[page 84]

RELIGIOUSLY ORIENTED PLAYS ON BROADWAY

Broadway has produced religiously oriented plays since the beginning of the 1900's.  Christ-like characters in human form were able to aid in reconciling characters, as in The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1905), and solve parish problems as in Jerome Kennedy's Servant in the House (1908).  Hatcher Hughes’ Hell Bent for Heaven  (1924) was an accepted comedy although on a religious theme.  In 1925, S. Ansky's The Dybbuk, a Jewish script on demons, began being performed.  It later returned as The Tenth Man  in 1959, by Paddy Chayefsky.

Broadway has never been adverse to scripts with religious plots just as long as they sold tickets.  A Broadway run is based on ticket sales, not on ethics, mortality or religion, so economics is the equalizer which permits a play on Broadway.

The life of Christ from his mother's view was the point of view of Family Portrait, by Coffe and Cowen in 1939.  In the nineteen-seventies two British imports initially caused pickets and protests when they were presented, but in the 1980’s and 1990’s these two imports, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, were playing on church platforms.  The popular musical form with a Biblical story was written by England’s Webber and Rice team.  This team originated the scripts for a church boys’ choir, but later expanded on the choir numbers which resulted in Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) and Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1977).  Added to these two rock musicals was Stephen Swartz’s Godspell in 1971.  Godspell was originally written as a thesis production at Carnegie Technical Institute several years prior to its Broadway success.

Black theatre with religious implications was represented in the 1930’s with Green Pastures.  Your Arms too Short to Box with God played at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C. [page 85] before it hit the great white way in the 1960’s, and The Gospel at Colonus followed in the late 1980’s.

Religious history and characters were brought to Broadway through Jean Anouih’s Beckett (1959), Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons (1961), John Osborne’s Luther (1961), and Rolf Hochhuth’s The Deputy (1963). The debate over the issue of the Pope’s supposed inaction to save the Jews during World War II produced pickets in front of the theatre and numerous written reactions.  Eric Bently compiled information and wrote The Storm Over The Deputy  in 1964.

Biblical plots were the basis for Gideon  and J.B..  Paddy Chayefsky’s 1961 production of Gideon questioned God’s relation with humans.  Archibald McLeish’s 1958 production of the Biblical Job story was given a poetic contemporary version in J.B..  A humorous version of the Biblical creation story was given by Arthur Miller in The Creationof the World and Other Business (1971).

Contemporary psychological issues were portrayed in John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God, as a psychiatrist attempted to discover how a sister of a religious order became pregnant.  Contemporary events were reenacted on stage in The Runner Stumbles by Milan Stitt in 1976.  Here the plot revolved around a minister who made a woman pregnant and her resulting death.

DENOMINATIONS

Several mainline denominations instituted drama departments in their denominational structures, but only the Latter Day Saints and the Southern Baptists have continued those departments to the present.  Each denomination had a different "place" for drama.  Some structures placed drama in the education department, some in the youth department, but it was always in an adjunct, and never an integral part of the denomination’s mission.  This is one of the reasons these denominational drama programs did not continue.  Leadership was another [page 86]reason for the demise of the denominational drama programs.  When the person in the leadership role retired, or passed on the program to new leadership, it was dropped for lack of interest or funding.

The Methodist Church began a national organization in 1927.  Two workshops were held at Scarritt College under Argyle Knight’s leadership.  In 1958 the Youth Department joined with the Bishops Players in a national workshop.  Between 1954 and 1958 Argyle Knight and James Warren directed the Religious Drama Caravans, populated by college students, who presented plays and workshops in order to help churches get drama programs started in their churches. 

The National Catholic Theatre Conference was organized in 1937, but is not in existence today.  Directors and sponsors of local Catholic theatre groups united to provide a channel for an exchange of inspiration and information.  The conference had twelve regions and included Catholic High Schools.  The conference published The Catholic Theatre monthly, as well as The Drama Critique.  The Catholic Theatre provided members with professional and nonprofessional theatre information.  The Drama Critique was a critical review of theatre arts and literature, and was published three times a year.  The Conference also held biennial national conferences, provided a contact placement service for Catholic universities, fostered original scripts, organized workshops and festivals, and maintained a lending library.  Their organizational structure consisted of interest committees, such as College, High School, Community Theatre, Children’s Theatre, Grants and Scholarships, and a Career Guidance Committee.

