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About this time a year ago, I was one of forty-eight playwrights commissioned by The Flea Theatre to write a short play in response to the York Mysteries Plays, a collection of forty-eight pageants which covered the sacred history of man from creation to the last judgement.

Find the complete progression of the work linked below.

Luke 22:14-48

Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 1

By 

Don Nguyen

Credits: 

Curated by: 

Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence

2015

Theatre

Image by Giorgio Trovato

Primary Scripture

When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles.
He said to them,
“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,


for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God’s Kingdom.”
He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said,
“Take this, and share it among yourselves,


for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.”
He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.


But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.


The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!”
They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
There arose also a contention among them, which of them was considered to be greatest.
He said to them,
“The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’


But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves.


For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn’t it he who sits at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.


But you are those who have continued with me in my trials.


I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,


that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The Lord said,
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat,


but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”
He said,
“I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times.”
He said to them,
“When I sent you out without purse, and wallet, and shoes, did you lack anything?”
They said, “Nothing.”
Then he said to them,
“But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.


For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’
For that which concerns me has an end.”
They said, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.”
He said to them,
“That is enough.”
He came out, and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him.
When he was at the place, he said to them,
“Pray that you don’t enter into temptation.”
He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed,
saying,
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.
Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief,
and said to them,
“Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He came near to Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said to him,
“Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Luke 22:14-48










April 20, 2015










About this time a year ago, I was one of forty-eight playwrights commissioned by The Flea Theatre to write a short play in response to the York Mysteries Plays, a collection of forty-eight pageants which covered the sacred history of man from creation to the last judgement. It was a daunting task for everyone involved and one of the most satisfying and fulfilling projects I’ve ever worked on. Along with over fifty actors, and our intrepid director Ed Iskander and equally intrepid dramaturge Jill Rafson, we created a stunning theatrical evening, lasting five hours with two intermissions. During the two intermissions, dinner and dessert was served to the audience by the cast. These intermissions not only served as meal breaks for the audience, but also a way to interact with the cast members, who were not in character during the break. To experience this as an audience member, this act of breaking bread with actors who are not only serving you your meal, but serving you a full evening of theatre, was, shall I say, divine. This is not a new form of theatre. Many theatres and many productions have done this in the past. But there is something quite different that happens to the audience during this specific interaction with the cast. We are making eye contact with them, talking to them about their day, and accepting a plate of falafel and hummus from them with the same gratitude of a neighbor being invited over for dinner. You are instantly connected to and invested in the cast and you are ready and willing to follow them anywhere, and the dreaded sound of a five hour play suddenly becomes inviting and exciting. So exciting in fact, that I saw the show five times. But what does this have to do with my project? Well, I’m certainly not going create a five hour evening of theatre. But I do envision breaking bread with the audience.


What I propose is a communal evening of theatre, food, improvisation, and game playing based on a section of the Bible. I chose Luke 22:14-48, which covers The Last Supper because it’s the ultimate dinner party. What I envision, and this pushes us into “over-ambitious, likely to fail” territory, is an evening of intimate communal theatre, one that involves a small audience, say, twelve people. And perhaps during the course of the evening, a light meal is served. And perhaps during the meal, each person has to guess who will be Judas. Will it be the person to my right? The person sitting across from me? Will it be me?


As I write this, other possibilities come to mind. Perhaps each dinner guest has a menu with personality traits on it that they have to embody. Maybe there are prompts with simple goals that each dinner guest must bring up and try to achieve. There are so many different ways to approach this. The trick is in finding the most interesting and satisfying solution.


Throughout the life of this project, I will be broadening my understanding of theatre improv and game theory and attempt to bring them together to design a short evening of entertainment and (hopefully) illumination. The theme(s) of the project are not yet set. I think I’m going to allow the themes to reveal itself during the process of creating the evening, and I’ll be documenting that creative process along the way. I expect to go down rabbit holes that lead nowhere. And I will document that as well. Nothing here is proven, and I’m not sure of the outcome. But I am sure that you will at least see the process laid out throughout the year, and hopefully break bread with me one of these evenings.



See the upcoming production of Don’s work The Red Flamboyant

with Spark+Echo Arts’ partners, Firebone Theater.

April 24-May 15, 2015




Samples of Don’s previous work:


(Photo from aerial workshop of THE IMAGINARY ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS)



(Photo from SOUND at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival)



(My Million Spectacular Moments, Don’s previous work for Spark+Echo Arts)

Spark Notes

The Artist's Reflection

Don Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, grew up in Nebraska, and now currently resides in New York City. As a playwright, Don has written several full-length plays including: SOUND, a sign language play which was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and was previously developed at The Playwrights Realm. Don’s first full-length play RED FLAMBOYANT was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and was both a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival as well as the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. THE MAN FROM SAIGON has been developed at Naked Angels and was a NYSAF Founders Award recipient. THE COMMENCEMENT OF WILLIAM TAN was developed at New York Stage and Film and was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Don was also recently one of 48 playwrights commissioned for The Flea Theater’s 5 1/2 hour epic production of The Mysteries, directed by Ed Iskander, which was a stage adaptation of the Bible. Don is a proud member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, a member of the inaugural Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater in New York and served five years as artistic director for The Shelterbelt Theatre. Don is also a frequent volunteer for the 52nd Street Project.


Website: thenuge.com



Don Nguyen

About the Artist

Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 2

Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 3

Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen

My Million Spectacular Moments

Don Nguyen

Other Works By 

To follow the developmental process of Don's play read his second, third and final posts as a 2015 Artist in Residence.

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