The Play's the Thing

Wow! That was one of the most intense 5 weeks of my life, but directing Rings of the Tree turned out to be one of the most delightful experiences I've ever had. It was one of those rare times where you get to do something for the sheer joy of doing it (free from feeling the pressure to try to please or impress someone else i.e. boss, coworkers, clients, professors etc.). I had nothing to prove and therefore simply enjoyed it!

One fun side note is that one of the official adjudicators from ACTF (college theater competition) was none other than my directing teacher from Rick's who is now the dean of BYU's theater department. The whole story came full circle!

Here are my Top 5 Moments with the play (I have 100's more)

1. During a dress rehearsal/ faculty review, just as the villain revealed his true identity. . . the power went out. The entire campus and the surrounding neighborhoods were completely black for hours. That’s taking the dramatic moment just a bit to far, don’t you think?

2. The most perfect impression of Mad Hatter from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland that I've ever seen. It came from our leading man, and my stage manager and I were laughing so hard that tears were rolling down our cheeks. I laughed more doing this play than I have in YEARS!

3. The costumes were gorgeous, but it was terribly amusing to watch the girl’s hoop skirts pop up and jerk to the side and rock every which way. They even brought them to their knees on occasion!

4.Talking incessantly with a British accents and saying very cool phrases like “blinding brilliant” and “gobsmacked” and "biting my arm off" etc. and having it all be official rehearsal behavior. Since it was still a work in progress we got to do a lot of shaping of the script---with the playwright's permission of course.

5. Watching the audience get sucked in to all the plot twists night after night and laugh and cry and come out saying “I wasn’t expecting anything like that!”
Also, watching the actors put heart, body and soul (several rehearsals ran until midnight and beyond) into pulling the whole thing together to create something exceptional.

A lovely, lovely experience. I will miss it!




Here are some reviews from a couple of contributors to the "Association of Mormon Letters- List" if you would care to peruse!

Rings of the Tree- a stage play
Reviewed by Nan Parkinson McCulloch

Thoroughly Mormon Mahonri has written a Victorian fantasy/romance premised with thoroughly Mormon theology. The best selling Victorian mystery writer Anne Perry, also a Mormon, unsuccessfully attempted to combine fantasy and Mormon theology in her epic fantasy, Tathea. Fortunately, Stewart's fantasy is less serious, faster moving and highly entertaining. Rings of The Tree has broad appeal. Folks from 8 to 80, especially feminists and young women will enjoy the play.

Who could write fantasy without symbolism and Stewart has served it up in abundance. We find ourselves searching to identify Holy and Heavenly persons holding the keys to our Eternal Life and their own. And we are introduced to those, otherworldly, who would thwart that plan.

The thought provoking plot twists and turns make the play interesting and keep the audience fully engaged. This is a play you can't leave at the theater, you take it home with you. Stewart has a gift for writing dialogue. His conversations are well thought out and go a long way in developing the characters. For an ensemble cast, I found all the characters surprisingly well developed.

This premier production of award winning playwright Mahonri Stewart's senior project, Rings of the Tree, is the first such project approved by UVSC since adding this new four year degree in theater. It was a significant event and a remarkable achievement for Stewart, the talented cast and the university. I was sincerely moved by Mahonri's play, which left it's unique ring around me...

A mini-review from James Goldberg:

I don't know if anyone else on the list got to see Mahonri's play, Rings of the Tree. I still am not over the high production quality...it says in the program his sister hadn't done theatre in ten years and came back to direct it...I wish that after ten years of almost-uninterrupted directing experience I was close to as good as that. Nice sets and costumes, crisp pacing, good work on the accents, excellent emotional connection for moving, realistic performances, nice little touches to accentuate the humor and the drama...it was just very, very good. Is it OK to ask Mahonri through the list if his sister's married? :) If not, you should send me her number off-list. ...just kidding...but only sort-of...:)

Not that we should neglect the talents of Mr. Stewart himself, who not only wrote, but also acted the villain in his own play. And (since this is a writing, not performance list) managed to put together an engaging period / fantasy / sci-fi (it's not really time travel, but seems like it) / romance piece that doubles as a theological thriller. (Mahonri: my favorite part was probably when she's crying on the floor "Forever in my sins...forever in my sins")

So...for those of you who missed out: sorry. It's theatre so you'll never get to see it quite like that again. Still, I thought I'd briefly share one of those experiences where you find out there's a lot more to Provo Theatre than apparent at first glance. <

Shakespearan Festival Speed Through

During one of our last dress rehersals for the play, we had two UVSC professors come in and give me feedback. They told me that we needed to pick up the pace and recommended doing a speed throughs (doing the play as if you were pressing a fast-forward button). It was hilarious and really helped.

