In an unusual niche combo: Jesus and Theatre have been my 2 lifetime passions. Here's where I've journaled the adventure.
December 26, 2009
Michael Gerson - Christmas: The grandest myth, the greatest hope - washingtonpost.com
December 01, 2009
How Drama (and Sports) Can Be Good Missions Strategy
Development projects are just as crucial to Afghan hearts as U.S. military operations, author Awista Ayub tells CNN's Manisha Tank.
November 20, 2009
Adding some Spice to LIfe at the EPIC Experience
November 09, 2009
My New Hero! Grandma Can Salsa!
Thanks David Calkins for the fwd!
Dance Addiction
thanks Rhapsody for this forward from the Dance Fever TV show. Not only addiction, but any sin, I'd say. Powerful.
Watershed Arts, Garold Andersen, Brand New Bag
November 04, 2009
CONFESSION: I'm a recovering Lone Ranger.
"12. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ....21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"That about sums up how I've been feeling the last few weeks.
It doesn't so much matter what it is that's requiring me to grow in patience and grace. What matters is what I find myself reading the day after I asked the Lord: "Can I just quit? Would it be okay if I just stopped working on this?"And I sensed Him say: "Sorry. no. you need to stick with it. see it through."
I find myself finishing a terrific book by Gordon Smith, Courage & Calling. Chapter 9 takes all the teaching about our vocations: our holy purpose for being on the earth, for this time and addresses the topic "Working With and Within Organizations."
Among the many good points Smith has is this point - jumping off the page as if a neon sign:
"Accept and work within the limits and strengths of the organization.... This means accepting the limitations in a situation; but more, it also means seeing the potential within those limits....
"This does not mean that we tolerate mediocrity; rather it means that we pursue excellence within our particular situation and its potential rather than constantly complaining about what we wish did characterize our situation.
"...it is easy to be a critic. It is easy to identify with what is not present and what is not good and what you wish would make an organization better. But true genius has the capacity to identify the strengths and work from them, to build on them and celebrate them, being grateful for what is there rather than complaining about what it not there." p173-4.
As I put the book down, I pick up a missionary newsletter from a respected friend and Arts Ministry professional. Robin Harris was reporting on her trip to Tuva's capitol city Kyzyl, for a disorganized first Ethnomusicological Worship Arts Conference (layman's terms: culturally relevant music). It's not a surprise to me that she's reporting on a similar challenge with grace and dignity:
"It is very often true that pioneer efforts are messy, so it's no surprise that this first attempt was, well, messy. Besides, it's about time the churches in Kyzyl started working as a team! We count it a privilege to have been the catalyst to motivate that very healthy step forward."If you're in the midst of a chaotic project and needing encouragement to stick with it with grace, know you're not alone! The integrity and character which is being built in us is to grow in not only our patience and grace, but even more fundamentally, our respect for the dignity and reputation of others, "regardless of their competency or effectiveness." (Courage & Calling, p166)
We all have so much growing to do!
September 23, 2009
Faith and Performing Arts in Slovenia
From Lin Sexton a friend through CITA in USA:
Thank you so much for your help with Playback Theatre. The Slovenia performing arts camp turned out to be far more than we even hoped for. I am so thankful for your encouragement and help!
Except for the Playback sketch, they performed in English because most Europeans want to speak English. We were joined by a Slovene director who is getting her doctorate in Playback in a study sponsored by the EU. I hope you'll watch the little youtube clip below - in it you'll see these kids, only a few of whom are connected with an evangelical church singing about Jesus. Each song caused great discussion. Each sketch and dance, the same. The Spirit filled the room as they performed for a packed audience the last night. We have been invited back next year to do an even bigger camp!
The PT sketch developed in workshop was based on the true story of one of the girls. She had been raped as a child, her family would not even discuss it, betrayed by a lover as a college freshman, and through a Christian therapist found the "real God" who healed her heart. I could not have scripted anything more true or moving or relevant to Slovene culture. The PT expert chose this story out of all those told to prepare as part of our show (Of course, the girl remained anonymous to the audience).
I could go on with dozens of stories, but I just hope you'll watch the video clip (it's short) and accept my thanks.
