Category: blog

Salesman for the Gospel of Luke Project

I have been working on memorizing the Gospel of Luke, up to chapter 9 verse 50, for a little over a year. Luke 9:50 is a transition in the narrative, and it takes over an hour to speak out loud up to that point. I did not know that the effort would be sustained this long. There were some low points, at which it seemed like it could or should be abandoned, but circumstances conspired to keep it in play.

Now it is not a matter of continuing to memorize, but to consistently recite it so that it stays fresh in my memory. I could memorize more, with the goal of having the whole Gospel in memory, but it seems best, at this point, to spend energy getting this in front of audiences first.

There are a lot of possible audiences, including prisons, schools, assisted living facilities, and more. Making bookings is the hard part. I have to go from an introverted bibliophile to a salesman, approaching strangers, most of whom probably won’t be interested.

One of the most valuable experiences of going to school at my age is the normalization of being pushed out of my comfort zone. Especially in Theatre Arts, there are many embarrassing classroom situations, as well as classes, like Scene Design, that require skills that I have not developed. So in some sense I have been strengthened for this phase of the Gospel of Luke project.

Hopefully, the first performance will be at a local Catholic church. But whether that happens or not, I am going to need to shift gears, and become truly entrepreneurial. I will have to approach a lot of people with a pitch. This is terrifying, well out of my comfort zone. But it has to be done.

…are to be expected.

There is some headway in my search for a venue. Because I am Catholic, it seems significant, if only symbolically, to start this production at a Catholic church. 

Across the street from the campus is the St. Paul Catholic Student Center, and this seemed like a great place to start. This might be an ideal venue to incubate the project, get feedback, and learn how BSU students might react to it. I went to the student center, and was immediately told that I am too old to be welcome there. It was a remarkably rude rejection, and immediately lowered my opinion of the center and those involved in it. I then sent a letter to the pastor, Fr. Dail, explaining that the Gospel of Luke presentation would be my senior project, and asking if the St. Paul student center might be a venue for developing it. His rejection was categorical. They were not interested.

This was both surprising and insulting. I am not sure what motivates that group, but clearly it would not be worth putting more effort in that direction.

I wrote a letter to the pastor of my parish church in Meridian, explaining my senior project, and asking if there might be an opportunity to perform there. There hasn’t been any response. There doesn’t seem to be any interest.

These two places left me in deep doubt about the course I was pursuing. If my local churches weren’t interested, who possibly would be? 

But at a third Catholic church, there has been interest. I expect to schedule a presentation in the next week or two, for the first public performance of the Gospel of Luke. And the audience might include local school officials, who can then judge if it would be a good program for their schools. 

I think this is an important project, with real value. That conceit is what keeps me pushing for options, even when some doors remain closed. Rejection was temporarily demoralizing, but my attitude is that I am making an offer, and those who reject are losing a valuable opportunity. Development may be slow and halting, but there is no other path but to push forward.

The Gospel of Luke and the search for an audience.

It seems like the Gospel of Luke could use some flair. Costume choices, blocking, maybe a compelling set, and flexible, dramatic lighting. These things, with some talent and experience, might make it into a sort of extravaganza.

But then there are considerations of mobility and flexibility. Will the show require a moving van full of set pieces and gear and costumes? Where can it be parked? As equipment deteriorates and breaks, will it be easily replaceable? What if a costume gets a tear, or a stain? Do I have the sewing skills to deal with that? What about the price of gas?

It would be so much easier to travel light, and to rely on my voice more than any visual component for the presentation. I would like to perform in local prisons, and you generally can’t bring things inside. There something very appealing about requiring very little, and being maximally flexible.

Looking over these options, the question arises of what exactly I am trying to do. Thinking this over, I have memorized something and the hope is that there will be some demand for it to be recited.

This is a stripped-down understanding of what it is to be an actor, but it’s pretty accurate. This defines theater, in a simple, clear way. There is the decision process of determining what should be memorized, and then efforts to recite the memorized thing in a way that makes people happy.

My decision to memorize the Gospel of Luke makes sense to me, and will make more sense to you as this Substack develops, as there are further chances to explain how this came to be. This is the first part of the equation. Now the recitation part needs to be addressed.

