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Jonathon Neumann

Dr. Vincent Bacote

BITH 376

8 December 2015

Theater Art: A Means for Advancing Christs Kingdom in a Fallen Society and World

Introduction

Theater art reminds us that we are beings who have both unique and connected questions,

fantasies, traditions, beliefs, worries, and narratives, and through these, theater has the capacity

to create positive or negative changes in individuals, communities, and societies. In this essay, I

explore why and how the American church, local and national, should be in conversation with

theater artists in order to politically, communally, and individually transform this world through

the power of the Holy Spirit. Theater has had a profound influence in my life and I affirm that is

has the potential to shape the world; therefore, its relationship with the Church matters in a

complex time of injustice and confusion in this nation.

Defining Theater

Theater is a powerful method of storytelling that critiques and comforts because it is an

imperfect mirror of our lives. It is powerful: with energy theater tells a story that impacts all the

participants. Good theater seeks to raise difficult questions, frustrate shallow-mindedness, and

connect with the soul. As a member of two theater ensembles, first in a community theater and

now at a college theater, I attest that I am closer to my fellow ensemble-members than anyone

else outside my family because the artistic work we do gives us the opportunity to create a

powerful bond. At the same time, obviously, the theater does not simply bring an ensemble

together; in order for theater to exist there needs to be at least an actor and an audience: A man
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walks across this empty space, whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed

for an act of theatre to be engaged (Brook 11). The audience plays a powerful role as members

participate in the action as spectactors of the work. My acting professor, Mark Lewis, told me

that a good audience is not in the space to see me fail but to succeed. Good theater requires

efforts from all in order to build a powerful bond among everyone as the audience empathizes

with the characters, the story, and the questions that arise.

The Potential Power of Theater

Throughout history, theater has been a means of challenging those in power. One

particular example I enjoy is Molieres Tartuffe, a, in my opinion, amusing French play written in

the mid-1600s that critiqued religious leaders, and it was so detested by the Archbishop to the

extent that he issued threats of excommunication for those involved. The reader may question my

judgement in approving a play that is somewhat vulgar, but I am simply advocating for it as a

conversation partner of the Church that ought to be acknowledged because Molieres story serves

as a mirror of a religious society that is vulnerable to people such as the hypocrite Tartuffe.

A very recent example of a powerful theater collaboration is Brown Universitys

production of The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry. The production brought in students from

differing ethnicities, races, classes, and cultures who had to take risks and ask difficult questions

about race and gender as they worked together. The play required students to advocate for people

from different experiences than themselves. This play premiered the same time as Black Lives

Matter protests gathered on the campus in November. Patricia Ybarra, president of the

Association for Theater in Higher Education, wrote an article about the production arguing that it

was a door for a diverse group of students to gather together, take risks, make mistakes, and be

honest with each other in a tumultuous and difficult time in our nation.
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Ybarras article reminded me of Lorraine Hansberrys Raisin in the Sun at Timeline

Theater Company in Chicago. I witnessed it two years ago when I was a freshman at Wheaton

College, and the companies work revealed to me the historical segregation problem in the city I

now live in. The work brought me into the space of a black family struggling to live the

American Dream with opposition coming from every side. The performance moved me and it

played a part in my choice to spend a semester living in the city learning more about such

matters. Additionally, the piece opened me to conversation with peers about systemic racism.

Therefore, theater is a powerful tool of communication that has moved me to action.

The Doctrine of Creation as a Call to Communal and Political Action

The people of God are clearly called to care for this world. In the biblical story of origins,

it is common knowledge that God commands Adam and Eve: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill

the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and [rule] over the birds of the sky and

[rule] over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28 NASB). The Lord

commands and desires people to steward his creation. Though creation falls into a sinful state,

the mandate still exists, and Dr. Roger Olson, in his book A Mosaic of Christian Belief, explains

the tension we now live in: Christian belief about creation regards the universe as good but not

God and good but fallen under a curse (Olson 157). Therefore, there is a tension between

creation being completely evil and fully good that we live in. This notion is furthered in Romans

8:22 (NASB) as Paul writes of creations strong yearning to be renewed: For we know that the

whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. If creation yearns

to be renewed, we ought to, as Gods people seek the good of it.

