{"id":1789,"date":"2007-08-31T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-31T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/08\/god-takes-center-stage.html"},"modified":"2007-08-31T13:45:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-31T13:45:00","slug":"god-takes-center-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/08\/god-takes-center-stage.html","title":{"rendered":"God takes center stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Is the Holy Spirit up to something? <\/p>\n

Just days after I posted this little item<\/a> on Fr. James Martin’s new book, “A Jesuit Off-Broadway,”<\/i> comes word that a new theater company in St. Louis is planning to stage dramas about religion and spirituality<\/a>: <\/p>\n

A new theater company is set to make its debut in St. Louis next month with the hope of bringing the Word of God to life onstage. <\/p>\n

Kevin O\u2019Brien, a convert to Catholicism and member of Cathedral Basilica Parish in the Central West End, launched this month Theater of the Word Inc., a local theater company with a focus on productions from a Catholic perspective. <\/p>\n

A longtime actor who has made theater a self-sustaining way of life for himself, 46-year-old O\u2019Brien said he has always had a lingering interest in the power of words and beauty of drama. He said he wants that interest to translate into a message of substance for the audience. <\/p>\n

“If we can live out our faith on stage and entertain people and maybe make them think a little bit, we might have an avenue through their hearts, into their own souls and into their own conversion,” said O\u2019Brien. “I hope this will be an apostolate for us … where we can begin to reach people.” <\/p>\n

Theater of the Word\u2019s first season begins Friday, Sept. 21, in the Pope John Paul II Auditorium on the campus of the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury. The six-person company will offer five performances through April 2008. (See related story, Page 6.) <\/p>\n

“They\u2019re all Catholic or Christian dramas or comedies, but they\u2019re not necessarily apologetic in nature,” said O\u2019Brien. “In other words, they\u2019re not preachy, and they\u2019re not necessarily overtly Catholic.” <\/p>\n

Theater of the Word has received support from Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and Ignatius Press in getting the initiative off the ground, O\u2019Brien said. <\/p>\n

A highlight of the troupe\u2019s first season includes “The Surprise,” by G.K. Chesterton, an early 20th-century British author and convert to Catholicism, whose writings, O\u2019Brien said, are enjoying a renewed interest. <\/p>\n

“He was influential in the conversion of C.S. Lewis, who wrote \u2018The Chronicles of Narnia,\u2019” said O\u2019Brien. Chesterton “wrote mystery stories, apologetics, he wrote novels, he wrote a handful of plays, and \u2018The Surprise,\u2019 I think is his best.” <\/p>\n

He described “The Surprise” as a romantic fairy tale with “deep philosophical and theological components, all presented in a very entertaining and surprising way. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the Holy Spirit up to something? Just days after I posted this little item on Fr. James Martin’s new book, “A Jesuit Off-Broadway,” comes word that a new theater company in St. Louis is planning to stage dramas about religion and spirituality: A new theater company is set to make its debut in St.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGod takes center stage - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/08\/god-takes-center-stage.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God takes center stage - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is the Holy Spirit up to something? 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