The Saint Plays

The Saint Plays
Fall 2015

Directed by Catharine Slusar, The Saint Plays was presented in special arrangement with AOI International.

What will we sacrifice for our beliefs?

Bryn Mawr and Haverford College Bi-Co Theater Production of Erik Ehn’s The Saint Plays Explores Faith, Sacrifice, and Spiritual Gatherings, Nov. 13-15, 19-21, 2015, 7:30 p.m., Hepburn Teaching Theater

The Theater Program of Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges (Mark Lord, Chair) presents four selections from Erik Ehn’s collection of short plays, The Saint Plays, directed by Catharine K. Slusar, a Barrymore Award-winning Philadelphia actor and director and assistant professor in the Bryn Mawr College Theater Program. Playwright Erik Ehn has written more than 150 Saint Plays, loosely based on the lives of saints, of which the program will present four: Wholly Joan, The Freak Thistle, and Tree of Hope, Stand Firm. Of Ehn’s work, Bonnie Marranca, in Plays for the End of the Century, notes, “His joyful drama sings the praises of the poetic voice and image in portraits of people crafted like beautiful holy cards."

In a confluence of forces this fall, Philadelphia emerged as the center of a temporary but powerful spiritual vortex—visited by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of his pilgrims in September and then by representatives of the Dalai Lama and many Buddhist followers as he was honored at the Constitution Center in October. Curious as to what brings people to make sacrifices and journey long distances to witness or partake in these spiritual gatherings, Slusar sought to investigate the extreme sacrifice and faith exemplified in the lives of saints in Ehn’s works. She explains, “Ehn takes the lives of saints and explodes them, putting them into a contemporary or popular context mixed with a dash of mysticism. These plays are about devotion, faith, and the imagination. They ask us to investigate our notion of self, and what we will sacrifice for our beliefs.”

The Creative Team

Mark Lord, Producer
Catharine K. Slusar, Director
Maiko Matsushima, Scenic and Costume Designer
Justin McDaniel, Technical Director
Amy Radbill, Production Manager and Props Designer
Henry Bradford, Assistant Technical Director
Amelia Couderc (BMC ’16), Assistant Director
Kristin Kury (BMC ’16), Assistant Director
Saskia Levy-Sheon (BMC ’16), Assistant Director
Alexandra Seits (BMC ’16), Assistant Director
Erin Romano (BMC ’18), Stage Manager
Mark Valenzuela, Sound Designer
Alec MacLaughlin, Composer
Lily Fossner, Lighting Designer
Sam Wall (BMC ’16), Master Electrician
Paige Toft (BMC ’16), Sound Assistant, Scenic Assistant
Maya Neville (BMC ’16), Assistant Production Manager

Featuring
Patrick Adams (HC ’19)
Cathy Campo (BMC ’19)
Amelia Couderc (BMC ’16)
Miciah Foster (BMC ’19)
Yuri Hamashima (BMC ’17)
Tian Jin (HC ’17)
Rory Kennison (HC ’18)
Kristin Kury (BMC ’16)
Saskia Levy-Sheon (BMC ’16)
Precious Robinson (HC ’16)
Erin Romano (BMC ’18)
Alexandra Seits (BMC ’16)
Tom Sternberg (HC ’17)
Roz Sullivan-Lovett (HC ’19)
Sandra Torres (BMC ’19)
Jill Zimmerman (HC ’19)