Part of the recitation process is rehearsal, and the competence that comes with repetition. This is pretty well taken care of.

The next problem, or challenge, is finding a venue to present this to other people. There have been some difficulties on that front, which I will explain in a future article. But something should open up this summer, with multiple opportunities for performance when school starts up in the Fall.

Can one make a living in this way? Are people willing to pay to see a recitation? This is the test, and the innovation that I want to make real. 

In looking how to develop the simple tasks of memorization and recitation into a career, it has been helpful to ask for advice from Artificial Intelligence. But there’s not many other avenues in which to incorporate AI into the process. It’s quite a basic undertaking, without recourse to shortcuts. What to memorize, where to recite?

This story is developing, and if there is some success, I can imagine many ways it might be expanded into educational programs and incarceration programs and theaters and assisted living facilities. There is a lot of potential for venues, but that potential needs to be realized soon, as I try to develop this project.

Hopefully, a Good Impression Was Made

There is something potentially unsavory in a an older man studying theater with young people. What could be his motivation?

The theater students at BSU seem tame and well-mannered compared to my experiences at UCSB and at Carnegie Mellon. Those were a long time ago, but I remember quite a few larger-than-life personalities, reckless behavior, and extreme extroversion. There are advantages to learning with a more civilized group, but it is harder to get to know them.

This year I have been a stranger, and maybe an odd stranger, to my fellow classmates at Boise State University. It helped that I was tasked with designing props for our production of Grease, to show that I am responsible and creative, taking tasks seriously. 

I have made some very nice friendships, but not generally among the Theatre Arts students. I do hope that impressions of me have been positive.

But there is only one year to go! This will pass too quickly! And what can be accomplished in this final year?

That’s why my focus has been on a one-man show, something to develop in school, and then to take into the world. It seems the best strategy.

My History of Memorization

Around 1980, I went to South Junior High School in Nampa, Idaho. Somehow I conceived the idea of memorizing an essay by Woody Allen, “My Speech to the Graduates.” I do hope my drama teacher was pleased when I asked if I could recite it to the class. She agreed, and thus began a lifetime practice of memorizing things.

It’s not that I accumulated a storehouse of memorized pieces. It was sporadic, and after I had completely forgotten one, I would start on another. And it wasn’t necessarily for an audience. It was an activity that somehow gave relief, an exercise that was satisfying and possibly beneficial.

And the texts haven’t been religious, except for this one and the one before it. I was an audio engineer at a Krishna temple before returning to Catholicism. While at the temple, I became very interested in their scriptures, and this led to memorizing the story of Prahlada Maharaja, and his father Hiranyakashipu. It was the longest text I had ever memorized, spoken in one hour and six minutes. The only time I recited it for another person was with a friend on a drive to see a white buffalo born in Wisconsin.

When I returned to Catholicism, I read the entire Bible, with an idea that I might memorize something from it. It seemed logical to focus on one of the Gospels, and Luke somehow seemed most appropriate. But I didn’t realize how long this Gospel is. Only a third of the way in, it was clocking at over an hour. I thought it best not to memorize further, at least for now.

The Gospel of Luke is memorized, up to chapter 9, verse 50. This is a transition point to what is called “Luke’s Travel Narrative,” where Jesus determines to go to Jerusalem. The run time is about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Having spent some years at the Krishna temple, in an Indian culture, I saw appreciation for feats of memory, with Vedic chanting proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. (UNSESCO, 2026, Tradition of Vedic chanting, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tradition-of-vedic-chanting-00062).

Perhaps this effort of mine can find a place within that milieu, but it seems best to first focus on this small thing I have memorized, find a place for it in the world, and then think about its growth.

This recitation of the Gospel of Luke is my senior project at Boise State University. In the class, Preparation for Senior Project, I received the go-ahead for this work. But a challenge is to find a venue where it is appropriate and appreciated.

The first difficulties have arisen with finding the first venue. It has yet to be performed publicly … stay tuned.

But any worthwhile project will have its challenges, and more are expected. If I can focus on the goals of my senior project, and be unflagging in the search for venues, things should work out. This Substack will document this effort.