From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #667 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Thursday, April 4 2002 Volume 01 : Number 667 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 23:13:00 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] Box Office Report March 29 > >Perhaps that will motivate more family-oriented films >to pursue the G rating, as for the longest time in Hollywood, mostly due to >a lot of poorly made G-rated films, the G rating was considered the >financial kiss of death for a non-animated film. Of course, we can't hope >that this will reduce the number of R-rated films being made. It has long >been demonstrated that R-rated films fail financially more often than PG or >PG-13 films, yet that hasn't changed anything as far as Hollywood is >concerned. First, let's separate the PGs from the PG-13s. I think you'll find most people reading this feel PG-13s should be lumped in with the Rs, rather than with the family-oriented PGs. There might be a greater NUMBER of R-rated films that fail than PG ones, but only because there are more R-rated films released. If we're talking the PERCENTAGE of films of each rating that fail, I think you'll find it the other way around. The percentage of PG films that fail is probably higher than the percentage of R films that fail. Probably. Glancing quickly at some online info, I can see there were 10 PG films released in 2001, and only a few of them performed particularly well. One thing that skews it is that the PG films tend to be low-budget affairs that don't have to make much in order to be profitable. Thus, while the execrable "See Spot Run" grossed only $33 million, it's considerable profitable, because it only cost $16 million to make. The PG films that break blockbuster level ($100 million grossed) are few and far between. Most are like the one just described, that perform well enough to make back the money, but not enough to be considered huge hits. PG-13 is closer to R, and is generally more successful. Of the 20 films released in 2001 that went on to gross at least $100 million, half of them were PG-13. There were also four Rs, four PGs, and two Gs. To appeal to the widest audience -- people who want a little sass in their movie as well as people who won't stand for too much sass -- PG-13 seems to be the way to go. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 23:17:33 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] _Seeing the Elephant_ at SLAC >If you want to know more, the Des News and Salt Lake Trib have both >reviewed >it favorably in recent times. > Are you sure about this? Previews just started Tuesday, and the press night isn't until Friday. Probably what you saw were preview stories, not reviews, unless I'm very much mistaken. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 15:15:19 -0800 From: "Rex Goode" Subject: Re: [AML] SSA in Mormon Lit Thom, You might take a look at _The Boys in the Band_ . It's interesting. Points of view emerge, but it isn't really based on the points of view. If anything, the play is about denial. Every character is suffering from some form of it. Briefly, Mart Crowley's play is about a pair of homosexuals who are on-again-off-again lovers. They mainly hang out with other gay friends. When an old college friend of Michael wants to talk to him, they assume he wants to "come out" to them. The friend has left his wife and is distraught about something. He arrives in the middle of a gay party, which he doesn't recognize as such. Just seems to think it's a bunch of Michael's male friends getting together for a drink in Michael's apartment. The "straight" people of the world make lots of assumptions about men who display certain stereotypical behaviors. They are often wrong. In the play, it is the group of homosexuals that buy into stereotypes and make assumptions based on those stereotypes. Mart Crowley, himself homosexual, really turns everything on its head. He basically says to everyone from all points of view, "Wake up! Dont' assume! There are more points of view than you can ever capture in your narrow field of vision." In a way, there's lots of denial in the issue of the aversion therapy era and how it played out at BYU. Not everyone who went through that aversion therapy did so under direct duress. I've met some along the way that welcomed it--would have welcomed anything that could make them not gay anymore and were willing to try even something as shocking (no pun intended) as aversion therapy. I had a mild form of aversion therapy suggested to me once, which I did not pursue. It was suggested that I develop a scenario in my mind around violent vomiting. Having had my share of bouts with stomach flu, it wasn't difficult to imagine. I was counseled that every time I saw a good-looking man or had an impure thought about a man, I was to imagine myself having a good hurl. I didn't pursue it because I didn't view my attraction to men as something vile and didn't want to make it something vile. Now, impure thoughts were another story. I don't believe that I anyone can justify truly impure thoughts about another human being, though I do believe that