Download Doubt Play Guide - Actors Theatre of Louisville

WRITING FOR PUBLICATION
DOUBT
1. Personal Expressive
PLAY GUIDE
Have you ever wanted to apologize to someone and not know what to say? Take a
moment to remember what that felt like. What would you say to that person if you
were given the opportunity to go back? Now, write an apology letter to that person.
Express your feelings – were you upset, angry, or frustrated? Why did you feel this
way? What could you do to patch things up?
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ABOUT THE
PLAY GUIDE
2. Literary
This play guide is a standards-based resource designed to enhance
your theatre experience. Its goal is two-fold: to nuture the teaching
and learning of theatre arts and to encourage essential questions
that lead to enduring understandings of the play’s meaning and
relevance. Inside you will find history/contextual information,
vocabulary, and worksheets that lay the groundwork of the story
and build anticipation for the performance. Oral discussion and
writing prompts encourage your students to reflect upon their
impressions and to analyze and relate key ideas to their personal
experiences and the world around them. These can easily be
adapted to fit most writing objectives. We encourage you to adapt
and extend the material in any way to best fit the needs of your
community of learners. Please feel free to make copies of this guide,
or you may download it from our website: www.actorstheatre.org.
We hope this material, combined with our pre-show workshops, will
give you the tools to make your time at Actors Theatre a valuable
learning experience.
Think about Mrs. Muller’s meeting with Sister Aloysuis Beauvier. How would the conversation
change if the meeting were between Mrs. Muller and Sister James? Create this meeting by writing
a short scene between Mrs. Muller and Sister James. Where would the meeting take place? What
questions would Mrs. Muller ask Sister James? How would Sister James react to Mrs. Muller’s
questions? What would they discuss?
3. Transactive
After seeing Doubt, write a theatrical critique of the production. Pretend you are
writing for a local newspaper. Describe three elements that stood out to you (maybe
an actor’s performance, the set, the costumes, etc.). Why should or why shouldn’t
someone see this performance?
Table of Contents
The Doubt Study Guide includes:
Page 2: Play Synopsis and Character List
g Page 3: John Patrick Shanley: A Biography
g Page 4-5: Catholicism: A background
g Page 6: Elements of Catholicism
g Page 7: Glossary
g Page 8: Fun Facts
g Page 9: 1964: An Important Year
g Page 10: The Scandal
g Page 11: Themes & Discussion
g Page 12: Writing for Publication
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Need more help?
Check out our Young Critics Workshops! Have an Actors Theatre teaching artist
visit your classroom to give your students the inside scoop on how to write a
theatrical critique.
Students who have written a critique on an Actors Theatre production may
submit their work to be posted on our website! To submit online, please send
all critiques as email attachments to [email protected] with the subject
heading ‘Young Critics Contest.’ Please be sure to include your name, school, teacher,
grade, and contact information.
The Doubt matinee and Study Guide address specific
KY Core Content:
Actors Theatre
Education Department
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Katie Blackerby Weible, Education Director
Jess Jung, Associate Education Director
Lee Look, New Voices Coordinator
Actors Theatre of Louisville
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Box Office 502–584–1205
316 West Main Street
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Louisville, Kentucky 40202–4218
Group Sales 502–585–1210
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USA
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Ganelle Holman, Education Intern
Stephanie Ong, Education Intern
Business Office 502–584–1265
ActorsTheatre.org
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The Hearst
Foundation, Inc.
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AH-1.3.1: Students will identify the elements of drama.
AH-2.3.1: Students will analyze how time, place and ideas are
reflected in drama/theatre.
AH-3.3.1: Students will explain how drama/theatre fulfills a
variety of purposes.
PL-HS-1.1.1 Students will explain the importance of effective
social interaction skills
PL-HS-1.1.8 Students will explain risks associated with
unhealthy habits and behaviors.
SS-HS-2.1.1: Students will explain how various human needs
are metthrough interaction in and among social institutions.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our play guides,
please feel free to contact Katie Blackerby Weible, Director of
Education, at (502) 584-1265 or [email protected].
Play Guide compiled by Stephanie Ong and Ganelle Holman.
Play Synopsis
“True to its title, Doubt raises several questions such as are we
alone in our certainty and safe in our doubt?”
“What do you do when you’re not sure,” asks Father
Flynn in the opening sermon of Doubt, setting the
stage for a parable of suspicion and moral certainty.
