Hello Montgomery Theater fans! I'm Rebecca, I'm playing Sister Felicia in MT's current production, "Hail Mary!". When I first got cast in this play, I couldn't help think how ironic it was that I was to play a nun after 12 years of Catholic school, where it was not exactly uncommon for me to be "asked to step out" of the classes most often taught by the nuns. (Like our heroine, Mary, I too had a "big mouth," but that's all a story for another blog.)
Anyway I was anxious and excited to start rehearsal, and at our first read-through I discovered even more ironic circumstances regarding this production. As it turns out Sarah Gliko (who plays Mary) and I grew up in neighboring towns and went to the same church. Sarah and I had met before but hadn't really had a chance to get to know each other. Through all of us sharing our church-related experiences, we found that we shared a lot more than that.
My father taught CCD for Holy Savior parish in Linwood, PA for a few years in the 90's. I, being already in Catholic school, would go to class with him after mass because I loved to watch him teach, and to be his "assistant," which basically meant handing out prizes went someone answered a question correctly. Although I was not one of his students, can you guess who was? That's right, our own Sarah Gliko. She was a couple of school years ahead of me, and it's very possible that I once gave her a piece of candy or a prayer card for correctly reciting the Apostle's Creed.
Now, 15 years later, here we are. Sarah and I are working together in a play about Catholicism, with Sarah playing a character who is fighting for a lot of the same ideals my father taught his classes. Dad passed away this past Halloween, but I know he's in the audience every night, watching Sarah and me play and talk religion again.
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