SALVATION ROAD
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They love us in Texas

3/26/2016

 
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Texas Lutheran University produced Salvation Road March 4-6. Director David Legore shares his thoughts on that production:

“TLU Dramatic Media was honored to produce SALVATION ROAD.  Our students were engaged by the subject matter and a story they found to be both compelling and relatable.  As a director of university theatre, I find the piece to be a great fit for college artists and a campus community.  Interestingly, the play also resonated strongly with a generation of attendees who were familiar with instances of cult activity from the past.  I appreciate the story on many levels, including the approach of the playwright, D.W. Gregory—an approach which acknowledged the complexity of the subject.  Though the potential risks of a cultish church are clearly exposed, they are done so with an awareness that it is often difficult to distinguish between good and nefarious intentions.  The need for humans to find belonging is a broader theme, and the play presents a nuanced exploration of this need.  We seek validation, companionship and meaning through membership in a group—whether it be a church, fraternity, corporate organization, or family—all of which are defined by their own “culture.”  More than a thematic exercise, however, SALVATION ROAD includes strong characters, relationships, and story— all within a text that provides a healthy balance of drama and comedy.  Both artist and audience alike become immersed in a dramatic conflict that feels real and relevant.  Finally, it is a highly producible piece, which embraces the strengths of theatre practice, while serving a modern audience accustomed to a cinematic pace and aesthetic.  As an early adopter, I look forward to seeing evidence of future productions.  —David Legore, Chair, Department of Dramatic Media, Texas Lutheran University.”

An Audience Member Reflects

8/28/2015

 
In July, writer, actor and activist Zack Bonnie came to our production in Washington, D.C. Zack writes of his own experiences with controlling organzations in his memoir, Dead, Insane, or In Jail.  He shares these thoughts about what he saw at the Capital Fringe:



In Washington I was able to meet the playwright D.W. Gregory. Her play "Salvation Road" is a show, loosely based on  a time when her sister that was in a religious based high-control group in the 70's.


And what it took to spring her out.

These kooky places flourished then, as part a post-Freudian, anti-psychology movement- and didn't always have the social stigma of places, that 'cults' do these days. Fringe belief systems that stray from the mainstream religious and social systems may have an allure which can draw youthful, sophomoric, or overly-idealistic people in.

"Salvation Road" was a terrific dramatic view into the window of religious mind control, and how families are then broken apart by changing moralities within the existing social structure.

D.W. Gregory's writing, and the direction by Mary Byrd Sproul, like any good theater piece did take a few days to absorb in to me. It irked me that I had a piece of my brain tickled, and two days had to pass before the resultant itch became thought. As any good theater ought, it transformed the mundane into pertinence and sparked inspiration in myself, and in the murmuring post-audience crowd. This is not a typical subject, and it demands that the audience change their views after the viewing.

Again it seems, educating, advocating through imagination is
the antidote to high control groups..."

Grace Eda Baker: Faith vs. Religion

7/19/2015

 
In Salvation Road, Grace Eda Baker plays Rebecca, a wide-eyed acolyte of a charismatic preacher with a strange resume. It is a challenging role, because the audiences sees Rebecca only  in snapshots and always through the point of view of another character. Yet she is a pivotal figure in the play. In this interview, the actress reflects on the motivations that drive the character and on the dividing line between faith and religion.
PictureGrace Eda Baker as Rebecca, Chris Daileader as Cliff in Salvation Road. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
What do you think drives a character like Rebecca? Is she a true believer -- or is something else going on? 

Rebecca is an enigmatic character. She's so friendly, so kind, which I do believe comes from an honest place, but she's also a turncoat if she needs to be. What is her major concern? If she was in this group to only serve God, I don't think she would care so much about her standing. My belief is that while Rebecca does want to serve God, her main concern is to belong. I like to imagine that Rebecca never felt that she belonged anywhere until she met Elijah and the True Disciples. And now that she has, she had no intention of going anywhere. 

It's a bit understandable. Belonging to a group, feeling safe within her "fences" is almost like an extended childhood. She doesn't have to deal with the real world! She doesn't have to make decisions! She can sit back and pray while life churns around her. She is safe because she *belongs. 


If she could speak for herself, what do you think she'd say?

I think if Rebecca had a chance to explain her feelings, she would first say she loves God, of course, but she would also wax soothing words about how she loves being part of the group. She is a puzzle piece, not her own image. Rebecca is not one to strike out on her own. She thrives off of rules, to her, those rules add up to her Salvation. 

