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Hi, this is my third post for my Artist in Residency project for Spark and Echo. To recap, I chose Luke 22:14-48, which covers The Last Supper because it’s the ultimate dinner party. I’m attempting to create a communal evening of theatre, food, improvisation, and game playing based on these selected passages.

Find the complete progression of the work linked below.

Luke 22:14-48

Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 3

Don Nguyen

Credits:

Curated by:

Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence

2015

Theatre

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

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September 28, 2015

The biggest obstacle I’m running into now is fear. The fear of it not working. The fear of it not being interesting and illuminating. And because this is the first time I’ve ever created an interactive evening of theatre, my biggest fear is whether or not I’m doing this right. Just conceptualizing the evening has shown that there are many rabbit holes to go down. I’m not worried about going down a rabbit hole, but rather am I’m worried about not going down the best rabbit hole.

But then I tell myself it’s okay. Accept that fear. Instead of debilitating me, I need to let it free me. Just like how I approach writing plays, I need to give myself permission to write/create that really bad first draft. Have faith in the unknown.

In my last post, I looked at the string of events occurring in the last supper. I thought that was the key to making an enthralling evening of theatre based on this iconic event. But upon further exploration, I realize now that equally if not more important is character. This is somewhat embarrassing for me to admit, since as a playwright, I should know this by now. But oftentimes it’s easy to forget, especially when you’re dealing with the Bible, which is so well known and so epic in nature. But here I am, now realizing that we need to know who these twelve apostles are, and who they were. Before Jesus asked them to follow him, they were ordinary men. Men who were not perfect, and I find this really intriguing. Perhaps the evening is about getting to know them better?

In the book TWELVE ORDINARY MEN by John MacCarthur, he explains these apostles as disciples who “spanned the political spectrum. One was a former Zealot – a radical determined to overthrow Roman rule. But another has been a tax collector-virtually a traitor to the Jewish nation and in collusion with Rome. At least four and possibly seven were fishermen and close friends from Capernaum, probably having known one another from childhood.”

So, I’m just going let go of my fear and make some specific decisions, regardless if they work or not. So for the first time, I’m sharing the “script” of how the evening will work.

You’re at your computer. You are making a reservation for “The Supper” an interactive evening of theatre and food. You submit your reservation.
You immediately receive an email confirmation, which states that you need to bring one ingredient and that will serve as your ticket.
When you arrive at the performance, you check in at the front desk with your ingredient. You will be given a drink (beer, wine, soda).
You are then greeted with a “garden show” performed by the actors playing the apostles. This garden show can consist of anything: songs, dance, poetry, etc.
After the garden show, you can/will mingle with the actors.
The actors (he or she) will not be in character. They will not tell you which apostle they are playing. You will spend fifteen minutes mingling with as many actors as possible.
Bread will be passed around the room. You will break off a piece. When all the bread is broken, the dinner will begin.
You are seated around “the table” and mixed in with the apostles.
The chef creates a secret menu for the evening. The chef assigns each guest one ingredient to bring and how much to bring. Any guests not assigned an ingredient brings some kind of dessert to share.
Three specific prompts for dinner conversation will be given. For example “taxing the rich” One of the apostles will start the conversation based on this prompt, all while giving clues as to who the apostle is. For example, the actor playing Matthew might say “you know what people hate more than tax? The person who collects it from them. That was me. The most hated man in the world.”
When the conversation has covered these three prompts, the apostles line up and the guests vote on which actor is playing which apostle.

So how does it end? That’s a good question. That’s something I don’t know right now. What’s clear to me is that this is going to be an ongoing process of trying it out, experimenting, and iterating through revisions. I expect the participants, both our dinner guests and our actors will play a big hand in shaping this piece, so that’s what I’ll plan for next, an actual tryout of this loose script. My hope is that my fourth post will include video footage from that trial run as well as post performance discussion. Til next time!

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