some level of sexual thought is automatic and shouldn't be punished. Even as recently as last year, I met some SSA men who were wearing rubber bands around the wrists and were being instructed by their therapist to give themselves a strong snap every time they had an impure thought about a man. It is purely ridiculous to me, but the men doing it had high hopes that it would help them control their thoughts. Remembering to be tolerant of their point of view, I just shrugged and thought, "What ever flicks your Bic!" Personally, if I had to snap my wrist with a rubber band every time I was a little aroused by a good-looking man, I'd be even a noisier presence that I am now. It seems to me that your play is not about two or more points of view, nor in fact about aversion therapy practices at BYU. It is likely about something more universal that you want to illustrate with the setting you propose. When you know what that something is, won't the points of view of your characters emerge without compulsory means? Good luck with your project. I hope I get to read it soon. Rex Goode - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 15:18:02 -0800 From: "Susan Malmrose" Subject: Re: [AML] SSA in Mormon Lit > When someone asks me, "Do you think that people are born homosexual, or do > you think they chose to be homosexual?" I respond with the following > question: "Were you born understanding English, or do you chose to > understand English?" (Given that English is the person's primary language.) Thanks for sharing your views on homosexuality, Robert. I think I'm going to re-read your post a couple of times. I've always thought that there were three reasons people became homosexual--either born that way, molested as a child, or you do it because it's trendy. I have a lot of gay family members (all non-LDS). In fact I'm chatting on IM right now with one of my gay brothers. Yes, I said one of my gay brothers--I have two! The one I'm chatting with is younger, but "came out" first. When he told me, it was like everything about him suddenly made sense--things he'd done and said since he was very little. (The rest of the world seemed like it was upside down, though.) I really think he was born that way. My other brother, however, is in a long-term gay relationship, and I think it happened because he's never been able to really connect to anyone on a close personal level, and the first person he was able to do that with happened to be a guy. I don't think he was born gay, and as far as I know he was never molested (although with my family, anything's possible). Besides my brothers, I also have a gay uncle, and at least one gay cousin, as well as a cousin who had a sex change. I've been told I should write a book about my family several times. I don't know that I could do that. But I may consider a sitcom. :) Susan - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 16:50:53 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] JOSPE et al., _Covenant and Chosenness in Judaism and Mormonism_ (Review) - ---Original Message From: Jeff Needle > I think my point was that the Jews have never, if I understand my own > history correctly, shifted their vision from Israel. > Political oppression > over the years have never caused the Jews to abandon the hope > of the return > to Israel. Mormonism has been successful in shifting their > focus from > Jackson County to Salt Lake, without, perhaps, losing a > long-term focus on > a return to Missouri. My memory of this is a little vague, but while researching something about the early LDS church, I came across a few references that indicated that there was something of a Zionist movement among Jews that centered on the United States. The U.S. was to be a "New" Zion where Jews could gather. I understood that some of the anti-Semitism in places in New York are based on this more or less open idea of Jews gathering there en masse. I think I ran across the same sentiments in the early 20th century as well. It makes sense given wide-spread persecution of Jews in Europe and the Middle-East. A land of religious freedom would be a natural gathering place and a "New" Zion would be easy to imagine. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 18:04:15 -0700 From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: Re: [AML] Box Office Report March 29 >MERRILL TO GIVE STATE OF THE LDS FILM UNION ADDRESS: Kieth Merrill, Academy >Award-winning director and producer, will be giving the keynote address at >the annual gathering of the Mormon Arts Foundation on primarily focused on >fine art, sculpture, literature and music, has taken a greater interest in >film as art, and Brother Merrill's address is a good indication of that. We >applaud the choice and offer our best support and wishes to Brother Merrill >on his upcoming address. Pardon my ignorance, but are these the same people who did the Mormon Arts Festival some years back? Last I heard from them they were doing the festival every other year (and hence not that year) and then I never heard from them again. I assumed I had fallen off of their mailing list, but maybe the playwrights were systematically eliminated?!?!?! (I am