If I recall your religious background is closer to Sister Jean's -- and you made a wonderful case for the autonomy of the good sisters during one of our rehearsals. Have you ever been attracted to the religious life?

No. Never. I grew up in Catholic schools, and while my family at home was quite liberal, I met a lot of people who were not. Like the mother of seven who almost took her kids out of school because the library had a book on display called "Herstory" with a forward written by Gloria Steinem. Or the priest who called at bunch of 8th graders to be "Christ's soldiers". Or my all-girls high school where a majority of girls where taught that feminism is an ugly word. 

I grew up under three popes, and saw the scrambled power shifts during each change. I saw nuns live in building where the walls did not connect to the ceilings, while priests had private cooks and bishops had robes that cost 15 grand. God was not a part of any of this. All of this was under that one word, Religion. In my opinion, religion and faith are two different entities. (Please excuse my terse words, I could go on for hours, so in trying to truncate, I may sound blunt.) I don't like religion. Religion is a body of humans, and like humans, is filled with prejudice and fear. Fear of not living with purpose, fear of dying...religion creates rules to appease the uncomfortable. To give them fences. 

Faith, on the other hand, liberates. It is the unshakable belief that God is there. It doesn't matter who you are, God created you, and thus, loves you. You don't have to bend to others' ideas to appease God-God is appeased that you live with love. Those nuns I mentioned with the broken ceiling? I saw them pray and worship to celebrate God. They care for others, not to "follow the rules" but to care for God's creations. Because they loved God. Sadly, I don't have faith, I wasn't born with it, I lean toward a more questioning outlook, but I envy those that do. In every religion, there are people who have true faith. It's stunningly beautiful, and unbreakable. Faith has no rules, it's just love and trust. 

The big question of the play is where you draw the line between a church and a cult. Where do you think that line is?

Continuing in this same vein, I think that difference between a church and a cult is a lack of Faith. Cults seem to live by fear, endless fear that if they don't follow the rules, they will be kicked out of the group and Salvation. It's...ugly. It's terror. Rebecca, for example, our lovely puzzle piece, believes that any wrongdoing doomed by her group could lead straight to hell. How clinical and cold is that? Human nature is to err, that's why faith is all inclusive and forgiving. Cults are fear-mongering. They are meant to control, not nurture. 

Parting thoughts: If you had any advice for Rebecca, what would it be?

My advice to Rebecca would be this: Babygirl, you can stand alone. I know it's scary, I know that it's confusing, but it's worth it. Have faith. Have faith that God loves you always, even when you make a mistake. Have faith that those mistakes can help you grow. Have faith in the innate goodness of people, in the forgiveness of people. And Rebecca, have faith in yourself. Most importantly, have faith in yourself. Be your own rock. Be your own salvation. I know you can do it. 

Kaylynn Creighton: 'One Person Has The Power to Enact Change.'

7/18/2015

 
In Salvation Road, Kaylynn Creighton plays a talented young musician with a passion for social justice. The Washington City Paper praised her "superb" and "nuanced" performance as someone whose life is transformed when she falls under the influence of a charismatic preacher. In this interview she reflects on where she draws the lines between church and cult, and between her character and herself. 
PicturePhoto by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
In Salvation Road, you play a young woman who is hell bent on reforming the world before she gets to college. Do you see much of yourself in Denise?

Denise and I are actually VERY different. She feels everything in an extreme way and acts on impulse (ex- "Earthquake in Guatamala? I CAN FIX THAT!"). I, on the other hand, am very cerebral and tend to think when Denise would just...do. Her impulsiveness, when wielded correctly, is one of her greatest assets. On the other hand, that impulse is exactly what ultimately gets her in trouble.

The character you play is quite musical -- and so are you. Tell us more about these secret talents -- you don't brag about it on your bio.

Oh, jeez. Well...I was one of those children (one of MANY, I'm sure) who was obsessed with opera. I started singing opera very young (8 or 9 ish, maybe?) and eventually discovered musical theatre. General rule: if I appear deep in thought, I probably just have a 20 second excerpt of a song looping continuously in my mind.


What other similarities do you see between yourself and Denise?

Denise and I, while extremely different, have one very big thing in common: the fundamental belief that one person has the power (and responsibility) to enact change. That ideology manifests itself very differently for both of us, though. Denise wants to BE the change whereas I want to INSPIRE the change.