The United Presbyterian Church incorporated the arts into their Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations in 1957 for the purpose of encouraging, correlating and strengthening the interest in drama, music and art for overseas churches.  Mrs. Jeanne Carruthers was the Director.  In 1959 the Barn Playhouse was established at Stony Point New York near the Ecumenical Training Center for missionary candidates.  A resident group of actors presented plays which included scripts from the mission fields.  The Barn served as a [page 87] drama workshop and training center for missionaries who came from Ethiopia, Brazil, Germany, Pakistan, Japan and Thailand.  Darius Swann and Joyce Peel are examples of missionaries who went to India to serve while employing drama in their work.  The Barn also served as a showcase for writing and developing original scripts suitable for worldwide interest.

The Church of The Latter Day Saints has always been active in promoting drama forms to serve their youth education goals.  Drama committees of the Young Men and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Associations write and produce plays as a regular part of their youth activities.  The denomination has published a play production handbook which is a guide for all their youth drama productions.  Annual Pageants at several locales throughout the United States are sponsored by the denomination and its regional associates.  These pageants present the history of the Mormon church work in that area.

The Southern Baptist Convention organized a church drama program in 1954 under the Sunday School Board.  Emphasis was given to training leaders and publishing drama materials.  Drama festivals were encouraged in each state convention.  In these state conventions plays were presented and demonstrations made in directing, acting and technical aspects of drama.  The Southern Baptist Convention has continued growing in drama festivals and workshops.  Summer workshops are held in North Carolina and New Mexico each year.  Numerous other workshops are held in state conventions.  Currently the drama work has a national director, publishes plays, and “how to do drama in the church” books, while operating under the Division of Church and Recreation.

The National Council of Churches established the Commission on Drama in the Department of Worship and Arts in 1954.  The goals were established to aid the churches in numerous ways in order to establish drama as an integral part of the worship and educational aspects of the church.  These goals included promoting the writing of plays, helping to establish [page 88] communication processes between church drama persons, assisting theatre artists to recognize the religious dimensions of theatre, and relating theatre to the media.  During their existence they published numerous plays, a play list for churches, and co-sponsored an annual religious drama workshop.

The Lutheran Foundation for Religious Drama was founded in 1958 and incorporated in 1959 with a board including lay-people and professional actors.  Advisors to the board came from the church, business and theatre worlds.  In 1960 it staged the first of its plays, Henri Gheon's Christmas In The Market Place.  The Foundation was funded by contributions, but in 1961 the Foundation received its first grant.

The Department of Christian Education of the National Council of the Protestant Episcopal church investigated informal and formal drama uses when they wrote their new curriculum called the Seabury Series.  Mrs. Emily Gilles was appointed a consultant to the Council in creative dramatics.  This endeavor produced writing informal and formal drama suggestions into the curriculum and scheduling teacher-training workshops.  After a workshop in 1959 at Seabury-Western Seminary no further denominational drama activities continued.

At the beginning of the Rood era only the Methodists sponsored drama.  During this era there were several denominations which organized drama programs.  At the end of the Rood era only the Latter Day Saints and the Southern Baptist have extensive drama programs which remain intact.  The denominations attempted to recognize drama as a Theatre art but the primary purpose mainly was to keep youth interested in church activities.  Thus drama being used for propagandistic purposes out-weighed the aesthetic values. Except for the Methodists, Mormons and Southern Baptist the denominations never succeeded in uniting with the local church in developing drama in the churches, nor did they excite the college theatre programs to relate to the denomination in meaningful ways. [page 89]

WORKSHOPS

During this era local, regional and national workshops exploring the relationships between religion and theatre were sponsored by denominations, individual churches, and independent organizations. The following are representative examples of these local, regional and national workshops.

The Religious Drama Workshop, sponsored by Drama Committee of the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches, started in 1949 under the leadership of Amy G. Loomis.  The week long workshop included sessions about creative dramatics for children and youth, writing the religious play, rhythmic choir, script interpretation, choral speaking, costuming, set design, lighting, worship and drama, directing and production.  Each year this national workshop drew 100-150 church laypeople from around the nation.  Drawing from all denominations it lasted into the 1960's.  Besides the daily sessions there were daily chapels and vespers where works in progress were performed.  A final demonstration program was held on the last evening of the workshop.  The first years were at Green Lake, Wisconsin; then in 1958 the workshop moved to Lake Forest College near Chicago.  Under the leadership of Robert Seaver from Union Theological Seminary the format of the workshops changed.  During the 1960's the workshop brought in performers, had theory of drama discussions, and began relating to the emergent multi-media technologies.  The workshop’s locales also changed as it moved from Chicago, to Minneapolis, to Colorado, to Montreal, Canada as the Working Conference on Performing Arts & Technological Media.

