On Thursday, Feb. 29, the class of PHIL 4351: The Thought of John Paul II put on a dramatic reading of “The Jeweler’s Shop,” written by Karol Wojtyla, known as St. Pope John Paul II. I had the unique opportunity to speak with some of the students in PHIL 4351 about their thoughts on the play and the class.
Maylis Quesnel, senior drama major, who played the part of Monica, said “The central problem [of the play] is love and marriage. Characters dwell on the mysteries they encounter when deciding to get married (act 1), after getting married (act 2), and when seeing their children get married.” Continue on to hear from other members of the cast about their experiences.
Questions:
What have you learned from the class so far?
What has been your favorite part of the project?
What do you hope people learn/take away from reading?
Would you recommend taking the Thought of JPII
class? Why?
Julia Sanford, junior history major and member of the chorus in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1. This class has fundamentally changed the way that I see each person as an irreducible and incommunicable being, whose existence is a phenomenon where the subjective “I” of the person is grounded in an objective human nature, which the embodied subjective deploys and can communicate.
2. My favorite aspect of this dramatic reading is most definitely my part. I find that the Chorus embodies that which is phenomenologically mysterious and beautiful about each person and each interpersonal relationship.
3. I simply want for people to marvel and wonder at the human person and the complexity of human relationships.
4. I do absolutely recommend anyone from any major to take the Thought of John Paul II. I think that it is a wonderful class that gives a very valuable perspective on the human person. It is also very important to carry the torch of JPII’s project, learning his teachings so that his work will not be forgotten. As a history major, this class has given me a whole different perspective when I look at historical subjects and persons. It has been an unforgettable journey that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Isaac Kelly, junior physics major and Stefan in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1. I have learned to appreciate St. John Paul’s deep understanding of the central problems of married life. You would think that as a priest he would not understand what it is like to be married, but in his ministry he advised and counseled many couples in different stages of their marriage. So he has a breadth of experience that the married person could not have.
2. I’ve really enjoyed reading through this little play. It is like nothing I’ve ever read before; every word of dialogue makes an impact. It is as if their soul is shown to the audience, and through that they come to understand themselves better.
3. I hope that my classmates and I (and our audience) can learn something about dialogue; about being honest with ourselves and each other, and about the power of the spoken word. The spoken word is the center of this type of theater, and it should be the center of our lives.
4. I would recommend taking this class if you want to understand how St. John Paul understood the human person, and how that understanding affects how we form relationships with other people and with God.
Maylis Quesnel, senior drama major and Monica in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
Karol Wojtyla’s love of literature and drama nurtured his appreciation of the Word. “The Jeweler’s Shop” is an example of Theatre of the Word, the kind of drama performed by a Polish group of underground Rhapsodic actors led by Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk. They gathered in secret during Nazi and Communist oppression to keep Polish culture alive through dramatic performances with minimal scenery, movement, and effects. For these brave few, theatre was a return to what is most real, a place where the Word could be itself, a display of reality itself. Kotlarczyk believed that theatre was liturgical, because words can establish the right relation between humans and God, between man and mysteries.
Wojtyla’s personalist philosophy emphasizes that words permit persons to share their interiority with one another. In addition to communicating ideas, they are charged with emotions and can affect the receiver emotionally. Simply to speak is a dignified act, because it sets humans apart from animals. Hence Rhapsodic Theatre, in which characters engage in interior, philosophical debates rather than acting out a lifelike plot. The word Rhapsodic comes from the Greek rhapsodes, itinerant storytellers who could recite all of Homer. In Rhapsodic dramas, characters do not speak to each other, but recite interior thoughts: imagine Hamlet with only soliloquies.
Conor Mulcahy, senior philosophy major and Adam in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1. The class has been a wonderful examination of major themes in JPII’s thought regarding things like the intersection of Thomism and phenomenology, as well as topics like love.
2. My favorite part of the project has been getting the opportunity to participate in a kind of theater which I had never seen or been familiar with before. It was a new opportunity to enter more deeply into the meaning of the text itself, and to see the words as disclosures, even confessions, of the persons that speak them.
3. I hope that people take away some deeper insights into marital love, particularly the role of education in that love.
4. I definitely recommend taking the class, for two very similar reasons. First, Dr. Walz is the man. Second, JPII is the man! I view classes like this one, devoted to individual thinkers, as offering the ability to enter into friendship with the person you are reading. Who better to enter into friendship with than JPII, who is in many ways the saint for our times?
Emily Strom, senior English major and member of chorus in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1. I have learned how St. Pope John Paul II’s personalistic philosophy is rooted in Thomism, and I have been really struck by his perspective on the human person. And in “Love and Responsibility,” he has a way of drawing out complex truths about personhood and relationships that strike me as being incredibly accurate to the human experience even though I would never have been able to find the right words to explain them.
2. Although it was great to be a member of the chorus, I enjoyed watching my classmates read their parts even more. It was awesome to watch people I knew from other contexts bring the text of “The Jeweler’s Shop” to life. I have read many books, but I think this one has influenced me more than any other because it radically reshaped my perspective of love.
3. I hope that the people who attended the reading were moved by it and want to reread the play on their own so they can continue reflecting on it.
4. Yes! I think Dr. Walz makes it very approachable for an upper-level philosophy class, and the readings really help you understand a Pope who has had a significant impact on the modern Church.
Jonathan Forkey, senior biology major and Christopher in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1.First, I have learned primarily about the importance of the person, the person is utterly incommunicable and particular. It is this “person,” which underlies everything, which should be the object of human love. Second, human love, particularly spousal love, is the soil out of which not only a family but all of society will grow. The spousal relationship is sacrificial and its creativity goes beyond just creating another human being, it is essential for a good society to be supported and educated by these relationships. Third, Christ commands us to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. JPII reflects on how this is a call to spiritual fatherhood or motherhood in some way and that the perfection of our lives (in a sense) is becoming a spiritual father or mother.
2/3. My favorite part of the project and what I hope people take away is the chance to wrestle with this work as it particularly applies to us as young people. We are in a crucial time where the decisions we make will, like it or not, have a lasting effect on our lives and on our souls. We need all the help we can get to figure out something like how to live as a spouse or as a spiritual father or mother.
Martha Depew, junior English major and Teresa in “The Jeweler’s Shop”
1. I think that the core of so much of what John Paul II taught is to always view other people as persons to be loved rather than objects to be used.
2. I have loved getting to spend more time reflecting on “The Jeweler’s Shop.” The play brings to life in such a beautiful way many of the philosophical ideas expressed in “Love and Responsibility.” It is so enriching to relate to one’s relationships with other people as well as to God.
3. I hope the reading will inspire those who have not yet studied John Paul II’s writings and life stories to look into them more. John Paul II has such a compelling personality and message, especially for young people. He deeply sympathizes with the temptations and struggles facing us in the modern world, yet is not afraid to challenge the individual to truly live up to his high calling as a Catholic.
4. I absolutely recommend taking the class. John Paul II was such a multifaceted saint and I love that the course allows one to look into these different aspects of who he was as a philosopher, theologian and artist. Not only is the class intellectually stimulating, but it is deeply applicable to one’s spiritual life.