Acting Theory

I freely confess that I think acting is an essential aspect of being human. This idea formed in me first because I have found great pleasure in doing theatre since I was a young boy. Given, however, the profound place that Christian faith has in my life, theology further provoked this idea that acting defines humanity.

There is much that has been written about theology and about theatre. I have read and will continue to read these writings of others, although I will not let myself be limited by those writings. It is rare that they discuss my idea as I conceive it. As I wrote in another post (Monday, June 30, 2008), there have been four books in particular that do come close and I have since discovered others that do as well.

What I want to write is about theology/theatre - theatre in service of theology and theology implicit in theatre. Let all the world be a stage and all of us be players, always acting before an audience of One. That One will review our play on the Last Day, which means that every moment until then is laden with great theological/theatrical import.

SOMEONE TOUCHED ME

MAKING CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER IN CHRIST

And all who touched him

were healed.
Matthew 14:36

Touching begins something.
When one touches another,
some connection is made in that contact
that creates a relation between
the one and the other.
A power goes out from us to others
in the common yet precious miracle of touch.
To touch another person is a priviledge
that carries with it certain responsibility.
Initiating contact creates an expectation
on the part of the one touched:
What next?
Who touched me?


Part of one stays with the one touched,
part of one is passed on to the one who touches.
Strangers keep their distance from one another
for closeness begets intimacy.
Once begotten, this new relationship
demands continued attention.
Attending to one another
is the responsibility that comes of touching.
It is involuntary.
One may choose not to give on'e further attention,
but that choice is made of one's own volition.

The priviledge of being a stranger
is that one may ignore other strangers.
But, strangeness is fleeting -
we cannot remain strangers for long
in the presence of others.
We may play at being strangers
and, for pretense sake,
ask evasive questions:
What is an acceptable distance
for strangers to keep?
What does one do
if that distance is breached?
How may one move away
without giving offense?

It seems humans must

reach toward one another

or move away.

We cannot really keep our distance.

Impersonal touch is a myth.
All touch is personal.
The impersonal is
a conscious rejection of another person,
and all rejection
implies a personal choice.
One decides to accept the chance for relationship
or deny it.

Continual rejection of others

denies much more than those others

- it denies oneself.

We become ourselves
only in relation to others.
Touching and being touched,
we consummate our relationship to others
in the fellowship of creation.
Reaching out to or accepting
another person created in the image of God,
we begin to sense some contact with
the Person who created us.

Without others

to touch and to touch us,

we become desensitized,

unable to give or receive

those signals of humanity

that communicate personhood.

This desensitization

is the root of bitterness,

apathy,

cynicism,

tyranny,

treachery,

blasphemy,

and sacrilege.

The touching moment,

just as it is followed by

a decision for or against continuance,

is preceded by the intention

to touch or not to touch.

One may or may not be aware

of the particular tendency

that moves or inhibits a touch.

However,

if that tendency is informed by a mind

that actively considers

what is good and acceptable,

then one may be confident

in initiating contact with others.

There is, of course, risk involved in touching,

for the one who is touched

may refuse further contact.

It is hard when one's touch is ill-received.

the risk is well-taken, however,

if one is already in contact

with some other or others

who, one is confident, will remain in touch.

This is essentially the Gospel message:

God reached out by His Word

and touched us first in the beginning

by creating and breathing life into humanity;

yet,

rejection was our response.

The truth is,

all of us have rejected God's friendship

and are in need of reconciliation.

Through Jesus Christ,

God's only begotten Son,

we finally know and are able to

respond rightly to that gracious touch of God.

Jesus, filled with the touched of God's Spirit,

reaches out to to us and calls us

to be his friends,

revealing that

enmity with God was our choice,

not God's.

Confident then in this renewed friendship,

we may reach out and touch others

who are yet enemies of God,

thought they still may think themselves

to be merely strangers.

God knows us though we may ignore Him.

He already established relationship

between Himself and us

in that it was He who created us.

In Him we live and move and have our being.

