Last Thursday, I joined local theater-goers by flocking to Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, just about a mile away from Moravian’s campus, to see the first staged reading of A Resting Place by playwright Alison Carey.
Moravian’s own Christopher Shorr directed the reading. He synopsized the play as follows:
“A loving mother decides to break ground for a memorial to the long-dead of our nation's bloodiest conflict. But when she digs up more than she expects, Bethlehem present comes face to face with Bethlehem past, our cemeteries give up their precious stories, and soldiers, students, travelers and clowns mark moments on our long, shared journey. After a hundred and fifty years, can the Civil War finally be put to rest?”
The purpose of the reading was to get feedback from the audience about what they thought worked and what they thought didn’t work. Carey, the playwright, was there and took suggestions from the audience after the reading and will consider some of them to be worked into the play.
Along with Shorr, several Moravian students and faculty members participated in the reading, including Dr. Christopher Jones, Phillip Wallens ’13, Justin Kiefer ’14, and Michael Wisnosky ’15.
A Resting Place is part of collaboration between the Moravian College Theatre Company and Touchstone Theatre with the City of Bethlehem and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership and it will conclude their yearlong commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
This was the first of two play readings; the second will be November 20th at 7 p.m. at Touchstone Theatre. On April 12 – 15, a fully staged production of the play will be performed; the time and location of the performance are to be determined.
Although it is still a work in progress, A Resting Place has the potential to be a great show. I personally enjoyed it, as did most of the 40 or so people who also attended the reading.
The plot has some interesting twists and turns and tells a great story. The play also could use a few tweaks, including more character development and tying a few loose ends in the plot.
Audience members gave great suggestions and it will be interesting to see how some of them will be incorporated into future productions of the play.
Moravian’s own Christopher Shorr directed the reading. He synopsized the play as follows:
“A loving mother decides to break ground for a memorial to the long-dead of our nation's bloodiest conflict. But when she digs up more than she expects, Bethlehem present comes face to face with Bethlehem past, our cemeteries give up their precious stories, and soldiers, students, travelers and clowns mark moments on our long, shared journey. After a hundred and fifty years, can the Civil War finally be put to rest?”
The purpose of the reading was to get feedback from the audience about what they thought worked and what they thought didn’t work. Carey, the playwright, was there and took suggestions from the audience after the reading and will consider some of them to be worked into the play.
Along with Shorr, several Moravian students and faculty members participated in the reading, including Dr. Christopher Jones, Phillip Wallens ’13, Justin Kiefer ’14, and Michael Wisnosky ’15.
A Resting Place is part of collaboration between the Moravian College Theatre Company and Touchstone Theatre with the City of Bethlehem and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership and it will conclude their yearlong commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
This was the first of two play readings; the second will be November 20th at 7 p.m. at Touchstone Theatre. On April 12 – 15, a fully staged production of the play will be performed; the time and location of the performance are to be determined.
Although it is still a work in progress, A Resting Place has the potential to be a great show. I personally enjoyed it, as did most of the 40 or so people who also attended the reading.
The plot has some interesting twists and turns and tells a great story. The play also could use a few tweaks, including more character development and tying a few loose ends in the plot.
Audience members gave great suggestions and it will be interesting to see how some of them will be incorporated into future productions of the play.
Thank you for telling us about this performance and providing info on the next reading. What other plays has Alison Carey written?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what else Carey has written. If I find out, I'll mention it when I cover the upcoming showings of the play.
ReplyDelete