Theatre: The Bound Art of the Church

The word bound, as defined by Lexico, is "a limitation or restriction on feeling or action." Furthermore, to be bound means "to be placed within certain limits; restricted." It is certainly wise and beneficial at times to assure that something is bound, especially when it could possibly take over and control a person or group. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12, emphasis added) The extremity of Scripture when the writers use terms like “all” or “nothing” is not without good reason. In this case, all things are not just limited to inherently evil things. Any thing (specifically in regard to something generally considered good) can dominate a person.

There are many definitions of good. In this sense, good is referring to something that is pleasant, honorable, or useful. It is meant to be broad just as with the point that all things are lawful. Each person will have their own definitions and criteria for what is good, but the point is to emphasize things that are either useful or pleasant in themselves or can be used for good. There is a line between a proper use or understanding and improper use or understanding of something good. Moreover, without restraint, whether exercise turned obsession, the consumption of food turned gluttony, a friend or family member turned idol, every good thing can become something bad. The opposite is also true. Improper limitation cripples the excellence and quality of something that is good. Just as there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, there is also such a thing as too little of a good thing.

That is the issue at hand with one particular medium that churches continually fail to recognize as a legitimate and appropriate one; live theatre. The limitation and sparsity of live theatre in evangelical, American churches are hindering the power of live theatre’s incarnational, proximal, and communal nature.

Live theatre is the activity of acting in, producing, directing, or writing plays or other dramatic works in a live setting; not a film or recorded performance, but a performance set within a fixed timeframe. However, in order to properly analyze this interrelationship, it is necessary to look into the general relationship between theatre and Christianity.

Theatre and Christianity: A History

The relationship between theatre and Christianity can accurately be described as a hot and cold, back and forth relationship. (Johnson/Savidge 40). At the start of Christianity, theatre was not viewed in the best light. One of the ancient criticisms against actors was that they were liars. They were being someone that they weren’t. Plato was one of the foremost ancient critics of theatre. He believed it was deceptive and the cause for concern was that “actors risk becoming what they imitate on stage. The early church fathers extended this concern to the audience; attending theatrical displays was dangerous because audiences tend to imitate what they experience for pleasure” (ibid, 32).

Actors were also accused of hypocrisy and immorality. To be fair, there was a lot of association with immorality and theatre when Christianity began. Theatre in that time was almost always associated with the worship of gods and actors would engage in drinking parties, sleeping around, and other forms of deviant behavior. Many Christians have, in effect, embraced anti-theatricalism, which in basic terms is simply the opposition or hostility to theatre. This arose out of the puritan movement that came out of the seventh century. There was wariness in the use of makeup and costumes that actors put on. If an actor could pass as a real duke in a play, what could stop them from passing as a duke in real life? There was legitimate tension present between the Church and theatre because of mainly moral concerns. In her book, Theatre and Christianity, Elizabeth Schafer writes,

“The concept of realistic acting in the sense of skilful [sic] faking can also become problematic in relation to scriptures [sic] that value actions that are authentic, underpinned by faith, and genuine, even if they lead to death” (10).

At the same time, the Church has also been quick to use theatre. In the Middle Ages, there was a “Rebirth” of the use of theatre in the Church. The two main reasons were from a natural outgrowth of religious ritual and an inherent human tendency toward mimesis, which is the "representation or imitation of the real world in art and literature."

Ritual and theatre are distinct, but they also share a lot in common. Most relevantly, ritual includes “rites,” specific customs or practices that occur at specific times in specific places that are done by specific people. Within the ritual model of communication, its whole is to purpose is to bring people together in fellowship and community. Theatre brings together the rite of storytelling to the church, which brings people together. Ritual is something that is always repeated and done within a community setting, just like theatre. The priests in the Medieval Ages would produce liturgical dramas based on their rituals of their parish. These dramas would represent the common beliefs held by the Church and her beliefs.

