AML Writers Conference

The 2007 AML Writers Conference will be held at the Salt Lake Community College Redwood Campus Student Center on 10 November 2007. Speakers include Robert Kirby (keynote), Dave Wolverton, Tim Slover, Margaret Blair Young, Rick Walton, Jim Bell, Chris Bigelow, as well as a panel discussion between Bruce Jorgensen and Neal Kramer.

This conference is free for students as long as you register to be an AML member. (You don't need to pay the membership dues either.) Preregistration deadline is 27 October. A link to the online registration form, a page listing speakers and links to information about them, and directions and parking information for the conference can be found at http://www.mormonletters.org/events/aml2007wcreg.html

Thorns and Thistles Review

As you may have heard, we're trying an experiment this year at BYUAML where members can review Mormon arts related events they attend. If you send a review to me, I'll post it on the blog. To jump start things, we gave out two sets of free tickets to the New Play Project's fall religious play set Thorns and Thistles. Here's our first review from Elizabeth Obreza.

The New Play Project’s “Thorns and Thistles” series of short plays made me consider the significance of Mormon culture. During the first two years of my membership in the Church I was able to avoid Mormon culture almost completely. I focused so much on learning about my new faith and commitments that I didn’t usually notice the oddities and complexities of LDS culture. Now I realize that the LDS faith is not in a vacuum, but rather directly tied to Mormon culture, for better and for worse.

“Thorns and Thistles” equally explored the irritation and anguish associated with various forms of human trials. The writers also complicated LDS culture in a way that I have never seen in a dramatic performance, or even in literature. The Church can polarize people of different opinions inside an outside of the faith. It was refreshing to examine those polarizations head on. It was also interesting to see dramatic responses to the Sunday school answers to questions about faith, missionary work, and God’s will. New Play Project writers were bold in that way.

The audience was disappointing. One short called “Based on True-ish Stories” showed the spiritual quest of a Catholic girl trying to understand her own belief in God. There were several characters of different faiths explaining their beliefs. The audience laughed at inappropriate moments, when the characters were explaining their “untruish” beliefs. Maybe this was the writer’s intention. Maybe she wanted to make the audience feel like laughing and then wonder “why did I laugh?” Therein is the reason the world, especially the LDS world, needs more exposure to LDS plays. One character in another short was a bishop, and as part of his monologue he bore his testimony. The woman sitting next to me said “amen” at the end and then laughed at herself. When considering Mormon culture, we have to ready and willing to laugh at ourselves before laughing at anyone else.

Guest Lecture: Scott Bronson

Back in the 80s, Chiam Potok came to BYU. In his presentation he said that nothing is so sacred that a respectful discussion of it should be banished from our literature. Is there a way to address even our most deeply felt and cherished doctrines and beliefs without breaking covenants?

J. Scott Bronson will be speaking on this topic in relation to modern Mormon drama and playwriting. Scott is a Mormon actor and dramatist (playwright), and as I hear, a very interesting lecturer. The lecture is tomorrow, October 9th, at 7 pm in B092 JFSB. See you all there!