February 27, 2023
Jane Clark Schaal talks about her plays Sonne Le MatineeIn this work, the young Ignatius Loyola, Jean Calvin and François Rabelais become embroiled in a murder case in 1520s Paris.
Publisher description (from Wiseblood Books):
On a Mardi Gras night in 1520s Paris, college students Jean Calvin (founder of Calvinism and autocratic ruler of Geneva), Ignatius Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order of the Counter-Reformation), and their licentious friend François Rabelais (humanist novelist) are embroiled in a gruesome murder that may find one of them guilty. The ensuing investigation sparks a battle of wits and weapons, embroiling them in questions of justice and mercy, grace and sin, innocence, guilt, love and contempt. Before the bells of Lent ring, they must confront the darkest parts of their souls and find the courage to pursue the truth in a world that seems intent on obscuring it.
“Morning Song of Sonne” imagines what would happen if these three brilliant, wayward men were caught up in a heinous crime while their beliefs were tested. Allowed to their own devices, each character speaks in his own verse, giving the play the feel of a fierce sparring match between masters. Calvin’s rhymed verse playfully expresses the despair of struggling with doubts about God’s goodness and the possibility of freedom. Ignatius takes command in terse iambic tetrameter, revealing his history as a disciplined soldier, while his frequent alliteration reveals his passion for order. Rabelais uses iambic dimeter rhyming couplets to deliver vulgar, vulgar jokes that unexpectedly veer into profound meditations on the mysteries of God, creation, and grace.
link
Tickets for the March 8th New York performance
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sonnez-les-matines-march-8th-tickets-554768656987
Buy the text of the play https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/store/p127/Sonnez_Les_Matines%2C_a_Verse_Play_by_J.C._Scharl.html
“Dreams of the Cross: A New Translation” by Tessa Carman and JC Schaal
https://thelampmagazine.com/blog/the-dream-of-the-rood-a-new-translation
Jane’s Website https://jcscharl.com/
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