Catholic Guilt
Written by Kelly McCaughan, directed by Carly L. Bodnar
Photo by: Hannah Van Sciver
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SEX, MORTAL SIN, THE hot BODY OF CHRIST, COSMIC BOWLING!
Written and performed by Kelly McCaughan, directed by Carly L. Bodnar with technical direction by James Jackson. When: Monday, February 12th at 9PM Where: Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 Tickets: $15 Kelly will take you to church in this dark comedic journey of her religious experience. Blending comedy, music, and your sinful participation, Catholic Guilt examines the power of religion and the affect it can have on one's psyche. All souls and religions welcome! *For mature audiences only* To purchase tickets, click here! |
Interview with Kelly McCaughan,
the creator of Catholic Guilt:
ReVamp Collective: What inspired you to create this show?
Kelly McCaughan: My primary inspiration for creating this show was my own Catholic upbringing. After I acquired a non-Catholic worldview, I realized realized how much of an impact being raised Catholic had on me. I wanted to explore this part of myself and share it with others.
I also felt driven to write this show because I saw how many people made their political decisions based solely off of their religious beliefs.
ReVamp Collective: What do you believe is the role religion has played in your life?
Kelly McCaughan: Catholicism had a firm grip on my psyche for about 19 years. Through my Catholic upbringing and education, I developed a limited worldview that negatively impacted my emotional well-being, my relationship with my own sexuality, and my relationships with others. Although I am no longer Catholic and have acquired a new perspective, strains of Catholicism still exist in my life because I still have friends and family members who are still practicing Catholics.
Kelly McCaughan: My primary inspiration for creating this show was my own Catholic upbringing. After I acquired a non-Catholic worldview, I realized realized how much of an impact being raised Catholic had on me. I wanted to explore this part of myself and share it with others.
I also felt driven to write this show because I saw how many people made their political decisions based solely off of their religious beliefs.
ReVamp Collective: What do you believe is the role religion has played in your life?
Kelly McCaughan: Catholicism had a firm grip on my psyche for about 19 years. Through my Catholic upbringing and education, I developed a limited worldview that negatively impacted my emotional well-being, my relationship with my own sexuality, and my relationships with others. Although I am no longer Catholic and have acquired a new perspective, strains of Catholicism still exist in my life because I still have friends and family members who are still practicing Catholics.
Photo by: Ashley Labonde
ReVamp Collective: What do you believe is the role/impact of religion in society?
Kelly McCaughan: Religion makes people who they are. It gives them a sense of identity, a reason to live, and a system to follow that makes them feel safe. It's very scary to think that you are alone in this world and that you are the creator of your own destiny. Some people aren't comfortable thinking for themselves so they depend on something or someone else to 'save' them or steer their life for them. For example, I know a few people in my own life that voted for Donald Trump because he is against abortion. They completely ignored everything else that they might have known about him and his administration because of one dogma in their religious belief-system. I think that's very powerful.
We all generally want the same thing -- love, acceptance, equality, and freedom. Religion, and Catholicism more specifically, sometimes doesn't leave room for that. There is a lot of misogyny, anti-LBGTQ, bigotry, and hypocrisy among the different religious beliefs and people don't want to acknowledge it.
ReVamp Collective: What do you hope audiences walk away with after seeing Catholic Guilt?
Kelly McCaughan: I hope audiences walk away questioning the impact their faith (if any) has had on their upbringing. I also want them to take a more critical look at what we are teaching our children, friends, and family about religion. I hope audiences think about how fragile a child's mind is and to consider where the line of emotional abuse is within religion. It saddens me that so many people are born into religion and because of it, don't have an opportunity to find their own voice or lead their own path. There is a sense of feeling cheated that can occur. If you are religious and it works for you, I think that's a beautiful thing so long as you're not hurting others more than you're helping them. I would hope that people are more aware of the emotional (and sometimes physical and sexual) abuse that occurs because of religion. I want to use my story as a vessel to show the darker impact that religion can have.
Kelly McCaughan: Religion makes people who they are. It gives them a sense of identity, a reason to live, and a system to follow that makes them feel safe. It's very scary to think that you are alone in this world and that you are the creator of your own destiny. Some people aren't comfortable thinking for themselves so they depend on something or someone else to 'save' them or steer their life for them. For example, I know a few people in my own life that voted for Donald Trump because he is against abortion. They completely ignored everything else that they might have known about him and his administration because of one dogma in their religious belief-system. I think that's very powerful.
We all generally want the same thing -- love, acceptance, equality, and freedom. Religion, and Catholicism more specifically, sometimes doesn't leave room for that. There is a lot of misogyny, anti-LBGTQ, bigotry, and hypocrisy among the different religious beliefs and people don't want to acknowledge it.
ReVamp Collective: What do you hope audiences walk away with after seeing Catholic Guilt?
Kelly McCaughan: I hope audiences walk away questioning the impact their faith (if any) has had on their upbringing. I also want them to take a more critical look at what we are teaching our children, friends, and family about religion. I hope audiences think about how fragile a child's mind is and to consider where the line of emotional abuse is within religion. It saddens me that so many people are born into religion and because of it, don't have an opportunity to find their own voice or lead their own path. There is a sense of feeling cheated that can occur. If you are religious and it works for you, I think that's a beautiful thing so long as you're not hurting others more than you're helping them. I would hope that people are more aware of the emotional (and sometimes physical and sexual) abuse that occurs because of religion. I want to use my story as a vessel to show the darker impact that religion can have.
