Learning to Pray opens by breaking the fourth wall of an American priest-to-be’s bedroom on the day of his ordination. The actor and writer, Jake Martin, starts to explain away his pre-ordination jitters not entirely unlike a bride freaking out before her wedding, confessing to the audience all the reasons he shouldn’t be a priest.
His slightly camp character begins to relate his history and all the important things that have happened to him that he feels affected his decision to train to be a priest, engaging the audience with the different voices and impressions of his mother, stripper sister, and spiritual guide within the Church. It is not a die-hard religious show and Jake Martin, who has adapted the story from his own experiences, isn’t a dedicated Jesuit Catholic, merely an ex-comedian unsure of what path to take who has decided to tell his story in order to decide on what his path should be.
His character, based on himself I presume, has a big weakness for reality television, and he ends up asking the audience to judge his story like a jury and decide whether or not he should become a priest - like a Pop Idol audience, but instead judging some kind of Holy Idol contest. It is an interesting hour full of eccentric characters and a charming narrator, ending with the verdict as decided by the audience- should he go through with his ordination?