Hi, I'm Mel. I'm a playwright, screenwriter, and sometime novelist. I'm female (Mel is short for Melissa), single, and 31. Originally from Hau'ula, HI, my family now calls Provo home. A BYU alumna (BA in English), I just finished grad school (MFA from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop) so I'm presently looking for gainful employment to support my theatre habit. I love history and that tends to reflect in my work, though I have a goal right now to take a stab at comedy. In general, I love a good story, and genre doesn't really matter as long as the story is told well.

I've been lurking on the AML list since I discovered a review online for one of my shows in 2002, though now I've gone official, membership and all. Glad to be here!

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Melissa Leilani Larson

"Pinky, there're casseroles on the porch."
http://web.mac.com/mel_leilani/

I didn't see it, but I read it and enjoyed it tremendously.

Um, gee, all these people are saying nice things about my show! That's swell; thanks very much.

I'm actually in a minor quandary with this script, and I'd be interested to hear what anyone, familiar with the script or not, might think. It's funny that Mahonri mentioned the change in title, because it's still in flux; when we did the workshop at Iowa, I called the play "An Experiment in Sainthood", and we had changed the title for the BYU production because the director thought "Angels Unaware" would sell better. I like "Angels Unaware", but it leads people to say that the characters in the show are angels, which they are not, and that I say angels are imperfect, which is not the point of the play, since the characters aren't angels in the first place; this is a confusion I'd rather avoid (it's an argument I don't mind if I'm present to refute it, but how often is that going to happen?). So I'm thinking about going back to "An Experiment in Sainthood" and leaving it at that; as a title, I think it best sums up what the play is. I really like "Martyrs' Crossing" too, but it's a little more abstract and, like "Angels", it tends to confuse people (especially that darn apostrophe).

Any thoughts? I was telling James Goldberg in an email the other day that I've never had this much trouble with one title before; nothing really wants to stick. I'm down to these two — "Martyrs' Crossing" and "An Experiment in Sainthood" — and I've been going back and forth for a while now. But since I'm so close to it, I thought it might be good to get some outside opinions. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

Have a wonderful holiday, all! I'm on my way home, and I hope everyone else traveling this week does so safely.

Mel

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Melissa Leilani Larson

"Pinky, there're casseroles on the porch."
http://web.mac.com/mel_leilani/

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I know nothing of the play other than what is on this page, but I think Experiment is by far the most interesting title.

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Definitely Experiment. Martyr's Crossing never did much for me, but Experiment in Sainthood has a really nice draw to it. Perks one's interest.
My sister seemed to have issues with the play for the very reasons you stated, Melissa-- that somehow Angels weren't knowledgable. Me, I always thought it was an interesting commentary on the Spirit World, so I didn't have that problem interpreting it. I think you're wise to change the title.

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Upon the stage of a theater can be represented in character, evil and its consequences, good and its happy results and rewards; the weakness and the follies of man, the magnamity of virtue and the greatness of truth. The stage can be made to aid the pulpit in impressing upon the minds of a community an enlightened sense of a virtuous life, also a proper horror of the enormity of sin and a just dread of its consequences. The path of sin with its thorns and pitfalls, its gins and snares can be revealed, and how to sun it (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.243; Bookcraft, 199