DRAMA
IS THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP —
Drama at Adventist Colleges
—
AND OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEING LED INTO IT
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“
Satan uses drama to excite passion and glorify vice" PP 459
“ Sensational drama,
engrossing minds" 4T 415
Our
denomination is steadily heading downward into every conceivable line of
worldliness. In this brief study, we will consider just one aspect: live
theatrical productions at Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities.
Several
colleges and universities offer drama classes on campus: Southern
Adventist University, Union College, Walla Walla College, and La Sierra
University, and Union College. Another nine also teach drama, but on a
somewhat more limited basis. But they all encourage student-led drama
groups to perform on-campus and elsewhere.
WALLA
WALLA COLLEGE—Our college with the one of
the longest history in drama activities is WWC—since 1981. Over 20
students are currently working toward a minor in drama. While all the
classes are taken on-campus, the students are encouraged to go over to
nearby Whitman College for classes in stage design, lighting arrangement,
and miscellaneous production techniques
In
addition to being totally worldly, drama seems to be a mindless activity,
teaching students little beside memorizing lines and play-acting on stage.
But, not perturbed at the thought of teaching something rather useless
(except for its effect in causing students to lose their way spiritually),
LuAnn Herrell, one of the two instructors, defends the classes, saying
that drama “teaches them to think critically.” Aping someone else’s
words teaches you to think critically?
Marilynn
Loveless, the other instructor says drama helps the students “think
creatively, and help them discover where they belong in the world.”
Play-acting surely does help people belong in the world.
In
October, a theater which WWC built on campus was first opened for
performances.
ATLANTIC
UNION COLLEGE—AUC has had drama classes,
under the direction of Ottilie Stafford, for nearly 26 years (1976).
Stafford says that part of her work included training the audience to
“recognize good theater” when they saw it. Little wonder that the
blessing of God has not attended AUC; they have been pointing their
students into the world for a quarter century.
After
three years in existence, a student-run drama group recently disbanded
when its leader, Faith Deschamps, graduated. The group, named Acting
Under Christ, traveled around and presented theatrical plays to
Adventist churches.
It
seems that there is no one in the church that dares stand up and say,
“This must stop!” Anything goes, as long as it brings the church
closer to the world. Yet if any suggestions are made that might bring our
people closer to God and obedience to His Word, a cry of “legalism!”
is raised.
SOUTHERN
ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY—SAU has, under
student direction, a Destiny Drama Group. Under a variety of
student leaders, it has continued since 1986. DDG has traveled throughout
the U.S. and overseas, demonstrating to Adventist audiences everywhere
that a departure from the historic standards of the church is perfectly
acceptable now.
SAU
is breaking ground in something new: Craig Hadley teaches a new four-year Cinematography
major. The 15 students majoring in it are working with him on the
production of a full-length movie, planned for release in the fall of
2001.
Written
by Hadley, the script is based on the siege of nearby Chattanooga during
the Civil War. He plans to submit the movie to several film festivals,
both national and international, and then release it for distribution in
theaters throughout the land.
It
used to be that we would tell our children not to go to the movies. Now
they can reply that it must be all right, since our church is now making
movies for release in those theaters.
In
order to help his students make still closer contacts with worldlings,
hired professionals will make the movie during a five-week shooting
schedule, and the students will act as paid interns to the professionals,
which include a director, actors, and other crew. When each day’s
shooting of scenes is finished, the professionals will conduct workshops
for the students.
Where
did SAU get the money for this? The $2 million budget for the film was
paid by donations from somebody, who apparently thought this would help
the young people of the school prepare for heaven. Hadley plans to produce
more movies, one every two years, with his students. SAU will soon be
known as a back alley to employment in Hollywood.
NEWBOLD
COLLEGE—Newbold is our British Adventist
college. Peter Balderstone is a Shakespearean actor who teaches the drama
class there. Currently working on a Ph.D. in drama, he has, with the
students, performed an annual Shakespeare play in Newbold’s own theater,
called Sylvia’s Garden.
In
2000, Newbold held its first annual “Make a Movie Day.”
Britishers think it great that even the Adventists are joining in the fun;
giving Shakespearean plays and making movies. Yet, all the while, angels
are writing it down.
Checking
into this, I find that Shakespeare wrote 32 major plays, and they either
focus on foolishness and sex in his comedies, or violent passion and even
murder in his tragedies. Some of the dialogue has swear words. Should we
be teaching our students to take part in this, much less watch it?
CANADIAN
UNION COLLEGE—Until about a year ago, CUC
performed one play each year for a decade. Written by former CUC librarian
Keith Clouten, the plays have been about early Advent history. Obviously,
this is more commendable than the trash the other colleges are performing
(To Kill a Mockingbird, The Glass Menagerie, The Pirates of Penzance,
etc.) But should we be veering even that closely to the edge of the
precipice?
At
any rate, the General Conference has printed all those CUC scripts under
the title, Playing Our Past, and distributed them to our academies
and colleges throughout the world field, to help initiate them in
play-acting.
AVONDALE
COLLEGE—The student drama group, Avondale
College Theatrical Society, at this Australian college bills itself as
Act II. They perform skits on the streets, at hospitals, and at
campmeetings.
