Faith, hope & taming dragons in the funny, brave & moving Soulo Clergy Project

A priest, a minister and a rabbi walk into a theatre…

Two years in the making, SoulOTheatre Artistic Director Tracey Erin Smith’s dream of gathering professional clergy from diverse faiths together to share their stories came true yesterday, when The Soulo Clergy Project gave its debut performance to a sold-out house of friends, family, congregants and supporters at Red Sandcastle Theatre.

With its genesis in a workshop that originally had six students signed up, Anglican priest Father Daniel D. Brereton, Unitarian Universalist minister Reverend Shawn Newton and Rabbi Elyse Goldstein are the three who showed up on the first day and stuck it out. And as the workshop progressed, they discovered they had lots in common, and the three individual stories became a dialogue of shared experiences – this gave Smith the idea that, instead of having three separate solo shows, to weave the three stories together into one show. The result is an entertaining, engaging and insightful piece of storytelling.

Entering the theatre, we are welcomed as part of the respective congregations, and the space buzzes with conversation, last-minute service planning – the excitement and anticipation of community, meeting once a week in a holy space. When the show begins, the three clergy storytellers enter in their respective vestments, highlighting the theatrical quality of religious ritual and tradition. And wait till you hear the three variations on the light bulb joke.

Then, something truly wonderful happens. They each remove their clerical garments, revealing black clothing underneath; personalized t-shirts have their first names on the front, and their respective roles and a simple, humourous description of their guiding principles on the back. Daniel: Priest – What would Jesus do? Elyse: Rabbi – What would Moses do? Shawn: Minister – What would Sartre do? Setting the tone for what’s about to come, it’s a reminder that these three members of the clergy are not only defined by their roles, they’re people.

Daniel, Elyse and Shawn share their stories of how they were called to ministry and why they decided to go into the clergy, the challenges faced within their congregations, and life-changing moments of service in the midst of deep sorrow and pain. Told with candor, humour and compassion, they are frank about their personal joys and struggles in faith, some unusual circumstances where they just had to wing it – and even bend the rules – and the navigation of societal prejudice and inflexibility (Daniel came out to his congregation a week after he got married, and Elyse became a rabbi when there were no female rabbis in Canada). Living lives of service and community, they don’t take themselves too seriously and are aware that even tradition has room for change.

While each comes to the storytelling process from different religious beliefs and traditions, they have much in common: faith, hope, charity and a drive to serve their community and build relationships. They are brave, engaging and warm storytellers, each with his/her own flavour: Daniel with his boyish charm and twinkle in his eye; Elyse’s dry humour and chutzpah (and she does a mean Jackie Mason impersonation); and Shawn’s philosophical and introspective vibe.

When asked during the post-show talkback about why they decided to do this workshop and performance, the common thread that emerged was a desire to take a break from the routine of ministry and get in touch with why they chose to heed the calling and do this work. The workshop (which included writing and assembling the show – with dramaturgical support from facilitator/director Smith) provided a safe and respectful place for them to not only explore their lives as clergy, but also as human beings. In the end, The Soulo Clergy Project isn’t just about their roles as priest, minister and rabbi – it’s about their humanity.

Faith, hope and taming dragons in the funny, brave and moving Soulo Clergy Project.

The Soulo Clergy Project was a one-performance only event, but Smith and the three clergy storytellers are hoping for a remount. Keep an eye out for this remarkable piece of theatrical storytelling.

In the meantime, there’s lots more to come. Please join SoulOTheatre for more fabulous upcoming shows this month:

Project Drag Queen: Sun, May 22 at 8 p.m. at Church on Church.

The fourth annual SOULO Theatre Festival: May 26-29 at Red Sandcastle Theatre, including solo show performances and workshops, see the full schedule here; and get your advance tickets/passes here.

You can also keep up with SoulOTheatre on Facebook and Twitter.