors: Devin Malone (Simon), Sarah Nasson (Anna)

Synopsis: A young mother tries to convince her husband that they should keep their new-born baby, who has some developmental problems, rather than leaving her at the hospital as they’ve been advised.

Comments: This play was short and sweet but explored a difficult issue and, of all the plays, was the only one that took place in an earlier time period. While I wouldn’t say there was anything explicitly Mormon about this work, it tapped into general Christian values of compassion and caring for the sick and afflicted—in this case a disabled baby—that is a situation which, judging from those “Latter-Day Saint Voices” articles at the end of the Ensign, a lot of Mormons have found themselves in. I thought that Melissa Leilani Larson did a good job of imagining what this kind of decision would be like for a young married couple at a time when people were generally less knowledgeable about developmental disorders.

The Wait is Over
Playwright: Arisael Rivera
Director: Alan Bahr
Asst. Director: Jeff Moffat
Actors: Sam Nelson (Robert), Jeff Moffat (Robert’s voice)

Synopsis: A man named Robert sits on a bench outside the temple, having an inner dialogue where he tries to convince himself that he really is worthy to visit the temple for the first time after having lost the privilege.

Comments: This play was really lovely. Next to “Prodigal Son,” it was my favorite of the set. The thoughts that went through Robert’s head were believable, and at times even humorous. Robert ponders his own worthiness, sometimes addressing himself, and sometimes addressing Heavenly Father, trying to gather courage to enter the temple. At one particularly humorous moment, Robert decides to open his scriptures at random in an attempt to gain inspiration and comfort—only to turn unnervingly to a verse about “utter destruction,” no doubt in the war chapters of Alma. Anyone who has tried this with the Book of Mormon has probably had a nearly identical experience.

What could be a touchy subject was dealt with very respectfully, much like “Hope of Israel,” Rivera’s other play in this set. Rivera doesn’t go into why Robert lost his temple privileges to begin with, because in this narrative, it’s not important. The important moment is the moment of struggle that Rivera has imagined: Robert has the institutional Church’s sanction to attend the temple again, but that’s not enough. Having official approval to attend the temple doesn’t erase Robert’s feelings of unworthiness, and neither is official approval exactly the same thing as God’s approval. Robert has to feel it directly from God. In a way, it’s a recasting of a tension that Mormons are often preoccupied with—how to negotiate the principle of personal revelation and the principle of obeying counsel from Church leaders. These factors involved in Robert’s struggle made this play very Mormon, yet the character was drawn in a way that would make his struggle understandable to a non-Mormon audience, which is why I thought it a strong piece.

Book of Mormon Story
Playwright: James Goldberg
Director: Jana Lee Stubbs
Asst. Director: Sara Forsyth
Actors: Jane Barlow (Sis. Griffeth), Christina Phillips (Sis. Nielsen), C. Adam Stallard (Carter), Asenath Rallison (Lindy), Wyatt Felt (Tim)

Synopsis: Two sister missionaries on the first day of a transfer go to teach a discussion to a man who relates to the Book of Mormon in a rather strange way: King Noah was a coke fiend?

Comments: The premise of this play was quite good: we all relate to tenants of the Gospel based on our own experiences. That’s the beauty of the Gospel—it’s universal. What was a bit peculiar was that in the context of this play, the protagonist, Carter, goes one step further than relating to stories in the Book of Mormon—he re-interprets them for the sister missionaries based on his own experience, constructing a new story of the Abinadi/King Noah/Alma episode where King Noah is addicted to cocaine. The implication being that Carter has struggled with drug addiction.

Carter continues to use Book of Mormon narratives and imagery throughout the scene to first indirectly and then more directly express his own struggles. He says that he thinks the illustrations in the Church’s published version of the Book of Mormon are all wrong—that they aren’t “translated correctly.” Take King Noah, for example. In the picture, King Noah is the image of corpulent extravagance, but “sin doesn’t look ugly on the face of it,” he explains. That’s why it’s tempting and deceitful—because people who are sinning look like they’re having the time of their lives. The protagonist continues to describe his own struggles in the context of Book of Mormon imagery, saying, “I feel like I’ve checked out of the great and spacious building, but I don’t know how to get down.”

I enjoyed the thoughtful discussion that was the focal point of this play. Some of the critiques of Mormon cultural quirks (e.g. Mormons portraying sin as aesthetically as well as morally unappealing) just narrowly escaped giving this play a message-driven rather than a story-driven bent. But Adam Stallard lent earnestness to the character that was appealing and made some of the more message-y elements work. And the bit at the end with the Goth boyfriend whose aunt “turned Mormon” last year and is super excited to see the sister missionaries was just really great. Well played, that.