We live in breach of that relationship

unless we touch the one point of contact

whereby we may be reconciled:

the Lord Jesus Christ.

He it was that came to live among us.

"That which was

from the beginning,

which

we have heard,

which

we have seen with our eyes,

which

we have looked upon,

and

our hands have handled,

concerning the Word of Life;

that which

we have seen and heard

we declare to you,

that

you also may have fellowship with us;

and

truly our fellowship

is with the Father

and

with His Son,

Jesus Christ."

Thus are we assured in Scripture

concerning our hope of reconciliation.

We need not fear touching others

for we know

God is faithful to keep in touch with us.

Touching others and being touched,

we sense,

if only for a fleeting moment,

the very touch of God.

THEATRETHICS

ENSEMBLE ACTING
BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF ONE

The idea of theatre

is to put on a performance

produced before an audience.

.

The idea of ethics

is to conduct oneself in accordance

with the context of a greater community.

.

The idea of theatrethics

is to act with others

in full consideration of one God

who sees us,

comes before us,

and remains beyond us,

while being with us.

.

Created in God's image,

we have been called

to become imitators of God.

To imitate God is to act like God,

to be godly in our relationships with others.

All human action

takes place in the context of some relationship

and every human act

is held to the standard

of loving others as one loves oneself.

Prior to loving others, of course,

is the imperative that one loves God wholly.

Love never happens in isolation;

in fact, isolation is a rejection of love.

Even the One God

is a Trinity of Persons

in perfect relationship with one another.

Thus is the imitation of God

a matter of acting in careful consideration

of one's relationship with others.

.

What is God like?

God is revealed

through

face-to-face interaction,

faithful following,

and

textual reading.

.

Meeting God face-to-face is impossible

unless God allows such a meeting;

otherwise we follow Jacob's example

and see in our meeting with others

a reflection of God's presence,

seeing in the face of the other

"the face of God."

WHAT A SHAME:

A CLOWN or JUST A FOOL?
.

I have never mastered the clown's art

of turning my own misfortune

into comedy.

Perhaps laughter is the best defense

against the pain of shame.

The clown makes a trade.

Dressed in his traditional costume,

he behaves with all the foolishness

of a small child

pretending to be an adult.

Although people are laughing at him

(which is embarassing)

the laughter is under his control,

which makes him feel

powerful and proud

of himself

rather than helpless

and ashamed.

.

Most of us work hard to present ourselves to the world as competent and "cool." Any time people laugh at us, our self-esteem is reduced and we are embarassed. Any moment of embarassment is guarenteed to interrupt the flow of our day and reduce our ability to live comfortably among others, let alone feel comforable within ourselves.

.

The clown

gives up this very important piece of self-esteem

in order to gain

whatever sense of personal pride

that comes from his success

in getting us to laugh

at his command.

.

Often one finds amusing something involving somebody's embarrassment.

Examples may range

from pratfalls

or clear, obvious flashes of unexpected stupidity

to subtle comments or allusions

that make one think

of something stupid one has done once oneself

but

that one didn't know

anyone else had ever experienced.

.

Shame always seems to involve a more-or-less sudden decrease in self-esteem, a moment in which we are revealed as somewhat less than one wants to believe. In a situation where people are friendly to one another, such exposure is in an atmosphere of interpersonal safety. When one's frailties or foibles are exposed before those in whose presence one does not feel safe or loved, this mild, humorous embarrassment gives way to the deeper forms of shame like humiliation or mortification.

.

Comedy, however, rarely does more than hint at the darker side of shame; perhaps some of its success lies in the delicacy of its success lies in the delicacy with which it plays around the edges of what is hidden within each of us. We all live on some line between shame and pride. The word of comedy is to make this border a bit safer.

.