only kidding :-):-) Marianne Hales Harding _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 01:15:31 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] BYU Student Review Does the Student Review (BYU student-run alternative newspaper) still exist? Andrew Hall _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 17:32:01 -0800 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] RE: First 100 Temples San Diego Dead on right -- I was reading several books at once, and by the time I got to the end of this book, I simply didn't remember it. Very sloppy of me; my apologies. Thanks for pointing to it! At 10:49 PM 4/2/02 -0500, you wrote: >Jeff, > >Try page 123. I'm also from San Diego. > >Donna Gonzales > > > > >-- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > - ---------------- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 20:04:15 -0700 From: "Cathy Wilson" Subject: Re: [AML] SSA in Mormon Lit In a thoughtful and excellent post, Rob writes: That being the case, one's sexuality is tied to one's broader concepts concerning all aspects of the world in which one lives. . . . All in all, I think that human sexuality is much more "fluid" than we'd like to think. I think this is correct. Before I taught college, I ran two homegrown businesses--actually, I still do :). One is editing and ghostwriting; the other is a bodywork practice: CranioSacral Therapy is the formal name of it. It's a soft-touch bodywork focusing on the bones of the head and spine (obvious from the name) but also on other areas of the body. Very frequently I see this truth: that our physical conditions have an emotional/spiritual component, not that they're caused by emotions, but that there's a component. And almost always when working with people with same-sex attraction, we find that there was, early on, sexual interaction with someone older. Maybe people don't want to call it abuse; one woman recalled such an interaction when she was 13 but had considered it an affair. I think most people nowadays would call it abuse, though. At any rate, when children experience sexual interactions growing up, that imprints sexual response on them. We learn sexual response the same as we learn everything else as we mature. And, as Rob so aptly puts it, human sexuality IS much more "fluid" than we might like to think. NonMormon gay men I've known have said that they occasionally go out and have a fling with women--just because they feel they need that (not that they always tell their partners though). From this I have concluded that maybe it's harmful to label yourself gay or lesbian, because sexual response is a very complex thing, not codified, and it's not helpful to cast yourself in a black-and-white role. I think Rob's post is very insightful with this point as well--"Sexual arousal is the physical manifestation of an emotional response." Again, this brings us to real complexity when we try to understand how we learn sexual response as we grow up. I love the movie "Bird Cage." There the rigidly homophobic senator finds himself friendly, attracted, drawn to the in-drag "wife." It is such a delightful comment on this very "fluidity" of sexual response. Cathy (Gileadi) Wilson Editing Etc. 1400 West 2060 North Helper UT 84526 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 16:59:33 -0700 From: Gideon Burton Subject: [AML] Images of LDS in British Lit On behalf of a British graduate student, could we brainstorm works about LDS in British literature? Thanks Gideon Burton > I am a student at the Humboldt-Universitaet Berlin, Germany, working on a > Master in British Studies degree. For my masters thesis I would like to > write about the Images of Latter-day Saints in British literature and > fiction. > Annette C. Boehm - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 23:39:02 -0500 From: Richard Johnson Subject: Re: [AML] Sharing Experiences At 05:21 PM 4/2/02 -0600, you wrote: >At 06:27 PM 4/1/02, you wrote: > >"One of the things they were asked >to do is always answer honestly when asked "How are you" and things like >that. "--Tracie Laulusa > >I try to do this, actually, on most occasions. *It's an interesting >experiment to count how many people still respond, "Oh, good!" (or some >such standard prepackaged response to the usual "Fine, thanks") --even when >my answer is "Exhausted," or "I'm feeling crummy today." OTOH, when it >comes to church, I refuse to go without all my makeup on, or I get too many >people telling me I look tired or sick and asking me if I feel all right. >Finally I'll have to scream, "I forgot my MASCARA, okay?!?" :-) >Linda Adams When I was a graduate student at Ohio University (back in the dark ages), one of the Speech Communication students did a Masters Thesis relating to lack of communication in greetings and partings. He paid a group of us to give a negative statement (he actually wrote three or four statements that we were to use, including parental death, serious family illness, serious contagious illness etc.