<\/p>\n
Muhlenberg College presents an evening
\nof short plays with subjects ranging
\nfrom Judas to Joan of Arc, Dec. 2-5
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Allentown, Pa. (Nov. 12, 2021) As one might conclude from its title, playwright Erik Ehn\u2019s \u201cThe Saint Plays\u201d tells the stories of the Catholic saints and other biblical figures. However, \u201cThe Saint Plays\u201d is no simple hagiography.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that it winds up feeling like you just found yourself in someone else’s dream,\u201d says Muhlenberg theater professor\u00a0James Peck<\/b>. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make rational sense but instead a spiritual and emotional sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ehn’s growing collection of plays includes more than 100 entries, loosely based on the lives of saints and biblical characters ranging from St. George to Joan of Arc. Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance will present six of them, Dec. 2-5 in the college\u2019s Studio Theatre. Peck leads a group of four student directors for the evening.<\/p>\n
Placing the protagonists and their suffering in a modern context, Ehn produces what he calls “contemporary fairy tales for the stage.” His richly allusive, ecstatic, hallucinogenic performance poems cleave to hope and beauty in the aftermath of loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe material is written by a very devout Catholic who also has some real critiques and suspicions about the ways that the institutional church embodied its mission,\u201d Peck says. \u201cThe church has done a lot of harm in the world as well as good. That’s very powerfully embedded in the plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to serving as artistic director, Peck directs \u201cIncide,\u201d which follows Judas Iscariot, the disciple of Jesus who betrayed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cEhn has us looking at his story from different perspectives,\u201d Peck says. \u201cWhen it starts, Judas is someone who is carrying massive shame and guilt, from the incredible burden of knowing that he did something terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peck hopes the piece will help the audience reevaluate their own humanity, and how they view people who have caused them harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll humans have done things that we are remorseful about,\u201d Peck says. \u201cJudas is held up as an example of a really terrible man, which is an unfair way to think about him. Perhaps Judas could be approached as a saint \u2014 someone who knows the shame of having done something awful, and yet persists in trying to set his life back on a redemptive path.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Hilary<\/b>\u00a0is directing \u201cWholly Joan\u2019s,\u201d a play about Joan of Arc, the 19-year-old French woman who led an army of men to victory in battle in the 15th-century.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I was eight years old I have been obsessed with her story,\u201d Hilary says. \u201cShe did all of these incredible things no one expected her to do, and she was just following what she thought was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hilary says that Joan heard voices \u2014 some people say from saints, some people say from God. This surreal internal world is represented in the play by an original soundscape.<\/p>\n
Katie Keller<\/b>\u00a0is directing \u201cThe Freak,\u201d the story of an imagined exchange between St. George, the dragon slayer, and Gunna, a girl who was born with wings in 1957 Stockholm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis play is about the courage that it takes to be authentic and the freedom that comes from that,\u201d Keller says.<\/p>\n
Keller says she is happy to start seeing the production elements of her piece come to life. She is particularly looking forward to working with a massive puppet, representing a younger version of Gunna.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have two puppeteers operating it,\u201d she says. \u201cI’m so excited to work with them and just explore and experiment with puppets and movement and how you can use them to tell a story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Savannah Hastings<\/b>\u00a0is directing \u201c16670,\u201d a play about Maximillian Kolbe, a man who was canonized after the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201816670\u2019 highlights our complications with the past,\u201d Hastings says. \u201cReliving the past can be hard when it\u2019s dealing with the dark reality of our history. But it is those moments that are most important to acknowledge as they help us to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hastings was drawn to this piece because of Ehn\u2019s intricate storytelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe handles the subject so carefully and realistically,\u201d she says. \u201cHe exposes the pain of the person who has to tell Kolbe\u2019s story. Ehn does a great job of taking us on that journey right alongside him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maddi Whiting<\/b>\u00a0is directing \u201cTree of Hope, Keep Firm,\u201d a play that puts The Virgin Mary into conversation with her younger self.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe figure of Mary is well known in institutional religion,\u201d Whiting says. \u201dSo I want to give new life and new agency to this female biblical character who has typically been viewed through the lens of men and God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whiting says that Ehn writes about painfully beautiful humans who have been cast aside by society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis production showcases the beauty of trash,\u201d Whiting says, \u201cthe things that have been discarded, and the people who are no longer seen as valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saint Plays\u201d will feature original music composed by Muhlenberg student\u00a0Zach Montenegro<\/b>. Muhlenberg alum\u00a0Emilie Leasure<\/b>\u00a0serves as lighting designer, and seniors\u00a0Sarah Levine<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Hannah Michelson<\/b>\u00a0designed the costumes.<\/p>\n
Hilary highlights that this play is not just for the devout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to make the distinction that I am not a super-religious person, but I am super interested in religion \u2014 in the way that we tell stories, how we construct our beliefs from myths or legends or stories,\u201d Hilary says. \u201cThat\u2019s what the play is about: an investigation of what it means to function in a world that has a higher power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saint Plays\u201d runs Dec. 2-5 in the Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg College. Showtimes are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, with a campus price of $8 for students, faculty and staff of LVAIC institutions. Tickets and information at 484-664-3333 or\u00a0muhlenberg.edu\/seeashow<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Information Provided By: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Muhlenberg College presents an evening of short plays with subjects ranging from Judas to Joan of Arc, Dec. 2-5 Allentown, Pa. (Nov. 12, 2021) As one might conclude from … Continue reading Ehn\u2019s \u2018Saint Plays\u201d tells stories of saints through hallucinogenic dreamscape<\/span>
\n<\/b>Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. With an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; selected preprofessional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health; and progressive workforce-focused post-baccalaureate certificates and master\u2019s degrees. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City, Muhlenberg is a member of the Centennial Conference, competing in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nScott Snyder
\nMarketing Manager
\nMuhlenberg College Department of Theatre & Dance<\/p>\n
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