Part Two: Little Happy Secrets: A Milestone in Mormon Drama

This piece will discuss on the significance of Melissa Leilani Larson’s groundbreaking play, which artistically put New Play Project on the map unlike anything else they had done previously.

Part Three: Prodigal Son: The Association of Mormon Letters Honors New Play Project

This piece will discuss James Goldberg’s short play “Prodigal Son” and the significance of it winning the AML’s 2008 Award for best play.

Part Four: Swallow the Sun and The Fading Flower: A personal perspective

In this piece I will discuss my own collaboration with New Play Project in producing my full length works.

Part Five: New Play Project: Here To Stay?

In the conclusion of the series, I’ll take a look at what I think it will take for New Play Project to survive.

Now onto Part One:

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw a show put on by New Play Project, I wasn’t particularly impressed. They were performing a set of short plays in a back room of the Provo library. Some of the writing was true quality, while other pieces were lackluster. The acting  and directing were uneven as well. And they were performing on wooden planks placed upon cinder blocks with little or no budget. There were real nuggets of promise in the set of plays I saw, but it was all still very unrefined.

However, even back then they had two things that have shaped them into the robust organization they are today: passion and organization. Those involved in the Project were a group of volunteers who were doing it for no other apparent reason than that they loved both theater and the Gospel and were intent on building “values driven theater.” This passion was evident from their earnestness, their valiant effort and their intent to improve.  As I became more acquainted with the group, I started to realize that these were people with a mission, ready to overcome the obstacles, discouragement and reckless criticism that comes against the birthing of any such group. Many of its leaders, such as the eloquent James Goldberg, the energetic Arisael Rivera and the sophisticated Bianca Dillard were ensuring the survival of the group through sheer belief, will power and work ethic.

The organizational aspect of their group was no less important than their passion. They were organized properly as a non-profit group, had specified leadership positions and had a very strong, consistent approach to every aspect of their organization. For a grass roots, volunteer organization, they were remarkably put together. They also made sure that the organization didn’t die when its founders oft times went onto other things. A training was in place, as one wave of people replaced the last.

And the workshops. Oh, the workshops! Inconsistently I started attending some of their playwriting workshops where they would discuss, criticize and refine each other’s work. These organized sessions, led by NPP’s incisive and astute dramaturg Bianca Dillard, were exceptional.  Rarely have I seen such good feedback (which my own plays would eventually benefit from). With specific goals and approaches to their critiques, I noticed as time went on the plays were becoming more and more quality as these workshops did their work. Each set of new plays performed became better than the last until the last several sets of short play festivals have all boasted high quality writing. And with that quality writing has also come improved acting and directing, as the organization’s improved reputation attracted better actors, writers and directors, as well as the faithful stalwarts from previous shows having improved in their craft through their involvement with NPP. And it wasn’t just actors and writers, either. People like Adam Stallard and Ben Crowder not only brought their writing pens and acting voices to the scene, but became instrumental in the inner core of the group, bringing fresh ideas, organizational insight and new blood. It is a good sign as NPP keeps bringing on new people to contribute to the organization, strengthening where they were once weak, fastening where they were once loose.

Also vital to NPP was moving out of the Provo Library and spare rooms on BYU campus and moving into a space they could in essence call their own. Renting Provo Theater Company’s intimate and beautiful space on 100 North and 105 East in Provo was a perfect fit for both NPP and the theater’s owners who had made little use of the space since PTC’s apparent demise a few years ago. Having a consistent and quality space brought just that much more credibility to the group and set them on the road to be taken seriously as they realized ambiance is almost as important as performance.

Another important step that NPP has taken recently is a stronger commitment to full length works. I know there was a philosophy floating around in the group for a while that if a play couldn’t be condensed into 10 to 30 minutes, it wasn’t worth telling. I’m glad that they dispensed with this MTV, short  attention span philosophy and are now diverting some efforts from their short play festivals to also include full lengths in their seasons. The works of Melissa Larson, Arisael Rivera, Katherine Gee, and myself have been successful and have brought in a more varied audience than the nearly strictly BYU students that the short plays draw in.  I think the short play festivals are extremely important in developing the young, budding talent of its student writers, but I’m glad that NPP has now shown commitment to work that can take its time to unfold.

From its little acorn, NPP is slowly growing into a great oak. If it can protect its beautiful organization, and survive the many forces that try to tear apart the success of the Arts, then I believe they have the ability to have a lasting influence on the Mormon Drama and the larger Mormon Arts.

Check out New Play Project’s website: www.newplayproject.org

Also,  for those who are in the Utah Valley area, New Play Project is still running my play The Fading Flower, with its final performances being tonight, June at 7:30pm, with additional extensions for Saturday, June 13, at 7:30 pm and Monday, tJune 15, at 7:30 pm. For additional information about the show, go to http://newplayproject.org/season/2009/fading-flower/ . For those not in the area, a DVD 2 pack selling recordings of both The Fading Flower and last year’s Swallow The Sun will be coming soon. The two pack will sell for $15.

Although not as strong as its predecessors Stones or Dial Tones, yet Every Day a Little Death , still shows why Bronson is still a vibrant and powerful voice in the Mormon Theatrical Community. Intimate vignettes from the lives of a couple who we follow throughout the play (labeled simply “Him” and “Her”), the play is a thoughtful, philosophical meditation on the little… and big… ways we confront death in our day to day lives. 

Despite the gravitas of the subject matter, Bronson sets up the scenes to be seem to be about “nothing important.” By that I mean that they’re the day to day conversations we have in the car, at the movie theater, on an odd first date, or in the bathroom. Some of them lead up to or follow something “important,” such as a miscarriage or a funeral or  a proposal. Seemingly, however, most of the moments don’t seem to be all that important. But, as Bronson notes in the program: “That’s only true if you believe really important things occur only in conjunction with big events…. I believe that the truly important moments of life are hidden in the mundane.”