Mimesis is a Greek word with a grand scope of meaning; thus it cannot be boiled down to one specific meaning. Whether to “imitate,” “mirror,” or “emulate,” mimesis is an inclusive term. As mentioned above, there is an inherent human tendency to mimic. An individual is influenced by the people around them, especially the people they are closest to. They see the actions and behavior of others and there is a subconscious tendency to do the same thing. Mimesis certainly implies flattery and positive influence. Imitation holds a biblical value, which is seen clearly when Paul urges the Corinthians to “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, emphasis added). John rephrases the same idea in his first letter when he says, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6).

Paul Woodruff, in The Necessity of Theater: The Art of Watching and Being Watched, aptly describes mimesis as “one of the tools the art of theater uses to make human action worth watching” (123) and he simplifies the concept of mimesis by breaking it down into three main categories; modeling, complicity, and duplicity (124). Modeling is the most positive category in which a person models the behavior of another. This is a moral issue though for actors when they do not always have the luxury of choosing their characters. Complicity is the role of the spectators that bring “make-believe” to life. The imagination of the story comes alive when the audience engages in the act of complicity. Finally, with the category of duplicity comes a kind of deception. In the realm of nature, there are doubles. These doubles are not the same, but they represent the original partially. These doubles can “deceive” a person into believing they are experiencing the original. Woodruff gives the example of how medicine was believed to be mimetic of the natural healing process by the ancient Greeks. Their end results are both the same, but the means are simply different (129).

This is the nature of theatre and Christianity's relationship throughout its history. The Church has condemned theatre because of its seemingly corrupt nature and yet has recognized theatre for the goodness it offers to people. The relationship has waned and strengthened throughout the last several hundred years since the "Rebirth" and it will continue to do so. There will always be Christians against and for theatre. The response is not to try and prove either side right but to show how it can be used to bless and minister to people because of the good qualities present within theatre.

The Necessity of Theatre

Live theatre has already been narrowed down to the definition within the realm of a play or dramatic work. Live theatre is the art form that should be used more in the church. However, just as with mimesis, theatre itself is a broader term with a wide range of meanings. Live theatre is one aspect of the full essence of art that is theatre. Live theatre cannot be wholly understood apart from a comprehensive understanding of the terminology of theatre. In order to do that, two grounds must be covered; what theatre is and what theatre is not.

The art of theatre is beyond the scope of acting as a character on stage with a costume and a set. Woodruff makes the radical claim through the use of his title that theatre is necessary. Theatre is enjoyable and it is valuable, but can theatre be necessary? Does every culture need it? In the first chapter, he even says that it is universal. He digs deeper into this book to define theatre. He considers theatre as the art by which human beings make or find human action worth watching in a measured time and place (17-19). Woodruff creates a considerably inclusive definition. This includes events like weddings, sports games, and classes. By broadening the definition of theatre, Woodruff legitimizes his radical claim. He also draws his readers to notice the exclusivity as well. These are human beings making or finding human actions worth watching. This excludes activities such as a dog race or bird-watching.

Theatre is also always amongst a community of people. If people are watching or being watched, there are always other people present. Theatre cannot be done alone. A musician can play their instrument alone. An author writes their book in solidarity, but anyone who engages in the art of theatre must have someone else watching. These simultaneous activities of watched and being watched within a community carry a notable amount of care. We want to care about the people we are watching. We also have a desire to be watched because we want to share experiences with members of a community. This also carries profound theological implications. We desire to be watched by our Father in heaven and we want to capture His attention. As a Father who always watches us, we engage in theatre our entire lives because we perform for an audience of one. Jesus warns the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount to not concern themselves with being seen and heard by people, but rather do things in secret, and the Father in heaven will see them.

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-4

The main thrust of this passage is to point to the ultimate focus that we should have on Christ rather than on man. Christ aims at the heart and attitude of the crowds. The desire to watch and be watched is meant to be a part of the community-driven spirit in which the further desire is to glorify God with the actions of ourselves and others.

