Seven Passages Film

Seven Passages: The Stories of Gay Christians debuted last October at Spectrum Theater. The play, written and produced by Calvin College professor Stephanie Sandberg, is based on hundreds of interviews with gay and lesbian people in West Michigan.

This year, Sandberg worked with eight actors to produce a film based on the same interviews. Unfortunately, I missed its screening this month at Celebration Cinema. Although I'd love to see the video, I don't have 30 bucks to throw down for it, which seems to me like an excessive amount for a DVD.

I also watched the trailer and wasn't that enthused. I really think it's meant to be performed onstage. At the Spectrum performance, Sandberg did a great job with the costumes and set, all of which were completely white, very simple. She integrated live video screens, which gave it a documentary feel. She also worked with the words of the scripture passages the play discusses: the projected words sometimes fell directly onto the actors, as if imprinting them. The stage allowed some distance from the actors, and since they rotated through many different characters, it also gave the voices some anonymity. The stories could belong to a friend, a brother, or even yourself.

The play, which is gradually debuting worldwide, has been performed at Western and is slated to appear at Grand Valley this January.