Pipe Dreams

I stepped out of my full time job in August this year to come back to my love of the theatre. It is, perhaps, ironic that in doing so I am now doing even less drama and theatre-based work than I was before. But this theatrical desert has re-ignited a passion in my heart and confimed in me that I am, at my very core, an artist.

So, on this quest to get back to doing what I love, and working out how God plans for me to use this passion and gifting that he has given me, I enrolled on a couple of courses at an adult education college in London. One, an Introduction to Creative Writing, the other, an Introduction to Stanislavski. For those who are not familiar with Constantin Stanislavski, he was a Russian actor and theatre director who pioneered a "system" for actors that was concerned with creating realism on the stage.

The acting class stirred a lot of things within me and sparked a real vision in me for what I think I ought to be aiming towards.

Just over half way through the 12 week course I found myself in a position where I had to make a decision whether it was appropriate for me to carry on with the class or not. I was having some real issues with the content of the scenarios and screenplays that were being studied each week. The climax came when I was asked to improvise an objective that stood firmly against what I believe in. When I refused to take part I was confronted with the argument that acting is about making believe and does not reflect or affect our personal morality. While I believe this is most likely a true statement, for me it offers another question:

Why would I want to make believe about something that I fundamentally disagree with?

Uta Hagen says the following in her book, "Respect for Acting":

It is necessary to have a point of view about the world which surrounds you, the society in which you live; a point of view as to how your art can reflect your judgement.

To rebel or revolt against the status quo is in the very nature of an artist. A point of view can result from the desire to change the social scene, the family scene, the political life, the state of the ecology, the conditions of the theatre itself. Rebellion or revolt does not necessarily find its expression in violence. A gentle, lyrical stroke may be just as powerful a means of expression. To portray things the way they are, to hold up a mirror to the society, can also be a statement of rebellion. You must ask yourself, "How can I bring all of this to the statement I wish to make in the theatre?"

As a follower of Jesus I have a clearly defined point of view of the world in which we live and I have been commissioned to be "set apart" - to stand against the ways of this world. In Romans 12, Paul writes:

 "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God."

It is argued that in refusing to explore certain areas of dramatic content I am limiting myself as an actor and that in doing so, I reduce my chances of "making it in the industry". Good. I am sold out for God, therefore I will not sell out to the commercial theatre industry - working to get paid instead of working on conviction. Where is the art (or faith!) in that?

I agree with Hagen's argument that in our culture we have missed the point of theatre - theatre is meant to make a statement, to challenge and to question. Even the most political pieces of theatre in our culture exist to make money, if it can't bring in revenue then it doesn't happen. So we water down our political stand-point to ensure we can put bums on seats, just as so many churches water down the message of the gospel to put bums on seats - neither challenge us, neither sustain us.

So, what is my point? My point is I want to start a revolution. I want to be involved in creating theatre that has an uncompromising point of view. I want to be involved in creating theatre that will challenge, theatre that is about something other than box office revenue. I want to see Christian artists creating work that challenges our society. I want to see schools that provide the opportunity for theatre practitioners to train to the highest standard in an environment that respects their beliefs and their boundaries, that allows them to say "no, I won't do that" without being written off.

A pipe-dream some might say. Some don't know my God. The God of my dreams is bigger than the enemy of my dreams... so put that in your pipe and smoke it!