Although this focus on mundane moments was generally a strength in the play, it did create a couple of points of weakness, where the stakes and drama of the piece limped on for several moments (despite the excellent acting throughout the piece) before it gained speed again. But, for the most part, the intimacy this approach took was worth the few weak moments.

 There were two scenes within the play that rose above the general excellence of the others and became simply riveting in their effectiveness. One dealt with the after effects of a miscarriage early within a pregnancy of the woman, and the man comforting her (sometimes ineffectively) in the wee hours of the morning. The emotional immediacy and vulnerability in this scene was powerful.  The second happened when the man and woman start talking in a boring movie (where they are the only ones there) about the possibility of re-marriage, if one of them should die. This scene reminded me of actual conversations I’ve had with my own wife.

Before I continue, I can’t praise both actors in the play (Fallon Hanson and Elwon Bakly) enough. Even if the writing hadn’t been as good as it is, the play would have been worth seeing just to see these two in action. They were paired together in Bronson’s previous romantic dramedy Dial Tones , and continue to create a great chemistry in Every Day a Little Death just as they had in their previous pairing. I’m starting to see them as the Mormon Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanson was especially effective in this production, reaching deep into a powerful mix of emotional vulnerability and sly wit. Having worked with Fallon before in my own plays, and considering her a good friend, I was disappointed to hear that this may be her swan song in Utah, as she plans to move to California. So this may be the last chance to see the final Utah-based performance from Hanson for quite some time. If you live in Utah, make use of this chance, as I put Hanson on the short list of the finest actresses I have had a chance to see perform live in the area. Bakly also puts in a wonderful performance, as always. He is a Bronson regular, having performed as Christ and Isacc in every production of Stones , as well as opposite Hanson in Dial Tones . Always putting in a solid performance, he is one of the finest actors performing in the area.

The directing was also excellent. Once again, Bronson makes magic with what very little is provided for him at the CoveCenter’s  Brinton Black Box… which is really not much more than a big room with stage lights and chairs (I must say, though, that the Covey Center should find a way to dampen the sound that streams into the blackbox from the performances in the large theater). But directors like Bronson and Kimberly Luke Mellon have made great use of the space, which is one of the reasons why the Covey should count their lucky stars to have Bronson managing that space.

One of the fun directorial additions to the play were the slide shows of “Him” and “Her” between each scene. With character, humor and a nice dash of sweetness, they added rather than detracted from the play. And it was a smart way to cover costume changes.

Although I don’t believe it lives up to Bronson’s previous work, Every Day a Little Death is a well wrought play, displaying many of Bronson’s wonderful, characteristic qualities. Bronson hovers close to the line of oversentimentality, without ever crossing it, which creates a genuine emotional experience in nearly all his work. Philosophically, Bronson doesn’t believe in subtext in his work– his themes can all be found in the dialogue, discussed freely and openly by his characters. Ironically, however, this is not a weakness, as he does display subtlety, restraint and naturalistic dialogue, which brings the philosophical nature of his characters into a very real and wise place. Bronson is one of the great playwrights of Mormonism and I try to take advantage of the chance to see his work whenever I can.

If you live in Utah Valley, or even Salt Lake Valley, take the advantage of seeing this beautiful piece of the small moments life– and death. The play is in its final week at the Covey Center, so be sure to get tickets for its final performances next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.coveycenter.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=47&s_id=179

Q. 1- First off, tell our readers about Mormon Artist. What is it? What are you trying to accomplish with it? What is its genesis?Mormon Artist is an online magazine about the Latter-day Saint arts world. Its core is interviews with the artists themselves, since that’s what I find most interesting, but we’re gradually expanding to include more types of content as well. I have three goals for the magazine: first, to show how much is actually happening in Mormon arts (much of which is unknown to most members); second, to encourage more and better work; and third, to help new artists get started by getting their names out there.

I suppose the birth of the magazine was at the end of June — and I’ll get to that in a moment — but its genesis started much earlier. I’d spent the previous year writing and directing plays with New Play Project, and I think it’s safe to say that if it weren’t for NPP, there would be no Mormon Artist. Working on Mormon theatre not only gave me firsthand knowledge of the workings of a volunteer-run organization (which is what Mormon Artist swiftly became) but also got me giddy about the undercurrent I was sensing — that times were changing and that Mormon arts were really starting to come into their own

Fast-forward to June. I read about MagCloud.com (a new print-on-demand magazine publisher) and got an itch to put together a magazine. The next day I was cooking scrambled eggs for breakfast and thinking about what kind of a magazine I’d like to do, and when I asked myself what kind of a magazine I wanted to read, the answer jolted me in an instant: Mormon arts. And here we are.

Q. 2- Since I have known you, you come across as very passionate about the Mormon Arts. Where did this passion come from, what about the arts and Mormonism (and that specific combination) ignites your interest?

I’ve been interested in the arts for as long as I can remember, both as a consumer and more particularly as a creator. It’s what excites me most. Building off of that, I’ve always seen the gospel as being whole-souled, encompassing every aspect of life, reflected in every facet. It’s just how things are, and the arts are part of that. While the artist isn’t automatically any more spiritual than the lawyer or the bricklayer or the stay-at-home mom, I am an artist, and every time I remember that God is the quintessential artist and the Creator, I get shivers of excitement. Both the arts and the gospel help me understand what it means to be human — and what it means to be like God.

Q. 3- Tell us a little about yourself. Your background, education, interests, etc.

A Utah native, I was homeschooled for most of my childhood and encouraged by my parents to pursue my interests, and the love of learning which I caught from them has been the driving force behind most of what I do. I went to high school and edited the school newspaper and literary magazine while there, served a mission in Thailand, and graduated from BYU in English Linguistics.

