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."