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6abc.com: The World Meeting of Families released the final renderings of the performance stages for the papal Mass, The Festival of Families, and Pope Francis' speech at Independence Hall.
A solid read after the church lighting designer article, as this proves my point in spades. The rise of church as entertainment in recent years has led to some of the most shockingly beautiful and well realized designs this side of Broadway. The amount of truss in the Papal stage would make any designer or engineer shiver with joy. The lighting, based solely on the rendering, seems like it would come close to a Superbowl Halftime show in terms of spectacle, which brings up the point I really think about. What is it about church that gave way to this theatrical edge? When I was young, the vision of church was sitting in a stuffy room in nice clothes and listening to an old man in robes say some words you don't understand. The content of church hasn't changed, however, the stage on which it is presented has. The old pastor has given way to the flashy televangelist, one whose flair for the dramatic brings people crawling back every Sunday for their free show. And it is a show. Saying amen and reading from the Bible doesn't constitute a service. The context in which it is held is. Church, and religion, is an inherently human thing. Adding the theatrical just pulls it further back from humanity.
I'm always fascinated by how much crossover there is between theater and church tech work. When it comes down to it, they are very similar and always have been: both are about "storytelling" to an audience, within a community that supports the event. Religion and performance are closely intertwined, and it's no surprise that many theater technicians light or setup church events. Of course, this papal mass is part of a larger event so it makes sense that the organization putting this up is doing renderings and other "normal" things.
I wish that the article had more specifics about how this event is coming together. Who designs a stage for the pope, and who has a say in how it looks? What are the implications of hosting a papal mass, from a security and logistics standpoint? How does this play in with the other parts of this Festival of Families?
2 comments:
A solid read after the church lighting designer article, as this proves my point in spades. The rise of church as entertainment in recent years has led to some of the most shockingly beautiful and well realized designs this side of Broadway. The amount of truss in the Papal stage would make any designer or engineer shiver with joy. The lighting, based solely on the rendering, seems like it would come close to a Superbowl Halftime show in terms of spectacle, which brings up the point I really think about. What is it about church that gave way to this theatrical edge? When I was young, the vision of church was sitting in a stuffy room in nice clothes and listening to an old man in robes say some words you don't understand. The content of church hasn't changed, however, the stage on which it is presented has. The old pastor has given way to the flashy televangelist, one whose flair for the dramatic brings people crawling back every Sunday for their free show. And it is a show. Saying amen and reading from the Bible doesn't constitute a service. The context in which it is held is. Church, and religion, is an inherently human thing. Adding the theatrical just pulls it further back from humanity.
I'm always fascinated by how much crossover there is between theater and church tech work. When it comes down to it, they are very similar and always have been: both are about "storytelling" to an audience, within a community that supports the event. Religion and performance are closely intertwined, and it's no surprise that many theater technicians light or setup church events. Of course, this papal mass is part of a larger event so it makes sense that the organization putting this up is doing renderings and other "normal" things.
I wish that the article had more specifics about how this event is coming together. Who designs a stage for the pope, and who has a say in how it looks? What are the implications of hosting a papal mass, from a security and logistics standpoint? How does this play in with the other parts of this Festival of Families?
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