After graduation I thought I was going to become a librarian and so I started pursuing a master’s in library science, but after a semester and a half I realized it wasn’t for me and dropped out. I’ve been working at the BYU library for the past two years, first in Special Collections and now as a web designer.

I love books. I love love love books. My apartment is full of them, and I have a devil of a time trying to stop buying them (Amazon, I’m talking to you). I mean, I work in a library. (Which I do use; I usually have between 30 and 60 books checked out at any one time.) Most of my artistic output has been in writing (primarily plays and blogs so far) and design (book/graphic/web), though I play the piano and enjoy dabbling in composition and digital painting from time to time. I also find it regrettably too easy to talk about myself.

Q. 4- What has been the greatest challenge with the magazine so far? The greatest reward?

I’m not sure there have been any great challenges so far. There’ve been a few small things along the way — missed deadlines, the last-minute stress of getting an issue out, figuring out how to deal with the influx of volunteers — but for the most part things have gone swimmingly well. Part of that, I think, is being flexible. When I realized I had nowhere near enough money to make the magazine succeed in print (and that 98% of the magazine’s readers were reading it on the web or printing out the PDF themselves), it was easy to shift the focus to the web, and so what could have been a challenge ended up being a boon. Constraints often foster creativity.

The greatest reward has been the people — the interviewees, the volunteers, and the readers. Everyone is friendly and more than willing to help, and the feedback I’ve gotten has been unanimously positive.

Q. 5- In the interviews for the magazine so far, what has surprised you the most? What about these Mormon artists caught you off guard?

Not really anything that I can think of; I tried to get rid of all my preconceptions beforehand so I could field things as they came, and it seems to have worked.

Q. 6- What’s your realistic assessment of the Mormon Arts right now? Where have they come from? Where are they now? Where are they going? What disciplines are in the healthiest condition right now? Which are struggling?

The LDS arts world has been laying a solid foundation for decades now, and it looks like it’s just about reached critical mass for an explosion of talent. The future is very, very bright. (Yes, I realize that the economy is tanking, but I think we’ll see a lot of good art coming out of that.) We’re at different stages in different areas — film, for example, is a newer medium, and so we’re still learning — but I’d say all the disciplines seem to be doing just fine. Artists are putting out good work and they’re getting better at it, and that’s all that really matters.

Q. 7- Issue three just came out. What’s special about this particular issue? In what way has each issue progressed from the last?

I did the first two issues entirely by myself, which worked out well enough but wasn’t very sustainable, and so I opened the floodgates to volunteers (over sixty on my list at the moment), and it’s largely their efforts that went into Issue 3. Volunteers did all the interviews, all the transcribing, all the photography, and most of the editing. Not only does this give more people an opportunity to help out and get experience, but it also makes it possible for us to expand, both in size and in frequency.

Q. 8- The magazine has chiefly consisted of interviews so far. What other material are you hoping to add, and what do you think that will do for the magazine?

I want to keep interviews at the core of the magazine, since in the end it’s really all about the people. But as part of covering the LDS arts world, we’re going to start running feature articles (on both people and events), columns (from both artists’ and consumers’ perspectives), and more of the artists’ work, along with whatever else fits. Long-term, we’re looking at starting some contests and getting a forum going to foster more discussion and collaborations. All of these will hopefully help meet the needs of the people and fit those three goals I mentioned earlier.

Q. 9- At first you were hoping to do a print magazine along with the PDF and online copies, but had to discontinue. How big would Mormon Artist have to get before you would consider that again?

Big enough to pay for it. No, really, we’re sort of a halfling right now — each issue of the magazine is available on our website in a blog-style format and as a PDF, which we then upload to MagCloud so people can order a hard copy if they want. Since we’re already doing all the design work for a print edition, the only thing keeping the magazine from going print is the cost of printing. When we feel fairly confident that we can sell 2,000 to 3,000 print copies, it’ll become a possibility. (I realize, of course, that advertising is the traditional way to get funding for that, and we may eventually go that route, but for now I’d rather focus on making a really good magazine and getting the word out there, and the web is the perfect vehicle for that. It also happens to be free, which helps.

Q. 10- Is it intimidating to approach any of these artists for interviews? Are you ever going to try and bag any of the “big” Mormon artists, say, Orson Scott Card, James Christensen, Brandon Sanderson, Shannon Hale, David Archuleta or Stephenie Meyer?

Originally yes, it was intimidating, but when I realized that they’re all real people just like you and me, it became easy. (I should add that pretty much everyone I’ve talked to has been very approachable and friendly. If I’d gotten Rottweilers and slammed doors instead, I’d probably be more intimidated.)

We’re actually running an interview with Brandon Sanderson in our next issue, so yes, we’re going for the “big” game. And we plan to interview everyone else on that list at one time or another. Going back to the third goal up at the top, though, my aim has been to provide a mix of famous and undiscovered, and so I’m just as interested in the small folk as I am in the people everyone’s heard of. (But I’ll admit that the famous people draw in a lot more readers).

Q. 11- What do you have lined up for us in the next several months? What’s in store for your readers?

In Issue 4 we’ve got interviews with Brandon Sanderson (as mentioned), Ric Estrada (comic book artist), Crawford Gates (composer of “Our Savior’s Love” and the Hill Cumorah Pageant music), Dani Jones (an illustrator), and others, along with a feature on the LDS Film Festival and a special book arts section on letterpress and bookbinding. Issue 5 is still forming, with Cameron Moll (lead web designer for the Church) and Merrill Jenson (composer of the music to Legacy) among the lineup.