The mandate to care for Gods creation involves laboring for the improvement of the

societies we inhabit. I am not alone in this claim; the prominent theologian and philosopher
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Thomas Aquinas argued that because God is good and his world was created good, we ought to

seek the good of the world he created and still cares for (Philipps 150). Furthermore, Dr. Arloa

Sutter, founder of Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Chicago, writes in her book The Invisible

that Christians must also seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the

widow (Isaiah 1:17 NRSV) in society today. She writes of her experience with injustice in her

urban setting: Social injustice is very evident in the community in which I live on the west side

of Chicago issues [of generational poverty, unjust legislation, and unfair lending and housing

practices] are large and complex. They demand creative thought and new ideas (Sutter 126-

127). Dr. Sutter is precisely correct, there needs to be ways to bring people of different races,

ethnicities, and classes together to raise awareness of oppression and injustice through means

such as storytelling.

Church and Theater

It is true that the Church and the theater do not relate well throughout history. Tartuffe,

the French play I mentioned earlier, is a prominent example in history of the tension between

religion and theater. Additionally, a couple of my theater professors at Wheaton College have

shared with me the difficulty they experienced with the Christian institution in a time of

profound suspicion of developing theater artists and teachers; however, thankfully, today the

suspicion has lessened and a majority of the faculty supports the arts as well as the cultural

engagement it requires. At the same time, American theater has numerous examples of pieces

that cause religious tension including Leonard Bernsteins and Stephen Schwartzs infamously

irreverent Mass. Their musical uses a traditional Roman Catholic Mass in a manner that

incorporates secular texts and other forms of liturgy into it. The musical gave voice to a cynicism

and hopelessness that pervaded the American Church during the Vietnam War and it spoke of the
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confusion following the assassination of John F. Kennedy as well as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

One could argue how offensive this musical was to the Catholic faith; however, I argue that if

one digs deeper, he or she might share a critics view: While Mass challenges divine authority,

exposing its contradictions and questioning religion's relevance to contemporary life, ultimately

it serves as a reaffirmation of faith and hope for universal peace (Mass 2009). Though I

believe in divine authority and institutional religion that does not mean that this work is

meaningless or against the Gospel, it is a wonderful opportunity to let our confusion and

hopelessness bring us together through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today there are millions of Christian theater artists throughout the world, and as a part of

the body of Christ we are asking What can we do for the kingdom of God? The path for artists

risky because there is garbage in the theater world However, there is also much to be seen;

personally, I find joy in advocating for characters such as James, a journalist with PTSD, in

Donald Marguliess Time Stands Still or Father Jack, a deathly ill missionary priest uprooted

from his community and shunned from his religious institution, in Brian Friels Dancing at

Lughnasa because there are hurt people out there who need the Spirits comfort or confrontation,

and these characters and the stories they inhabit have a means of doing so. I must challenge the

sin within myself, communities, and societies with the fellowship of believers.

Create Change

As Dr. Sutter mentioned, there is creative work to be done to continue to the labor of

political and social activists such as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave us a model of

political theology when he peacefully advocated for systemic change to the oppressive structure

in the United States of America. At the same time, while we work to make this change happen

we must consider what Harvey Cox, a scholar of liberation theology, said in his book Feast of
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Fools: If we can celebrate what we now are and have, even while we struggle to abolish the

now for the not yet, the not yet will be richer when it becomes the now (Cox 120). Like Cox,

I am a firm advocate for change in the future, but I also hold that the traditions and the voices in

the past speak to us today.

Conclusion

Theater is a powerful means of collaboration and communication that moves

communities and individuals to action. While we wait for the return of Christ, the Churchs

future hopefully involves deeper collaboration with theater artists inside and outside the church

as a way of transforming conflict and promoting Christs Shalom. The bride of Christ must be

aware the questions, the concerns, and the issues within society, and the only way to know about

these matters is through listening and working from there. We as Christians should seek to hear

the unheard voices in communities and seek to communally and politically improve the lives of

those around us as we boldly proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

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Works Cited

Brook, Peter. The Empty Space. New York: Atheneum, 1968. Print.

Cox, Harvey. The Feast of Fools: A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy. Cambridge,

MA: Harvard University Press. 1969. Print.

Olson, Roger E. The Mosaic of Christian Belief. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002. Print.

Mass. Leonardbernstein.com. 2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.

Moore, Will G. "Moliere." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May

2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.

Phillips, Elizabeth. Political Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: T&T Clark

International, 2012. Print.

Raisin in the Sun. By Lorraine Hansberry. Directed by O. J. Parson. Timeline Theater Company,

Chicago. 16 October 2013. Performance.

Sutter, Arloa. "The Breakthrough of Shalom." The Invisible: What the Church Can Do to Find

and Serve the Least of These. Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Pub. House, 2010. 126-27.

Print.

Ybarra, Patricia. "Message From the President." - Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

4 Dec. 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.