December Roses
Playwright: Elizabeth Harris
Director: Dick Merkling
Asst. Director: Dean Gibbons
Actors: Katrina Southwick (Kate), LoriAnn Caldwell (Celeste), Ted Lee (John)

Synopsis: Having just lost her fiancé, Kate travels to Paris with her sister Celeste on what was supposed to be Kate’s honeymoon tour. The evening after arriving in Paris, Kate sits on a bench in front of the Eiffel Tower feeling not-so-great, when a teenager with a camera strikes up a discussion with her. They end up in a debate about what kind of backdrop is best for taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower—a cloudy sky or a clear sky.

Comments: The message of this particular play seemed to be this: if you believe in God, all of the struggles of life add up to something ultimately beautiful and redeeming. With an eternal perspective, the cloudy days are just as important as the clear days (i.e. trials are important to spiritual growth) and thus have their own beauty when viewed from this perspective. This message was brought about in the debate mentioned—the teenaged John explains that the best pictures of the Eiffel Tower have clouds in them, whereas Kate argues that a clear sky is better. It’s an understandable perspective. Kate’s fiancé just died, after all, and she doesn’t have a strong belief in God. With that kind of perspective, painful experiences can seem meaningless.

At first I felt like the situation portrayed in the play was rather unrealistic. What kind of teenaged kid goes out of his way to try to comfort a strange woman sitting by herself on a park bench in Paris? I kept thinking, “This kid has gotta be from Idaho. No one else would be that nice.” And then, to have the discussion develop into a kind of allegory about seeing things with a spiritual perspective was very nearly a bit much. But again, as in “Book of Mormon Story,” the earnestness of the actors and the interesting development of their interaction drew me into the story in spite of myself. By the end of it, my disbelief was duly suspended, and I was genuinely touched.

Prodigal Son
Playwright: James Goldberg
Director: Katherine Gee
Asst. Director: Ben Crowder
Actors: Dave Dixon (Son), Katherine Way (Girlfriend), James Goldberg (Dad)

Synopsis: A son becomes increasingly interested in Mormonism, much to the disapproval of his father, who joined the Church some years ago and then lost his faith.

Comments: This play was really, really excellent and thus deserves its own post. Which I plan on writing once I’ve purchased the script and read through it. Which brings me to this item of news: New Play Project is selling scripts of some of their selected productions for $10. While the binding isn’t top quality, it’s a decent product, especially considering that the proceeds go to helping support NPP’s future productions. A worthwhile investment, I must say.

Episode 202

I was first given the chance to view Only the Pizza Man Knows at the 2007 LDS Film Festival and was so taken by it’s honesty and candor that I highlighted it in my article in the BYU Studies issue Mormons and Film (which I highly recommend perusing if you haven’t yet). Scott Chrisopherson said this project was difficult for him due to its personal nature, and this was truly a very personal venture not only for the film maker but also the whole of his family. I have related the feeling and sense of connection one takes away from the film similar to that of a personal essay. And as Gideon and David addressed earlier, (and as I will do in a future post), Creative Non-fiction is a tailor-made genre for Latter-day Saints. This film helps to show that the same elements are also tailor-made for film. Christopherson was able to come to terms with issues he had with his parents and his own life in a way he said he not been able to previous. It was the medium of film that gave him license to ask question he hadn’t had enough courage to ask before and the strength to honestly look at the answers in a way he hadn’t before either.

Next to the very human story, Christopherson also proves himself as talented film maker. The mixing of styles and lighting, interviews and narratives all give the film a very polished and even melodic feel. The editing was also carefully crafted. This was a film that took guts, time, and skill to create, and it was created well. Thanks, Scott for making it – please make more!

Kudos to BYU Broadcasting for going out on a limb to honor student filmmakers and BYU’s film instructors. Great things are happening on campus in regards to film, and this is a wonderful medium to enhance the careers of those who are the future of Mormon Film.

My dad grew up in Richmond, Utah just above Smithfield. The first house he lived in had been torn down, but the second was still standing and he told us about the horse barns and sheds that were also just memories. He lived right next to the Richmond cemetery and described elatedly how they used to play on the fence like they were soldiers and sled down the road in the winter. Perhaps what impressed me most, however, was just how much he remembered. As he drove by each house, going well below the speed limit (causing me to glance behind us repeatedly and make sure we weren’t blcoking traffic), he would point to a house and name the families that used to live there, who his best friends were, the people that he played with, specific memories of events he had.