This concept of watching and being watched permeates the meaning of theatre. Since that is the case, weddings, comedy shows, and funerals are all to be considered a theatrical activity as humans watch other humans. Thus, anything that ceases to involve the watching or being watched as a human is not theatre.

The two main activities that are not theatre are film and literature. That is because human action is not the medium these two activities use. The medium of literature is the text, and although film has human action, the medium of film is film. Another critical aspect that distinguishes theatre is the measured time and place. Neither a film nor literature is measured in time or place. A film can be stopped and started again. People do not watch a book. They are also not a live event. Film directors draw the audience’s attention to where they want. They can also use effects to sway emotion. Mistakes do not occur in movies because they are edited out, but “on stage a mistake could occur at any time, bringing attention to itself as an actual human event in time and space” (Lugt/Hart 162). Audience members watching a theatre show can have different experiences of the same show, depending on where they see the action.

The Contemporary Side of Things

Looking into more recent times, I personally interviewed Matthew Moore, a Communications Professor at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, who specializes in the arts of acting and performance. He said that he lived through the Seeker movement that came out of Willow Creek Community Church. It was a movement that started in the late 70s in which Willow Creek researched why people weren’t going to church. So, they started doing drama because their mindset was, “We’re going to engage the church.” And they were successful at it. Professor Moore was also a worship pastor at a church for three years and he would produce a drama piece every single Sunday with other members of the congregation.

It is evident that the opportunity for incorporating live theatre into churches is there, and has been done well in the past, but there seems to be a disconnect between churches and live theatre. The main contemporary issue is that when churches actually do theatre, it is more often than not done poorly. Churches have not valued theatre. Moore observes that theatre appears to be an easy art form to get involved in. The rationale that a lot of Christians in churches have is that they know that they cannot do ballet or make a painting, or play a complex instrument, so they engage in theatre. Churches then embrace this fully because they simply want bodies to fill the roles that they need. The result is a cast of mostly inexperienced and untrained performers that put on a show that is underdeveloped and tacky. A lack of training and education equals lousy theatre. This takes creativity on the part of theatre artists as well as a collaboration between theatre artists and church leaders. By holding to professional standards and helping educate people in the art of theatre, churches can have a thriving and active drama ministry.

That is not to say technique is everything. While it is significant for there to be high quality in an art form, especially like an art form such as live theatre, which can lose an audience’s attention very quickly if not done well, the main point of theatre should be connection. If the actors onstage are authentic, energized, and truly feel the emotion of their character, the audience feels the power of the story and connects with the actors they see. If churches allow themselves to get caught up in the cult of technique, they are missing the point. The value of live theatre actually stems from experiencing wrongness in real-time. In his TedTalk “The life changing power of live theater,” Andrew Russell says, “any good piece of theatre has a moment where somebody or a group of somebodies get it dead wrong.” Admitting to being wrong is the first step towards change. In this way, live theatre is a paradigm of the daily human experience. When an actor onstage misses a cue or fubs a line, authenticity is present because that is what we as humans do every day. We say a hurtful word; we don’t show up when we said we would. It is not always intentional. However, experiencing this wrongness is essential in order for change to happen.

That is what makes theatre so incredibly meaningful. Theatre brings people together. Audience members relate to characters because they see themselves in the characters. It is through theatre that we learn about ourselves and what makes us human. Through these shared experiences, we learn, we grow, and we change. That is the reason we gather together for church. We gather to share. We gather to be with each other. We gather to build each other up. We gather to know Jesus and be known. Despite all the connections, churches have not implemented live theatre enough.

Storytelling and Theatre

To leave out the ties between storytelling and theatre would be a disservice to both storytelling and theatre. Stories capture attention; they require a focus on the storyteller. In literature, when a story captures a reader, they feel as though they cannot put the book down. Although literature by itself is not theatre, theatre can make literature theatrical by performing it. Theatre brings stories to life in the most vivid way imaginable. No longer does the audience have to imagine what the story would have looked like or how the characters would act, but they experience the story as if it is happening right before them. Woodruff asserts that the art of storytelling is central to the art of theatre. This does require excellence. Capturing an audience's attention is an art in itself and it takes work. If a performance is done poorly, the audience will lose the story.

