The world of theatre and acting has had a profound impact on humanity for thousands of years. From the theatre of ancient Greece being used to share religious and political views, to Shakespeare’s transformation of the English language with brand new words and phrases we still use today, to the bright lights of Hollywood and how films such as Barbie or Wicked spark conversations on culture and societal expectations, theatre has been both a culture shaper and shaker.
As theatre students, we have the exciting opportunity to be the culture makers while bringing Christ into what can be quite a dark industry. At university, we’re walking alongside our fellow actors, stage managers, and script writers on a daily basis and have a wonderful chance to use our art and our actions to share Christ with them.
But where to start? Well, all good stories start at the beginning…
Working for the wellbeing of creation
‘Creativity is part of [our] inherited image because God is a designer and maker. Our desire to create, our ability to make concepts tangible and our pleasure in making are all reflections of God's original "let there be" and "it was good".’ – Steve Turner, Imagine (2001)
Being a creative and pressing into our God-given gifts in the arts is part of our original design. It reflects God’s creative character and our desire to honour our Creator. As people experience joy and wonder in the face of an outstanding performance or masterful film production, they’re connecting with the beauty and awe-inspiring nature of God. What a joy that as we create characters, write scripts, and make props, we are partnering with the Creator of the universe to reveal a glimmer of himself to all creation!
Theatre both demonstrates God’s creativity and deeply connects with the people he has created. Though characters aren’t real, they are built and designed to connect with very real people with very real emotions and thoughts. Being seen and represented by a character that we see ourselves in resonates with our want to be accepted, understood, and ultimately loved – which we know is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. It’s a real honour that we get to connect with audiences in this way; to make them realise things about themselves, bring comfort or deep joy, or to challenge their worldview.
But it's not just the audience we connect with. We also have the privilege of working alongside fellow thespians every day while at university. In no other study will you be as uniquely vulnerable or challenged than in a drama degree. The deep connection formed between performers gives us the opportunity to share Christ in all sorts of ways. The way we approach scripts, conversations with directors, our work ethic, our personal ethics will show glimmers of our relationship with Christ, prompting our friends to ask questions and understand our worldview.
Simply inhabiting the performing arts world as a Christian is working for the good of creation. For all its wonderful parts, it’s still an industry deeply impacted by sin that can be cut-throat, idolatrous, and materialistic, and that sometimes challenges Christian sexual ethics. It needs those willing to take a stand and point people, both audiences and performers, towards the ultimate redemption story found in Christ.
Worshipping the God we work for
‘Praise the Lord.
'Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honour
and sing for joy on their beds.’
Psalm 149:1-5
The last five Psalms are known as the ‘hallelujah Psalms’, all starting in English translations with ‘Praise the Lord’ (or 'hallelujah’ in Hebrew).
What does it look like for the people of God to praise him?
- Sing to the Lord a new song
- Rejoice in their maker
- Praise his name with dancing
- Make music
- Sing for joy
In nearly all of the hallelujah Psalms, there is mention of music, singing, dancing, creativity. The performing arts are the ways God calls us to worship and rejoice in him! We can worship him, moment by moment of our day, reminding ourselves that these actions are acts of worship. Even in your slightly obscure movement class or as you do your vocal warm up for the day, rejoice! He’s given us the breath we need and bodies that long to dance for his glory. Thank God and pray before your lectures and workshops, reminding yourself that He is Lord over all things and we rejoice in the beauty of His creation. Pray that as you sing, move, act, create, that it will be for his glory and our joy.
Witnessing to the world
Throughout my time at university I had some amazing encounters and conversations with my coursemates. The great thing about the performer community is that there’s a real sense of support. Everyone goes to each other’s things. But when nearly all of my year turned up at our CU carol service I was very surprised! Off the back of this, they had lots of questions and clearly God was at work in their hearts. I hosted what they affectionately called ‘God chat’ in my living room a few times where everyone turned up and members of the CU came along to answer their questions.
Throughout the rest of our degree conversations continued, and they would all come along to events that the CU was running and ask more questions. Jack and Milly (names changed) were both particularly interested and we met regularly to chat about their thoughts. I’m incredibly thankful to God for their friendship and the way he humbly used me to point them towards himself.
‘Wonder’ was my dissertation performance, exploring the themes of wonder and satisfaction, how we search for them in all the wrong places and how we regain them by knowing the wonder of God and the satisfaction he provides. It includes modern adaptations of a couple of stories from John’s gospel and at the end of each performance there were copies of Uncover John for people to take away. Over three performances, about 130 people saw a glimmer of the gospel and about 90 Uncovers were taken. I’ve since had the privilege of performing it for Coventry CU and the Leicester CUs.
The Lord was very kind in placing me at a university I didn’t originally want to go to, putting people directly in my path, using the CU, and using his gift of creativity to share Himself with my coursemates. Jack and Milly are not (yet) Christians, nor are the others from my course. But planting the seed and using creative means to connect them with the gospel while living and speaking for Christ as I studied alongside them was a great privilege. Pray with me that they’ll remember the CU events and conversations in years to come, that they’ll know Christ as their Saviour.
You don’t have to create an evangelistic piece of theatre or weave the Bible into every single thing you create. But standing firm in faith, being bold in our invitations, living and speaking for Christ in our conversations will be an amazing witness to your course mates. This may naturally overflow into creating faith-based arts (what better way to reach creatives that with creativity - in order to best connect with creatives and show them the gospel, we need to speak their language). But remember, whether we’re explicit about faith or reciting Shakespeare, Christ is Lord over all things.
Keep going, Christian creative!
It’s a real privilege to have been given the skills by God to do such a fun and creative degree! Never forget to rejoice in this and the way you are uniquely displaying God’s creative character every day.
In reality, there are very few evangelical Christians in the world of theatre. But though the workers are few, the harvest is plentiful. Creatives’ openness to exploring new ideas and the deep sense of camaraderie are huge opportunities for us to be demonstrating the love of the gospel to our coursemates and well into the future as you enter the industry. Pray that, as you display God’s character, people will be drawn into His kingdom and know their creative Creator for themselves.
Reflect and discuss
Think: Think back over what you have studied so far in your degree. Where have you seen God's fingerprints? Where have ideas presented to you challenged what you believed to be true?
Live: What do you think your coursemates would know about what is important to you from the way you live? Is there anything you want to change here?
Speak: Are there topics in your subject that are closer to talking about your outlook on life, God or the gospel? Pray for people on your course and for opportunities to share about Jesus with them this term.
Taking it further
- Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts, Steve Turner
- Acting in Faith: A Christian's Guide to the Acting World, Michael Kary
- Why Art Matters, Alistair Gordon (more about the subject, art, rather than creative arts, but still has some really helpful insights)