During this time, I also went down to Ceder City for the Shakepearan Festival with my friends LauraLee, Kelsey and Deah, and the best way that I can describe that experience is that it was just like a speed through.

We got a late start and so we got down to Ceder City speedily (if not quite legally)and arrived to get a blank stare at will-call when I tried to pick up our tickets for Candida, the Matchmaker and King Lear. They looked and looked and couldn't find the reservation that I'd made. Apparently, the woman who took the reservation booked me for July instead of August. But it had a happy ending because they gave us house seats for all the shows that were much better than what I'd orginally purchased.

The next morning we sped off to Zion and climbed Angel's Landing. Holding on to a chain with sheer drops on either side of me, I started to wonder if it was such a good idea, but Kelsey was the perfect coach and got me to the top and an amazing view. Getting behind some slow moving vehicles on the way out necessitated another speedy return to Ceder City (Kelsey said she just stopped looking at the speedometer) and we ran into our matinee (literally) in all of our hiking glory.

Before King Lear, we had to stop at my favorite store on earth, Maurice's--the Ceder City version. Their clothes fit perfectly and last forever, so I got down to business pretty quickly. They kept the store open an hour late for us and then we ran (again literally) into the theater for the last play.

The plays were really well done--all totally different from each other--and the company was the best. I've always wanted to go on a road trip with Deah and LauraLee together because they are better than a comedy team. All three of them fit the bill perfectly for travelling companions--adventerous, easy-going and great chatters. I came home exhausted but having had a great time.

Blonde Moments

In the past I've been accused of being a bit of a "blonde" (especially when it came to blenders and gas pumps), but just as I was beginning to think those days were over, my air-heady side resurged. I had pulled into my parking space and was hurrying inside when I realized that I'd left something in the trunk. I turned around to see my car rolling out of its stall like a slow motion sequence in a movie. I panicked and tried to jump in to put on the breaks, but while I had neglected to put my car in park, I had locked the doors. It was up to one of the neighbor's cars to stop its get away. Yikes!


But my blonde moment was completely eclipsed by a story my stage manager told me about a girl she works with named Sarah. This Sarah was getting a pedicure and asked the technician where he was from. When he told her he was from Viet Nam, she responded "That's not a place. It's a war!" She proceeded to argue about it and was only convinced when she went home and did a Google search on it!

Dating Scared

Most people who know me know that I've never really enjoyed dating. I always felt it was a truly less effective way for me to get to know someone and for them to get to know me. It wasn't a huge deal. Some people don't like chocolate, some people don't like hot weather--I didn't like to date. I always thought I'd just have to meet my husband some other way.

But then, about a couple of months ago while I was running with one of my oldest friends, telling her about my latest lunch date, she started asking me all kinds of questions. She finally told me, "What you are experiencing is anxiety."

I was shocked. She gave me a booklet to read and it was like reading a collection of inner thoughts I'd never verbalized. VERY strange, but it was also a relief to know that it wasn't just the way I was wired--my tendency of having a headache and wanting to go home an hour into the date--it had a name. And somehow, I felt like if it had a name, I could do something about it. But the solution! To get over anxiety you have to do the thing you are scared of over and over again until you prove to yourself it isn't the monster you think it is.

That was the last thing I wanted to hear, but after a very long and honest talk with my sister-in-law (in which she shot holes through all my excuses) I decided to bite the bullet. I wasn't about to suffer this for the rest of my life, so I did the very scariest thing I could think of. I went online.

I've always said that I would rather be single for the rest of my life than do that. The thought of advertising myself and shopping for men went against every ounce of romance I had. Yuck! But I also didn't want to be a slave to fear, so I just took a deep breath and did it.

I'll be totally honest--it has become pure entertainment. Some of it is so breathtakingly cheesy, like the drop-down menu of smiles under categories of "casual" "flirty" and "pick-up lines." The things people put (or don't put) on their profiles is astonishing, but I just make myself send out about 10 messages a week as my self-assigned "therapy session."