Salvation Road wrestles with the question of where to draw the line between church and cult. Where do you draw that line?

I believe that "Rockin' Nun" Sister Jean has the right idea: everything comes down to consent. If a person has all of the information and knows exactly what he or she is involved with, what right does anybody else have to label or judge? Also, I don't know a single person who doesn't have something he or she is a little "cultish" about...some people are involved in religious groups, others own every Neil Diamond album ever released. Either way, rock on.


If you had any advice to offer Denise, what might it be?

Oh, Denise. There are many things I'd love to tell her. She would listen very intently and genuinely want me to believe that my opinions are valid, but there's a very solid possibility that she would write me off as a crazy person. For example, I think Denise would benefit from some simple breathing exercises.

The play ends on an ambiguous note -- which some people find annoying and others say is rather exciting. How about you? If the play went for one more scene, what do you think might happen?

I love the ending. After watching these people for 90 minutes and learning the stories and the personalities, the audience (possibly for the first time) starts to really understand the uncertainty of the situation. Even if the story were to continue, there would still be a "cliffhanger" ending (intentional use of the word "Cliffhanger" because Cliff...that's a character...heh). Anyways, even if Denise were to wake up and decide that she was going to leave the Desciples and go home, that still wouldn't be the end of the story. Certain events may end, but those memories are going to influence her, her family, her decisions, etc. for the rest of her life. Sounds a whole lot like life, doesn't it?

Chris Daileader: From Carnegie Hall to the Capital Fringe

7/1/2015

 
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In Salvation Road, Chris Daileader plays a teenage agnostic who is forced to reconsider his relationship with the Divine when his sister becomes involved in a religious cult. In this interview with the playwright, he reflects on the challenges of the role and what he does—and doesn’t—have in common with the character he portrays.





According to your bio on the website, you are a man of many talents—photographer, actor, writer, director, and I know for a fact you do a fair Sean Connery imitation. Do you have any talents you are afraid to mention?

 Afraid to mention? No, not really.  There are some other things I didn't mention in the bio though... I've always liked the term "Renaissance Man" and I've always striven to be one.  

I remember this "Eureka" moment in a Philosophy of Art class back in college -- my teacher read aloud some of his own poetry and referred to himself as a poet.  And I realized the extent to which I'd always placed artists on a pedestal.  I had this flawed understanding that it was like Sainthood or something; you couldn't be an artist until you were dead and somebody else called you one.  

There was this moment of realization that these artists were all just people who put in the work.  They put in work to improve and improve until they created their magnum opus.  Now that's what I strive for.  I refuse to be intimidated by a new creative medium.  And I work hard, always trying to get good at everything I do.

 Rumor has it you have a sketch comedy series coming to the web. Tell me about that—how did it come to be?
 
Yes! Highbro Comedy.  It still has a lot of work to be done, but I am very proud of the project.  I've always relied on humor as, well, my only social tool because I'm such a naturally shy and anxious person when I meet new people.  I'd been compiling and compiling these standup comedy ideas in my journal, and time and time again I would look back and wonder "how the hell do you deliver that without visualizing the joke?"

So one day I decided I needed a new project: something collaborative and funny and smart.  I wanted jokes that appealed to a mass audience but also went deep into some of today's social and philosophical and economic quandries.  So I contacted this network of artists I've accumulated in my friend group -- designers, writers, actors, directors, comedians, editors... And I pitched it to them.  People ate it up.  We all began compiling every funny idea that came to our mind into a group chat.  I refused to put up any fences.  Anything is game...though it may not get produced.  

Highbro Comedy (a play off of highbrow; this isn't stoner comedy) isn't just sketch comedy.  We compile skits around a unifying criterion and build out full episodes -- we emulate TV structure so that we can pitch it to executives when we're ready.  For example, my favorite episode script so far is called "Idioms, Idiot!" and every skit gives the origin story for different English Idioms -- Open and Shut Case, Cool as a Cucumber, etc.  Without sounding too cocky, what we've got right now is brilliant.  We want to write our whole first season before we actually shoot anything, but holy hell do we have some good scripts.  I can't wait to enter production.  I really think this thing is going to be big.  Social Commentary+Comedy=Satire and there just isn't enough quality stuff out there these days.

About that gig at Carnegie Hall? What was it? And who did you bribe to get there?

