Welcome to the Branch is a two-act play that investigates issues of cultural differences in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS church), more commonly known as the Mormon Church. Set in modern-day, downtown Richmond, Welcome to the Branch follows two very different members of the LDS church as they examine and try to understand both their religion, in the context of its cultural and social history, and their place in it. One is Molly, a Caucasian, middle-class young woman from Utah, in Richmond temporarily for her husband's graduate school; the other is Aina, an African American, single mother living in Mosby Court who has recently joined the LDS church. While Aina struggles for survival and looks for meaning in a church where, historically, she would not have felt welcome, Molly slowly comes to terms with the limitations of her own sheltered background.
","abstract_html":"<p>Welcome to the Branch is a two-act play that investigates issues of cultural differences in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS church), more commonly known as the Mormon Church. Set in modern-day, downtown Richmond, Welcome to the Branch follows two very different members of the LDS church as they examine and try to understand both their religion, in the context of its cultural and social history, and their place in it. One is Molly, a Caucasian, middle-class young woman from Utah, in Richmond temporarily for her husband's graduate school; the other is Aina, an African American, single mother living in Mosby Court who has recently joined the LDS church. While Aina struggles for survival and looks for meaning in a church where, historically, she would not have felt welcome, Molly slowly comes to terms with the limitations of her own sheltered background.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pope, Turia R."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Laura Browder"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:40Z","subjects":["theatre","Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints","fiction","female experience","religion in theatre","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/917"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/917","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/917","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/R46G-2W51","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Laura Browder"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pope, Turia R."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["theatre","Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints","fiction","female experience","religion in theatre","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/R46G-2W51","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/917"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Welcome to the Branch is a two-act play that investigates issues of cultural differences in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS church), more commonly known as the Mormon Church. Set in modern-day, downtown Richmond, Welcome to the Branch follows two very different members of the LDS church as they examine and try to understand both their religion, in the context of its cultural and social history, and their place in it. One is Molly, a Caucasian, middle-class young woman from Utah, in Richmond temporarily for her husband's graduate school; the other is Aina, an African American, single mother living in Mosby Court who has recently joined the LDS church. While Aina struggles for survival and looks for meaning in a church where, historically, she would not have felt welcome, Molly slowly comes to terms with the limitations of her own sheltered background.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Welcome to the Branch"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Laura Browder"],"dc:creator":["Pope, Turia R."],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Welcome to the Branch is a two-act play that investigates issues of cultural differences in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS church), more commonly known as the Mormon Church. Set in modern-day, downtown Richmond, Welcome to the Branch follows two very different members of the LDS church as they examine and try to understand both their religion, in the context of its cultural and social history, and their place in it. One is Molly, a Caucasian, middle-class young woman from Utah, in Richmond temporarily for her husband's graduate school; the other is Aina, an African American, single mother living in Mosby Court who has recently joined the LDS church. While Aina struggles for survival and looks for meaning in a church where, historically, she would not have felt welcome, Molly slowly comes to terms with the limitations of her own sheltered background.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/R46G-2W51","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/917"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["theatre","Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints","fiction","female experience","religion in theatre","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing"],"dc:title":["Welcome to the Branch"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:40Z"}