Synopsis
In the twilight of the Nephite civilization, a handful of devout believers hope to turn their people away from extinction through returning to God and living righteous lives. Opposing the Nephites are the Lamanites, descendants from ancient Israelites, who want nothing more than their brethren's demise. Two of the greatest believers--prophet-warriors of the Nephite people--are Moroni and his father, Mormon. They are tasked with leading a disbelieving people toward their final destiny.
Throughout the play, there is betrayal, loss, farewells, and redemption as the two great peoples ready to fight their final battle at the Hill Cumorah.
Throughout the play, there is betrayal, loss, farewells, and redemption as the two great peoples ready to fight their final battle at the Hill Cumorah.
Background
I'm a Mormon--a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--and as such I've read The Book of Mormon a number of times. It has some stirring moments in it, and few have as much dramatic power as the very end of the book. There it details the dissolution of the Nephite people as they spiral in a constant circle of violence and degradation. Eventually, the entire Nephite civilization is slain in a place of "many waters" called Cumorah.
I decided to try to write a play, but not like any that is normally written nowadays: I wanted it to tackle a religious theme (obviously) but I wanted to adapt the already quasi-King's English style of the Bible and Book of Mormon into the speech. In other words, I wanted to write a play in iambic pentameter, much like William Shakespeare.
I admit it; this is a love letter to my religion and my writing hero.
The play was handwritten on sheets of printer paper. I would fold them into eighths and then scribble out lines during church meetings. Once, with much of the play in one of the pockets, my wife washed my clothes. I nearly lost the play then, but I managed to put it all together and transcribe it all into a notebook.
Even without computers, we can lose our hard work.
I eventually typed it up, though I've never sought to get it produced. It is a little embarrassing, if only because the poetry is so bad. I really struggle to get the iambic part of iambic pentameter down, so while many of the lines are ten syllables, they don't fall into the correct rhythm. Still, despite its flaws, it's an important part of who I am--Mormon and Bardolator. I think that's pretty great.
I decided to try to write a play, but not like any that is normally written nowadays: I wanted it to tackle a religious theme (obviously) but I wanted to adapt the already quasi-King's English style of the Bible and Book of Mormon into the speech. In other words, I wanted to write a play in iambic pentameter, much like William Shakespeare.
I admit it; this is a love letter to my religion and my writing hero.
The play was handwritten on sheets of printer paper. I would fold them into eighths and then scribble out lines during church meetings. Once, with much of the play in one of the pockets, my wife washed my clothes. I nearly lost the play then, but I managed to put it all together and transcribe it all into a notebook.
Even without computers, we can lose our hard work.
I eventually typed it up, though I've never sought to get it produced. It is a little embarrassing, if only because the poetry is so bad. I really struggle to get the iambic part of iambic pentameter down, so while many of the lines are ten syllables, they don't fall into the correct rhythm. Still, despite its flaws, it's an important part of who I am--Mormon and Bardolator. I think that's pretty great.
Status
I would consider a revision if there were someone who wanted to stage the play. The problem with revisions of this type is that I can't just "add something" here or "take something" there; the pentameter makes each line very precisely built. I can't swap synonyms, I have to swap synonyms that are the same length. It can be very labor intensive to write this way, and even more so to rewrite this sort of thing. I've left Cumorah alone, but it's still one of my prouder achievements. I'm okay with that.