What was amazing to me about my dad’s reminiscing was the fact that in 1990 he suffered a near-fatal car accident which affected his memory. My mom and I are always getting on him for going into rooms and then not being able to remember what he went in them for, or his innate ability to hide birthday presents so well he can’t even remember where they are. But this part of his memory was intact. Dauntingly so. A sense of respect, warmth, and melancholy came over me as we crawled along the roads of Richmond. Thinking back to my childhood in Ohio not 20 years in the past, I realized I did not have the same richness of memory, the same caliber of remembrance. I could not name the inhabitants of each house, I could not tell you with the same detail what I had done.

My dad spent his early days as a farmer and told us tales of he and his siblings damming the irrigation system and getting in trouble with the farmers down the road (which was especially “naughty” since his dad was in the Bishopric at the time — to think that a Bishop’s children would engage in such mischief!), how they started working when they were 10 and 11 as paper boys, and the times his parents would equip the kids with plastic bags and paring knives to see who could gather the most wild asparagus growing along the side of the road.

After our hour-long drive to each of his homes and high school, we returned to my grandparents home in Smithfield and went into the backyard. My dad told us how the Church bought some of my grandpa’s gardening land to put in the nearby chapel, and I listened intently while looking at the swingset made of simple chains and boards, and the garden that my grandpa continues to work by hand.

In my moment of nostalgia, thinking of farm life, the days before cell phones and ipods (please note I am not trying to advocate that technology is a vice we necessarily need to eradicate from our lives), and the happiness my grandparents exude with their simple life, I had a thought: this is surely what the prophets meant when they counseled to be in the world, not of it. Quiet conversation around the dinner table with a game of cards afterwards, accompanying your grandma to take a loaf of bread she made by hand that afternoon to the neighbor’s three doors down, sitting with the sun on your back on the ancient couch in the living room perusing photo albums of your ancestors and cousins; this was the best of everything.

I was led then to think of the scriptures and the admonition of so many ancient prophets who cried for us to “remember, remember” and I stopped to think how often and aptly I applied that specific counsel to my own life. The Mormon faith is rich in heritage and recollection from the pioneers to the even ancienter Nephites and Lamanites. Remembering is an essential part of our foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially when such recall is posited toward our Savior and his sacrifice.

The idea of nostalgia is umbrella-like in that its different applications can be attached to almost all aspects of Mormon literature, be it through reading or writing. I think that our ability to remember is directly influenced by our knowledge, bringing up some of the notions raised by our beginnings and the “Why we’re doing this” post. In order to adequately remember and use that as a positive force in our lives, we first have to be aware of the past in its entirety and authenticity. This is one of the reasons Mormon Renaissance exists: to return to the past in order to understand and engage in critical conversation in the present with the depositions of the past.

When my father was telling his stories my resonation with them was not only because they were great stories, but because they were real, authentic, and valuable stories; ones that represented a part of myself. So to with our religion–it’s a part of who we are. A part that we want to treat, celebrate, and remember; one that we will continue to use as we discuss and build ourselves into the future, for any good treatment of Mormon literature is incomplete without it.

The home literature period for Mormon literature (1880-1930) was all about creating literature by and for Latter-day Saints so that (as with other home industries of the late 19th century) Mormons would not have to depend upon the world’s products–especially given the taint of so much of the low-grade fiction of that day. Orson Whitney’s 1888 speech to the Young Men organization, titled “Home Literature,” is the eloquent call to arms for this movement and contains the prophecy of Mormons having Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. He took himself literally, imitating Milton’s Paradise Lost in a minor epic poem about the plan of salvation, “Elias: An Epic of the Ages” (an excerpt is online here). However, epic literature didn’t really take off as a genre. The more successful home literature circulated in the church periodicals (such as the Contributor, named precisely to encourage young men and women to develop their literary talents by submitting manuscripts), and through a popular series published from 1875-1915 by the Juvenile Instructor Office, the “Faith Promoting Series.” As the titles in that series demonstrate, there was an effort for home literature to replace the romance fiction of contemporary America with missionary narratives, biographical excerpts, and other  nonfiction.