Q. 12- In the current issue, you mentioned trying to get an international flavor for the magazine? What strides are you going to take Mormon Artist out of the Jell-O Belt?

Our focus on the web is actually helping the most with this; if we were a print magazine right now, we would probably be very much restricted to the United States, whereas on the web we’re much more accessible to members around the globe. We’re interviewing more international artists (like Jonna Pirinen in our latest issue, and in Issue 4 we’re running an interview with a brother who wrote one of the songs in the Italian hymnbook), and before long I’d like to get the magazine translated into other languages (starting with Spanish).

Q. 13- What would be the legacy that you want Mormon Artist to leave?

A sense of community among LDS artists around the world, along with a rekindled passion for creating art worthy of our Father’s approval and a better understanding of how faith and the arts work together. Basically, I want people to get really, really excited about Mormon arts.

And like people don’t have more compelling concerns …

But.  I am trying to get projects up and running, especially those that involve developing ideas about sustainable language and nature writing.  This is tricky because my role as primary caregiver for a special needs child keeps the home environment unpredictable.  I’ve tried to develop projects, meet deadlines, and get out there, but eruptions of need at home have grounded me before I got much lift.  I could use a little help.

I wish to pursue two courses.  One is to promote nature writing among the LDS reading and writing community.  I see in the church a rising tide of concern for and interest in stewardship.  I would like to help create an environment where LDS writers of nature literature could begin meeting the narrative needs that will arise naturally from this growing concern.  This project is pending and waits in the wings.      

The other course is the swifter, in some ways more challenging one, a whitewater run of language exploration.  It’s here especially I could use some assistance.  

What I need help with is writing a proposal for grant money to fund travel in the desert, the Colorado Plateau in particular because that’s where I live.  The grant’s purpose is to help a writer get out to the desert to develop a sense of place and then produce literature mapping his/her explorations.  Through non-fiction narrative and lyrical exposition, I will develop concepts regarding sustainable language, especially as it applies to nature writing. My main thrust is that efforts we make to improve our behavior toward the natural (or any) world ought to include efforts to improve behavior in the natural environment we call language.  This project is not Mormon-centric, but I hope that one way or another Mormons will be involved.

The problem: I know nothing about writing proposals, and while I could certainly learn, my time is limited, my situation unpredictable, and the deadline two months away.  But even if I don’t get everything ready on time for this year’s deadline, I’ll be that much closer to meeting next year’s.  And if nothing else, I’ll have spent quality time working on my sustainable language project.

I’m looking for help from anyone having experience with proposal writing willing to guide me through the process.  Interested persons need not be enamored of nature writing, but if you are, that would be cool.

Need more details?  Contact me at P.Karamesines at Gmail dot com.

The LDS Booksellers Association’s annual convention starts today.

For those who don’t know about this convention, it is the principal trade show for LDS products. Most of the association’s 200 producers and distributors display their wares for the 200 member bookstores, who attend hoping to learn what new products are available. Its the LDS equivalent of BookExpo America or the annual shows that many other industries have around the country each year.

I’ve been attending on and off for nearly 15 years, enough to learn something about how the industry works and see the value of the show. I’ve seen the number of stores decline from more than 350 to about 200 now. Attendance at the show has also declined. I’ve also seen the LDSBA’s policies develop, as it sought to improve professionalism among its members.

I think this kind of organization is important. A trade show is useful; its more efficient than sending sales reps (which LDS publishers and producers don’t have) to every bookstore, and it can be more effective than mailing catalogs and making sales phone calls. But I won’t be attending this year, in part because the products I’d hoped to have ready aren’t done yet, and in part because I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with the show.

Part of my disillusion is because my products and my personal inclination don’t fit the norm for LDSBA members. My company is unusual, small, with comparatively few products and unfamiliar to most attendees, who seem quite satisfied to ignore anything that is unfamiliar.

But part of my disillusion comes from my perception that the LDSBA isn’t helping the LDS market expand. In a comment on my last post, Mark Hansen reminded me of this when he said:

I once heard Jeff Simpson (of Excel Entertainment) speak, and he had some very interesting thoughts. He said that too often we in the LDS arts business think about how big each slice of the pie is. What we truly need to think about is how to make the whole pie bigger.

I wish the LDSBA had actively listened to this idea.

I think there are a few other ideas that the LDSBA should listen to. In case the LDSBA board members happen to read this suggestion, let me make some concrete suggestions that, I think, would revolutionize the association, and maybe even actually improve the LDS market:

• Offer free retail (i.e., bookstore) memberships. Since the bookstore members are predominantly in the US, and the LDS Church’s growth is predominantly outside the US, wouldn’t it make sense to do everything possible to encourage new retailers outside the US?
• Explore holding conventions outside the Wasatch Front for the general Church membership. The convention that starts today is for members only (the LDSBA doesn’t even like publicity about the convention, fearing that the general public will get in and somehow collect all the giveaways). Why not hold events so that the average Church member knows something about all the products available? Local LDS bookstores (if any in the area chosen) may object, until they realize that such conventions will probably boost their sales in the long run (after exhibitors leave, where will local members go to get all the products displayed?
• Set up or encourage the development of a true wholesaler — a middleman that purchases from the publishers and producers and sells to the retailers. I posted about the need for a wholesaler some time ago.
• Join or partner with national book industry groups, such as the Book Industry Study Group, so that LDSBA members can learn about and benefit from its standards.
• Create a committee to prepare a list of standard categories for publishers and booksellers to use — something like the Book Industry Study Group’s BISAC Subject Codes. Such a system would benefit everyone in the LDS market, and eliminate nonsense bookstore categories like “LDS Authors.”
• Add ethical standards for publishers covering their contracts with authors.

