In His Image is a documentary theater play written and compiled by Lucas Boniface in collaboration with Jackson Randall. The piece interrogates the violent past, present, and future of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormon Church). The play utilizes historical documentation, newspapers, and verbatim interviews to craft a narrative that calls into question the subjectivity of history and which violent acts were chosen to be forgotten. Faith, extremism, and death live thematically at the center of this play and help to guide the piece through text and multimedia exploration. As history evolves, so do our ways of transcribing it.
Program Information
Director's Note
Growing up in Utah, it is hard to miss the massive cultural, political, and socioeconomic impact the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has. When 60 percent of the state belongs to one conservative religious organization, that certainly leaves an impact.
For the past five years, the most important person in my life, Emma, has been in the process of moving away from the Mormon church. As I have grown up I have seen the people around me being unwillingly shaped by a force and organization outside their control. I began this piece with the hope that maybe I could fight against the system which had hurt the people I love. As I began to read through newspapers nearing 200 years old, I was saddened to read for just how long people had been hurt by the very same forces. This piece is meant to interrogate the Mormon Church and its history, while also examining the methods in which we give people a voice, faithful or otherwise.
—Lucas Boniface, creator/director of In His image
Special Thanks
- Pascale Florestal! Thank you thank you thank you!
- Jackson Randall
- Jay and Dena Boniface
- Emma Eileen Hansen
- Katie Brown
- “Uncle Dale's Readings in early Mormon History”
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 110 sheets of paper, 12 gallons of water, and 10 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.