However, and somewhat ironically, some of the greatest proponents of the home literature movement wrote fiction that imitated contemporary romances. For example, Susa Young Gates’ 1909 novel, John Stevens’ Courtship: A Story of the Echo Canyon War, or Josephine Spencer’s highly romantic 1891 short story from the Contributor, “The Descendant of an Ancestor.” These contain sentimental love stories, and like other fiction of the day depended upon a certain melodrama and exoticism to draw interest. It is ironic that Spencer would use eastern polygamy and the mystique of an oriental harem in her Contributor story, but not if we see early home literature as continuous with, rather than distinct from, “gentile” romances of the day.

That continuity is still there today when one examines LDS romance fiction. Though I would love to be proven wrong, it appears to me (as one admittedly not well read in the genre), that Mormon romance fiction succeeds not to the degree that it departs from contemporary mainstream romance (by avoiding explicit sexual content), but to the extent that it is continuous with the style, themes, and intended effects of mainstream romance fiction. We aren’t alone as a people in wanting to have an untainted or less tainted version of a popular genre of fiction. The Evangelical Christian book market has entire publishers or imprints devoted to romance fiction (such as Bethany House).

There is another branch of home literature that descends to us today in the form of nonfiction and biography. Consider some of Neal Maxwell’s slim and eloquent theological volumes (such as All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, 1979), or the many biographies put out by LDS publishers (more on the order of Francis Gibbons‘ brief and popularizing biographies and less in the comprehensive and scholarly style of Richard Bushman’s Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling).

For more on home literature see the period description by Eugene England in his “Mormon Literature: Progress and Prospects” and Richard Cracroft, “Seeking ‘the Good, the Pure, the Elevating’: A Short History of Mormon Fiction” (Parts I and II), Ensign 11 (June 1981): 57–62; (July 1981): 56–61 (online). Most recently, see Michael Austin’s “Mormon Home Literature” Sunstone 21.4 (December 1998): 12-13.

As part of entering films for the Mormon Literature and Creative Arts Database, I recently had the opportunity to go through all of the 345 films posted at mormonwebtv.com, which is essentially a Mormon YouTube. The website states its aims as:

… an attempt to find the best, funniest, most interesting and moving video clips from the internet relating to Mormons, made by Mormons, or in some way of interest to members of the Church. And soon we hope it will inspire you to create and share your own videos with Church members around the world.

Even though I knew going into it that there was a broad framework for what types of videos were acceptable for the website, I was still surprised at the variety of genres. There were quite a few narrative films, including films made by Young Men/ Women groups such as “LDS Teen Movie Previews” and “Mona’s Bridge,” films made by YSA FHE groups such as “Do’s and Don’ts of Dating,” films by Relief Societies like “The Visiting Teaching Movie,” and films created just for fun like “Napoleon Dynamite Goes on a Mission” and “Systematically Going Through the Ward List.” The Phoenix Area Institute had an Academy Awards film screening and the films from that event are also posted at mormonwebtv.com. Besides narrative films, there were also trailers for films such as Tears of a King and Sisterz in Zion, as well as amateur music videos like “I Shop at D.I.” In addition, there were parodies of Mormon culture such as “LDS News Digest” part 1 and part 2. There were also series posted on the website such as “The Place,” which is a reality show based in a BYU ward, and episodes from “MormonCast,” which is a podcast on Mormon subjects ranging from interviews with Daryn Tufts to film reviews to trips to Girls’ Camp.

Besides these films, there were also films posted at mormonwebtv.com that did not neatly fall into the more traditional genres. There were film clips from Mormon films such as the Singles Ward as well as from Mormon Tabernacle Choir concerts. There were also videos posted which re-cut or manipulated Mormon films then set the selected scenes to music as found in the video “White and Nerdy Singles Ward” (clips from The Singles Ward set to the song “White and Nerdy” by Weird Al). There were clips from TV shows that had Mormon references, including a clip from Cheers entitled, “Why can’t Mormons send flowers.” Also posted on the website were actualities, which are recorded events without editing, such as ward talent shows, young men opening their mission calls, and children singing Primary songs. There were also news segments about Mormon topics like the LA premiere of The Work and the Glory III, as well as newscasts from BYU and BYU-Idaho. One of the genres with the most posted videos was video slideshow. These slideshows tended to fall into one of two categories: the visual aides from Church Distribution set to music (i.e. “LDS Temples—Music by Kalai,” or a person’s photographs from church activities or missions set to music (i.e. “Mission Pictures from Honduras”). There were also videos on the website that were hard to place into any category whatsoever such as a time lapse of the building of the Rexburg Temple or an animated aerial view of the pioneer trail.

