Enbrethiliel of Sancta Sanctis has an idea for a play that I whole-heartedly endorse.
I think that instead of the usual picketing and boycotting and letter-writing and all the other boring ways of protesting this, we Catholics should do something more fun and creative. We should write and produce a play of our own, something that reflects our values, and call it . . . The Virgin Monologues. It will be easy to find characters, as we have a calendar full of virgin saints. What will be more difficult is writing lines for them–which is why I’m not going to attempt it. The idea is here for anyone else who wants to try.
Maybe there are some aspiring Catholic playwrights who could write a play based on this idea. A series of monologues from various virgins and Saints could be really interesting. The question begged to be asked though if somebody did write a professionally written play like this (and I am not talking about schlock like the writing in the Left Behind movie), I wonder if any Catholic school would produce it. Unfortunately most of what is going on as theater today has the literary equivalence of a MTV produced half-time show.
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Funny, I actually pitched a project like that to two Catholic publishers and was turned down.
THere is a great chapter in a book by Kathleen Norris titled “The VIrgin Martyrs”. I think it is in either Cloister Walk or Amazing Grace. Well worth reading.
I love the idea of someone writing “The Virgin Monologues”. It would a daunting task for a new writer like myself. I’ve only written a few children’s plays (unpublished). I always thought that if I were to become a serious writer it would be about the lives of saints. However, this idea is motivating me and I agree it would be a refreshing change from letter writing and boycotting.