I’m not sure that the above list is everything that I would suggest — I’ve probably left off things that I’ve discussed here, or things that have occurred to me at some point. But they are all things I think the LDSBA can reasonably do, and that would have a substantial positive effect on the LDS market.

I welcome any additional suggestions for how the LDSBA could improve the market for LDS books, music, film and other products.

My next idea for the field, then, is the creation of a Mormon-themed creative rights database. This is content that isn’t easy to acquire from libraries and that could reasonably expect some sort of usage fee to use and/or view the work.

What could be included in such a database:

1. Screenplays
2. Scripts
3. Illustrations
4. Photos
5. Music arrangements
6. Short films

These are all cultural products that either would be staged (or screened) for an audience or used in a publication and so even though they are all different modes of creation, it makes sense to group them together. In addition, I would include screenplays that haven’t been filmed yet as such a database would ideally be a place for producers/directors to view and bid on a property. I would also include screenplays from films that have already been made because I see this database as being valuable for academic work.

LDS Film actually has posted a few screenplays on their LDS Scripts site and has a (currently empty) page for stage plays, but they only have 11 up so far. I envision something more comprehensive and more of use to academics and/or those who would be interested in right of use.

In fact, the site up so that anyone could view summaries (and thumbnails of images) of the work, and the author would also have the option of posting an excerpt. Then there could be a yearly fee for those who want full access to the works. Something that would discourage stealing stuff, but would still be affordable enough that academics, independent scholars, small-time producers, ward choir directors, etc. would be willing to pay it. I’d say in the $40-80 range. And possibly there could be pricing tiers based on what types of content you’d want access to. Or in other words, you could just pay for the photos package or the short films package or you could pay for all the content. Also, the membership fee wouldn’t cover the full access of works that could easily be stolen and reused. Images would be larger than thumbnails but not high quality (and have a watermark) and perhaps arrangements would have have half the song plus an streaming MP3 performance of the entire arrangement. And then, of course, each individual property would have an option to purchase the rights to use it. The annual fee would go to support the management of the site. The money from the rights would go straight into the pocket of the rights owner.

So what do you all think?

I think there are some major issues, here. The biggest barrier is probably that quite a few works that would be a natural fit for this type of database may already be covered by other creative rights organizations. I also am not sure how many people would be willing to pay a fee to view content. That doesn’t seem to be the way the Internet works these days. I do think, though, that the concept of aggregating these works makes a lot of sense as well as going just beyond screenplays/scripts.

One other issue is the quality of the works uploaded into the database. How would you maintain a good enough quality to make it worth the time and expense of those who pay the membership fee? There are several ways that could be managed. One would be to charge a small fee per work listed — $5 per screenplay, 50 cents per photo, etc. Another would be to introduce some sort of rankings system where those who have memberships could vote on works. There could also be a ranking based on how many views each work received as well as how many times the rights were bought [for images, etc.]. Or in other words, the site could deploy all the sorting, flagging (for questionable or plagiarized content) and ranking tools that are currently used on the Web.

A few more thoughts:

1. You could even take it a step further and go beyond graphic design images and include some fine arts listings as well with the options to buy prints.

2. The site could also have some sort of social networking aspect that would facilitate interaction among artists (and critics and producers/directors).

3. And, finally, you could add not only fine arts but also crafts (maybe both together as a sister site) — something like a Mormon-oriented version of Etsy. (Actually not Etsy, but I can’t seem to find the site I was thinking of that featured both handmade crafts items as well as paintings and other fine art products).

There are plenty of online stores selling Mormon fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. From the various LDS publishers Web sites to Mormon-oriented stores like LDS Living and Latter-day Harvest to national super sellers like Amazon.com.

The problem with publishers Web sites is that the selection is limited to what they publish – and often they only have a few titles of fiction or a few titles in a fiction category each year. Deseret Book has the widest selection, but even their offerings are limited and although somewhat organized by genre, they still don’t ofter a ton of support to the genre fan. And, of course, you can find almost anything on Amazon or, if it’s not there, Half.com.

What is missing is a way for readers who are in to a particular genre to become engaged with a specific genre – to become fans who keep up on the latest titles and news about authors, trends in the field, etc. Deseret Book does solicit comments on individual titles, but you have to know to seek out that title to read what people are saying.

To put it simply – it’s hard work keeping track of the field. The only really dynamic, comprehensive source I know of is LDS Film, but that’s a bit different because it’s mainly just a news portal.

Here’s my solution:

A reader-oriented, genre-themed LDS fiction e-commerce site. The site would be broken down into the following categories – Literary Fiction (including poetry and personal essay), Mystery/Thriller/Adventure, Romance, Speculative Fiction (science fiction, fantasy and horror), and Young Adult (regardless of genre). The main page of such a site could aggregate the newest content from each of the categories, but the key feature would be the individual pages for each category (navigated to by tabs from the home page). These category pages would aggregate news (and author interviews and book club discussion questions) and events (readings and book signings, for example), recently published titles, the latest comments/reviews from individual book pages, and a top sellers in the category. One thing the Internet has proved quite good at doing is uniting readers, viewers and listeners with particular interests and providing them with a wealth of information about what’s going on in that genre. This, generally, then gets them to see themselves as part of a particular genre community (especially when there are mechanisms for them to participate with others in the community), which almost always means they consume more. I mean, it’s hard enough just finding a list of of what LDS fiction has been published in a given year.

In addition, I think such a site should include both books written for the LDS market, books from the national market written by Mormons and books featuring Mormon characters. In my experience, readers who are in to a particular Mormon publishing category will also seek out nationally-published works in the same genre that are written by Mormons.

Now, of course, there are two good reasons why such a site doesn’t already exist.