September 03, 2009
Performing the Sacred, Dr Dale Savidge in Singapore
http://cita.org/site/?page_id=8
August 27, 2009
PERFORMING THE SACRED
Theatre as Ministry in Singapore
Thursday, September 2, 2009
Hope Church Singapore, Cuppage Plaza
7:30 PM
If you are using theatre in ministry somehow, or would like to explore performing arts in your church or outreaches, we're gathering with Dr. Dale Savidge of Christians in Theatre Arts
Come meet others in the city who have the same passion as you: Jesus and Theatre
July 06, 2009
Yu Ben Had's Feedback Form
Summer Ministry Update 2009 from K!Mberly
Hey Kimberly! Of course...you can share it with anyone and everyone...no need our permission! Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement! Feel so blessed and excited to 'go for it' even more cos God is so awesome! :) But it really is no small part you empower us! Ella, Bee, Khimmy and I always get so so excited about all that you teach us and show us is possible to do!!! Oh yes, forgot to say too that one of the mimes that we did there was The Box, which Dorithy did for her final performance in Performing Arts class! The videos on YouTube are so helpful and Dorithy was so kind and supportive providing us the script to do so too! :) Thank you so much again, and God bless you and your family so richly! lotsa love and hugs out,
Ella and i are back from a most wonderful mission trip to the Philippines. I believe Ella would have filled you'll in on the awesome things God amongst us. God really used drama, songs, dance as a tool that crossed cultural or language barriers...to not only spread His message but bond the people and us together in a special way. And from day one we were awed that God was our divine director. Cos no matter what mistakes we made - the entire thing ends on a perfect note, the people understood the message in a much deeper way than we expected and we had loads of fun! The drama workshop we did was so simple but super fun. A leader in our host church told us that those who are interested in drama don't have a chance to really learn this stuff that we have learnt, cos many of them arnt from backgrounds too that enable them to go to college or special courses. But the people, mainly kids, youth and young adults who attended are so talented and have such a burning heart for God, they learnt so enthusiastically and quickly. We are so excited that groups from some churches including our host church are also going to use drama as a ministry in a greater way! We came back home so blessed by the Filipinos. Cos though they're so super gifted in the arts, esp music, they have a spirit of humility. The very gifted people we had the privelege to be with never once displayed their talents but were always very communal - using it to encourage everyone to come together at various spontaneous occasions to give their talents, their best to worship God. We're back wanting to cultivate this spirit in ourselves and the youth we're so blessed to work with in church. We really want to thank you for your teaching and guidance in our lives, not just as artistes but as people who are passionate and available to God. We would not have the knowledge, confidence, creativity, resources and everything else that enabled us to do what we did if not for you'll being our teacher and role-model!
June 12, 2009
June 10, 2009
Modernizing/Localizing Bible Characters
In our placing Bible characters in modern settings, with local language, the audience can more easily identify with them. Otherwise, these characters might be seen as Ancient History and having no relevance to modern people's lives. But a modernized depiction breaks down stereotypes and helps us learn from and apply lessons of these ancient peoples. In the same way Jesus used parables to teach, these modernized Bible characters are just one way of effectively reaching and communicating with 21st century people. May God bless you in your effort to teach God's truths with creativity.
see the script here:
“Doubting Thomas”
June 01, 2009
Personal Notes of Thanks....
Worship Symposium to INCLUDE THEATRE!
Getting revved up to see what will come down. Looking forward to the chance to get to know fellow CITA member Colin Kirton better while he's down from Kuala Lumpur to do the drama training.
Middle Schoolers & Playback
Desiree Den Englesen video'd with her phone, so hard to hear, but these young teenagers/preteen girls were telling stories of how they'd grown spiritually or times when it had been hard to be a Christian.
Middle School Dramaworkout ended our year May 28th by performing in the last chapel of the year. All of Middle School was QUIET in the crowded multipurpose room as the girls improvised the stories and feelings for their peers. I was paying close attention to the audience - they were leaning forward in their chairs...a good sign! Teachers came up afterward to say how amazed and proud of you they were -
brave to perform,
braver still to perform improv,
and bravest of all, to perform improv of personal stories!
APPLAUSE!!!!
May 18, 2009
Samples of Sketches in SE Asia (English)
A couple of our favourites from the recent Showcase/Workshop:
Quote for Writers:
W. H. Auden
May 06, 2009
Academia
April 30, 2009
The world sees Christianity as backward, unimaginative and boring.
Welcome to the Party!
After spending the first half of my life in Los Angeles, the city with more theatres than any other city in the world, I grew up in love with both Jesus and the stage. Halfway through my co-starring role in “The Kimberly Creasman Story”, life took a crazy turn toward Singapore by way of joining Church Resource Ministries and learning “yi dian” Mandarin in China.
For the past 9 years now I've been a student of - and serving the church in – Singapore.
With our unique cultural integration of the best of both East and West, we have so much to offer, with limitless possibilities!
I believe that artists in Singapore, along with the well-resourced church here, are in a position to be a great influence not only to our society, but in the region and the world.
I'm excited about this step our grassroots network of Christians in Theatre is now taking to expose and equip the church in theatre arts. TCA College has been offering a Certificate in Creative Arts, but until now, we’ve never worked past a mere introduction on the genres from the Performing Arts course.