The comedian stands alongside us, pointing at others, exposing the falseness of their self-esteem and so allowing us the safety of laughing at them, while the clown focuses our attention on himself and asks us to laugh at him. The only remaining performers who make us laugh are the jesters, who (to the extent they are given permission) can expose our secrets and make us laugh at ourselves. They live at the greatest risk, for the slightest slip will move them past the boundary of "good taste" into a realm where they incur only wrath. In the medieval court, the jest alone could tell the truth about the king. Usually deformed and therefore already "defective" and shame-worthy creature, his humor came from this ability to expose and embarrass within strictly defined limits. There are a lot of jokes about jesters sentenced to death for "going too far."

.

Shame can power all forms of humor.

There is, of course,

more to humor than shame,

and

more to happiness

than liberation from shame.

Nevertheless,

few experiences in life are so pleasant

as the moment of release from shame

or

the realization that

our foibles

are accepted

with love.

.

Adapted from Donald L. Nathanson's

SHAME & PRIDE: AFFECT, SEX, & THE BIRTH OF THE SELF

(pp 16-17)

FOOL OF WISDOM

MOROSOPHIA

(foolosophy: foolish wisdom of God)

This fellow's wise enough

to play the fool.

TWELFTH NIGHT, IIIi:61

I turned my mind to understand,

to investigate,

to search out

wisdom

and the scheme of things.

I turned my mind to understand
the stupidity of wickedness and
the madness of folly.

Applying myself to the understanding of wisdom

as well as of madness and folly,

I learned that
this is a chasing after the wind.

My mind still guiding me with "wisdom,"
I tried cheering myself with wine,
and embracing folly.
Loose laughter, however, is foolish.
What does such pleasure accomplish?

wisdom.

OUTWEIGHS

A little folly

Was ever one wiser than one's own weak wit?

Why would one ever dare to think, "Try it?"

When one's world is found empty,
God's word proves itself full.

Was one ever so wise to not fail as a fool?

There is more hope for a fool

than one wise in one's own eyes.

A proverb in the mouth of a fool

hangs limp.

Answer not a fool according to his folly

lest you become

like a fool yourself.

Answer a fool according to his folly

lest, in his own eyes,

he become wise.

Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning

and

even among fools

she lets herself be known.

Folly is loud

undisciplined

without knowledge.

Sitting at the highest point in the city,

Folly calls out to those who pass by:

"Let all who are simple come here! "

To all who lack judgment,

Folly says,

"Stolen water is sweet;

food eaten in secret is delicious!"

But little do they know

that the dead are there;

the guests of Folly

are in the depths of the grave.

The wise in heart accept commands,

but a chattering fool

comes to ruin.

The wise store up knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool

invites ruin.

Whoever conceals one's hatred

has lying lips,

and whoever spreads slander

is a fool.

The lips of the righteous nourish many,

but fools die for lack of judgment.

The one who brings trouble on one's family

will inherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise.

The way of a fool

seems right to him,

but a wise man listens to advice.

A fool shows his annoyance at once,

but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself,

but the hearts of fools blurt out folly.

Every prudent man acts out of knowledge,

but a fool exposes his folly.

A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but fools detest turning from evil.

He who walks with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm.

The wise woman builds her house,

but with her own hands

the foolish one tears her house down.

A fool's talk brings a rod to his back,

but the lips of the wise protect them.

Stay away from a foolish man,

for you will not find knowledge

on his lips.

The wisdom of the prudent

is to give thought to their ways,

but the folly of fools is deception.

Fools mock at making amends for sin,

but good will is found among the upright.

Even in laughter the heart may ache

and joy may end in grief.

A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil,

but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

The wealth of the wise is their crown,

but

the folly of fools yields folly.

A patient man has great understanding,

but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

A fool spurns his father's discipline,

but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools.

Death and Destruction lie open to the LORD

- how much more the hearts of men!

The discerning heart seeks knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

Folly delights one who lacks judgment,

but a man of understanding keeps a straight course.

Understanding is a fountain of life

to those who have it,

but folly brings punishment to fools.

For a fool

HONOR

is unfitting.

A longing fulfilled

is sweet to the soul,

yet the fool is determined

to return to his folly.

ON HEARING FAURE'S REQUIEM SUNG

by The Valley Forge Choir of Men & Boys

at Washington Memorial Chapel on February 29, 2003.