Well, that's just a nice thing to have on my resume but it's not like I did a one man show of Carmen or anything!  I was just a section leader for my school's chorus, which qualified to be a part of the National Youth Chorus.  Still, it was pretty surreal to be out on that stage.  I remember I walked out early just to blast out a few baritone notes before everything got assembled...Those acoustics!  And such a beautiful place.  

I minimize the importance of that experience, sometimes, but I really shouldn't.  It cemented in me that I wanted to be a performer.  Getting up there and hearing the things I could do with the proper acoustics -- I knew I had to go back.  I was born to be onstage and those were some of the grandest boards I've ever gotten to walk.  It's hard to describe looking out at an audience that big and feeling far less out of place than you do anywhere else in life -- but that's me.  That's what I live for.

In Salvation Road you play an agnostic teenager who is forced to confront the question of why anyone needs religion. Have you ever wrestled with that question yourself—and if so, what did you come up with?

Ohhhh yes.  Haha in many ways Cliff is my high school self.  I was raised Catholic, but I...well, I never believed in God.  Even as a little kid I remember looking around in church like "...Really?"  I went through the Catholic school system, I'm very interested in religion and very well educated on numerous religions.  But it isn't for me.  I think a lot about how if a universe is constantly expanding, if it is truly infinite, then where is the room for omnipotence?  Omnipresence? Is free will even possible -- do brains actually choose between different outcomes or do they chemically (and subconsciously) calculate based on the given stimulii and prior conditioning?

I understand that some truly believe and truly love their relationship with their deity, but I just see so much in this universe that is so mysterious -- how can anyone find the time to spend that inquisitive energy on something metaphysical? Unproveable? And from a purely physics standpoint -- impossible?  So yeah, I have the same questions Cliff has.  How can you even consider spending time on religion when there is so much to do and learn and know and become in this life?

 Do you see anything of yourself in Cliff?

So much.  So, so much.  It's eerie, really.  At times I feel like D.W. observed my middle school and high school self because this character reminds me so much of my younger self in certain ways.  His awkwardness, his stubbornness, his snarkiness, his prioritization of reason and systems over emotion and faith... Even the tactics he uses attempting to hide his neuroses and fears!  We have some major differences, but I feel like I really know Cliff after just a few short weeks with this script.  I've never done this before with any character, but my first two weeks of textwork were focused on finding what about Cliff was not like me.

It's kind of refreshing to play something close to yourself...especially as an actor who, before this role, has played ONLY villains, murderers, and rapists for the last 6 years.  And that isn't an exaggeration.  And I'm a nice guy, too!  You can't imagine the shock I had learning that I wasn't cast as the cult leader...

 If you had any advice to offer the kid—what might it be?

Cliff needs to learn the single most important lesson that every young actor learns very early...or flames out in a burst of self-loathing:

Do NOT fret about what you cannot control.  Worry can be such a draining exercise; anxiety can be a crushing force.  Hell, I know a lot of NON-actors who need to learn this lesson.  Some things are out of your control -- learn to embrace that!  Enjoy riding the wave of life instead of trying to manipulate the ocean.  If things don't work out...well, your fretting couldn't have prevented it anyway.  Learn to expend energy only on the things which you can influence or your anxiety will eat you alive from the inside out.  Maximizing how you expend your energy and efforts is the best way to reach your potential.  Think about the opportunity cost when you spend your energy on feckless neuroses -- look to what you CAN change and live with the fallout of what you can't.

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Chris Daileader and Kaylynn Creighton in Salvation Road. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

Kitty Felde: From Virginia Slims Girl to Sister Jean

6/13/2015

 

Award-winning radio journalist takes to the stage as Sister Jean

Actress Kitty Felde (Sr. Jean) was once the face of the old fashioned girl caught smoking for Virginia Slims and a semi-regular on General Hospital. She just recently returned to the stage after a long career as an award-winning public radio journalist. For the last six years, she has covered Capitol Hill for Southern California Public Radio, KPCC-FM (89.3). Before that, Kitty was best known as the host of KPCC’s weekday public affairs show, “Talk of the City.” She is also an award-winning playwright, with inspiration from her journalism career. The months she spent covering the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal led to the critically acclaimed courtroom drama A PATCH OF EARTH. In this conversation with playwright D.W. Gregory, Kitty does not exactly tell all, but she tells enough to explain how the Diane Rehm of L.A. ended up playing a sassy nun in the Capital Fringe.

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You're a playwright, a journalist, an actress, a seamstress--what else? Do you have other hidden talents you haven't told us about?