That’s why it's been thrilling to put this ½ day together with a wonderful team of friends, colleagues and former students. Once a week, for the past 3 months, we’ve had a great time getting to know one another and rehearsing the various scenes you’ll see today.
Many people believe that theatre requires a big budget and lots of fancy equipment. We have neither. When we came together we had only enthusiasm, a lot of experience & a little bit of talent. We want to inspire you today to employ creativity and drama in your ministry whether or not you've got money for costumes, sets and lights!
Dramatist/Explorer
CRM Singapore
TCA College, School of Creative Arts, Adjunct Faculty
Calling Statement:
God delights in creativity and his creatures.
I am called to radiantly reflect his delight and add SPICE TO LIFE!
First, helping Christians discover His Creative Spirit in themselves,
and illuminating the truth of a personal God in fresh and tasty ways.
Then, helping the spicy friends I've made recognize and submit
to the source of their creative spirit.
Through personal relationships, writing, teaching, directing and connecting,
I am called to model holiness to the Artistic, and artistry to the holy!
At the end of my life,
I see the world full of Christ followers creatively and hopefully celebrating this mortal life
because they are made in the image of their Creator and have a strong sense of their unique destiny!
April 22, 2009
UPDATE on Drama Showcase/Workshop May 2: TEN DAYS TO GO!
April 13, 2009
The Ministry of Drama Ministry
Im a late bloomer and only started being involved in drama ministry in end year '01 (I think). My friends find me a drama cos I constantly have my hands flying all over when I talk to them and if I want to emphasis on something I will drag my speech.
I thought being in drama was just to come up and prance around. You get a whole audience to look at you. But having been involved through the years I realized that I have more to learn and is still learning.
I have to confess that Im no bible thumping from cover to cover. Ask my mom and she complains that I don’t even memorise the order of the bible be it the Old or New Testament. I now cheat by having tags on the sides of it.
Having done a few shows have helped me studied the bible (not all of it yet). You see I have to memorise the script and most important of all thoughts will be flying through me and it does seem that God is speaking to me through the script. Here are some excerpts from the scripts I have learnt.
In The Gift by Glenn A Hascall (Reader’s Theatre), our lines are only either one word or phrase but yet it kept telling us what this Gift from God is where it is from, where it is coming. Priceless, precious and perfect gift. And we all know that the Gift is Jesus.
Temple Merchant (John 2:13-23) by Debbie Lee. This is the only chapter that I will shiver if had been in the temple. I wouldn’t have thought that Jesus would be so angry. I can safely say that I don’t come to church to make money but on hindsight Church has often been my playground. I get to meet and chat with friends and sometimes loose my focus of coming to church.
All of us know the Lord’s Prayer by heart but what does it actually mean? I only got in depth when I did the Lord Prayer by (I don’t have the name) . Hallowed be thy name, and just like my part in the script that says “It means….it means…(loss of words) Goodness! How should I know what it means? It’s just part of the prayer. (pause) By the way, what does it mean? Does it break your conscience when you say “Forgive us our debts even as we forgive our debtors?” It was quite tough doing this script, I did sit down and cried a few times. I need to reconcile with what I have to say and now it is a constant reminder to me whenever I say it.
In a Christmas play “Saviour” no idea who wrote this. I learnt of the prophets from the Old Testament who predicted the Messiah’s birth. Micah predicted that the messiah would be born in the village of Bethlehem and it’s the village where King David is born. Isaiah predicted that the messiah will be born into the family of King David. Isaiah also predicted that the messiah of Israel will be God himself in human form. The messiah will be known to his disciples as Immanuel which means God with us. Mary already knew that her baby will be a boy who is the messiah. He will be called Joshua, a Hebrew name which means God is Salvation. The Greeks will pronounce His name as Jesus.
So yes, Christian drama does help me understand the bible better. It also helps me to have a closer walk with God. I just cant go out and say lines without it’s true meaning.
SIEW CHENG LEE, Wesley Methodist Church, Singapore
March 29, 2009
CITA in Singapore
"The Ledger People"
March 12, 2009
PRESCRIPTION: the Spiritual RED BULL of fellowship in Egypt
SINGAPORE. 60% Daoist Chinese. 16% Christian.
Pop: 4 million. Cultural hub of Asia.
My head is spinning from jet lag, career euphoria and a clash of cultures. There’s an Indian Festival going on in the common area of our concrete apartment blocks. My boys are playing funky American hip hop on the stereo. And though Asia has been our home since 1997, I just got back from turning 47 (middle aged?) in the Middle East.
ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT. 90% Muslim. 10% Christian.
Pop: 80 million. Cultural hub of the Middle East.
No. I didn’t mix with the terrorists suspected of bombing a popular tourist spot (Day 1) or have a chance to meet more than one Muslim; a girl who’d just graduated from college in Islamic Law (Day 11). I spent all the time in the middle with 80 of the most passionate followers of Jesus of the millions of Arabic speaking Coptic Christians living in the 10/40 window.
