Devising Desire
A new original work comes to Muhlenberg, inspired by Margaret Cavendish’s 1668 play ‘The Convent of Pleasure’
By: Emma McKinley ’25 Tuesday, March 25, 2025 03:28 PM
In 1668, Margaret Cavendish wrote “The Convent of Pleasure,” a tale of two women falling in love in a convent, sheltered away from men and patriarchal society.
“‘The Desire Project’ was initially an adaptation of a 17th century closet drama,” says Muhlenberg theatre professor Beth Schachter. “A closet drama is a kind of play that was often written by women and only read or performed in someone’s closet, since women weren’t allowed to put their plays on stage.”
From that came “The Desire Project,” a new original work devised by Schachter and members of the company, and primarily written by Nerissa Deschambeau ’28, premiering April 3-6 at Muhlenberg College. Schachter says that the project was originally conceived as an adaptation of the original text — but that over time it has grown into a work of theatre all its own, inspired by the Cavendish text but altogether more boisterous, more contemporary, and more queer.
Cavendish’s original play seems to center a relationship between two women, but the ending — tacked on by Cavendish’s husband — is decidedly heteronormative: one of the women reveals that she was actually a man all along, who has come to infiltrate the community of independent women. “I wanted help figuring out how to push and shatter that particular ending of the story,” Schachter says. “I wanted to support the telling of the celebratory queer story that Cavendish suggested.”
Cavendish’s play tells the story of an heiress, left independently wealthy after the demise of her father. The suitors are circling for her fortune, but before they can strike, she gathers her inheritance and a group of like-minded women, and forms a utopian Convent of Pleasure — an ideal community of celebratory female-focused pleasures behind unbreachable walls, where the women can live free of the rules of the patriarchy. Enter the Princess — a mysterious figure from a foreign land, with whom the heiress falls deeply in love. But whether the Princess is who she appears to be, only time will tell.
“The Desire Project” adapts this story to a modern setting and sensibility, with some novel twists along the way.
Set designer You-Shin Chen has developed the concept of a slumber party, complete with mattresses as functional elements of the set. Vincent Trovato has written original music and lyrics for the piece, and acts as on-stage pianist. The faculty collaborators and student company members have come together to create this one-of-a-kind piece. “‘The Desire Project’ is an amalgamation of everyone’s talents and imaginations,” says Deschambeau, a company member who has served as the project’s principal playwright. “That’s what I’ve been drawing from as I work on the script.”
Deschambeau says that her identity was an important part of why she wanted to work on “The Desire Project.” “I really wanted the opportunity to tell a queer, diverse story that doesn’t focus on trauma,” she says. “I wanted to show that we can have happy endings as queer people.” She says that “The Desire Project” is a celebratory piece. “It’s all about celebration of identity and changing the heteronormative, patriarchal standard.”
Schachter echoes this sentiment: “Comedy can be a refusal, a rejection of a world of single meanings, and a rejection of the attempts of people in power to control the ways we speak about ourselves and see ourselves. This has been a wonderful space in which that is being embodied.”
Deschambeau says that this comedy is especially important now. “In the current climate of America, I just wanted to be a part of something fun.”
“I do think that in this moment that celebrating the range of ways we love each other is crucial,” Schachter says. “It’s a story of fun — busting out of the old constraints, limitations, and deprivations. I hope we can bring this celebratory, comic craziness to share with audiences.”
“The Desire Project” runs April 3–6 in the Studio Theatre, in the Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance at Muhlenberg College. Showtimes are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Public tickets are $15. Youth tickets and tickets for LVAIC students, faculty and staff are $8. Tickets and information are available at muhlenberg.edu/seeashow or 484-664-3333.
About the Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance Department
Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg’s theatre program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theatre and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theatre and dance.