Overall, I feel that mormonwebtv.com is a valuable resource as it provides a positive venue for Mormon-themed videos. Whereas at secular video-posting websites such as YouTube and Google Video the videos about Mormons and Mormonism are largely negative (mormonwebtv.com places this figure at over 9:1 anti-Mormon to Mormon), mormonwebtv.com offers clean, pro-Mormon videos. However, as can be expected, there is a wide range in the quality of the videos posted, ranging from, in my opinion, the inane and pointless to the well-made (compare “Mormon Rap by DJ RMP” to “CTR Wars” to get an idea of the range).

I’m sure we will start to see distinct genres and sub-genres of LDS videos emerging (as online videos in general evolve and as more Mormons take their turn at making movies). As embarrassing as many of these films are, I still believe that they show a great energy and a momentum that will carry LDS films to new places and new heights, particularly if we are willing to critique the films and provide constructive feedback.

As in any genre, we can find both good and bad among LDS-oriented films. Let’s just hope that the genre survives long enough so that the “refiner’s fire” of the “great critics” and paying audiences will reward the best and weed out the rest. We as a people and a culture have many great stories that we need to tell in movies. Go back and read our Prophet Spencer W. Kimball’s talk (Given initially at BYU) on his vision of the arts. It still inspires me every time I read it:

Can we not find equal talent to those who gave us A Man for All Seasons, Doctor Zhivago, Ben Hur? … My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music and such have pleased their millions, but I believe we can improve on them. ..

Our writers, our motion picture specialists, with the inspiration of heaven, should tomorrow be able to produce a masterpiece which would live forever. Our own talent, obsessed with dynamism from a CAUSE, could put into such a story life and heartbeats and emotions and love and pathos, drama, suffering, fear, courage…

We are proud of the artistic heritage that the Church has brought to us from its earliest beginnings, but the full story of Mormonism has never yet been written nor painted nor sculpted nor spoken. It remains for inspired hearts and talented fingers yet to reveal themselves. They must be faithful, inspired, active Church members to give life and feeling and true perspective to a subject so worthy. Such masterpieces should run for months in every movie center, cover every part of the globe in the tongues of the people, written by great artists, purified by the best critics. (Ensign July 1977)

I’ve had the privilege of seeing the development of LDS motion pictures from many perspectives as President Kimball’s vision has sought to find its way into reality:

• As a student I worked part time at the BYU motion picture studio to earn my way through college.
• I was the producer of that first BYU student film “Ice Cream and Elevators” in 1971 before there was even a film curriculum at the “Y”, and hopefully it played some small part in inspiring the creation of what is now a terrific film school that has produced some great (and soon-to-be-great) filmmakers.
• I scripted and helped direct a theatrical documentary with LDS elements that I’m told has garnered possibly the highest box-office and TV broadcast earnings of any LDS-originated film to date ($22M).
• I worked directly for the Church’s Audiovisual department as a producer and director for over nine years.
• I’ve had a small (so far) part in the “fifth wave” of LDS filmmaking as a Consulting Producer on “Jack Weyland’s Charly” and a co-producer of the upcoming “Tears of a King” theatrical feature which describes Elvis Presley’s spiritual journey including his study of the Book of Mormon.
• I was the founder of the Associated Latter-day Media Artists (ALMA), a fellowship of LDS media professionals from around the world. For over fifteen years (1977-1992) ALMA provided a forum for discussing and nurturing LDS values in the interface between our unique culture and the entertainment and information “industry”.

I mention these perspectives not to blow my own horn, but to establish my “bona fides” as an observer and a participant in the several “waves” of LDS filmmaking.

And from that perspective let me say that I am encouraged by the growing quality of the “best” of our efforts, and even by the (sometimes painful) recognition of where the “rest” need to improve. As brothers and sisters and co-workers in the greatest venture in the history of the universe (the building up of God’s Kingdom on the earth), let us continually encourage one another to use our God-given talents in the finest way possible and to give the best that is in us, for this work deserves nothing less than our best.

And please… do not squander those talents in meaningless projects. The world does not need LDS filmmakers to make just another horror movie or bland sitcom. The talents we’ve been given are too sacred to waste. When I was a senior at BYU, Dr. Lael Woodbury was the Dean of the college of Fine Arts and Communications. He produced an experimental theater piece called “W-2 Form” which incorporated many Gospel elements (it had nothing to do with taxes). Thankfully, a friend of mine produced a companion TV documentary which has preserved some of that live theater production for posterity.