For several years there were no national workshops until Wilma Ringstrom, a member of the former National Council of Churches’ workshop, gathered together some of the previous NCC ideas and organized the Midwest Council for Drama.  This endeavor mainly returned to the idea of helping laypeople produce drama in the church.  Later the title was changed to the [page 90] Ecumenical Council for Drama and Other Arts.  These workshops changed locations annually, and included such cities as St. Louis, Missouri, Kenosha, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota.  Similar to the initial days of the NCC, workshop seminars and workshops were presented for a week to "explore the nature of religion and drama and the ways in which they come together."  Usually there were seven leaders, one for each of seven selected areas dealing with a philosophy of the church and drama: play production, directing, church drama groups, creative dramatics, informal drama, and playwriting.  There was one primary difference between the National Council of Churches’ workshops, and those of the ECDA.  The NCC workshops included only areas directly related to drama, whereas the ECDA promoted sculpture, painting, dance, and musical arts, as well as the dramatic arts.  The Ecumenical Council for Drama and other Arts’ demise came about for several reasons.

1. Its founder Wilma Ringstrom retired,

2. ECDA was spread too thin in too many art forms,

3. Its approach to drama in the church did not develop beyond its initial vision, and

4. It did not develop a regional foundation, so other drama leaders could be sources for creativity and organization.

ECDA and Scarritt College united in 1976 for a week-long workshop. Twelve leaders led sessions in areas such as musical plays, creating theatre, contemporary theatre, concept art, and dance.  Each leader further explored individual interests in other offerings.

The National Methodist Religious Drama Workshop originated in 1956 at Scarritt College, Nashville, Tennessee.  It was spearheaded by A. Argyle Knight, Chair of the Youth Department of the Methodist Church.  The workshop included sessions in directing, production, creative movement, drama resources and scripts, and infomal drama and skits.  Coming from both the denomination and the college, a staff of ten worked with forty to fifty laypeople at each year’s workshop. [page 91]

The Southern Baptists, under the leadership of Everett Robertson, developed a nationwide church drama program which included two summer workshops and numerous state convention workshops.  Church drama information was included in the week’s activities which also included media work, puppetry, music and work in recreational activities.

Evangel College, an Assemblies of God Church college, sponsored an annual summer workshop in church drama through the 1960's until the death of its organizer, Nonna Childress Dalan.  Following her death members of the summer workshop staff moved the workshop to Malone College in Ohio. This workshop eventually developed into the Christians In Theatre Arts (CITA) national organization.

For three years (1979-1981) Sister Judith Royer led a workshop in Southern California.  Members of the Religion and Theatre Project group of the American Theatre Association sponsored a Friday evening through Sunday afternoon workshop for church, synagogue, school and home entitled “Creative and Religious Drama Weekend” workshop.  The workshop was sponsored by the Southern California Children's Theatre Association, the Religious Drama Committee of the Children's Theatre Association of America, the Religion and Theatre Project of the American Theatre Association, and the Ecumenical Council for Drama and other Arts.  It was held on the Orange, California campus of Loyola Marymount University.  The fourteen staff members came from Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant groups.  The dramatic art forms studied included mime, creative dramatics, storytelling, oral interpretation, plays, dance, directing, and acting.  All the sessions culminated in a group presentation on the final evening.

In 1967 Northwestern College of Iowa and the Central Reform church held a two day "The Church and Drama" workshop.  The nine member staff led sessions in liturgical drama, selecting plays, readers theatre, choral reading, lighting, costuming, staging, acting and directing.  Each evening one act plays were presented. [page 92]

The Religious Drama Workshop, sponsored by the Methodist Foundation of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference, held a week-long drama workshop.  The three resource leaders held sessions in drama and theology, creative dramatics for children, play production, rehearsing and acting, informal drama, dance, choral reading, and plays available for the church.  In the evenings one act performances were made by church and college groups.

Sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Synod of the Lutheran Church, Lutheran and other denominations met to examine what churches were doing with drama in their areas.  Charlotte Lee, from Northwestern University was one of the five leaders from churches and colleges.  In a variety of sessions they explored chancel drama, choric speaking, creative dramatics, movement, drama analysis, and directing.

Wayne Rood was a part of numerous such national and regional workshops.  He was especially involved in the Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union’s summer workshops on Worship and the Arts.  Wayne’s theoretical and practical sessions in theatre were included among other sessions such as “Humor In the Bible,” clowning, dance, and puppetry.