The beautiful thing about live theatre is that it is a dynamic art form. There are many moving parts in theatre. One of the most dynamic elements is that each performance is one of a kind. No two performances are alike. When something occurs, there is no going back to it. It is fleeting, in the moment, and real. What happened can never be repeated. Each audience gets the privilege to say that they were able to attend a particular show at a particular time in a particular place. It is also dynamic in how it engages the whole person. An audience member’s senses are activated and intensified by being in the same room as the actors. They absorb the richness of the full environment by taking in its sights, the sounds, and the smells. When conflict arises in a play, audience members tense up as they feel the actors' tension.

What Moore dislikes is that churches “haven’t valued theatre, but they value story. Go into your average conservative Baptist church; I guarantee you that the pastor’s going to be telling a story at some point.” His mindset is that Christians should tell that story in the most powerful way they can because performing stories is an incredible medium through which the gospel can be proclaimed. Storytelling is not only central to the art of theatre, but also to theology. It is the main means by which God communicates with humans. 80% of the Bible, the Word of God, is narrative. God is a storytelling God. The way in which He brought redemption for sinners was through the giving of His Son Jesus. It is the greatest story ever told because the wild, unheard of, miraculous nature of it testifies that this story could only be a story that God orchestrated.

Furthermore, when Christ did his ministry, He told stories. And Christ would have been an exceptional storyteller. Isaiah 53 makes it clear that there was nothing attractive about him, so he captivated audiences because of His miracles and His words. He told stories that cut to the heart of the Pharisees, the crowds, and the disciples to reveal their true attitudes and desires. This shows that storytelling affects more than just emotions. Audiences, from a variety of backgrounds, respond to storytelling because people connect to stories. Christ revealed spiritual truths through the use of parables He told. In the same way, drama ministry can take spiritual truths and make them appealing through the use of live theatre.

Theatre is Central to Theology

Theatre is central to theology because faith in Christ is an embodied belief. Christians are called to exemplify and demonstrate faith in their actions. It does not just entail proclaiming; it requires living it. In theatrical terms, all Christians are actors performing the new character of Christ in them. But in this way, Christians are transformed more into the character of Christ as the union of Christ and a believer becomes stronger with daily rehearsal. “Worship is never a final performance but a rehearsal of our faith. Our life as disciples is an ongoing rehearsal of our faith, constantly reinterpreting the Scriptures in our lives as a part of the community of faith to which we belong” (Johnson/Savidge 94)

Theatre is an incredibly meaningful art form because it is connected to “faith’s most distinctive claim that the meaning of our humanity and of the wider creation itself is to be found finally in the dramatic “enfleshment” of God’s own Word in the theatron of human history” (Lugt/Hart 34). The meaning of the Word becoming flesh is that the invisible God desired so deeply to restore our relationship with Him that He became a man so that He could dwell among us. This “enfleshment” of God was the ultimate theatrical event. In the same way, theatre has a close relationship to the flesh as actors “enflesh” characters. The reality of and true essence of the person becomes visible and observable. The reality of and true essence of the person of God was embodied in His Son, Jesus Christ. The text of a play only becomes transformed when actors incarnate the text.

Max Harris delves the deepest into this interrelationship between theatre and the incarnation in his book, Theater and Incarnation. Theatre and incarnation are paradigms because Harris believes that “Christians who pay attention only to the medium of the written word and resist imaginative reconstruction of the very palpable events to which it claims to bear witness will miss much of the fully sensual and even theatrical nature of God’s self-revelation” (7). The whole watching and being watched nature of theatre also shows that the incarnation was theatrical. God the Father watched as Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). Then John the Baptist had the privilege of watching the beautiful interaction between the Father and the Son as the Father said to His Son, “This is my beloved Son, with who I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And “in the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:7-8).