In a “behind the scenes” portion Dr. Woodbury was recorded saying something that has guided my creative life. He had gathered his cast and crew who were bone-tired from endless rehearsals and he was exhorting them to dig down into whatever reserves they had and give their very best. He said, “My brothers and sisters, we are in the very last of the Last Days. The time is too short to waste our talents in producing “small” plays and giving “small” efforts (and producing “small” movies?). Everything we do must be something that has eternal significance if it is to have any real value.”

I’m not saying that we should preach boring sermons with our work. We’re more creative than that, aren’t we? One of my favorite lines comes from an old song by Peter, Paul and Mary:

“I dig rock and roll music, I could really get it on that scene.
I think I could say something - if you know what I mean.
But if I really say it, the radio won’t play it,
unless I lay it between the lines!”

Certainly the Adversary has perfected the technique of “laying between the lines” his own messages, and we must become better at it if we are to win the battle for the souls of men.

I’m sure there are many who will read this and say “Come on, man, I just wanna make movies.” But to whom much is given, much is expected.

Consider this: Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” was voted the “Most Inspiring Film of All Time” by the American Film Institute. An article from Christianity Today online (http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/fof_capra.html) reports that in his autobiography The Name Above the Title, (of which I have an autographed copy) Capra recounted how he’d been visited by a stranger while hospitalized with tuberculosis, shortly after his first big hit.

The little bespectacled man—who he was, Capra never learned—made no introduction. He simply sat down across from the director and, after a moment or two of silence, accused him of cowardice.

Before the sickly (and flabbergasted) Capra could react, he continued: “Do you hear that man in there?” From a radio in an adjacent room issued the voice of Adolph Hitler. “That evil man is trying to poison the world with hate. But to how many can he talk, and for how long? Fifteen million? Twenty minutes? You, sir, can talk to hundreds of millions, for two hours—and in the dark. The talents you have, Mr. Capra, are not your own. God gave you those talents; they are His gifts to you, to use for His purpose.”

The little man stood, bade Capra goodbye and walked away down the stairs, never to be seen or heard from again. But his words turned the life of the director upside down—in very Capraesque fashion, we might add. Capra arose, checked himself out of the hospital and drove his family far from Beverly Hills and Hollywood. His tuberculosis miraculously cleared, his creativity and vigor returned and a new goal—to use his gifts to entertain, engage and encourage his fellow man—energized his films.

Capra summarized what he’d learned: “Only the morally courageous are worthy of speaking to their fellow men for two hours in the dark. And only the artistically incorrupt will earn and keep the people’s trust”.

Well, this rant has gone on long enough. As the most memorable line in “God’s Army” says, “Let’s go do some good”. And as one of my favorite hymns says, “Carry on, carry on, carry on!”

Robert Starling

BYU Class of ‘71

Robert Starling, Producer/ CEO
Trefoil Productions, LLC
12242 S. 1740 W.
Riverton, Utah 84065
Cell: (801) 824-2843
Email: starlingrd@msn.com

I appreciate people like Robert who keep our sights set high for achieving a cinema worthy of our efforts.

There was good discussion about how/why we write. I mentioned the creative writing club write2publish I started under the student chapter of AML and Y Publish, our emphasis on submission for publication, and also mentioned New Play Project. But I’m wondering what everyone else does to write? Do you outline? Just sit down and start typing? An hour a day? Long spurts whenever you have time? I personally find the best way to write is to do some every day, maybe an hour or an hour and a half.

Many of the faculty brought up the well-known fact that rarely do writers make a living at just writing, and most have other careers to augment their writing. I’ve always heard that to be a real writer, it has to be something that you would do anyway if it weren’t going to be your career, and that’s definitely me. I write just to write. But in thinking of writing I’m beginning to wonder if maybe it doesn’t take even more than normal to be a writer who is LDS. I definitely have story ideas that I feel are important and need to be written, but I’m wondering if writing as a Mormon doesn’t present even more obstacles than normal writing would. I don’t really have an answer to that question; I’m still mulling on it, but I decided to throw it out there anyway.

One of the students (a male interestingly enough) brought up a question I’d never heard with regard to writing before: how do I balance having a family with writing? An interesting question, but one that definitely doesn’t have an answer. What did he expect? A formula. Oh, you do this, this, and this and it works great. You just do. You make balance work. Family comes first of course, but for some writers, if they don’t write and sell, they don’t eat, so you have to keep focused on writing also. One of the faculty suggested that if writers are even asking that question, maybe they shouldn’t be writing. The question is one I’ve never personally had to deal with, but maybe I’m just being too harsh? You just do. You balance, you sacrifice, and you work hard. If it comes down to it, you could even abandon writing for a time and find a job that will pay to put food on the table if it gets that desperate. But hopefully you are good enough, find interesting enough ideas, and are resourceful enough to sell yourself to the point that that doesn’t have to happen.