-even a combination of the above) which we were to use in reaction to all greetings "How are ya? etc." for a three week period. We then, in turn, were asked to record the response. It was amazing how many people responded to "My mother's funeral is tomorrow and I am too sick to go" by saying "Glad to hear it" or "that's great" or the equivalent. I don't remember the compilation of data exactly but I seem to remember that over 70% percent of the replies were "inappropriate" or non sequitors. Richard B. Johnson, (djdick@PuppenRich.com) Husband, Father, Grandfather, Puppeteer, Playwright, Writer, Director, Actor, Thinkmaker, Mormon, Person, Fool. I sometimes think that the last persona is the most important - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 23:10:55 +0000 From: Kellene Adams Subject: Re: [AML] SSA in Mormon Lit Kristy Thomas wrote: > Jonathan, you are right. There are several different ways that a story > involving SSA could be resolved in a "good" way, but none of them seem > entirely realistic or happy. Actually, I think all the different endings Jonathan mentioned are realistic; they are happening every day. People who struggle with SSA give up and embrace homosexuality; they decide to simply (if it were only simple!) be celibate; they choose marriage and family and all that that entails; they unchoose marriage and family and all that entails; they pretend to choose marriage and family while secretly living another lifestyle. . . and the variations go on and on. Those endings are realistic, and no, they are not happy. And here's what I've concluded. It's tragic, but I think that people dealing with SSA may not find the "happy ever after" ending in this life. Very few (I've never met any, but I've heard of a couple) ever experience the "miracle change" in this life, but I deeply believe that it happens in the next. That's what the Atonement is all about, and what would be the point if it didn't? However, given our LDS beliefs, if I as an LDS writer write the story and have a person choose marriage and family (or celibacy at the very least), isn't that the LDS happy ever after? Now, I understand that it sounds overly simplistic and that actually choosing that and standing by that choice day after day, week after week, month after month, throughout an entire lifetime entails so much more. But isn't that the "right" decision and the story we would want to tell **if** we were writing the faith-promoting, inspiring, and groundbreaking LDS story? Kellene - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 01:38:17 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN News Briefs: Kent Larsen 3Apr02 US NY NYC X1 More Than 300,000 Saw 'Light of the World' SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- At a lecture to BYU students March 27th, LDS Church Public Affairs Officer Dale Bills said that more than 300,000 people saw the Church's production "Light of the World" during the 2002 Olympic Games. The production included performance from more than 100 church members, including many from media outlets around the world. Bills said that the production's purpose was to breakdown existing barriers to the church, "It was a chance to tell our story our way," he said. "Many came away saying 'I know you better' as a result of attending." Source: 'Light of the World' gave performers a chance to shine BYU NewsNet 1Apr02 US UT SLC A2 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story/38033 By Desiree McQueen: NewsNet Staff Writer New Children's Book Connects New Nauvoo Temple with Old PROVO, UTAH -- BYU art professor Robert Barrett's most recent project is a book connecting the original Nauvoo Temple with the new temple. Barrett's book helps children understand both the history of the Nauvoo Temple as well as that of all temples. The story, by Timothy Robinson, uses the stones as beautiful metaphors for prayer, a testament, a monument, a sentinel, a seed and a bridge. Source: Y professor illustrates book about Nauvoo Temple BYU NewsNet 2Apr02 US UT Prov A2 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story/38085 By Arianne Baadsgarrd: NewsNet Staff Writer LDS Artist Creates Large Stained-Glass Panel for Nauvoo Temple HIGHLAND, UTAH -- Veteran LDS artist Tom Holdman has worked on two historic LDS temples, and is now preparing a work for his third. Holdman has created a large stained-glass panel for the baptistry of the Nauvoo Temple depicting the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. At 6 feet high and 8.5 feet wide, the baptistry panel is the largest Holdman has ever created in a single piece. More than 3,000 individual pieces make up the intricate design, which includes fig, olive and almond trees. John gazes skyward toward the dove, which represents the Holy Ghost, and all of the lead lines in the scene point toward Christ. "Even the trees seem to be bowing down to him," says Holdman. Source: Highland artist puts heart and soul into stained glass panel for Nauvoo Temple Utah co UT Journal 3Apr02 US UT Prov A2 http://www.ucjournal.com/ucjournal/pagespeed/url/News/story/495457 By Laurie Williams Sowby: Journal Publications Longtime BYU Theater Professor Retires PROVO, UTAH -- BYU professor Harold Oaks will retire from the theater and media art program on July 31. Oaks started teaching at BYU as a volunteer in 1974, and eventually