Christ’s obedience in the flesh shows that God condescended Himself to imitate man, so that man might imitate Him (Ephesians 5:2). The “Son became flesh and dwelt among us, playing out his distinctive part on the stage of human history” (Lugt/Hart 30). If it is not already evident, God is a theatrical God. This also showcases His creativity and love for man. He is the director who has staged the most meaningful theatrical performance. God is in control; He is the one who has the ultimate vision and gives His cast the direction they need. Christ played His part to perfection because He was the resolution. Christ invites us to come alongside Him to perform our part with "every effort" because God's power has given us everything we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3-8). Actors tell stories by becoming the stories. By telling the story of God’s redemption, we become the story of God’s redemption. There is nothing more essential or relevant than that.

No More Hindrance

A teacher of the law came to Jesus and asked him,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40

These are the two greatest commandments and Jesus says all the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments, which means there is nothing more important than those two things. Everything else follows with it. To love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind means to obey Him and have a personal walking relationship with Him. He became incarnate in Jesus Christ so that we could do the same in the new man that we walk in. To love our neighbor as ourselves means that there must be social interaction with our neighbor and we commune together in community. Both of these imply that we must physically be present with God and man because we could not be near to God or man and have a close relationship with either of them if we were far away or not in their presence.

These are the three natures most present in the art of theatre and they are the three natures in which the Christian life is most lived out. The combination of negative stigma of live theatre and lack of good theatre produced by churches has robbed theatre of its power to minister to people for too long. Theatre can be just as glorifying to God as music or preaching or any other activity.

The main problem with the use of live theatre in the churches is not the limitation itself, but that it is too limited. The improper limitation of live theatre in evangelical, American churches have kept the members and leaders from seeing and experiencing for themselves the power and impact theatre has in ministry. As stated in the beginning, limitation is still beneficial. There should be an increase in the use of theatre in churches, but not a lot. Practically speaking, especially with the issue of a lack of theatre-trained Christian artists, actors, and directors, it would be difficult to try and implement many drama ministries throughout the US. Some congregations may have a small church with only so many artists or simply lack passionate and interested drama artists.

With that being said, this requires a collaborative effort of church leaders and artists in churches to search within their own community as they seek to create a drama ministry. Ultimately, both are working for the same purpose, which is to bring people to know Christ. This requires patience, a good effort, and creativity from both sides. Drama ministry does take work and there should be an effort to make great productions. This does not mean that drama directors and church leaders should only hire experienced, semi-professional, or professional actors and artists to bring a show to life because excellence is secondary to connection. More the same, drama directors and church leaders should be first seeking within the congregation. Those who are experienced will be a great addition, but so will ones who have little or no experience, but are passionate about improving. After all, experience has to come from getting those opportunities. A willingness to work with the less experienced will be a blessing and benefit for both the directors and leaders as well as the new actor or crew member,

With a process like this, including prayer, discernment, and trust in God’s guidance, churches can begin to develop a thriving drama ministry to speak to the hearts of believers and unbelievers alike.

For further exploration into this topic and how this looks practically, see "Tips on how to create a drama ministry."

Works Cited

Harris, Max. Theaterand Incarnation. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,1990. Print.

Johnson, Todd E.,and Dale Savidge. Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue.Grand Rapids, MI: BakerAcademic, 2009. Print.

Lugt, WesleyVander and Trevor Hart, editors. Theatrical Theology. Eugene, OR:Cascade Books. 2014. Print.

Moore, Matthew.Personal Interview. 11 November 2019.

Schafer, Elizabeth. Theatre and Christianity. England, UK: Red Globe Press, 2019. Print.

Woodruff, Paul. The Necessity of Theater. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. 2008. Print.

The Bible. English Standard Version, Crossway, 2011.