The best advice may be submit, submit, submit. If you aren’t submitting, you aren’t publishing. It’s just like a girl from my ward in Florida said once when I was debating whether to become an English major or not because I was afraid of failure: “If you don’t try, sure you don’t ever have to confront that fear of failing, cuz you won’t. You won’t ever fail. But you’ll never succeed either.”

And it’s true. You can’t succeed if you don’t take the risk and just go for it. As a writer, I may be a dreamer, but that dream has worth to me, because I love the way literature affects me and I want to give that to other people. Be it enjoyment, an emotionally-salient moment, or a message I feel needs to be heard. Writing gives voice and gives place and that’s why I do it.

The english department has been severely lacking (in my opinion) in their emphasis on creative writing and those of us non-literature majors have had a hard time getting ourselves recognized, but this was a very good step in the right direction. Rumor has it there’s even an MFA for creative writing in the works. Hopefully they will continue to encourage creative writers outside the creative writing classes as we continue striving to make a better, more noticed place for ourselves. Any other ideas on what we can do to help this along?

Known first to Mormons for her moving and lucid poetry, Carol Lynn Pearson attained new fame with the publication of Goodbye, I Love You, the tale of her life and marriage to her homosexual husband Gerald who dies from AIDS. Since his death, Pearson’s main goal has been to reach out and embrace gays and lesbians everywhere, especially those caught in the confusion and often paradoxical predicament of finding oneself gay and Mormon.

Using her literature and language for all they offer as a vehicle of help and healing for gay Mormons, it’s no wonder Carol Lynn Pearson was selected as the 2008 AML award winner for best new drama, “Facing East.”

The premiere of “Facing East” was in Salt Lake City November 16-26th, 2006 and originally performed by Charles Lynn Frost as Alex, Jayne Luke as Ruth, and Jay Perry as Marcus. The play revolves around the parents of a homosexual man, Andrew, and his suicide. Carol Lynn does away with elaborate scenery and costuming in order to bring the focus to the dialogue — the words, and the impact she purposely instilled in them. Alex and Ruth have just come from Andrew’s funeral at the beginning of the play, and Alex decides that Andrew’s funeral was not honest enough. They did not tell who Andrew really was, what he really felt. Marcus enters the scene, thinking that the parents would have left by now, and the three are thrust into an awkward, beautiful situation of reconciliation and understanding at the graveside of the boy who linked them all together.

Because “Facing East” addresses very controversial and emotional topics with regard to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pearson had every opportunity (and some would argue the right) to specifically and heavy-handedly attack Church leaders and the apparent “oppressive” doctrines surrounding these issues. However, being an active member herself, Pearson does none of these things; rather, she approaches and addresses homosexuality very tastefully and in the way that I personally feel it needs to be done. With a message of hope, love, and understanding — exactly the way Jesus taught us to love.

The character of Marcus juxtaposed with the character of Ruth tellingly reveals many of the deeply emotional issues at the heart of the gay Mormon struggle:

“Marcus: I watched his glorious light fight for life under the blanket you and your church threw on him. Yeah, that’s the crazy part. You and your Church created the man I loved. And destroyed him. For that I will always hate you.

(Pause).

And always love you.

Love you for all the good things you taught your son. Noticing if people were okay and thinking what he could do about it. Wanting to make the world better. Striving so hard for…perfection. Killing himself to be what God wanted him to be and what he could never, never be because what he was and what he could not stop being was an abomination in the eyes of his God!

[…]

He’d hear the Tabernacle Choir sing, of he’d see a family walking by on their way to church, or he’d read in the paper the latest local push against gay marriage, all those things your church that made him crazy. And of course, after the excommunication, every day, that look. That damned by the God that he loved lok. That damned by the church that he loved look.

(Furious).

I’ll tell you why your son died. He believed in your church more than he believed in himself.”

Carol Lynn Pearson has never balked in the face of confronting the difficult issues, and “Facing East” definitely does. Likewise, her most recent book, No More Goodbyes captures and conveys the stories of specific individuals within the Mormon community who have dealt with homosexuality either first-hand or in their families.

Much, much more could be said about this book and this play. Suffice it to say that Carol Lynn Pearson’s work is testament to the power of language as a vehicle of conveyance, for helping, healing, and getting us to stop and reconsider the way we think about other people who may not be just “like” us.

