tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post5457815842995411386..comments2023-09-28T08:04:28.949-06:00Comments on Literary Mormonism: Gaia? More like goodbye-a!Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13328578010572353558noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post-37671475442807846102015-02-12T17:16:52.779-07:002015-02-12T17:16:52.779-07:00I really, really love this piece.
Part of that i...I really, really love this piece. <br /><br />Part of that is that I first saw it performed with really solid actors. Arisael Rios as Lucifer knew when to use scorn and when to show just how much he wanted to reach Eve, to convince her. Seeing the pull between the two: how much Lucifer wants to reach Eve, how much Eve wants to straighten out Lucifer, was one of the big emotional pulls for me. They felt so close. People who knew each other, worked together, and frustrated each other in the way only truly close people can--with a terrible divide between them over the most basic questions about existence. When the actors feel the relationship beneath the text, that dialogue comes to life. It sparkles and pulls and shines. <br /><br />I think the play this scene is from, The Plan, is one of the most intellectually ambitious Mormon plays written...well, ever. The way he layers in Gabriel as the angel who protected the mammals when the dinosaurs die: that blew my mind. The play "Inherit the Wind" argues that science and religion can co-exist--then Samuelsen walks along and has Punctuated Equilibrium and Genesis dance. <br /><br />I get that this isn't everyone's favorite piece of theater. But I think there's a lot there that you miss in a quick read with an eye toward critique. Figuring out how the piece can work and the ideas it plays with when it does...it's beautiful. It's stayed with me for years since I first ran across it. James Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post-90694543065516517252015-02-11T11:50:57.941-07:002015-02-11T11:50:57.941-07:00I agree that though I appreciated the interesting ...I agree that though I appreciated the interesting view on so often used a topic, I found the actual writing kind of flat. However, I wonder if that was on purpose. I think about conversations I have with those I care about who have gone astray and I think those conversations go different for everyone. Maybe the lack of emotion was an opportunity for those reading to input their personal emotion and method of discussing a heartbreaking situation.Paige Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11247954231648357794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post-5411185582843570002015-02-10T18:03:05.527-07:002015-02-10T18:03:05.527-07:00I hadn't thought of the different mediums that...I hadn't thought of the different mediums that this story could have been delivered in. I think the play format offers the immediate character interaction Samuelson may have been going for, but I also think an essay might have been better as well. Also, props for reading it out loud. It really does enable better feedback to the work as a play.Natalie Cheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10251408793266482686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post-22984526890138227182015-02-10T16:47:53.440-07:002015-02-10T16:47:53.440-07:00I also agree that the dialogue was awkward in this...I also agree that the dialogue was awkward in this play. It was an interesting idea, but I think the dialogue distracts from its potential.Hillaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18146540454666218404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3193051508933511187.post-36486552695582942922015-02-10T12:09:13.399-07:002015-02-10T12:09:13.399-07:00Ha ha yeah it was an interesting one, huh? I love ...Ha ha yeah it was an interesting one, huh? I love that you "acted out" the play. I think that reading it, acting it out, and listening to it give us such different interpretations of the play. And I think by acting it out, you quickly realized how awkward the dialogue was. I agree that a short story might have been a better approach.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02902927465722295043noreply@blogger.com