Silence.

Boys proceed with folded hands,

their fingers intertwined.

Men follow,

young, old, faithful, faint.

Others watch

and wait,

sitting in the wooden pews

or on stone benches

set along the chapel walls,

(some, having arrived late,

on folding chairs set up front),

all now a sudden congregation

set to hear a service sung -

an invocation to our God

that He

would grant eternal rest.

.

Requiem aeturnam ...

Organ chord sounds loudly first,

and startles some

who sit not knowing

what they should expect.

Rest eternal ...

sung in Latin verse,

the Lord beseeched with music,

God in Zion praised,

and we,

reminded that all flesh

shall die,

seek God's face

to favor us with mercy

in that coming moment.

.

Kyrie eleison ...

Lord Christ have mercy.

Surely you are able, Lord;

we pray that you be willing.

.

Rex glorie ... libera animas ...

From death deliver souls.

Oh Lord!

Is not the promise of the King of Glory sure?

Surely shall all faithful souls be saved

from being swallowed up

in deepest darkness,

from falling down forever

into abysmal obscurity.

Make those souls pass from death, O Lord;

deliver souls from death

to pass instead

to life.

.

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus ...

Thrice holy God, Lord Sabaoth,

hear blessing from trebled voices

as organ plays with harp;

the highest hosannas sung

to the One who comes,

full of glory,

in the holy Name,

I AM.

.

Pie Jesu Domine ...

Please, Lord,

hear our prayer,

and, in your mercy,

grant eternal rest.

.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi ...

the world ... the sins ...

who takes sin away?

There is no one else

who can, who has, who sacrificed for us.

who ... who has mercy?

Only you, Lord Jesus Christ!

Oh, God ... like a slaughtered lamb you lay,

stretched out on a cross,

striped with bloody marks of malice,

miserable, suffering like we do,

and more,

and more,

and more ...

.

Libera me, Domine ...

lux perpetua luceat

Liberty! (Deliver me.)

Liberty? (Deliver me.)

From eternal death, deliver me.

Don't let death be dominant.

That fearful day approaches quickly

when all liberty proclaimed

in vain and bloody revolution

shall come to naught;

the wrathful truth is a bitter judge.

I tremble to consider the desolation of that day.

Those whose fantasy of perpetual luxury

will instead

be shut forever out

of Paradise,

suffering a second death.

.

in paradisum ...

In your coming ... be with us in your coming.

Be with us, Lord,

be with us now,

so that in Paradise we may be with you.

Help us find our rest, O Lord,

in you.

.

Requiem ...

requium aeturnam, dona nobis.

My heart, my flesh rejoice in God.

.

... exultaverant in Deum vivum!

To dwell with you, as you have come to dwell with us,

is bliss beyond imagination.

.

Laus et Jubilato ...

Hidden in your heart is home.

How dear your dwelling is, O Lord.

How delightful is your rest.

THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION ...

... is a circular one

calling for a movement

from a part to whole

and back to the part.

The paradigm
for this hermeneutical circle,
or, better, helix,
is the understanding of a sentence.

This requires

an understanding of individual words

which requires

an understanding of the sentence

which requires

an understanding of the paragraph

which requires

an understanding of individual sentences

which requires

an understanding of the language and social practices

with which it is interwoven.

Coming to understand a text

is a process of temporarily progressive feedback.

I understand the first word in a sentence

in the light of an expectation

regarding what kind of word will follow,

and likewise

for the words that do follow.

But

my expectations are not always fulfilled,

and they are usually fairly general.

By the time I have reached the full stop

or the end of the paragraph,

hitherto possible meanings

of later sentences or paragraphs

may have surprises in store for me

that will call for a revision

in my understanding of the text so far.

This is why

the so-called

hermeneutical circle

is really a spiral ....

John Llwelyn , Beyond Metaphysics?

The Hermeneutic Circle in Contemporary Continental Philosophy,

Alantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities, 1985.