formed the Young Company, a theatrical group that performs for schools both locally, and internationally. He devoted his career to the idea that theater is important for children as well as for adults, "We think theater is merely entertainment, but it can be so much more than that - so much fuller than that," Oaks said. Source: Y theater director declares curtain call BYU NewsNet 2Apr02 US UT Prov D3 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story/38080 By Jessica Ball: NewsNet Staff Writer Utah's First Lady Reads Her New Book to Children CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- Utah's First Lady, Jacalyn S. Leavitt took time while on vacation to visit Washington and Iron counties in Utah, sharing her latest book, "The Tornado Desk: A Symbol of Utah's Spirit and Determination" with elementary students at the Washington County Library, South Elementary and East Elementary schools. The book tells about her husband, Gov. Michael O. Leavitt's experience when a tornado hit Salt Lake City in Aug. 1999, and the creation of his desk made from three different trees uprooted during the natural disaster. Source: Leavitt reads book to kids St George UT Spectrum 27Mar02 US UT StG T2 http://www.thespectrum.com/rest.php?section=localnews&storyid=6374 By Jennifer Weaver >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 00:37:14 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Box Office Report March 29 kumiko wrote: > MERRILL TO GIVE STATE OF THE LDS FILM UNION ADDRESS: Kieth Merrill, Academy > Award-winning director and producer, will be giving the keynote address at > the annual gathering of the Mormon Arts Foundation on primarily focused on > fine art, sculpture, literature and music, has taken a greater interest in > film as art, and Brother Merrill's address is a good indication of that. We > applaud the choice and offer our best support and wishes to Brother Merrill > on his upcoming address. How about more on this? Time, location, where to go for more information? (I wish that hadn't rhymed.) - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 05:43:43 -0700 From: "Alan Rex Mitchell" Subject: [AML] Re: Not in Sunday School Things you can't say in Gospel Doctrine Class (March 31, 2002) 1. Unlike Charlton Heston, Moses was a stuttering wimp. He wouldn't circumcize his son. 2. Pharaoh killed the male Hebrew babies, not because he feared their population explosion (because reducing females is the way to control population) but because of their possible military power. 3. That being chosen in the pre-mortal existence brings you the hardest life imaginable and the world's hatred. 4. You've had head lice before. 5. Yeast infections. 6. You've brought a live lamb to church as an object lesson and it is tied up outside. 7. Egyptians and Hebrews had almost identical cultures. 8. The Bible is mistaken that "Jehovah" was first named to Moses on the mount in Exodus 6:3. 9. It is nice to have a good proportion of Smiths and Youngs in class. 10. Miracles are basically good timing of natural events. Our substitute Gospel Doctrine teacher said all these things yesterday in class. Alan Mitchell - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 08:30:02 -0700 From: "Todd Petersen" Subject: Re: [AML] Sharing Experiences But are you aware of the studies that show active LDS in Utah have lower than average numbers? I should have been clearer. They're writing about the high level of perscription anti-depressant use and abuse in Utah. - -- Todd - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 09:30:44 -0700 From: "Eileen Stringer" Subject: Re: [AML] SSA in Mormon Lit > I recently watched a documentary, called "Trembling Before G-d," that took > this approach toward examining the lives of gay Jews in Orthodox & Hasidic > communities: > > http://www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com > > I saw the film in DC, and I'm not sure when or if it a screening will make > its way to Utah. But video release is probably not too far away... > > Eric D. Dixon This film was an entry in the Sundance Film Festival this year. Unfortunately it was sold out and I could not get tickets for it, I would have really like to have seen it. It was well received among the Festival goers. I do not know that it will make another appearance in Utah. Maybe the Tower will pick it up though. Eileen Stringer - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 11:23:19 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Barta Heiner as "King Lear" Great question. First of all, some background. Barta is playing Lear because we didn't = feel that we had any students who had the ability to play so difficult and = demanding a role. We tried to hire an actor to come in and play Lear, and = couldn't. So we went with Barta on the theory that she's the best actor = we know anyway, so why not? But, second bit of background, Barta is not = well. She was in a accident not too long ago, and is in considerable = pain. I saw the production, and at times had a difficult time hearing = her, and that's very unusual. =20 Having said that, let me say that gender blind casting and ethnicity-blind = casting is