One of the questions that I have never been able to clearly answer in my mind is the question of Christians in theater, whether on-stage or in movies or in TV. In fact, though I watch TV and movies, just like almost all dwellers on this planet, I can easily see why actors and actresses have always had a hard time convincing Christians that you can be a Christian and be in theater. There would be very few Christians nowadays that would say that they do not watch some type of entertainment medium. Yet, the relationship between Christianity and different types of entertainment has always been somewhat strained. I can remember preachers pointing out that the first instruments mentioned in the Bible are mentioned in the hands of Cain’s descendants. Jubal-Cain was the, “father of all those who play the harp and flute.” (Mind you, it was never mentioned that other descendants of Cain were the ones who were: “the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock,” and “an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron.” Also mentioned as one of the accomplishments of the descendants of Cain was that the first city appears to have been built by one of them. As one of my professors pointed out many years ago, it appears that the descendants of Cain accomplished many things, while the descendants of Adam are mentioned as simply begetting until the time of Noah.) But, I digress.
I think that the reason that there has been an on and off problem with Christians in theater for many years is the very nature of theater. In both Medieval Europe and in early America, theater had mixed connotations. “In 1794 President Timothy Dwight IV of Yale College in his “Essay on the Stage” declared that ‘to indulge a taste for playgoing means nothing more or less than the loss of that most valuable treasure: the immortal soul.’” It should be noted that as late as 2005, a charge of blasphemy by a theater was filed in England that went all the way to the High Court. “The fundamentalist group Christian Voice sought a private blasphemy prosecution against the BBC, but the charges were rejected by City of Westminster magistrates’ court. Christian Voice applied to have this ruling overturned by the High Court, but the application was rejected, the court finding that the common law blasphemy offences specifically did not apply to stage productions (s. 2(4) of the Theatres Act 1968) and broadcasts (s. 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1990).” In 2008, blasphemy statutes were repealed in Great Britain.
But, the attempt to charge the BBC with blasphemy in 2005 brings forth the contentious relationship that there has been between various religions (not just Christianity) and the theater arts. It is interesting, in this context, to note that the word hypocrite is derived from the Greek word that has to do with the theater and acting. After all, a good actor realistically portrays someone who he/she is not. In one sense, the best actor truly deserves the praise of being an excellent hypocrite! No, I am not putting down actors. It is that actors have done their best work when they convince you that they truly are the character that they are playing. Many are surprised when they watch an interview of an actor, and the actor speaks, interacts, and moves in ways that are completely different from the role they may have played in a movie, theater performance, or on TV. The more surprised we are, the better the actor is at their craft, at being a hypocrite. It is no wonder that the New Testament uses the word hypocrite as one of its highest condemnations when it relates to real life. In the theater it is laudable to be a hypocrite. In real life, it makes you nothing more than a close relative of the deceiver.
But it is this very role as a hypocrite that causes the problem. Many Christians have had qualms about the parts that actors must assume. The better an actor is, the better he/she assumes another role, another personality. But, what happens when a Christian must assume a part that contains evil and sin? May a Christian act in a truly sinful way in theater, yet claim that this is not them, it is merely the character that they are playing? There has never been an easy answer to that question. I can vaguely remember a “Christian” movie from years ago that attempted to portray President Richard Nixon. But, there was a major problem that caused the movie to be panned in derision. The Watergate Tapes had been released, and it was well-known that President Nixon was an inveterate imprecator, to the point that not one tape was free of cursing. His cursing was even of a gutter language variety. The Christian company did not portray the cursing in its film, seeking to simply portray the sanitized events in order to show how one of the other participants had become a Christian. The failure of the actor who played Nixon to be a hypocrite meant that his portrayal was inaccurate and laughable in its sanitized goodness. One did not catch the malevolent banality of President Nixon without the accurate portrayal of his language.
We can all agree that there are many times when theater shows material merely to titillate. We complain about gratuitous violence and gratuitous sex. But, as with the Nixon example, there are many times that an actor must portray scenes that would otherwise be unacceptable to Christian morality. How do you portray a kissing session, even if it is a mild one? Is all scandalous material to be sanitized, as was the Nixon movie? Or, is all scandalous materials merely to be mentioned, or portrayed out of sight, so as not to offend morality? Questions of these type have risen up against Christian actors. Can a Christian actor even wear a revealing miniskirt if that is what the real person wore? While these may seem to be inconsequential questions, they are questions that led to theater being banned in certain areas and in certain centuries of the Church. There were times when only morality plays were allowed. The Early Church often believed that one could be an actor or a Christian, but not both. In the 48th homily of the Gospel of Matthew, Saint John Chrysostom shows little respect for the theater. For the sake of balance, I should note that the same homily excoriates those who will not give to the poor at their gate. Also, I should note that politicians were often classified about the same as actors by various of the Church Fathers. This makes sense, since politicians are often consummate hypocrites who could give acting lessons to theater folk.
