I have been thinking on the following statements for awhile, and although I would consider this a “rough draft’ of sorts of a larger composition, I also felt like this beginning of the new year and a new decade and a new era really, is a perfect time to release it “as is”:
- I believe that theater, for a community, whether large or small, can lead, can set trends, and can influence great artistic achievement.
- I believe that our Creator wants to release extraordinary creativity and innovation, at levels never seen before, into those people He has placed in the arts.
- I believe that the art of theater can and should be a joyful and life enriching experience for those that produce it, the artists that make it, and all that see it. I believe God is saying “come up higher.”
- I believe that theatre artists of faith want to be a part of redemptive stories, and stories with spiritual dimension, done with such excellence and vibrance, that even the current mainstream model of professional theatre is “wowed”.
- I believe there is still room to do plays new and old, ones we have seen over and over, and ones we have yet to discover, with more excellence and depth than they have ever been done before.
- I want to be a part of what God is doing in the earth in this amazing hour of history.
- I want to innovate and create excellent and divinely inspired theater.
- I want to “go up higher”.
- I want to love theatre artists and theatre producers, owners and directors because God loves them and they are His people. They are also my people. My Assignment.
- I want to have ears that “hear” God’s voice, walk in His wisdom and speak His words.
I got a wonderful book from a dear friend for my birthday last week and I want to quote the author, Cindy Trimm, in the first chapter of her book Commanding Your Morning: Unleash the Power of God in Your Life.
“One of the fastest-growing art forms today is called the “spoken word”. Throngs of people gather in clubs, schools, cafes, church auditoriums, stadiums, and theaters just to hear the poetic, pulsating rhyme spoken by artists who by virtue of their creativity and talent move their audiences to emotional highs and lows merely by what comes out of their mouths. Like painters creating moving masterpieces in vibrant colors, these artists “paint” on the canvas of the human soul”.
I consider that a great and glorious responsibility. We can impact our art form and we must because our art form has great capacity to impact our world.