The first, and easiest to deal with, is that it takes a lot of work to keep fresh content flowing. Even if you had a team of dedicated section editors (who could ferret out and elicit) news/events items, you’d still need to get a critical mass of devoted readers/reviewers/commenters to have a dynamic site and thus enough steady content to attract a vibrant, sustained audience.

The second reason – the one that would be the least easy to deal with, the one that probably kills the idea – is the big question for any Mormon fiction e-commerce site: how do you actually sell the books? Do you end up becoming a bookseller that has to get in to the business of ordering (and returning) titles? If all of the publishers were willing to partner with you, then maybe it could work. But that doesn’t seem likely. You may be able to cut deals with some of the smaller ones, but I don’t know that Deseret Book and Covenant would be all that interested. They already have an e-commerce site – and a fairly successful one at that even if it doesn’t facilitate the types of community building I think are more interesting.

The only way around it that I can think of is to do an Amazon Associates program (since most of the DB/Covenant titles do show up there as well as titles from other Mormon publishers) and then cut referral deals with any publishers that don’t list with Amazon. This wouldn’t generate enough income to support a full-fledged book-selling organization, but it might be enough to pay server costs and perhaps to provide some money for marketing and to provide incentives to section editors.

Those of you who know more about the business of selling books may have better ideas on how this could work – but my primary point is that no one – not the publishers, the authors (although the authors are doing better than anyone), the bloggers (including AMV), the journals and professional organizations – is doing a very good job of providing a comprehensive way for devoted readers of the various Mormon genres to be total geeks about their fandom. I think that that’s going to have to change if we want the various genre markets to grow.

The teacher was really skilled and was handling the topic sensitively. Of course I had to spoil the good mood by paraphrasing this oft-used Brigham Young quote:

“The worst fear that I have about this people is that they will get rich in this
country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth; and yet they have to be tried with riches, for they will become the richest people on this earth” (Quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley in his address, “These Noble Pioneers.” See also Salt Lake City, George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1900; New York: AMS Press, 1971, pp. 11923, cited by Preston Nibley in Brigham Young: The Man and His Work, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1936, pp. 12628).

I was very much caught off guard by how vehement the reactions became at that point– and some of the comments that came from the discussion I thought were completely bizarre, two of which still enflame my mind (I paraphrase a bit, according to the limits of my memory):

“Tithing is the higher law. We’ll never go back to the law of consecration.”

“We are the greatest generation the Church has ever seen– we are the most righteous. We have been blessed with riches because of that.”

My wife and I had been praying and fasting whether to move to a student married ward– we felt that we had received our answer. The next week went to the student ward in our area.

But that experience still haunts me to a good degree. Although my family grew up pretty well to do, my father emphasized that money, in the end, was a trivial thing. “Money is not what makes us happy,” was a mantra I remember him repeating to us.

My father is a very giving man– I have caught him reaching out to the poor again and again. I had seen him buy a motor home for a homeless man; contribute to programs for Africa; one of our family cars would magically end up in the driveway of a needy family, who had recently had a car accident and no way to replace their vehicle. These were things he never trumpeted abroad, but which I accidentally stumbled upon him doing. Even though my father has worked most of his life as a successful businessman in the corporate circle, he didn’t let their attitudes eat away at his charity. People came before profits every time in his philosophy. I grew up observing this attitude, and hope that I will somedaybe able to live up to my father’s example. So when I’ve come across writers with a similar focus, especially Mormon writers who have in mind the Law of Consecration, they’ve found a place prepared in me that really is fertile for their work. Three of those writers have taken specific root in me in recent years– Hugh Nibley, Richard Bushman and Eric Samuelsen. Samuelsen will be the one I focus on in the first part of this series.
One of the most powerful theatrical experiences I have ever had was in high school, when I watched Eric Samuelsen’s Gadianton at BYU. This (for lack of a better term) morality play took events like the local Wordperfect downsizing, fictionalized them a bit, and deconstructed the ethics of American– and in Microcosm, Utah– business ethics. I consider the play to be dazzling and one of the most morally honest plays that I have seen.

In the play, Samuelsen uses The Book of Mormon as a key text to condemn much of the profit before people attitudes that often crop up in the corporate world. In the author’s note Samuelsen refers to his reason for dubbing the modern play Gadianton (deriving from a group of terrorist-like secret societies in The Book of Mormon started by a man named Gadianton), “What interests me about Gadianton are what I perceived as contemporary parallels to his story. Nephi’s most damning charge against him is that he seeks, ‘to get gain, to be praised of men.’ Murder and robbery are simply tools Gadianton uses to accumulate wealth and power. The specific evils Nephi accuses him of reflect practices that sound remarkably like contemporary business practice.”

SPOILER ALERT: The following contains a good deal of information about the play Gadianton. If you do not desire to know the majority of the plot, including aspects to the ending, do not read farther.

In the play Mahonri Ward, owner and CEO of the fictionalized Datafine, has brought in Fred Whitmore, an outside source from out of Utah, to come and help make the business more profitable. Fred’s first suggestion is to “rightsize”– to instigate layoffs. In the following scene Helen Bryson, the head of Datafine’s public relations, is brought in by Mahonri Ward, Fred and Fred’s assistant Chad, to tell her that she is to be the one cushion the news for the public. I believe this segment of the scene encapsulates the essence of the conflict of the play:

WARD: Helen. Helen, when you build a company from scratch, when you begin with an idea, and pursue it, and obtain financing, and begin hiring others who share your vision… when you build a company, you don’t always anticipate… you don’t… (he breaks down)

FRED: There are going to be some changes.

HELEN: (shocked, staring at WARD) Yes?

FRED: Major changes.

HELEN: Mahonri?

WARD: Tell her, Fred.

FRED: Chad?