SELF-DOUBT. Is it really a good idea to leave your family for 11 days? I mean really, you’re depressed. You’ve had a hard time juggling homemaking and a few teaching commitments. You’re rarely speaking your hard earned and easily forgotten Chinese in day-to-day life. What are you doing running off to the Arab world to teach drama when you’re a failure in Asia as a wife, mother and missionary who can’t keep toilet paper stocked in the bathrooms let alone be involved in any really significant theatre related work or ministry?
HEALING. Despite having the world’s most supportive and positive husband, I have become world-class at negative self talk.
However, New Year’s 2009 found the children and I making seriously positive steps toward equilibrium and health on all fronts (so far, 20 doctor visits, 6 prescriptions, and 4 books to figure it out!). Amazingly, it turns out that part of my healing was a solo trip to Cairo.
SHOULD I GO? When I was invited to come teach Evangelistic Drama Teams again this year, I brought it up with my sensible lady friends in Bible Study. The 6 who since August have most intimately seen me struggling in readjustment to life in Singapore. Instead of saying,
Egypt? Are you kidding?, they said,
Egypt! You HAVE to go!
I called the conference planner. I wasn’t sure how Playback Theatre, the style I’d taught last year, could be used with their theme this year to “Train the Trainers.” I could see how it might work to have 4 days to take Actors, or Directors, or Script Writers or Technicians to a level where they might be able to pass on some skill. But I needed to ask him directly: Do you really need me there this year? I was sure the answer would be “Not really, …but thanks for asking.” Instead we had a 2 hour conversation that started with,
I don’t think you understand that you’ve made a huge impact on these people. You are famous here. The first thing people ask when I tell them about the conference is, “Will Kimberly be there?” I’ve told them all “Yes!”…. You have to come.
(Egyptians, by the way, are world class at making people feel special. He may very well have said the same to all of the other trainers!)
So, by faith and credit card I booked the ticket and knocked on only two doors to pursue extra funds to help cover the cost in our internationally flagging economy. Door number two, a Singaporean pastor, followed up with an email,
Have my secretary cut Kimberly a check for the entire cost of her flight.
I made 2 Corinthians 12:9 my theme verse for the trip. The Apostle Paul had been complaining about having some kind of a nagging problem, his thorn in the flesh, when he heard God speak to him:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
WEAKNESS INDEED. I made my itinerary to arrive a day before the 5 other international trainers to make sure I’d get over jet lag. A sore throat and drippy nose hit and the now irregular curse hit my aging female reproductive organs full force. By the 3rd of the 4 day conference I couldn’t get myself out of bed for breakfast. While my achy body waited for aspirin, vitamins and the healing of Jesus to kick in, downstairs the conference prayed for me because I had no voice. I laughed about my theme verse and thought,The only way I’d be weaker and his power more perfect is if they brought me in on a stretcher and all laid hands on my English teaching notes to learn by osmosis!
BUT THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN. And he cares about you and I and our little attempts to please him. More than I could have even imagined before, his power was made perfect in my weakness. Needing to be flexible, and not knowing ahead of time who or how to prepare, I brought those notes from last year, and the Holy Spirit clearly lead my pedagogy for each of the 13 training sessions. I fell in love with the 10 students in my Playback section who quickly bonded, learned to love and trust each other, grasped the difficult and unusual concepts for this new style, marveled that they could use their whole bodies in worship and storytelling, stretched their creativity to the limits and told me over and over,
I didn’t think this kind of theatre & creativity was possible for Upper Egyptians.
I was skeptical at first, but now I see how amazingly powerful this can be used to bring people closer together and find common ground.
Playback gives us an unforgettable platform for sharing our testimonies, our stories of faith; our prayers. Not just among us in our drama teams, or in our church meetings, but somehow, as you’ve said, God will show us how to use it in our communities to bring down the walls between us and find what we have in common so that maybe we can open doors to share more…
The class did a performance on the last night. You’d have thought they had been rehearsing for more than half a year. One first time observer called it “miraculous.” A dozen told me they wanted to learn it too. Perhaps my class will train them. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to return again. My fellowship with Egyptian Christians for a week was like a Long-lasting Spiritual Red Bull energy drink. I’m more than just pumped, psyched, and excited about being back in Singapore. I’m full of love and motivation to serve my family, navigate the health issues to complete healing, and follow through on many wonderful opportunities I have to merge my other loves: Jesus Christ, artists and theatre. Especially the group of Christians in Theatre that’s recently started meeting Thursday nights. But that’s another story for another letter.
That Self-talking censor is silenced, and I hear myself saying instead,
I wonder how much Arabic I can learn by 2010?