Wordplay: Theater for the Ear and the Imagination: Recent Episodes
Rev. Matthew Powell, O.P.
Wordplay: Theater for the Ear and the Imagination is a podcast that will produce short audio plays and monologues, both dramas & comedies, which reflect the dignity and spiritual nature of the human person. The actors are alumni of Providence College Theatre. Rev. Matthew Powell, O.P., associate professor emeritus of theatre, is the director.
The Creature asks Dr. Frankenstein to create a mate for him. An episode from the novel by Mary Shelley.
A series of brief monologues spoken by persons and animals associated with the birth of Jesus. Compiled from works by several authors, including Dorothy L. Sayers and Madeleine L'Engle
A comedy in which a ghost, whom no one is afraid of any longer, shares his woes with a writer on Christmas Eve.
Not everyone was happy about the miracles of Jesus. Edgar Lee Masters imagines what the reactions of three people in the Gospel might have been to the miracles.
A series of monologues spoken by people associated with the arrest and trial of Christ.
The Wise Rabbiis a series of short Jewish folktales, both humorous and serious, which reflect the wisdom of the traditional rabbi and his place of respect in the Jewish community. The tales were gleaned from various Eastern European Jewish collections.
The Lightning Rod Manisa short audio play based on the story by Herman Melville. Melville is best known to us as the author of such classic novels as Moby Dickand Billy Budd. But Melville also had a lighter side. In The Lightning Rod Manhe has fun contrasting the person who appreciates and embraces life, despite all of its hazards, with the person who fears it. The short play opens during a thunder storm, when a man selling lightning rods shows up at the door of a man who is in awe at the majesty of thunder and lightning.
The Blind Spot by Saki. Saki, the pen name of early 20th century British writer Hector Hugh Munro, was known for his witty stories with surprise endings. In The Blind Spot a lady gourmand finds the truth inconvenient and must choose between justice and pleasure.
Ars Moriendi: The Art of Dying. Dominican Father Dominic Rover wrote this monologue after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
An irreligious father sends his child to an arts and crafts program at a local church. 3.5 minutes
The Atheist’s Mass
by Honore de Balzac
In 19th century France a young intern physician tries to discover why his mentor, a great surgeon and strident atheist, occasionally attends Mass. 19 minutes
The Diaries of Adam and Eve
by Mark Twain
Twain’s comic twist on the book of Genesis. What if the first man and first woman had kept diaries? 24 minutes