HowlRound: Acclaimed actress and acting teacher Stella Adler wrote in The Art of Acting: “The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation.” Theatre artists utilize the stage in a pursuit for truth¾the truth of the human condition, of existence, of the realities, triumphs, tragedies, and perhaps, the iniquities of life. Playwrights, directors, and designers use theatre to create worlds, teach lessons, and most importantly, to tell stories. Actors bring these stories to life, manifesting redemption or justifying its absence. Nevertheless, theatre always invokes a response, be it visceral or cerebral, hopeful or hopeless.
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This is an article that I feel is very important and I strongly agree with. Most of my family is made up of highly devoted Christians, and it is fairly often I hear that "theatre is evil" or "the devil lives in that story." But I so strongly disagree with them on a fundamental level. Jesus was a teacher. He embraced people for who they were and he showed them a new way of life. He taught them how to walk a day in another's shoes. And this is exactly what theatre is about. Good theatre tells the stories we are afraid to hear, because they teach us something we might not have understood. By censoring it, as the author says, we are denying ourselves the opportunity to appeal to those in the audience who may benefit from hearing this story. Part of the Christian task is loving and accepting others, and helping them to find peace in God. Though some may frown upon homosexuals or drug abusers in plays, it is important to learn to understand these people so that we may help them when we encounter them in real life. Why disrespect Christians' abilities to understand things that they do not approve of or believe in? Theatre is about truth: tell it.
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