Set in 1964, the play takes place at St. Nicholas,
a Catholic school in the Bronx, New York, and
examines the hierarchy of religious education. Father
Flynn is a young, easy-going priest. He has a warm,
caring heart and is careful to treat the students at
school like family. His colleague, Sister Aloysius, is
the principal. She is an old-school nun who insists
that the students not be spoiled by kindness and
affection. Certain that Flynn has been “interfering”
with Donald Muller, the school’s first black student,
she employs Sister James, an inexperienced young
nun “with sunshine in her heart,” as an indirect
witness to the dealings between Flynn and Muller.
When Sister James reluctantly reports smelling
Character List
Father Brendan Flynn: A priest
Sister Aloysius Beauvier: Principal of
St. Nicholas School
Sister James: New teacher at
St. Nicholas School
Mrs. Muller: Mother of Donald,
St. Nicholas School’s first black student
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alcohol on Donald’s breath after a visit with Flynn,
Aloysius’ quest to remove Father Flynn from
priesthood is set in motion. In a verbal battle, Aloysius
confronts Flynn with her suspicions, demanding his
confession and resignation. He refuses, denying any
wrongdoing. The Sister invites Donald’s mother,
Mrs. Muller, to her office, in an effort to gain more
information leading to Father Flynn’s removal.
On the contrary, Mrs. Muller provides another
perspective. She supports her son’s friendship
with Flynn, inappropriate or not, and hints that this
situation has arisen for Donald before. True to its title,
Doubt raises several questions: What is the nature
of Father Flynn’s relationship with Donald? Why is
Sister Aloysius convinced of his guilt? Are we alone in
our certainty and safe in our doubt?
Themes
Certainty
Doubt
Satisfaction
Innocence
Blame
Perception
Religion
Integration
Suspicion
Proof
Faith
Discussion
1. How does Shanley color the audience’s perception of Sister Aloysius at the beginning of the play? How do you feel
about her by the end?
2. Do you remember being the new kid at school, like Donald is in Doubt? Have you ever been on the other side of the
fence, weary of newcomers in your community? Write a paragraph about your experience with the integration of new
cultures.
3. Sister Aloysius says, “the best teachers do not perform, they cause the students to perform.” What have your favorite
teachers done to inspire your work as a student? How did Father Flynn and Sister James stimulate performance? What
techniques did Sister Aloysius use?
4. Some say that Doubt is an open-ended story. In fact, Shanley is ambiguous about whether Father Flynn is guilty of
wrongdoings. Were you satisfied at the end of the play? Did you feel you had to form your own conclusions? What does
the end tell us about the nature of doubt and certainty?
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THE SCANDAL
“John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt provides several perspectives
on sexual misconduct in the Catholic community. More important,
the play provides a possible forum for discussion.”
Although the crisis of sexual abuse in the Catholic
Church has a history that dates back to the fourth century, the modern scandal began to emerge in the media in
1984. Like the “shot heard ‘round the world,” it has had
far-reaching, revolutionary consequences that few could
have imagined. At last, thanks largely to the secular
press, the courts, and the courage of abuse survivors, secrecy has broken, and the horror stories are flooding out.
We now know about countless children and youth molested in Catholic schools, rectories, monasteries, convents,
seminaries, summer camps, and confessionals. Some kept
their suffering a secret for decades, too ashamed to tell.
Others tried to tell but were dismissed or intimidated by
Church officials into silence. In 1984, the Boston Globe
published a story about a priest who had sexually abused
more than 130 children. Soon came the revelation that
three cardinals knew the priest’s history of sexual abuse
and had knowingly transferred him to six different parishes over 34 years. Now the sex abuse story took on new
momentum. An avalanche of new allegations began, with
literally thousands of people coming forward to charge
that they too had been molested by priests. It’s been eleven years since the Boston Globe exposed predator priests,
and many Catholics are holding fast to their faith. In
more than 2000 years of history, the Catholic Church has
“withstood heresy, division, rebellion, persecution, oppression, and every kind of scandal imaginable.” To many
Catholics, “sinful priests do not take away from the truth
of the message of salvation, nor do they invalidate the
sacraments. If anything, they demonstrate the universal
need for mercy and grace.” Thoughtful people of other
religious faiths also know that men and women in their
own traditions are vulnerable to misconduct. They know
not to judge a community by those who don’t live out the
faith, but by those who do.
