To Serve or Not to Serve, That Is The Question

BYU’s Motto, “Enter to Learn Go Forth to Serve” is a standard I try to attain in all aspects of my study at BYU, including theatre. I am proud to support Young Company as they have already begun to showcase The Glorious Story Emporium in public schools through Young Company tours.

Glorious Story Emporium Photography by Savanna Richardson/BYU

My first foray into making a conscious effort to serve came during elementary school. Our school offered free lunch, school supplies, dentistry and even a Santa Claus for those in need. We dutifully lined up with our empty lunch trays, smiling teeth, or desires to sit on Santa’s lap. I knew that my mom, as one of Santa’s seamstresses, was only making some homemade bathrobes and cloth toys this year, so I stayed after school to get a gift, perhaps a game that the whole family could share. I saw a doll in the pile and hoped Santa’s elves would remember that my little brothers had fed last year’s Christmas gift of a Tenderlove Babydoll to the dog…it was still missing an arm.

But no, I was given a scruffy Cookie Monster that had seen better days. Its fur was matted, and the stuffing was bulging in the wrong places, but I discovered on the walk home that it was also a puppet. And what would have been a defect (the ripped hole in his mouth) actually brought some giggles to my younger siblings as I showed them it could “eat” socks and other small objects.

Despite the laughter, I wasn’t feeling the Christmas spirit – not until my mom, Santa’s helper, made an urgent announcement: the dad of one of our family’s friends (with six kids) had just lost his job and they had come to accept there would be no presents that Christmas.

This would never do! All of our family sprang into action scurrying around the house for what we could put together! My prized marble collection, won by sheer grit, was wrapped up in a pillowcase for the boy my age.

My baby doll crib was turned sideways and with 3 dollies from the dollar store and a home sewn blanket, that took care of three more gifts for their little girls. I don’t remember how it all worked out, but somehow each of their kids got a gift and my mom put together a food basket for the parents.

Parents, Center; L->R: Julie, Dave, Josh, Bill, Becca, Sam, Pollyanna.

My favorite part was the "ding-dong ditch" with our whole family. We dropped off the goods, rang the doorbell, and raced around the corner to our “getaway car.” We made it home in time to hear the family we helped call to share the good news! Of course, the Old and the New Testaments tell us that Christ is the good news. Yet this example of service, that comes seemingly magically out of nowhere, no matter what current circumstances are, has stuck with me. Since then, there have been many Christmas Ding Dong Ditches with my parents and my siblings.

And now that I’m married, we’re continuing the tradition into the next generation, ding-dong ditching a family in need, while Santa and his elves magically deliver our own presents back at home under the Christmas Tree.

Service to others, instilled at a young age, such as that of the audience of The Glorious Story Emporium can last a lifetime. The Young Company’s cast is also a young group of youth dedicated to serving their community, performing shows for local public schools. Bonnie L. Oscarson spoke this month in General Conference for the LDS Church regarding service:

I have a tremendous love for and faith in those of you who are in your teen and young adult years. I have seen and felt of your desires to serve and make a difference in the world. I believe that most members consider service to be at the heart of their covenants and discipleship. But I also think that sometimes it’s easy to miss some of the greatest opportunities to serve others because we are distracted or because we are looking for ambitious ways to change the world and we don’t see that some of the most significant needs we can meet are within our own families, among our friends, in our wards, and in our communities.

So it is with great pleasure that the dramaturgy display for The Glorious Story Emporium is also expressly designed with a service component. The lobby display is not just a place to entertain your brain and start the audience thinking about stories, it holds material for a service project to help local needy families.

In addition to announcing the arrival of our traveling vaudeville improvisation troupe, the donated scraps of fabric for the banner will be washed, pieced, and sewn into quilts to help warm the hearts of local kids in need. Every month, in the non-profit group, “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” (SHP), an all-volunteer staff makes about 40 beds for children without beds in Utah. (Local chapters reach across the United States as well.)

Handmade quilts are a nice addition to the beds.

Beds are delivered, complete with quilts. A local Relief Society Humanitarian Aid organization [from Oak Hills 1st Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] meets weekly to piece together donated fabric scraps into quilts for various non-profits, one of which is Sleep in Heavenly Peace. You could say that each "piece" of fabric will bring "peace" to these kids through “Sleep in Heavenly Peace.” To learn how you can volunteer time or additional resources at Sleep in Heavenly Peace go to: http://www.shpbeds.org/

Sleep in Heavenly Peace volunteers build 40 beds/month for kids without beds in Utah.