I don't expect anything from it, so maybe that is why it's become so funny to me. I've looked through profiles of people I knew and didn't recognize them. I've had someone track me down on another site because he didn't pay to email on the first one. I've had people ask if they could write me back if the relationship they were persuing didn't work out. It's an adventure in cyberspace. I've also emailed some nice people and maybe someday I'll work up the courage to meet them in the flesh (baby steps! :)) but I'm definiately not scared of it anymore.

So just another evidence of my long held belief that you should never say never--because God loves that kind of a joke!

Rings of the Tree

I recently went to a play with a friend of mine, and she was shocked to find out about my theatrical past. My original plan was for a double major in English and Theater, but by the end of my second year at Ricks I had decided against it. Ironically, that same semester, I was taking a directing class and my professor took me aside and told me that I had a real talent for directing. I was flattered (he was an amazing director himself and never gave out false praise) but still felt like that part of my life had come to a close.

I have been a faithful audience member ever since (except for performing in the Easter Pageant in Arizona) until a couple of weeks ago, when my brother asked me to direct his senior project at UVSC, a play he'd written called Rings of the Tree. At first I was really unsure, work was really hectic and I knew that committing to a play is like taking on a second full-time job. Besides, I hadn't been directly involved in a play for 13 years! But after I read the script, I couldn't resist. A Jane Austen-style romance with a twist? It was just too tempting! The things my brothers get me to do!

I've slipped into it like I'd never been away. The cast is good, the script is good and I have an amazing stage manager who takes care of all the pesky logistics so that I am free to be creative. I've been having a blast with it (although I AM tired) and have laughed until my sides hurt. I'd forgotten how fun drama-people are!

I'd love for everyone to come and see it. It plays from September 6-8 at 7:30 (with an additional 2 pm matinee on Saturday the 8th) at the Black Box at UVSC. You can get tickets by calling the Campus Connection 801-863-8337 or at the door. Other runs of his plays have sold out, so come a little earlier if you want to get them at the door.

Waiting for Harry

In 1999 one of my students came up to me and uttered the fateful words, "I think you should read this book Miss Stewart." The same week, one of my best book-recommending friends said essentially the same thing. And thus Harry, Ron and Hermoine entered into my life. The best part for me is the plot twists. I've read so much that I can usually detect even the slightest hint of foreshadowing and predict what will happen, but Rowling has "gotten" me several times over.

Awaiting Amazon to deliever my copy of Book 7 had me slightly panicked. I think that it is EVIL to tell someone the end of a book, and I was terrified someone was going to blurt something out and ruin 9 years of waiting! I avoided the media and public places, but had to make copies the night before. The girls there were talking LOUDLY about how they knew the ending and just wanted to tell it to people because they were being so ridiculous. I almost walked out of the store, but settled for humming very loudly to myself to block out their voices.

I spent the evening and next morning reading on-line plot summaries (I'd listened to No. 3 again--my favorite) and reading the last part of No.6 in preparation. When I went to mail my bills, I saw the mailman at our boxes and my breath caught in my throat. Nothing was in my box, so I went up and asked him, "Have you done this side yet?" He hadn't and I just stood there, deciding whether it would be ridiculous to wait. Finally he asked me, with an understanding smile, if I was waiting for something in particular. I blurted out, "Yes, my Harry Potter book!"

Like Santa in his sleigh, he rummaged through his many white boxes and drew one out with my name on it. He said he had to wait until he got home to read his, and I nodded sympathetically and clutched my book even closer as I walked away. I then proceeded to ignore anything I could (I had to teach Sunday School and RS the next day--poor planning!) and stayed up late into the night devouring the story.

I did actually guess one of the main twists (I've had six books to catch on to her style) but did enjoy it throughly and want to read again, slower this time, and enjoy it without feeling the desperate, "Hurry up, before someone spills the beans!"

And thus the end of a book era!

Independence Day

I love Provo on the 4th of July because it FEELS like a holiday. As I ran in the Freedom 10K along blocked off University Avenue, I looked up to see hot air balloons sailing above us and it felt different. To leisurely chat with my friends as we ran down a street, normally clogged with traffic, passing people of all ages, genders and races sitting outside(have you noticed how no one really sits outside anymore?) took me out of my normal thought patterns and I started noticing things.

I noticed how breathtaking the crevice in the mountains above the temple is. I've looked at it a million times, but yesterday, I really SAW it and it stunned me.