The question remains: Why is the scandal of
sexual abuse focused on the Catholic Church? To be
sure, Protestant churches have experienced some level
of misconduct, but not nearly to such an exponential
degree. Some blame celibacy, a vow Catholic clergy must
take to remain sexually inactive as long as they hold
their position in the church. The ancient discipline has
gotten a bad rap in the chaos of controversy. Some say
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that sex cannot be repressed, that human beings will
express (one way or another) the need to be intimate
with other human beings. But this explanation is not
necessarily true. These celibate men and women are
a contradiction, a people set apart, people who have
saved the most precious part of themselves for God
alone. People such as Mother Teresa, John Paul II,
Mother Angelica, Padre Pio, and countless others have
embraced this discipline and demonstrated its power.
Celibacy was never an arbitrary penance for Catholic
ministers but a sacrifice so they might, in the words of
Pope Paul VI, “acquire a deeper mastery of soul and
body and a fuller maturity to more perfectly receive
the blessedness spoken of in the gospel.” The Church’s
discipline is intended to draw men and women to
greater depths of holiness, weakening and diminishing
the power of the flesh.
The truth is, there is no absolute cause or
foolproof fix for pedophilia in any circumstance. What
we can do is look on the bright side. If one is a person of
faith, this controversy is an opportunity to “demonstrate
God’s grace, the evil nature of sin, and the reward of
salvation.” One parish priest sent a strong, poignant
message to his congregation. “I am telling you to stop,
think, and realize that the Church is in crisis…that
there are folk who have the authority to address that
but, instead of doing so, have allowed the Church to
become a possibly unsafe place for your kids. Focus on
the enemy. The enemy is within.”
John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt provides
several perspectives on sexual misconduct in the
Catholic community. More important, the play provides
a possible forum for discussion. In sharing ideas
about the themes of this play, we are able approach a
delicate situation from an intellectual (as opposed to an
emotional) standpoint. Father Flynn’s opinion may be
the best way to handle nightmares of such perverted
nature. “You make up little stories to illustrate. In the
tradition of the parable…what actually happens in life is
beyond interpretation.”
JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY
A BIOGRAPHY
“I have a very strong impulse to write plays. I would be writing plays whether I
was starving... It’s not even about liking it. I’m gonna do it no matter what.”
Born in 1950, John Patrick Shanley is a playwright
from the Bronx. He was educated by the Irish Christian
Brothers and the Sisters of Charity. In his personal
biography, Shanley states that “he was thrown out of
St. Helena’s kindergarten. He was banned from St.
Anthony’s hot lunch program for life. He was expelled
from Cardinal Spellman High School. He was placed
on academic probation by New York University and
instructed to appear before a tribunal if he wished to
return.” After graduating from NYU, Shanley had a
successful run with the United States Marine Corps.
He has been writing plays and screenplays
ever since, the most famous of which is the 1988 film
Moonstruck, which won him the Academy Award for
best original screenplay. Shanley is currently in the
process of developing a musical version of Moonstruck
for the Broadway stage. Nearly a dozen of Shanley’s
plays have been produced off-Broadway, including
Italian-American Reconciliation, Danny and the Deep
Blue Sea, and Four Dogs and a Bone. In 2004 Shanley
was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame, but until
he wrote Doubt, he had never received a New York
theatre award. Then, in 2005, Doubt was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Drama Desk Award, and
the Tony Award for Best Play. In an interview with the
New York Times, Shanley commented on the theme
of his highly prized work. “Look! I have doubts. And
that’s a good thing. You should have doubts, too. And if
you don’t, you’re a hammer-headed clown!”
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CATHOLICISM
A BACKGROUND
St. Cyril of Jerusalem in A.D. 386 stated, “The Church
is called Catholic because it extends through all the
world and because it teaches universally and without
omission all the doctrines which ought to come to
human knowledge.”
The Catholic Church has existed for well over
2,000 years with Catholicism being one of the fastest
growing religions in the world. The word Catholic
comes from the Greek katholikos meaning “general”
or “universal”.
Catholicism refers to the beliefs and practices of
the Roman Catholic Church and traces back to Jesus’ last
three years of life and the teachings and practices of the
Twelve Apostles. Catholic doctrine teaches that Jesus had
a dual nature: He was both human and divine, and Jesus
the Son of God was made man as a perfect expression of
God’s love. The Church itself has four basic tenets, or
principles, by which all members must abide:
Tradition: the content of what is passed down, such as the
teachings contained in the Bible.
Universality: the openness to all truth from any culture,
person or being.
Reason and Analogy: both used in the quest to
understand the Catholic mysteries.
An ImPORTANT YEAR IN HISTORY
1964 Jan 3, Barry Goldwater announced that he
was a candidate for the U.S. Presidency. Later that year
he lost ... big time to Lyndon B. Johnson.
