Paulus

About the Book

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Saint Paul As if holding a candle up to an ancient canvas, playwright Frank Spezzano shines a light on a relatively obscure event in early Christian history, illuminating the story of the runaway slave Onesimus and his encounter with Paul the Apostle in a Roman prison. With a panoply of characters, as real and as flawed as you could ever hope to meet, this lively dramatization has a message of compassion at its core. St. Paul’s letter to his friend, Philemon, the runaway’s master, is a tender and personal expression of the saint’s famous doctrine on forgiveness. Here, we see Paul not as distant or lofty figure but as a gracious, humble man who acted on his beliefs, while Onesimus, a young man yearning for a better life, finds the greatest freedom of all in faith. This is a story of kindness and mercy, a tale for our turbulent times.

About the Author

Frank Spezzano is: actor, director, author, teacher and playwright. His career began many years ago with St. Thomas More Players in Hamilton. He studied Commedia dell’Arte at the Piccolo Teatro of Toronto under the direction of Bruno Mesaglio. Studied drama with Ron Hartmann, speech with Dora Mavor Moore and took coaching lessons from Bruno Gerussi from the Stratford Festival, Ontario. As Leading Actor, he played, Tranio, The Taming of the Shrew; Malvolio, Twelfth Night; Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet; Kent, King Lear; Francois, The Trial of Louis Riel; Arlecchino, The Liar, Family of the Antiquary and The Venetian Twins; Lob, Dear Brutus; Sirelli, and Agazzi in Right You Are; The Father, Six Characters in Search of an Author; Mr. Poppa, in Yes Or No and many other roles. Herbert Whittaker while reviewing The Liar for The Globe and Mail in 1973, said “…in the great role of Arlecchino he brings to it the right ebullience, nimbleness and projection.” As Director, he directed: Vortex, Voices of Desire, Through A Glass Darkly, Julius Caesar, A View from the Bridge, A Curious Accident, Sicilian Limes, Right You Are, The Venetian Twins, The Family of the Antiquary, The Imaginary Invalid, Twelfth Night, The Sound of Music, Naked, Oliver, The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Gondoliers, Marriage Italian Style, Tosca, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. As Teacher, He holds Degrees from: York University B.A.1978, University of Toronto B.Ed. 1979, and a Master of Science in Education from Niagara University, USA, 1991. In addition, Mr. Spezzano is a Mentor for the Post Graduate Program of Education at OISE. As Playwright, he wrote: Something Wrong, Brief Relation, Mr. Coat and Mr. Shirt, The Squeal and Bressani, his first publication. Paulus is a drama based on pardon and most dear to his heart. As author he published: Ivan Kocsis and the Aboriginal Peoples of North America, Caught Between Swastika Hammer and Sickle, a novel about a soldier’s dissidence in W.W. II during the Nazi Regime.