very big in the real theatre world, and has been for years. I = saw Vanessa Redgrave play Prospero in the new Globe in London, and it was = terrific. I saw the wonderful Cheek By Jowl production of Measure for = Measure in which Claudio was played by a black actor and Isabella by a = white actress. Brother and sister, and yet of different races. Again, it = was great; a super production, well conceived and acted. We almost never = cast actors who are age appropriate, and we frequently cast actors who are = of the 'wrong' physical type, so why not? Brian Dennehy and Dustin = Hoffman have both played Willy Loman, and both were superb in the role. = When Pierce Brosnan retires, I think the perfect actor to replace him as = James Bond would be Denzel Washington. =20 So, do we say that race or gender are really of no consequence when = casting? Yes, I do say that, up to a point. If you cast a boy to play = Juliet, you're making a valid choice historically, but for some audience = members, it will certainly be at least somewhat jarring, and may suggest = connotations you didn't intend. In almost all cases, casting against = gender will be perceived as a commentary on gender. My bishop came up to = me last Sunday, and asked if he needed to be worried about seeing King = Lear. Was it going to be, you know, questionable? I didn't know what to = say in response, except to assure him that he would, at the least, see a = wonderful actor in the role. I directed a production of The Odyssey a few = years ago in which all the characters, except Odysseus, were played by = women. I think there are gender issues in the Odyssey which this approach = could profitably highlight, but we did get letters complaining about the = (to my mind non-existent) 'lesbian overtones' to the production. In the BYU production of Lear, Barta plays Lear as a Queen. She's clearly = female, and all gender references are changed in the text to reflect it. = I think this is a mistake, but I wasn't the director, and I assume that = Rodger Sorenson, who did direct it, (and who is a thoughtful and intelligen= t director), had very good reasons for making the choices he made. I = wasn't there, and only saw the show once. I do think that there's a = difference between the relationship between a man and his daughters and a = woman and her daughters, and that the play as a whole is a commentary on = father/son and father/daughter relationships, a lot of which get muddied = in this production. But other values are highlighted in this production = that wouldn't be in more traditional casting choices. It's a great play, = and one that can support an infinite number of theatrical realizations. = This is an interesting one. Eric Samuelsen >>> margaret_young@byu.edu 04/03/02 11:13AM >>> My son and husband saw BYU's production of _King Lear_ last night, starring Barta Heiner (a woman) as Lear. Of couse, lines which Shakespeare likely intended to evoke Christian themes didn't quite work ("Mother, it is thy business I'm about..."). I don't want to report my family's reaction to this rather bold interpretation of the play, but I'm interested in others' reactions. Has anyone seen it? Eric, you're a bold theater person. Do you have an opinion you'd like to share? - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 11:32:33 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] _Seeing the Elephant_ at SLAC Eric, you're right, the articles are more preview than review, it looks like. Here they both are, both from last Sunday's papers. SLAC's 'Elephant' Comes Out to Play Sunday, March 31, 2002 BY CELIA R. BAKER THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE New York playwright J.T. Rogers writes modern plays. Rogers describes his writing process as "like taking a drawing room comedy by Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward, putting it in a dirty tin can, shaking it up, and throwing it against the wall." The resulting splatter is more "off the wall" than on the wall. Utahns who took a sneak peek at Rogers' "Seeing the Elephant" during two developmental readings held at Salt Lake Acting Company know the play is fast, funny and decidedly fractured. The now-complete work gets its world premiere Friday at SLAC, then continues through April 28. "Seeing the Elephant" -- the title translates roughly as an encounter with a life-changing sight or experience -- is set among the society crowd of Manhattan's Upper East Side. The script refers to these American aristocrats as "The Last of the Townhouse Mohicans." Action centers on Vera Carthage (Anne Cullimore Decker), an extraordinary woman of some 60 years, who finds that her estimable mind is "inexplicably slipping. Frequently." Rogers -- male, 30-ish and somewhat removed from the world of Manhattan socialites -- has little in common with Carthage and her milieu. That is by design. "I'm not a memoirist, I'm a fiction writer," says Rogers. "I don't write autobiographical plays, and I don't think they are that interesting to see. It's more liberating to work from 'what if' -- to play dress-up. I'm interested in people not cut from everyday cloth. The protagonist has to be not like everyone