Let's see… I'm also a dancer of sorts. I take ballet twice a week – one of those days on pointe and I even have a ballet recital in June. I also do English country dance – the formalized moves they do in all the Jane Austen movies. You never know when they're going to ask me to dance with Colin Firth in some upcoming film. I am also working on my second novel for middle school readers--a mystery set on Capitol Hill. And I am reviving as a podcast something I used to do back when I had a radio show. It's a book club for middle school students--BookClubforKids.org.

Which of these pursuits do you find the most rewarding? And which were the most frustrating?

They all have their share of joy and frustration. Back when I was freelancing, when my plays were rejected, I used to say that I was really a journalist. And when somebody gave me a hard time as a reporter, I would say that's all right because I'm really a playwright.

You had been a long-time host of “Talk of the City” in Pasadena.  Tell me about that gig. Who was the strangest guest you had on the show? 

I'll tell you who the hardest interview was: Terry Gross! She who asks great questions gave one word answers.  The weirdest situation was when I went to a fancy pants hotel to interview Jeremy Irons. I was wearing this fabulous 60s inspired coat dress that I had made. And the first thing that Jeremy Irons said to me was “Wouldn't you like to take your coat off?”

Seriously? Jeremy Irons wanted you to strip?

I wish I could say yes, but I think it was a misunderstanding about fashion - the nature of a coat dress. He thought it was just a coat.
 
How exactly does one progress from a featured role on 'General Hospital' to a public radio talk show host?

Blame the Dodgers. 

I got enough work as an actress in my 20s and early 30s, but then the roles started drying up. The local radio station that had the Dodgers also had a sports talk show where 99% of the listeners were guys. They wanted to attract female listeners so some bright young things decided the way to do that was to find a female voice for the sports talk show. They had a contest to find a female sports talk host. Guys complained that it was discrimination, so they opened it up to boys as well. 2000 people applied – including me. I didn't win, but I was one of the 10 finalists. And I thought – if I knew what I was doing, I bet I could get work in radio. I took a sportscasting class at the local community college and started volunteering, doing sports stories, for my local public radio station. That led to a reporting job which led to covering court cases which led to covering the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, which led to an invitation to host an afternoon talk show in Pasadena.

After the talk show, I was looking for something challenging to do at the station as a reporter. We had to come to Washington to do a week of remote shows and I fell in love with the city. I convinced the station to open its own Washington bureau. That was six years ago.

How did covering Capitol Hill compare to your previous lives?

I always describe Capitol Hill as Catholic school for grown-ups. In other words, there's a dress code of sorts – ugly flat shoes and dull colored grown-up clothes. There are tons of rules that you find yourself breaking every other day because nobody ever told you that it was forbidden to bring a purse to the Speakers Lobby. And you address all the lawmakers as Sir or Ma'am.

But the US Capitol is truly the most beautiful office building in the world.

So who is the most entertaining member of Congress?

Can I say the entire California delegation? Californians are so different from anybody else on Capitol Hill – and not just because they dare to wear colors as opposed to dull grays. They don't take themselves too seriously, and the treats they have in their offices from their districts are certainly much better than most. Chocolate milk in David Valadao's office,  home-made California Mexican food in Grace Napolitano's office, and wads of raisins and almonds in the offices of members whose districts include those kinds of farms.

Democrat Linda Sanchez is fun because she's the only woman to play in the congressional baseball game every year. Interestingly enough, Al Franken is one of the most boring members of Congress. It's like he has to work really hard not to say funny things in Judiciary hearings. Sometimes he slips, but that is extremely rare.

But more importantly, what form of madness possessed you to dive back into acting after so many years in journalism?

Acting was my first love – long before journalism, long before playwriting, way long before English country dancing. But because of the unpredictability of the news business, I couldn't guarantee that I could show up for rehearsals or even a performance. When I got news that they were closing down the D.C. bureau, practically the first thing I did was get cast in a production of "The Vagina Monologues." And now I get to appear in this wonderful play "Salvation Road."

What attracted you to the role of Sister Jean? We know it's not the pay. 

I love Sister Jean! I know exactly who she is. I was a post Vatican II kid, with 12 years of Catholic school, surrounded by feminist nuns who fought with the cardinal about everything. I identify with that struggle with authority. When it came time for me to choose my confirmation name, I told him I wouldn't go through with it unless they let me take the name of Damien. I loved the stories about Damien the leper in Hawaii. He also fought with church authorities. My own church authorities didn't like the idea that I was picking a male name or picking a guy who at that time was not even on the road to sainthood. I even had a great aunt who was a nun. And ironically enough, as an adult, I went back to the Church, where I met my husband. Just as my mother told me it would happen.