So, one problem is the role that Christian actors must often portray. The other problem is the audience. The role of a theater company is to entertain you, to draw you into their constructed version of reality to have you experience the events they are portraying. It is not enough merely to have you understand the story, actors want you to experience the story. I have been to theater performances more than once. The best of the theaters can take a nearly bare stage and portray a story so well that with merely their intonations, gestures, and vocalizations they can transport you to another place. It is the place where they take you that is questionable to some of the Early Church Fathers. John Chrysostom in the homily cited above mentions dancers taking watchers to a place of lust. A good Hitchcock film can take you to a place of fear and trembling. While we leave and are relieved, the question is raised whether we should allow ourselves to be taken to that place. This was the question raised in the quote earlier in this post by the President of Yale.
I am not one of those who is against theater, whether live, movie, or TV. But, I must admit to questions about where the limits are. There is no easy answer. Draw the limits too tight, and only morality plays can be portrayed. Draw them too loose, and you can have the issue of being entertained by people who are engaging in what is normally considered to be reprehensible conduct. To say that a Christian may not act in that type of scene, but to then go to a movie theater to watch that scene portrayed by a non-Christian would certainly be considered one definition of hypocrisy. So, where are the limits for a Christian? Everyone wants Christians to play the heroic detective who fights against criminals. But, does a Christian get to play the hooker that the detective goes to when a snitch is needed? Does a Christian get to portray a violent and sadistic murderer in all his/her glory? You see the problem! Unfortunately, I do not see the solution.
Are there any theater people who would like to weigh in?
my first kiss was when i was 12, and it was in a play- with a woman who was 24. scarred me for life.
Having just finished my latest stage role after Thanksgiving, to me theater is like so many human activities. We all present ourselves with different faces in different situations. Theater extends this in the form of “fantasy presentation”. One might then also say getting lost in literature projects us into being another person, albeit momentarily. So enjoying fiction momentarily leads us into sin? It might, depending on how we react in real life. Hmmmmm. Still love the stage.
There are 2 issues I’d like to address. First, Christian actors…that is their job, right? Just like I have my job and you have your job, an actor has a job to do. I think the questions should be how far does the actor go, what roles does he/she take, and how do those roles affect who the person is in the real world? As someone who has spent a bit of time on stage, I know that I have some leeway in how I represent the character that I play; however, I must be able to adhere to the director’s vision and to the writer’s words. If I play an unsavory character, this has nothing to do with who I am unless I am doing things along with that role that affect who I am, ie my behavior starts to mimic who I am pretending to be..and some people do have this problem. Also, I think it would be impossible for me to take on a role that would require me to do certain things…like nudity. However, I have no problem portraying a drunk, or a hooker, or even to use colorful language…this is not me, it is my job and it is important to do it honestly (and maybe with some depth and compassion that my worldview would bring). No one would expect say Tim Tebow to not play the same as other football players do (ok, maybe not a great example) but, the point is, Christian athletes don’t worry about whether the locker room is rough or whether he hits the opposing player too hard-no, he does his job to the best of his ability and then gives God the glory. This brings me to the 2nd issue-why should a Christian actor be different (or maybe not as good) as a “regular” actor? You can extrapolate this on to music, sports or any other area of expertise. Why is there so much stress on whether something is “Christian” or not? It almost seems as at least the evangelical world is trying to make a separate society that is “Christian” and they only listen to “Christian” music, watch “Christian” movies and tv shows, only associate with “Christian” friends. How does that help to spread the Kingdom of God? How does this build relationships? Jesus didn’t stay in the temple-He hung out with the hookers and the tax collectors…and He saw beauty in them. I find beauty in many forms and probably not all of them are strictly “Christian” but all come from God-cause He told me in Philipians 4:8
(this does not address rich “Christians” pretending to be poor rednecks for a lot of money and the opportunity to rile up a bunch of scared and confused people)
I am not against Christians being actors. Rather, as movies and TV shows become racier and racier, violent and more violent, I begin to see why there used to be a distrust of the theater among various Christians in various centuries. While it is true that there are some who write as though any contact with the theater, it almost seems as though little is thought about the theater today in order to have a coherent view of theater.
For instance, just about all Christians go to a movie sometime during the year in which there will be a scene, or scenes, that they will watch. However, were their son or daughter to be one of the actors in that scene, they would have a conniption fit and tongue-lash them about how a Christian cannot be an actor in such a scene. That is a rather incoherent approach. If your adult son or daughter cannot act in such a scene, you should not be watching such a scene. Many churches would have the same contradiction even from the pulpit. The pastor may have a soft approach toward watching an R-rated film, unless someone in their congregation is in the film performing in the R-rated (possibly NC-17, but edited to knock the rating down) scene, whether it be a scene of gruesome violence or of eroticism. They might very well call that member in for a private chat about the limits of acting.
Do you see the lack of coherency that bothers me? I have know theater folk. My wife and I have gone to Stratford in Canada to watch theater. Yet, it is the incoherent formulations that bother me.