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Simple is Best [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Indeed.[/caption] by Adam White, dramaturg I write this blog post on the day of final dress rehearsal, on the eve of opening night! Everyone involved in this production of A Man for All Seasons has done marvelous work; the set and costuming and make up are all beautiful, and the cast is eager to put their performance in front of a live audience. I guess one could wonder if a dramaturg would give anything but a glowing report of their play that's about to go up, but quite truthfully: I'm eager for you to see this play! On the subject of wanting you to see our production of A Man For All Seasons, I want to relay to you an interesting experience I had just two day ago. Every BYUarts theatre production gets a promotional video, and I was asked by the video makers in charge of the promotional video to be interviewed for the piece on A Man for All Seasons. I accepted, and when I was in the interview, they had two questions for me: 1.) What is A Man for All Seasons about? 2.) Why should people go see A Man for All Seasons? As a dramaturg, I had a great answer for number one. Summarizing the events of this play in an interesting way was no problem. But that second question? That question gave me the hardest time! In the interview moment I was so flustered by my lack of an a concise answer. I quickly babbled out some gibberish to the camera man, after which I apologized and told him if he needed something more intelligible he shouldn't hesitate to call me back. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed after the experience. Here's the thing: I'm the dramaturgy for this show. I should have some insight as to why people should go see this play (and I do). As I've thought about this experience and about my work as a dramaturg, I've come to the realize that in this situation what I needed was simplicity. Simple is best. See, during that brief interview with the promotional video guys, I was trying to make up a reason for people to see this show that sounded meaningful, or at least scholarly. That wasn't the right attitude for me at all because it meant that I was reaching beyond the play, maybe for selfish reasons, to lend what I deemed to be credibility to a piece of art that, maybe, doesn't need to be legitimized at all. I was being long-winded and downright silly. What the play really needed was for me to speak its simple 'truth.' To redeem myself a little bit and to put my new motto for dramaturgy into practice, I will tell you why I think people should see A Man for All Seasons. I firmly believe, in the words of Oscar Wilde, that "Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life." This play, this conflict between Thomas More, his family, and King Henry VIII, informs our understanding of what it means to have a conscience. Bolt challenges us to explore what it means to have an integrity and what having integrity means in our most intimate relationships. Also revealed in this play is the corrupting influence of political power. I think that every person grapples with these themes, experiences, and issues.A Man for All Seasons is an important play for people to see. The promotional video guys didn't end up using my interview for the promotional video. Frankly, I feel so relieved; it was awful. May you forego the trappings of intelligent-sounding language the next time you are in an interview. Enjoy the show!

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by Jessa Cunningham, dramaturg After the show wrapped up and people went their separate ways, Garret Rushforth, who played Wilbur, and I chatted and I asked him some questions about his experience with the play. What better way to gain insight about the show than from the actor who was in the thick of things from the very beginning? Here is what Garret had to say about this unique opportunity: Me: How was this experience of playing Wilbur? What was your Favorite aspect of it all? Garret: I loved playing Wilbur. My favorite aspect was discovering the character more and more each performance. I never really felt that I had learned all that the character had to offer. Me: What were some challenges that you faced while preparing for the show? Garret: A few of the challenges that I faced had to do primarily with transportation. My car tried to die a couple of times during the run. As far as developing the show goes, I found that the difficulties were mostly in finding the lines. Not simply reciting them, but discovering what was beneath them, motivating them and making them come to life. Me: What lessons have you learned from playing this part, or just from the play in general? Garret: I've learned that there is an amazing opportunity to find out about yourself from the character discovery process. I also learned how much a family the cast can become if given the opportunity. Me: What is your favorite part of this story? Garret: I love when Wilbur and Charlotte talk about Charlotte's death and Wilbur is so devastated. It showed how deep Wilbur's reliance on Charlotte was as well as his desire to help her too. Me: As you leave this production, what will stay with you? Garret: The friendships I've made and the things that I've learned about myself because of the show. Me: What aspects of your character did you love/latch onto from the beginning? Garret: I latched onto the loneliness aspect of Wilbur's life. For all his life, he'd not been given much of a chance, Fern and Charlotte being the exceptions. He was written off by nearly everyone until Charlotte pointed out how special he is. Me: Any final thoughts you would like to share with those who came to the show? Garret: Charlotte's a web was a show that offered a unique view of friendship and family. It doesn't matter what someone looks like or where they're from, friendship and family can transcend all differences.

To Serve or Not to Serve, That Is The Question

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