by tim parks –
In 2000, Steven Fales probably didn’t figure that his ex-communication by the Mormon Church would prove to be the catalyst for unexpected changes that he couldn’t have predicted. Granted, his world had been turned upside down and took some shadowy turns, until he realized there was a different way that he could look upon the life-altering event in the clear light of day.
Thus was born Confessions of a Mormon Boy, Fales’s one-man show, which he has performed all over the world since its debut off-Broadway more than 13 years ago. Fales is beginning a five-month residency at Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs, with previews held since September 10. Mark your calendars for its Tuesday, October 22 opening night.
The Rage Monthly talked with Fales about the redemption he has gotten from bringing his unique tale to the world, fresh off performing in South Africa. And much like his show, the man himself is candid about his past and the new chapters that he has written for himself in the process. Naturally, we asked him to walk us through his being tried as a homosexual by the Mormon Church.
“So, a formal church disciplinary court is the most severe court of action that can happen,” he explained. “And partly why I think they held a church court for me was because I had been married in the Mormon Temple. They let a lot of gays just slide who haven’t been through the temple or married in the temple. But once you taken on those special Mormon marriage covenants, it’s pretty severe. It’s like attending your own funeral when you’re in this court, because spiritually you’re dead to them.
“So, my play articulates exactly what happened to me in this church court where I was tried,” Fales said. “And I found it so fantastical that I said someone needs to write about it, because it’s insidious and meant to destroy your life with a cult tactic and it really did.”
Following his ex-communication, his familial relationships – which he described his family as being “Mormon royalty” – became strained and he was “stripped of being a dad.” Fales definitely traveled down some dark roads during this period of his life, including drug use and prostitution. But as everyone knows, you can’t get through the blackness of despair without the fervent hope of reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Basically, I went reeling and I had no sense of self-worth. And that’s what led me going down the path that I did, where I volunteered for what I considered top-shelf human trafficking in the sex trade.” Fales said. “And the play is about from going from one extreme of super-duper Mormonism to the other extreme of being this penthouse prostitute on Park Avenue and trying to find a middle ground and reclaiming my life.”
No longer subscribed to “play the victim” and continue to “self-destruct,” Fales had what he describes as an “aha moment,” as he explained.“It was a dramatic moment where my perception shifted and I start to take on my life in new ways where I have to leave the escorting behind, if I wanted to have the future I wanted. I had a different creative destiny to follow.”
That destiny took shape as Confessions of a Mormon Boy, which obviously became a cathartic route for him to travel in both writing and then performing it. But Fales also learned something about himself in the creative process.
“I kind of rewrote my life by writing my life and it was a bridge back to reclaiming myself,” Fales said. “You’re never too old to tell your story. So creatively I’ve learned that even though I may have been younger and cuter 10 years ago, when I started rewriting the show and adding more layers, I found I was a better storyteller now with more w. And the other thing I learned is that we all have a story and I think our stories need to be told by us in our own words and our own way and on our own terms. There may be a time where only your story can help somebody.”
Bearing that in mind, Fales went into the meaning behind the show and what he hopes the audience takeaway will be.
“I feel like as the first gay Mormon to ever tell his story on stage, and certainly the first gay Mormon dad [to do so], it was kind of groundbreaking is what people have said. It’s important for me to list the themes, so that we’re not stuck in the dumps. I’m totally honest, but I also try to have a generosity and spirit and optimism and not just sink into the cynicism of the past.
“I hope they find it highly entertaining – especially all of the escort montage – I hope that they leave going, ‘What is possible for me now and not my past?’
As for his future, Fales has not rested on his laurels in chronicling just this one major experience in his life. He has penned Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the off-Broadway Hit, a book that chronicles his show, as well as two other shows, Missionary Position and Prodigal Dad. But Confessions of a Mormon Boy will always be his first born that he will continue to nurture for years to come.
“This is part one of The Mormon Boy trilogy; it’s all under this umbrella called ‘Mormon Boy Experience.’ And as they get more and more specific to my subculture and my experience, I find that it lands universally and it’s not a Mormon thing anymore; it becomes a human thing,” Fales said. “I think I will always, through the end of my days and my very last breath, will be writing for this one part of my career called ‘Mormon Boy Experience.’”
Steven Fales will perform his one-man show the new Confessions of a Mormon Boy through January 2020 as part of Hotel Zoso’s “Storytelling Tuesdays” series. For ticket information, log onto mormonboyexperience.com.
To follow Fales, check out his website stevenfalesonline.com.