Ernest Ferlita
Encyclopedia
Father Ernest Ferlita is a Jesuit professor emeritus of drama and speech at Loyola University
in New Orleans, Louisiana
and a member of the Dramatists Guild. He received his degree in playwriting and dramatic literature at the Yale School of Drama
.
in Charleston, South Carolina
. It was given three Off-Off Broadway productions and won four awards at the 15th Annual Black Theatre Festival.
Another play, The Truth of the Matter, won The Miller Award in the 1986 Deep South Writers Conference. Two other plays by Fr. Ferlita have been produced Off-Off Broadway: The Obelisk, and Two Cities, a double bill of two one-act plays The Mask of Hiroshima (published in Best Short Plays 1989) and The Bells of Nagasaki
.
His one-act play The Witness was one of the winners of the 1999-2000 Love Creek One-Act Play Festival, and his first ten-minute play Come Home, Come Home was chosen to be a part of Love Creek Productions Autumn One Acts 2003.
In 2004 Big Tom was one of ten winners in Catholic University's One-Act Religious Play Competition. His play Ma-Fa, based on the life of Johann Adam Schall von Bell
, a Jesuit astronomer in China, was awarded the second prize of the International Competition of Religious Drama for the Great Jubilee in the Year 2000.
, and The Paths of Life, three books of reflections on readings for the Sunday Mass. Many of these reflections were given as homilies to the congregation at St. Clare's Monastery in New Orleans, where he served as chaplain until the city's evacuation during Hurricane Katrina
in 2005 and where he later continued to serve as chaplain after the hurricane recovery.
Fr. Ferlita was also a librettist for two operas, Dear Ignatius, Dear Isabel and Edith Stein, and was a co-author of The Parables of Lina Wertmüller.
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
and a member of the Dramatists Guild. He received his degree in playwriting and dramatic literature at the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
.
Plays
His first play, The Ballad of John Ogilvie, was produced Off-Broadway in 1968. In 1978, his Black Medea was staged at the first Spoleto Festival USASpoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. It was given three Off-Off Broadway productions and won four awards at the 15th Annual Black Theatre Festival.
Another play, The Truth of the Matter, won The Miller Award in the 1986 Deep South Writers Conference. Two other plays by Fr. Ferlita have been produced Off-Off Broadway: The Obelisk, and Two Cities, a double bill of two one-act plays The Mask of Hiroshima (published in Best Short Plays 1989) and The Bells of Nagasaki
The Bells of Nagasaki
is a 1949 book by Takashi Nagai. It vividly describes his experiences as a survivor of the Atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It was translated into English by William Johnston. The title refers to the bells of Urakami Cathedral, of which Nagai writes:...
.
His one-act play The Witness was one of the winners of the 1999-2000 Love Creek One-Act Play Festival, and his first ten-minute play Come Home, Come Home was chosen to be a part of Love Creek Productions Autumn One Acts 2003.
In 2004 Big Tom was one of ten winners in Catholic University's One-Act Religious Play Competition. His play Ma-Fa, based on the life of Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell was a German Jesuit and astronomer. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China and became an adviser to the Chinese emperor.- Life :...
, a Jesuit astronomer in China, was awarded the second prize of the International Competition of Religious Drama for the Great Jubilee in the Year 2000.
Books
He is also the author of several books, including The Theatre of Pilgrimage, The Uttermost Mark, a book on the dramatic writings of the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, and The Paths of Life, three books of reflections on readings for the Sunday Mass. Many of these reflections were given as homilies to the congregation at St. Clare's Monastery in New Orleans, where he served as chaplain until the city's evacuation during Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005 and where he later continued to serve as chaplain after the hurricane recovery.
Fr. Ferlita was also a librettist for two operas, Dear Ignatius, Dear Isabel and Edith Stein, and was a co-author of The Parables of Lina Wertmüller.