1964 Mar 8, Malcolm X left the Black Muslim
Movement.
“The Church itself has four basic
tenets, or principles, by which all
members must abide.”
1964 Apr 5, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur (b.1880)
died in Washington, D.C. MacAuthur fought in World
War I, World War II and the Korean War. He became the
youngest ever superintendent at West Point and was a
highly decorated General.
1964 Apr 22, President Johnson opened the 19641965 New York World’s Fair in Queens. It featured the
futuristic Unisphere and a house made of formica. Ken
Kesey and the Merry Pranksters drove to the fair in a
1939 bus with Neal Cassidy. The trip immortalized in
“The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe in 1968.
THE SACRAMENTS
1964 May 25, Supreme Court ruled that closing
schools to avoid desegregation is unconstitutional.
Catholicism is a religion of sacraments, or ceremoniews
that celebrate what is sacred to Christians. There are
seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism, confirmation
or admission of a person to full church membership, the
Eucharist, Penance or confession, the Anointing of the
Sick, Matrimony and Holy orders.
1964 Jun 19, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 survived
an 83-day filibuster in the US Senate, and was approved
by a vote of 73-27. President Johnson passed the Civil
Rights Act guaranteeing all U.S. citizens the right to vote
and prohibiting segregation in public places. Gender was
also added to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act outlawing
gender discrimination in the labor market.
Examples from Doubt:
Matrimony
Sister Aloysius: “The founder of our order, The Blessed
Mother Seton, was married and had five children before
embarking on her vows.”
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1964
Holy Orders
Sister Aloysius: “When one takes on the habit, one
must close the door on secular things.”
Penance
Flynn: “Have you never done anything wrong?”
Sister Aloysius: “I have.”
Flynn: “Mortal sin?”
Sister Aloysius: “Yes.”
Flynn: And?
Sister Aloysius: ”I confessed it! Did you give
Donald Muller wine to drink?”
Flynn: “Whatever I have done, I have left in the
hands of my confessor. As have you! We are the same!”
1964 Jun 28, Malcolm X founded the Organization
for Afro American Unity to seek independence for blacks
in the Western Hemisphere.
1964 Jul 2, President Johnson signed into law
a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress. It
guaranteed voting rights and equal access to public
accommodations and education.
1964 Jul 18, Riots erupted in the African American
communities of New York City and Rochester, New York,
The New York City race riot began in Harlem and spread
to Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.
1964 Jul 24-27, Another race riot took place in
Rochester, New York, killing 4 people.
1964 Aug 26, President Johnson was nominated
for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic
National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.
1964 Sep 27, The Warren Commission,
investigating the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy, announced that according to its findings Lee
Harvey Oswald acted alone as did Jack Ruby in the
assassination. Later evidence indicated a Mafia contract
killing.
1964 Oct 14, Civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther
King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating a
policy of non-violence.
1964 Nov. Catholics could eat meat on Friday.
1964 Nov 13, Pope Paul VI gave a tiara to the poor.
1964 Nov 23, The Vatican abolished Latin as the
official language of Roman Catholic liturgy.
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FUN FACTS
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Communion, is the oldest Catholic parish in
New York State.
3,500,000 teachers in 250,000 Catholic schools
worldwide teach 42,000,000 pupils.
There are more Catholics in the U. S. Congress
than any other religion.
The home of the “First Catholic high school in
America” is hotly contested. Some say it belongs
to the Diocese of Philadelphia, others say to the
Archdiocese of New York and still others to the
Diocese of Baltimore.
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Archdiocese of New York has 2.5 million
parishioners, 410 parishes, 279 schools, and
extends 108 miles.
Since November, 1964, Catholics could eat meat
on Friday.
Old St. Peter’s Church (16 Barclay Street, New
York, NY 10007), where Saint Elizabeth Ann
Seton was baptized and made her First Holy
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Is your last name Zolp as verified on your birth
and Catholic baptismal certificates? If so, Loyola
University in Chicago will provide you with a full
four-year scholarship.
The pope’s license plate number is SCV 1 (State
City of Vatican)
Charles Carroll was the only Catholic to sign the
United States Declaration of Independence.
In 2003 there were 73,316 nuns in the US
compared to 179,954 in 1965.
The Vatican has 900 citizens and 3,000 employees.
In the U.S. there are fewer Catholic Schools
relative to the population of Catholics.