CHAD: Over the past year, Fred and I have formed an in-house task force reporting directly to Mahonri, designed to look at ways to improve our cash position and profitibility. After carefully evaluating every department in the company, we believe that we have a recommendation to make that will greatly enhance our company’s position in this very competitive market.

HELEN: You’re talking about layoffs.

(WARD winces)

FRED: (a brief pause) That’s right.

HELEN: How big?

CHAD: This will be quite a substantial rightsizing of the company.

HELEN: How many?

FRED: Chad?

CHAD: We’re initially targeting approximately twelve hundred positions.

HELEN: Twelve hundred?

CHAD: In the initial restructuring. An additional eight hundred will go in the second wave, six months from now.

HELEN: Two thousand total. A third of the company.

FRED: That’s right.

HELEN: Two thousand jobs.

FRED: Give or take a few.

HELEN: Uh huh. (she gets herself under control) And so you’ve told me about this so I can begin preparing.

FRED: That’s right.

HELEN: Begin preparing… a public statement?

FRED: But quietly. The timing’s really crucial here.

HELEN: Press release, press conference?

FRED: Looks like you’re on top of things.

HELEN: (Longish pause) Uh, Mahonri?

FRED: Yes.

HELEN: Can I ask you a few questions?

FRED: Shoot.

HELEN: Mahonri. We’re friends, aren’t we? I’ve been here from the very beginning. Explain this to me. Why are we doing this?

FRED: It’s a business decision.

HELEN: Mahonri, we paid cash for these buildings. Every expansion came out of profits. Last year was the worst year of our last five, but we still had total profits of 8 million dollars.

FRED: Chad?

CHAD: A figure down sixty four percent from fiscal nineteen….

HELEN: This is a profitable company with no debt, in the world’s most rapidly expanding market. (Not angry, but pleading) Why is it necessary to fire two thousand people?

FRED: Not firing, Helen. Not canning. Rightsizing. Reshaping, for the future.

HELEN: I understand the distinction.

FRED: You don’t seem all that supportive of this.

HELEN: I’ve always tried to be. Supportive.

FRED: (On “tried to be”) Hostile, even. Don’t you think so, Chad?

HELEN: … I don’t mean to be. (A pause.) I’m sorry.

FRED: You should know right upfront that your job is safe.

HELEN: I appreciate that, but…

FRED: The decision was made and for very good reasons. Don’t fight it.

HELEN: No, I’m not. I’m not.

FRED: Good.

WARD: Helen. I don’t like this anymore than you do. Maybe we, I don’t know, expanded too quickly, too thoughtlessly. I feel like I’ve made commitments to people and now… but if we’re to remain competitive, it simply has to happen. It has to, Helen.

HELEN: Thank you, Mahonri.

….

FRED: Helen, it’s like this. Your entrepeneur, he’s like the gunslinger in the old west. Rides in on his trusty palomino, forty five in hand, and tames some… forsaken corner of the wildnerness. Kills off the rattlesnakes, tears out the sagebrush, scares off the riffraff. Then in come the townspeople, and they set up a bank and a church and a blacksmith’s shop and a general store, and they build homes. Comes a time the old gunslinger just doesn’t fit anymore. Then its time to move on.

HELEN: Mahonri? You’re selling?

WARD: (after a moment, barely audible) Yes.

FRED: That doesn’t need to get around either, Helen, you know what I mean?

HELEN: Mahonri?

FRED: We don’t want to tie the layoffs to the sale, you hear me?

HELEN: Are they tied together?

FRED: Could be.

HELEN: I see. And if it got out it could hurt the purchase price.

FRED: Exactly. See, fact is, being a gunslinger doesn’t mean you necessarily can function great as mayor. You look at a town that’s had a gunslinger in charge of it and the first thing you see is four blacksmiths, and three general stores, and five feedlots, and six churches, and you don’t really need more’n one of any of ‘em. That’s why we call it rightsizing. Cutting down to just one of whatever it is you just can’t live without.

HELEN: But those people, those extras. They’re not surplus, they’re people. With mortgages and families and ties to the community.

FRED: Exactly, they’re comfortable. Lost the fire in the belly.

HELEN: But they’re people…

FRED: (topping her) Lean and mean, Helen. That’s how you survive.

….

HELEN: Empasse is the buyer?

FRED: That’s right.

HELEN: After the layoffs?

FRED: After. You got a bran new boss, don’t want him to be the bad guy.

HELEN: And how much are you getting, Mahonri? What’s your golden parachute?

WARD: (clears his throat) It’s substantial.

HELEN: How much?

FRED: Helen, Mahonri stands to retire with a total package in excess of 650 million dollars.

And that’s how Samuelsen sets up the moral dillemma. Within the play, there is this macrocosm of business big wigs, but Samuelsen also throws in a parallel plot of a Bishop named Todd McKay who works in the mailroom. As the supervisor, he is able to get one of his ward members a job– Brenda Burdett, a pregnant divorcee, who won’t be able to afford keeping her dysfunctional unborn child without the insurance the company provides– without which she had contemplated abortion and the possibility of excommunication. Instead of letting her get fired and the repercussions that would be involved in Brenda’s life, he gives up his own job instead (a job his family needs, as they are in financial straits themselves). This unselfish act of a Bishop giving up his livelihood for one his flock, is a strong comparison against Mahonri Ward’s bailing 2000 others with his “golden parachute” of 650 million dollars — making Ward a “hireling” compared to the Christ imagery of Todd’s true shepherd.

Samuelsen’s scathing critique of some Mormons tendency to separate church and business into two entirely different philosophies is both uncomfortable and true. While on one hand supporting The Book of Mormon , some corporate Mormons don’t seem to realize the incompatibility of corporate darwinism and many of our holy book’s statements:

“The Lord will enter into judgement with the ancients of his people and the prices thereof; for ye have eaten up the vineyard and the spoil of the poor in your houses. What mean ye? Ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor, saith the Lord God of Hosts” (2 Nephi 13: 14-15).