Do you have any personal experience with cults or controlling groups like the fellowship depicted in the play?

I'm from California. Everybody I knew was affiliated with some kind of cultish group at some time or another. I always found that if you waited it out, folks would usually come up for air and grow out of it.

You're not a closet Scientologist are you?

NOT ME. In LA, during a particular period of time, it seems like every other actor was a Scientologist. I just liked the fact that they would buy old buildings and keep them rather than knocking them down.

So what’s next for Kitty Felde?

My two big acting goals are to snag roles on both "Veep" and "House of Cards." Both cast roles in my age range and certainly I have enough experience to play a reporter or a politician. I’m still following politicians around on Capitol Hill, freelancing for a pair of public radio stations in Northern California. My aspiration for the year is to find a way to get to Melbourne Australia to see the Phryne Fisher costume exhibit. She is my new obsession. I even bought a Phryne hat at the Smithsonian craft fair! 

Salvation Road  ... How We Got Here

5/10/2015

 
Salvation Road began as a suggestion from a friend of mine a number of years ago; he came to see my thesis play at Catholic University and was impressed enough to urge me to write about the cult experience. At the time I was preoccupied with other things and not too enthusiastic, but eventually I got around to writing a one-act play that I thought might be of interest to theatres that toured "issue plays" to schools. Figuring out how not to lose heart and soul to a controlling organization seemed like a worthy issue to me, but somehow the play lacked muscle and after one reading I threw it in a drawer and forgot about it.


Some years later Charlie called to tell me that the International Cultic Studies Association was holding its annual conference in Philadelphia and wouldn't it be a great idea to produce the play there--as a form of entertainment? I immediately went into a cold panic. The play, I told him, was not really ready for an audience. And it certainly wasn't something we could produce in that kind of setting. But I would consider reworking it and doing a reading there to test out the story with a tough audience -- former members, their families, caregivers and families of current members. 


Enough time had passed that I could look at the script again with an editor's eye. And I realized that the way back in was to write the story from a perspective that I understood intimately as someone who had lost a sister to a strange new church. In my case, she was gone only a few weeks one summer, but it was enough to terrify and traumatize my family, because she had handed over to them everything she had in the world--her beloved camera, her bicycle, her cash on hand--and signed on to 24/7 servitude to an ideology that none of us -- including her, it turned out -- really understood. Something very attractive had lured her in, but once she was there, it became clear her function was not to seek spiritual enlightment but to work wage-free in support of the Unification Church -- what we then called "The Moonies." 


She likes to say now that she wasn't a very good cult member, since she was fond of taking long walks alone at night, in order to think things over. It was not a practice the group encouraged, but she was rebellious enough not to care. And that streak of independence saved her, along with a newspaper article sent to our house by a Boston reporter who had run into her while he was working on expose about the group's guru, the supposedly Reverend Mr. Moon. 


The article revealed Moon to be a fraud -- to our Catholic ears, the idea that any man who was on his third marriage could be holy in any way was laughable -- and when my mother read the story to my sister during one of her rare calls home, my sister was stunned into action. She left the group and came home, but looking back it is clear that the experience took a lot out of her and left her confused, if not actually bereft, over the loss of something dear to her. 


Controlling organizations don't thrive unless they offer their participants something of great value that they can't get anywhere else--that sense of belonging, of being loved, of making a difference in the world. In our material culture we seldom acknowledge the great spiritual thirst within each of us. It is a real and easily exploited need in young people -- and if you are raised in a culture of conformity and compliance, as we were, young girls growing up Catholic in the 1970s, you're a ripe target for that kind of manipulation.


Salvation Road is my attempt to explore the mystery of such controlling groups-- and where exactly you draw the line between a church and a cult. Some people have told me, not jokingly either, that the Roman Catholic Church is the biggest cult in the world. Not sure I agree. But it makes for an interesting late-night argument.
In these pages, I invite readers to share stories of their own experiences with controlling groups or individuals. We will also use this blog to provide updates on the  progress of the production in this year's Capital Fringe as well as other interesting developments related to the project. 


Thanks for reading.


D.W. Gregory, playwright

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