OAKWOOD
COLLEGE—Theatrics is considered so
important on the campus of Oakwood, that it has four drama groups. As with
our other campuses, Oakwood flaunts the fact that it is married to the
theater, by annually presenting its largest dramatic production during
alumni weekend. The play performed in the spring of 2001 was A Raisin
in the Sun. Coordinated by Ramona Hyman, an English teacher, it was
performed by the students. She also teaches a course entitled Creative
Drama.
ANDREWS
UNIVERSITY—Another
school where make believe is important is Andrews. It has four student
drama groups, including Impressions of the Master, directed by
Jerry Nichols. Andrews is so deeply involved in drama that it is conducted
in three departments: English, Music, and Communications. Various worldly
plays are performed, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pirates of
Penzance, and Shakespeare. According to Stella Greig, an English
teacher, nearly every year the English and Communication departments
co-sponsor the course, British Drama, which includes a trip to London to
watch several secular plays.
Our
people have forgotten their inheritance, the glorious plan God purposed
for them.
LA
SIERRA UNIVERSITY—Drama has been important
at LSU for years. But, beginning in 2001, it began offering a minor in the
field. In order to complete the minor, students take seven courses and
participate in workshops and at least one full-scale department
production. Bruce Gilman, says the new minor is “modeled on programs at
well-known theater schools, including Yale and UCLA.”
Leading
our youth out into the world appears to be the objective. The situation
on-campus has degenerated to the point that Matheson Chapel is not needed
any more. So as soon as funds can be raised, it will be converted into a
theater!
UNION
COLLEGE—At
UC, a full major in drama is
offered. At the present time, three students are working toward a
bachelor’s degree in drama and six are working toward a minor. Classes
are taken at both UC and nearby Nebraska Wesleyan University and the
University of Nebraska. The Drama Department also has a Fourth Theater
Company.
SOUTHWESTERN
ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY—SWAU has two drama
groups. Brenda Schnell, director or admissions, is in charge of the
traveling group, called Make Believe. She and her students spend
most weekends presenting theatric performances in academies and churches
in Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Missouri.
The
other drama group is entitled Insight of the Master. It presents
short skits based on Bible passages.
COLUMBIA
UNION COLLEGE—Ricardo Bacchus, a student
at CUC, is in charge of a 20-member drama group, which performs at
religious services at churches throughout the area, and there are dozens
of them. The plays help Adventists learn that play-acting is a great
thing, and non-Adventists find that we have lost our message.
PACIFIC
UNION COLLEGE—PUC offers drama classes,
and has several student-led drama clubs. The Dramatic Arts Society
(which has performed for 11 years, the Napa Valley Musical Theater
(which presents a major musical every year). and the Parable Players.
A
SAMPLE PLAY—We have briefly overviewed the
situation on 13 campuses, and it is sorry indeed. But you might wonder
what these plays are like. Let us next consider one of them in closer
detail. For this purpose, we will not select the course and very worldly
plays so often performed at our colleges, such as Fiddler on the Roof or
Taming of the Shrew. Instead, we will consider a “high caliber
Scripture-based play.”
Ginger
Ketting, an education professor at Pacific Union College (PUC) wanted a
Bible-based play that would “be suitable for the whole family.” The
result is the Napa Valley Musical Theater
production of "Esther". Ketting wrote the music and lyrics, Mark Phillips wrote the
story and script, and Jennifer Janssen wrote the orchestration. It was premiered
at PUC in four performances in April 2001.
As
with other Adventist plays, it delighted the secular-minded who attended
(included nearly the whole school, as well as many in Angwin, Deer Park,
and Napa Valley). But it surely must have grieved the angels who found
their charges so anxious to attend it.
It
was an exhausting, but exhilarating project. The faculty and students had
to bring together scripts, songs, sets, sheet music, choreography (dance
movements), costumes, and all the rest; practice it repeatedly, and then
present this inglorious, three-and-a-half-hour spectacle on four nights to
an enthusiastic audience. If no one there wept, I am sure some of the
angels did.
Here
is the story plot:
The
morning after Xerxes’ rash decision to get rid of Queen Vashti, the
king, on stage, regrets that he made that choice. So he calls for women to
be brought in and sleep with him at night, one after another. Esther
dutifully enters the stage and crawls in bed with him. But, although
Esther becomes the next queen, Xerxes is not happy. So, standing on one
side of a wall he sings love songs to Vashti who sings back from the other
side. They sing how they wish they could be back romancing together. Every
so often, two palace guards appear, dance around, and act like fools as
they sing crazy ditties. Then there are the five “nobles” who provide
additional interludes, dancing in a burlesque style, as they kick up their
legs together in a Congo line.
Haman
and his wife, Zeresh, plot mischief till trouble comes to them. But
finally, Esther nobly abandons the queenship so Xerxes can remarry Vashti
whom he still loves.
You
didn’t read it in the Bible that way, but that is the book of Esther,
PUC style. An Adventist “Scripture-based play.”
Dr.
Ginger Ketting, the lyricist of "Esther" is no longer at PUC,
but now serves as Academic Dean at Walla Walla College.
REPORTS
TOC
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