Source: http://www.judybook.com/Catholic%20news%20items%202.html
The Pope
The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and Bishop,
or leader of Rome. The College of Cardinals (in a meeting
known as a conclave) elects the pope. Candidates for the
papacy include any baptized male. However, the honor
is usually given to a cardinal within the conclave. A twothirds majority is required to elect the pope and voting is
kept secret between the cardinals. A new pope is announced
by burning the ballots and the ringing of bells. The Pope’s
responsibilities include:
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Spreading the Catholic message around the world
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Fighting for social justice
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Providing spiritual guidance to The Church’s members
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Appointing bishops and cardinals
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Writing documents that define the Catholic Church’s
official position on issues facing the world
Conferring with global leaders and politicians
Nuns and Sisters
A nun is a woman in religious orders who takes solemn vows
in chastity, poverty and obedience. These women live in a
convent and live a life of silence and prayer.
In order to become a nun, one must go through a
series of steps. The first is a program called postulancy.
Postulancy is when the woman, along with the order,
determines if she may have a vocation to the life. This can
last anywhere from six months to a year. During this time,
the woman is “interviewed” by the order of sisters. If the
order accepts, the woman receives the habit of the order,
the distinct black and white clothing worn by nuns. She will
then start living the life of a nun, without actually taking
vows. This period can last one to two years. She may then
take her temporary vows, which can typically last one to
three years, but not more than six. Finally, she will make
her final, solemn vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.
The character Sister Aloysius Beauvier in Doubt is a nun.
A sister is a nun who does not observe a convent or
monastery. Sisters take simpler vows and take on other
spiritual missions such as caring for the sick, teaching the
youth and helping the poor. Sisters wear a habit that is
slightly different from a professed nun. Their habit consists
of an all white veil and a black jumper dress. Sisters
usually belong to communities such as the Sisters of Charity
or Maryknoll Sisters. The religious community of a sister is
referred to as a “congregation” or “institute”. The character
Sister James in Doubt is a sister.
“A sister is a nun who does not
observe a convent or monastery.”
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Elements of Catholicism
“The rosary also has a crucifix, which is used to make the sign of the cross and
recite the Apostles’ Creed followed by one large bead (Our Father), three small
beads (Hail Mary), and another large bead (Our Father).”
The Eucharist is a wafer of bread and a cup of wine blessed
by the Church that is taken during Mass. The Eucharist
represents the body and blood of Christ and the belief in
God as a real living presence, which is the very essence of
Catholicism.
Holy Trinity refers to the belief of three persons in one God:
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Catholics believe Purgatory is where people go to purify
their souls of any faults or wrongdoing. The true
punishment of Purgatory is not being close to God.
The power of prayer is believed to be essential in the
spiritual relationship between God and man.
The Catholic faith is based on scripture and tradition.
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The birthday of the Catholic Church is Pentecost
Sunday, which ends the season of Easter.
The Rosary is a devotion that encourages Christians to
reflect on the mysteries of Christ’s life experienced by
Mary the Virgin Mother of God. The Rosary consists
of fifty beads in groups of ten (decade). Each of these
small beads represents a Hail Mary. There is other
larger bead before every decade, which represents
one of several prayers: an Our Father, Apostles’ Creed
and Hail Holy Queen. The rosary also has a crucifix,
which is used to make the sign of the cross and recite
the Apostles’ Creed followed by one large bead (Our
Father), three small beads (Hail Mary), and another
large bead (Our Father).
Both candles and incense are used to set the mood for
prayer and spirituality. The mood is often mystical or
somber.
GLOSSARY
Altar Boys- boys or teenagers who assist the
priest during Mass.
Parish- stable community within a diocese led by
the diocesan bishop or the parish priest, or pastor.
The Blessed Mother Seton- established the
Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Children
in1797. Later, she founded Sisters of Charity in
Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1809.
Second Ecumenical Council- A series of
meetings between Bishops and led by Pope John
XXIII, making the Church and message of Jesus Christ
more easily understandable to the modern world.
Father- a title given to a priest, denoting a spiritual
relationship between the priest and his congregation
or with anyone else to whom he ministers.
Sisters of Charity- Was founded by St. Vincent
de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in 1633. Sisters
of Charity dedicate themselves to caring for the
poor and have founded many hospitals. There are
many congregations of Catholic sisters who refer
to themselves as Sisters of Charity.
Habit- distinctive clothing worn by members of
religious orders. Nun’s habits are floor-length black
dresses with a short black veil.
Monsignor- an honorary title given to priests for
certain services they have provided for the Church.
Monsignor is a title ordinarily bestowed by the pope.
Vestments- the special garments worn by
liturgical ministers.
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