If you attended the Open To Persuasion mini conference presented by The Holy Theatre this weekend, you may still be reflecting on what you learned. I certainly am. Persuasion as a whole was broken down bit by bit from speakers like Bharat Tandon, David Fernandez, Sarah Rose Kearns, Noreen Mughees, Damianne Scott, Jocelyn Harris, Wendy Jones, David Shapard and Lena Yasutake.
The mini conference is inspiring someone like me to look deeper into Jane Austen's world even more. I want to know what Jane Austen hid in her writing, specifically the people who may have contributed to many of the scenes, not only in Persuasion but in all her work. For example, several of the speakers gave the perspective that you can tell how each character ranked with Jane though their connection with books. From what they were reading, to the condition or how they were tasked to catalog them, which was the case for Anne. There were many of the same sentiments shared among the speakers and moderators which leads me to think that Persuasion may be the most popular to talk about? Or is it just the mood of the moment? If the new Persuasion movie prompted all these conversations, so be it.
I absolutely enjoined every moment from this two-day conference and I cannot say enough about the speakers who presented. From the chat, I feel like the audience will want to reread Persuasion and for me much more than that. It sparked a new mission for me to look for more "Easter eggs" in all her novels. The treasure hunt has officially begun because of this weekend, and I have The Holy Theatre to thank.
I actually owe The Holy Theatre a lot more. In the last few months since being on the Board of Directors, I've felt the warm welcomes of Sarah Rose Kearns, Elise Pallay, Lisa Tagliaferri, Yoly Ward-Zululeta, Lena Yasutake, and now our newest addition Georgie Castilla. For someone like me, I need to feel surrounded by motivated and talented people to keep me moving towards my own dreams. I really do feel like The Holy Theatre will be a big part of my life going forward and hope that we succeed in our goals whatever they may be.
The Holy Theatre is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Our EIN is 88-0532740; our Board of Directors consists of Georgie Castilla, Jennyvi Dizon, Sarah Rose Kearns, Elise Pallay, Lisa Tagliaferri, Yoly Ward-Zululeta, and Lena Yasutake.
To make a donation click here for the Paypal link.
Your tax-deductible donation to The Holy Theatre will help to fund the workshop production of Persuasion, a new play by Sarah Rose Kearns, to be directed by Ran Xia at The Warwick Institute of Culture at the end of this summer.
For the die-hard Janeites among us: here's the link to shop our exclusive Mrs. Croft-inspired tees; proceeds, of course, support the project — http://www.bonfire.com/store/theholytheatre