Given that Scripture uses explicitly theatrical language to teach how one is to follow Christ, it would be wise if we would be more careful to understand what it is about theatre that can help us comprehend Christian discipleship. The dynamic of theatre comes before the profession of theatre – the story precedes the telling.
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One of the wonderful things about being an actor is that you are given the opportunity and privilege of being able to present important issues and concepts to an audience in a way that they may never have considered or experienced before. It is through the arts, and in this case theatre, that issues such as racism, injustice, depression, identity crisis, disease, loneliness, war and so many more life and death issues can be presented. If an audience member can leave a theatre production a little bit kinder, more enlightened, more able to empathize with the humanness of humanity then surely this has been a vehicle through which God has worked. The Holy Spirit is the greatest artist of all and with his inspiration then life changing performances and productions should be far far more common than they are. Too many Christians are scared to enter this arena but this is exactly where we are needed. Trust God and your conscience to provide you with the roles that will bless you and others. Trust Him to reward you with better than anything you may have had to turn down. It has happened to me on numerous occasions. Whenever I say ‘no’ to a role because it contradicts my faith, God comes along with a better one!
So many people are confusing a representational artform with the ordinary life. Theatre or drama is to mirror the society in which we live. Stories are made and recited by all of the society members. Christians are no prohibited to telling stories of sins, wars, crimes and other topics. They speak about this even in their respective churches. Why does it come to be a problem you are to represent what you have been talking about? I see theatre does not contradict culture or christian values but it is according to one’s interpretation and as well as people do understand the concept unless it affects the real life of an actor. Is “actor” similar to “character”? Theatre is portraying an every day life characteristics on stage. My advice on this is to combine these christian, personal and cultural values before you can play a role. But never forget that a good actor is the one who can empathize different characters of different nature.
I am not concerned about “regular” and “typical” acting roles. But an “uncomfortableness” is found in Christianity from its beginnings about how far an actor may go in portraying a role. For instance, the current HBO series Game of Thrones has sufficient raw nudity, sex, and gross violence that there is a serious question about whether a Christian could act in some of those roles and whether s/he should even be part of the series.
From the Early Church Fathers through most of the centuries of the Church, there has been an uneasy relationship between theater and the Church. Some Early Church Fathers questioned both whether one could be an actor and whether one could be a soldier.
Having said that, I am in full disagreement with those in many of the centuries of the Church who looked down upon actors simply because they worked in theater. That is not an appropriate stance.
Yet, where is the line drawn? May a Christian undertake some of the roles in Game of Thrones that demand raw nudity and highly realistic portrayals of rape, consensual sex, prostitution? That is much more “personal” than portraying a long flaying scene (which often seems to be put in merely for titillation, and is deliberately written gross. Are there any lines other than personal comfortableness with the scene? Recently Jennifer Lawrence commented on her personal agony, and having to get mildly drunk, as well as phone her mother, because she had to do a realistic sex scene with a married man. Should not we have some of the same doubts?
This is tough. I actually stopped acting several years ago due to this very thing. My acting classes were consistently requiring me to compromise my morals. For me acting is not “acting”, it’s living. I am not playing a character, I am actually working to become a character. This is what makes a great actor. It’s believable when it’s real. My issue with that is that I cannot justify playing a role that is causing me to actually live out a sin. This affects the soul and spirit and even those who are watching.
Recently I have been wanting to get back into the craft, simply because I enjoy it. I like to feel and make others feel something. I’m currently navigating how to do this in a way that won’t compromise my morals… even if that means I won’t get to play a lot of roles. I just want to get as good at acting as I can. You usually won’t see an artist painting a picture that they hate, unless they are doing it for money. An artist paints what inspires them. I think as Christian actors, we should only act in roles that inspire us. We shouldn’t compromise our morals or preferences simply to earn money or grow our experience. Just my 2 cents.
There is a difficult line to be drawn here. I understand method acting. Would you believe I played Judas in a production of Godspell several decades ago? I again played Judas in a different production. If it helps, I drew my line at personally committing sin. That is, if I was method-acting a sinner being angry or even engaging in a stunt fight, I felt free to do that because I was portraying. After seeing a particularly hideous film about President Nixon in which he never cussed, I realized that portraying him in that way was to picture him as somewhat innocent. But, that was not Nixon. Had I portrayed him, I realized that I would have needed to fully portray his evil without somehow becoming a participant.
So, where was my line? Well, as a not-beautiful male, I never had to worry about sexual themes. But, I decided that any theme that portrayed sin merely for titillation could not be part of what I would do. Certain themes were out-of-bounds regardless of the storyline. Thus, even if truthfully portraying a character, I was not willing to go into explicit depictions of Jeffrey Dahmer’s murders. Interestingly, Alfred Hitchcock did more with less portrayal, not that I am recommending horror movies, although a well-crafted horror movie could fit within a Christian actor’s portfolio (depends on how they treat the horror). For instance, Edgar Allan Poe has several stories that are very portrayable by Christians, in my opinion.
I hope some of my musings are of help.