else." "Seeing the Elephant" surprises by acknowledging the presence of the audience, moving jerkily back and forth through time, eschewing realism and using a high-flown brand of speech not typically heard in everyday life. "These people are hyper-articulate," says Rogers. "The wonderful thing about theater is that it is artificial, heightened. It is a place where we are allowed to wield words." The play came to Rogers as a series of sharply distilled snatches of dialogue -- "like a Rubik's cube." He says this play is not at all like his play "White People," an ultra-serious race drama that was produced at SLAC in 2000. "A great screenwriter once said that 'style is just another word for self-plagiarism,' " says Rogers. "I wanted this play to be completely different from what I've done before. In 'White People' the characters did not address each other. I wanted this play to be one in which people interact in ways that are funny and fast. We'll see if I succeeded." "Seeing the Elephant" is directed by Gus Reyes, who met Rogers when both were acting students at North Carolina School of the Arts. The two are co-founders of Next Stage Company in New York City and frequent collaborators. Reyes never worked at SLAC before, and he admits he was chagrined upon learning he would be expected to cast the show with Utah actors. That changed when he attended auditions, and met the actors who participated in the readings. "I was slapped in the face with the realization of the talent here. These people are trained in the best schools, and have worked in the best theaters. They are making a living working as artists here. Not many actors in New York can say that." Decker, who helped develop the role of Carthage in the readings, was especially impressive to Reyes. "When I saw her, I knew I had to have her for the part," he says. Reyes was closely involved in the development of "Seeing the Elephant," a process he and Rogers have shared on other plays, such as "White People," "Above the Beasts" and "The Saddest Lines." Rogers calls Reyes "a wonderful, irritatingly dogged advisor, who gets incredibly minute. Nothing is worse than a director who wants everyone to know they were there, and wants to put fingerprints all over the work. Gus mines the script. I trust him because I know how he works. Sometimes he comes up with a better spin on a moment than I had thought of. That's when you know the play is bigger than you are." About the size of an elephant, perhaps? The play's cast includes Tony Larimer, Kathryn Atwood, Morgan Lund, Sarah Burrowes, Paul Mulder, Jason Tatom, Jim Pitts and Paul Kiernan. An Eye Opener J.T. Rogers' "Seeing the Elephant" has its world premiere Friday at Salt Lake Acting Company, 169 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City. Previews are Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The regular run is Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. through April 28. Tickets are $24.50 to $30.50; $20 for previews; $10 for students with valid ID at all ArtTix outlets, including the SLAC box office. Call (801) 363-SLOC or (801) 355- ARTS. - --- SLAC is 'Seeing the Elephant' Play developed in readers' theater series gets world premiere By Ivan M. Lincoln Deseret News theater editor A drama that was "born in an air of mutual reckless faith" (the playwright hadn't put one word on paper when the Salt Lake Acting Company extended an invitation two years ago to have it read in its ongoing New Play Sounding Series of readers' theater presentations) will have its world premiere this week in SLAC's Upstairs Theatre. The playwright is J.T. Rogers, a New York City-based writer who has practically adopted Salt Lake City as his second home. The play - which eventually got written - is "Seeing the Elephant," the story of a woman in the emotional throes of examining her life. The director is Gus Reyes, Rogers' longtime collaborator who has directed most of Rogers' scripts. (The two were college schoolmates in North Carolina and went on to form the Next Stage Theatre Company, an off-Broadway showcase for new works, which they closed a couple of years ago after changing their focus.) The cast of "Seeing the Elephant" includes veteran Salt Lake actress Anne Cullimore Decker, who has the central role of Vera - an outrageous, outspoken socialite who is something like a new generation's Auntie Mame. "I thought 'Master Class' was the biggest you can get," said Decker during a recent telephone interview, referring to her performance as opera diva Maria Callas for SLAC a couple of seasons back. "But this one is a toughie. When I faced the Maria Callas challenge, I figured that if Zoe Caldwell did it - and we're about the same age, and she remembered all those lines - then I could. But Vera is a real challenge, both as an actress and a woman." Decker said the play is abstract, with flashbacks, "and you go forward and backward, then it all falls into place. Basically, it's the story of Vera, a woman in her 60s - and I thought, 'Boy, I'd better grab this role while I can!' "She's dealing with the deaths of her son and husband, and she's dealing with lots of emotions - guilt, confusion. She tries