Upcoming shows for “Facing East”:

Buffalo, New York — Buffalo United Artists
April 4-26th
www.buffalobua.org

St. George, Ut –Space Between Theatre Company, using Dixie College Venue
May 8-24th
www.tsbtc.org

Baltimore, Maryland — Spotlighters Theatre
2nd and 3rd weeks of June
www.spotlighters.org

Los Angeles, CA — Stillspeaking Theatre
July 11-Aug 3
www.stillspeakingtheatre.org

For more information about other upcoming events, as well as the author and her works, please visit www.clpearson.com

Toward a Mormon Renaissance

In 1920, while riding on a train, Langston Hughes wrote a poem on the back of a napkin. Maybe you’ve heard it. It was called “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and it goes like this:

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

It’s a beautiful poem, I’ve always thought. And a wise poem. There’s something about the way that poem reaches so far back into the past and so deep down into the soul that communicates a grounded, mature kind of confidence. You know what I’m talking about? That’s a poem that can give depth and strength instead of just describing them.

It’s incredible that it does that, when you think about it, because that poem was written in 1920. You know what most people thought of black history and culture back in 1920? The vast majority of white Americans and all too many African-Americans thought of Black as different, backward, inferior: the blacker physically or culturally, the worse. There was nothing to be confident about, as far as most people were concerned. But Langston Hughes wrote my black soul is deep like the rivers and 86 years later we remember him for it. Not because he was the greatest individual writing talent of his day, but because he had something to say–something that went beyond himself. He wrote about the culture and heritage of his people with pride and artistry. He and other like-minded writers, not ashamed to call themselves Negro poets, gave this nation a literature of black dignity. All those individual writers, works, and goals clumped together are remembered as the Harlem Renaissance. And I hope that long after hundreds of movements from the last century have been forgotten, the Harlem Renaissance will be remembered; because America desperately needed the gift it offered to take another step toward being whole.

So. Here we are, 86 years later, in a makeshift theatre in the Mormon community. Mormonism is technically a religion, but it’s also a tradition and a people–trust me, my last name is Goldberg; I understand how these things work. A religion can form a people. It’s been done before.

This people is a good people. We have a rich heritage that goes back far beyond the founding of the church in 1830. We’ve got unique institutions that have helped us keep a sense of community in an age when many communities are falling apart. And we have wisdom, you know? We know something about how to treat each other, about our relationship to God, about the spiritual power that runs all through this world. And along with that, we’ve also got online resources with wisdom on food storage and stuff. Profound or practical, inherited wisdom is part of who we are.

And who are we? Unlike most tribes and peoples, none of this heritage is restricted to any ethnic group or country. Anyone can choose to adopt this heritage as part of their own identity. The whole world is getting less national and more global and Mormonism is one of the world’s first great post-national cultures.

All this means that Mormon writers, like the men and women of the Harlem Renaissance, have a lot to say…if—let me emphasize that—if we have the courage to undertake the same kind of project they did. I mean, black history and black culture in 1920 were already incredibly rich. The black community already had an incredible strength, but hardly anyone had ever managed to write about it in a meaningful, resonant, artistic way. There was a black tradition and a black heritage but no body of black literature. The Harlem Renaissance changed that, and that changed the world.

What I’m trying to say is that maybe it’s time for us to help change the world again. Look, I know it sounds arrogant to say that. I’m 24 years old, and the only times I can focus on theatre full-time are when I’ve saved up enough money to quit my day job for a few months. I mean, I don’t even have insurance–who am I to change the world? Who’s Katherine Gee or Ben Crowder? Who are any of the actors you’re going to see tonight? You know, most of them aren’t even trained actors. They’re just nice people who wanted to help us put on these plays.

Who are we? Well, we’re Latter-day Saints. We’re people who have wrestled with some of life’s big and little issues and have been lucky enough to have help. We’re people who think and act a little differently than most of the country does. We’re people who know a little about God and a little about life. And we’re people who believe that’s enough to say something big.

Are we going to make a difference? I hope so. And I take hope in history.

See, when Langston Hughes was sitting on that train in the evening, watching the sun set, when he wrote, with the voice of his people, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins,” he was 18 years old.

The scripture says that through small and simple means great works will come to pass. And maybe with our work, your prayers, and the heritage that binds us, they will tonight. And maybe this will be a part of a process that people can look back on some day and call a Mormon Renaissance.

So, thanks for coming. And enjoy the show.