“They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and they poor in heart, because in their pride, they are puffed up” (2 Nephi 28: 13).

“And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift” (4 Nephi 1:3).
“O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain?…. And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel… For behold ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the needy, the sick and the afflicted…. Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do you ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies– because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?” (Mormon 8: 33, 36-38)

By naming his play Gadianton and tying it back to ourselves, Eric Samuelsen has called upon fellow members of his faith to look back at The Book of Mormon, the book written for our time, and asked them to really apply it to every aspect of our lives– including our business and economic affairs. Samuelsen re-trumpets the call, “All is not well in Zion!” There are many of our wealthy who are doing their best to live up to this aspect of their religion, and who are generous and giving and modest and selfless. But yet their are many who have yet to see if they’re willing to live up to the Savior’s injunction to the young rich man.
There is no “separation” of our faith from any aspect of our lives. Capitalism is certainly a better system than many that have preceded it, but it’s still not good enough. Its competitive spirit, its cut throats extremes don’t match up with the city of Enoch’s co-operative nature. Laissez faire won’t wash in the eternities. We’ve got to make the best with the systems we have, but we also can’t be continuing to make excuses for ourselves. We’ve literally got to put our money where our praying mouth is.

A writers co-op can come in a variety of forms and levels of investment. In fact, the Mormon market already has a co-op: LDStorymakers. This is what I would term a “weak” co-op in that you have to be a published author to join and you pay a yearly membership fee, but the cooperative effort is in the form of discussion, mentoring, marketing advice, sharing experience with publishers, etc. The group also organizes a yearly writers conference. I think that considering the Mormon market, LDStorymakers is a good response to the needs of working authors (although I’d like to see them branch out and offer a contest for unpublished writers).

A stronger form of an authors’ co-op would be a model where a group of writers team up and provide capital (and/or raise funds) for a work space that they share and use for events, workshops, etc. If successful enough, the co-op also provides space, mentoring and funds for emerging writers and maybe publishes a few chapbooks and/or a journal/magazine. Often the authors involved have similar tastes in literature and may even be friends, lovers or spouses. The important thing here, though, is the physical space that facilitates the growth and cohesiveness of the cooperative. That acts as a retreat, a salon, a school, a bookstore. The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis is one example of this type of cooperative (although it has become rather large and baroque).

An even stronger form of a writers co-op is one where a group of authors actually pool funds to publish and market work by the members of the co-op. This works best, obviously, when there is a strong (yet not overly overlapping) ideological, regional or genre theme that links the authors together. I would imagine that it’s also the most difficult type of co-op to successfully form and keep running because it depends on a certain level of sales for the authors involved. But if you find the right niche, the right audience, it’s doable.

I would love to see the third option take place, but I think it’s unlikely in the Mormon market because you’re talking about a small niche of a market that’s already a niche Market. So I think the next step is for someone to take a stab at the second option. Obviously, for such a thing to work, it would need to be in Utah. There just isn’t the right concentration of Mormon writers anywhere else. But a space where writers could write, book clubs and writer’s groups could meet, readings could take place — that would be very cool.

And now that I think about it, if you combined it with a performance (and/or screening) space, you might actually be able to generate enough revenue to make the rent. And if you also stole a page from the McSweeney’s crowd and also added tutoring for kids, you could probably pull in some grant money.

Anybody out there toyed with the idea of doing this? What barriers might there be to launching such an effort?
Next on the list: e-commerce

The general idea is to set up a non-profit organization that distributes the work of a variety of (often like-minded) small publishers. An example of this is Small Press Distribution, although there are others out there. The advantages of such a set up is pretty obvious — independent bookstores don’t have to deal with a ton of small presses. They can deal with one catalog and one rep and yet still pick up most of the small press titles they are interested in. Small presses can actually get their titles on shelves. And a distributor is most likely going to have a bit more leverage (because it represents a larger percentage of the titles a bookstore is selling) when ticklish situations arise. This also lets small presses have their own particular personality and/or market category (which is helpful with branding and attracting a devoted audience) and leaves the distributor to be a bit broader and more staid (which is helpful with dealing with bookstores).

The downside is that if the distributor gets in trouble (has cash flow problems, for example), it can take down or seriously hurt a whole slew of small presses with it. This happened a couple of years ago with a small press distributor on the West Coast.

The question, though, is even with its perils and possibilities, would such a model be viable in the Mormon market?

I don’t know for sure. But there are a few barriers. The first is that there just aren’t that many independent Mormon bookstores out there. And of those, it’s unclear how many would be interested in the type of titles that small presses like Zarahemla and Parables are wont to come out with [that is literary and challenging/quality (non-romance) genre fiction]. Now if a small distributor could make some inroads with Deseret/Seagull, then that’s a different story. But the possibility of that happening isn’t likely (from what I understand).

On the other hand, if we’re talking about a modest set up and low expectations, it might work. By that I mean, 5-6 small Mormon publishers all of whom fit into a similar vein (but with different emphases) and who only come out with 2-4 titles a year. One big way a small distributor might help is in reaching national chains and non-Mormon independent bookstores and placing a few (but not all) list titles in them and cultivating those relationships.

I think that if a small distributor does arise in the Mormon market, it should be a nonprofit (otherwise, considering how small the market it is and how little potential there is to make quit-your-full-time-job money, things could get ugly). The tricky thing would be how to launch it without major start-up capital and/or grants. It really would require a couple of full-time employees, and I doubt that the presses who would be most interested in doing such a thing have money to pay out a salary or two or three.

Thoughts?

Next on the list: authors co-op.