The Stonewater Rapture

Set on the front porch and in the living room of a conservative Texas home, the play tells the story of two teenagers whose sexual awakening has been severely hampered by the fundamentalist fervor that runs like power lines through the Bible Belt. A comic first scene, set on the porch of Whitney's home, details his attempts to seduce the puritanical Carlyle after he's just been elected president of the Youth Ministry at the Church picnic. Carlyle coyly refuses his advances, citing everything from teen pregnancy to hellfire and damnation as reasons to abstain

In a dramatic second scene, Carlyle seeks Whitney's help after she has been the victim of a sexual assault. Rather than face the grim reality of her experience, Carlyle transforms the attack from an act of violence to a vision of glory, in which the bodies of her assailants become the angels torn from the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the alcohol they forced upon her becomes the blood of Christ. As Carlyle's delusions grow, Whitney must convince her of the truth...

With its single set and youthful roles this play has been a favorite among high school, college and amateur groups. The play captured the Fringe First at the 1984 Edinburgh Festival. It was subsequently published in The Best Short Plays of 1987, and produced regionally and in New York

"A poignant and funny look at growing up, sex and religion in small-town America" - London Stage