I noticed how much more supportive people are of the armed forces. Or maybe it just feels different to me because I've close friends whose husband's have been deployed, but I noticed that people stood and cheered for the military and the flag in a more heartfelt way than before. The patriotic songs and the pledge of alligence also seem more meaningful to people. On the other hand, I noticed that people don't seem to know our public officials very well (maybe I observed it more since my dad was in the parade.)

I noticed how much little kids enjoy things. My niece was waving to all the royalty on the floats in the parade and would say excitedly, "The princess waved back!" All the little kids disappeared into the backyard during my sister and brother-in-law's family BBQ and wouldn't desert the slip n' slide even for the amazing food.

I noticed how much more fun events are when you have good seats. To watch the parade with my sister and her family from shaded bleachers and be on the 4th row for the Stadium of Fire with another sister made both of those events. I've never been one to pay more money for better seats, but I may have changed my mind. Thanks Dad!

I also noticed that Disney music seems as "american" as "America, the Beautiful" to me and is the ideal background music for a fireworks show.

Anyway, I'm glad for all that things that made me feel unusually grateful for my home in this country--shaken out of my normal complacency and entitlement attitudes and that made me want to say, "May God continue to bless America!"

Aspen Grove

Aspen Grove 06, Provo Canyon, Utah - May 2007
Originally uploaded by Mr_Stein

I just arrived home from a family reunion Aspen Grove (a family camp in the mountains). All of my siblings and their children were there as well as their spouses (off and on) reaching a grand total 57 people.

I got a sense of what a Stewart-ville would be like because our cabins we clustered together. I even started naming areas as Browning Blvd., Whiting’s Way, Rust Road, Shelley Street etc. Every night, when the little ones were all in bed, we congregated under the starry skies, eating bags of candy generously supplied by my sister Anna, and talked late into the night while we searched the sky for satellites. It was lovely.

One of the most interesting daytime activities was put together by my sister Martha. She had us all try to guess each other's love languages, then set up a competition where we were supposed to actively communicate with each other in the way that person felt loved.

Like learning a spoken language, it took effort and produced some awkward moments, but it was amazing to see how a person would light up when you did an act of service or melted when you gave them a hug if their love language was physical touch. My love languages are quality time (spending time doing things I want to do) and words of affirmation (but only if they feel sincere!) so of course a reunion is a perfect place for me to “feel the love.”

When I was small, I remember a primary leader asking all the children who had pioneer ancestors to raise their hands. I slumped in my seat thinking “I wish I had pioneer ancestors.” As an adult I discovered that I did have them and they are fascinating. One great-great grandfather helped build the Nauvoo temple and another one was a sea captain who was the leader of the first group Saints to come to Salt Lake from Holland.

So, I did a “Meet the Ancestors” session and told the life-stories of those two pioneer ancestors. My siblings and especially my in-laws got major “quality time” points for letting me do that, and afterwards my brother Mark did an internet training on genealogy.

Other highlights were doing Dance Dance Revolution, hiking to Stewart Falls, taking a quiz on dad for Father’s Day, sharing a cabin with my sister Becky and her kids, making earrings with Martha and watching all the cousins interact with each other. I didn’t even mind the bug infested bathrooms; it was so wonderful to be in nature with my favorite people!

New Things

I've never been the kind of person that picks up new things easily. Whether it's a dance step, a new recipe, or figuring out my cell phone, where others soar, I have a long climb up a very steep mountain before getting it right.

Figuring out this blog has been no different, despite the patience and longsuffering of my sister Naoma in helping me, I'd no sooner get it pulled together than I'd lose it (several times over). The upside to my incompetance, however, in that once I do figure it out, I tend to remember it forever.

When people suggested trying blogging, I said I couldn't ever imagine doing it (mostly because I'd have to go to the trouble of figuring out how to do it) but I've enjoyed friend's and family's blogs so much that I'm taking the plunge. I like the set-up where you get to talk about what you are thinking about instead of giving a running update of everything going on in your life (like I always seem to feel I need to do in an email update). Also, only the people who want to read it will read it.

As a child, I had a deep and abiding aversion to change and new experiences (I had a nervous breakdown every time my parents talked about moving which happened at least twice a year), but as I get older I developed strange cravings for "something new" so I am officially setting foot on previously unchartered territory.