to be charming, effusive and outrageous, but underneath she's really sublimating and not facing life in its reality. "It's a rollercoaster of a ride, but those who are willing to hop on are in for a real treat." Decker says patrons are also in for some occasional rough language. "I had to do some soul-searching in many ways" before taking on the role, Decker said. "And I had to look at the challenges of the language. There are some words (in the script) that I've never used - and aren't generally used in our culture. But balancing that harsh language is some of the most poetic dialogue I've ever had the privilege of speaking." "This young playwright is so far beyond his years," said Decker, who is amazed at "his knowledge of life and getting older. He is really a masterful writer." Decker noted that she, personally, is more offended by violence than foul language in movies, "but some people will be offended by the language (in this play). But language is only an expression of the people who choose to use it, and the language defines these characters." Rogers said that both he and Reyes are pleased at the level and quality of talent that showed up for the production's auditions. "It's hard to get good actors in any theater in any city of any size, including New York City, and I know that Gus' expectations have been far exceeded," said Rogers, who was also impressed with SLAC's commitment to produce new, untried works. He noted that there are many major theater companies, not only in New York but across the country, that claim to be committed to the development and production of new plays. "There's no shortage of play development; there is a shortage of play presentations," he said. "There's a 'workshop ghetto' with readings, but the plays rarely evolve into fully staged productions. "But certainly, for a new playwright, it's very impressive what Salt Lake Acting Company does." Rogers was born in Berkeley, Calif., and still has family in the Bay Area, but he grew up spending his summers with his mother in New York's East Village. "Ever since I gave the world's finest performance as the Huntsman in 'Snow White,' I was dead set on being an actor," he said. "But when I got into the acting program in North Carolina, I started writing plays on the side. It was a sort of 'theater boot camp,' and by the time I left, I realized that something had shifted. After moving to New York and auditioning for all the major shows, I realized I had no interest in auditioning." Eventually, he and his wife (Rebecca Ashley, a modern dance choreographer-turned-arts education evaluator) and Reyes spent eight years producing their own original works in the Next Stage Theater Company, a small theater near Times Square. It was while SLAC was staging his production of "White People" (an intense, three-person drama directed by Keven Myhre), that local audiences got their first glimpse of "Seeing the Elephant," then - just barely - a work-in-progress. This is not Reyes' first trip to Utah. As owner of a New York-based film production company, Stolen Car Productions, he's visited the Sundance Film Festival on several occasions, just passing through Salt Lake City on his way to or from the airport. "When J.T. came to Utah for 'White People' he immediately fell in love with Salt Lake City and Salt Lake Acting Company, so when I was about to come out for 'Seeing the Elephant,' I asked about what kind of talent I could bring with me. "SLAC was adamant that they would use all local talent. Having never worked here before - and even in Philadelphia, I brought all my own designers and some cast members from New York - I was very nervous. But the minute I walked off the plane and met the committee from SLAC, I realized that we can be so provincial in our thinking - that there's nothing west of the Hudson River. The talent pool here is phenomenal and SLAC has its head in the right place. They're focused entirely on the work and have given us free creative reign, which is very unique," Reyes said. Reyes notes that "what people are going to find (in 'Seeing the Elephant') is an enlightening and very entertaining evening of theater. This play really tackles the big questions about life and death and what's the meaning of it all. Anne Decker is doing an incredible job with this wonderful character of Vera. It's like a soirZe, an adventure, a journey through this woman's life." Reyes will be heading directly back to New York right after opening night for another big premiere: His wife is eight months' pregnant with their first child. The cast of "Seeing the Elephant" includes Tony Larimer as Vera's longtime paramour, Robert; Kathryn Atwood as her closest friend, Lizzie; and Morgan Lund as Lizzie's opinionated husband, George. Sarah Burrowes will play Katherine, a young woman with mysterious ties to Vera's past, and Paul Mulder is Wyman, a volatile and seductive artist. Jason Tatom, Jim Pitts and Paul Kiernan have a variety of roles - a gauntlet of medical doctors and experts, the ghost of Vera's dead husband, Walter, and a gay Jewish linguist from the Midwest. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #667 ******************************