INTERDENOMINATIONAL TOURING TROUPES

"The Road" has always been part of the life of an actor in theatre.  Touring Broadway shows was a way to make a living for actors and it brought a professional Broadway Play into the hinterlands.  The following three troupes are examples of numerous independent interdenominational touring troupes which originated and toured during the 1940’s through the 1980’s. [page 93]

Although touring performances began in 1948 it was not until Phyllis Beardsley, founder and director, received help from Bishop Gerald Kennedy of the California Methodist Church in 1952, that Bishop’s Players officially was formed.  The ten Company members were professional actors receiving only lodging and expenses while committing themselves to a minimum of one year of touring with the company.  Following their appearance at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, they became an independent national touring troupe.  This professional troupe toured nationwide until 1968.  They performed on any platform or in any space using a minimum of set pieces, hand properties, costumes, and lighting equipment.  They performed what could be termed "Christian Classics" such as Christopher Fry’s A Sleep of Prisoners, G. B. Shaw’s St. Joan, Stephen Vincent Benet’s The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country.

The Everyman Players originated in 1957 out of Georgetown College, but soon became an independent international touring troupe.  By 1980 they had made 43 United States tours, and 15 overseas tours, while performing during the summer in an outdoor theatre in Kentucky.  Their productions were highly stylized with masks and costumes, and a speech chorus presentation.  Their scripts were original scripts based on the book of Job, the book of Romans, and the story of Pilgrim’s Progress.  Orlin Corey directed the Players and Irene Cory designed and executed the stylized masks and costumes.

The Covenant Players is an interdenominational non-profit organization, whose first performance was in 1963.  Since that time their numerous troupes have performed throughout the world. Currently there are 100 units consisting of two to six people per troupe.  They have two road missions per year and a two month training session.  There are all drama units, 10 drama and music units, and two three act units.  Each member commits to a minimum of one and one half years touring.  Each member receives $40.00 per week plus lodging and food while [page 94] on tour.  1800 scripts have been written by the founder and director, Mr. Charles Tanner.  The organization sells scripts, tapes, books and CD’s which the organization has produced.

CHURCH RELATED COLLEGE TOURING TROUPES

Church related colleges initiated touring troupes in the 1960’s to promote their college and drama in churches.  Churches who supported their denominational college readily accepted the annual visit from their college because it provided a human and spiritual relational aspect beyond the financial support.  The churches saw their college students serving in a ministry capacity.  The churches saw their financial support at work.

In 1954 the Redlands University President requested that the drama professors, Albert and Bertha Johnson, establish a troupe to tour to churches in order to promote the university, and promote drama in the church.  The Johnsons decided to limit their troupe to two males and one female so the name of the troupe was the Redlands drama trio.  The tours took them throughout the United States during spring break and summers.  Course credit was given by the college, and food and lodging, but no honorarium was supplied by the churches, or scholarship provided for the students.  Scripts were written by the Johnsons and later published for wider use.  One of the first scripts was centered on the First Baptist Missionary to Asia, Adoniram Judson.  This was especially respected among the American Baptist churches.  The Johnsons wrote new scripts each year because they had repeat performances in many churches, and they had a desire to relate to contemporary issues.  Adam and Eve Meet The Atom dealt with what human beings would do with knowledge.  The People Versus Christ was a surrealistic court room judgment of Jesus Christ and the people.  Even The Hater was a reworking of the Cain and Abel story. [page 95]

Bethel College of St. Paul, Minnesota began touring to denominational churches in 1962 with a two female, four male member troupe.  Tours were taken at spring break to a different region of the United States each year.  A set fee was requested from churches to pay for tour expenses.  Costumes, properties, and lights were their only technical equipment as they performed both original scripts and published plays.  Their repertory increased each year with different styles and different drama forms including: dramatic chorus, mime, dance, multi-media and puppets.  In 1982 they were asked to tour to the Philippines.  Since that time they have returned annually to the Philippines while adding Singapore, China, Thailand, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Belize Central America to their January Interim and March Spring Break touring list.  They have sponsored festivals, donated costumes and properties, had their scripts translated into 6 different languages, integrated overseas troupes into their plays for performances, held workshops, and helped six troupes to originate.

Professor Earl Reimer at Bethel College, Indiana writes humorous scripts for his troupe, which tours annually to churches primarily in their denomination.  The eight to ten member troupes travel mostly in a five state area, but also have toured to both East and West coasts and Hawaii.  They travel with a van and trailer which contains their properties and costumes.

Starting in 1970, and for twenty years, Dr. George A. Scranton wrote for, directed and toured with the Chancel Players of Seattle Pacific University in a six state area around Washington state, to Alaska, and to Hawaii on two occasions.  They continue to tour as The University Players, but with younger adjunct faculty directors leading the troupe of three men and three women, plus a sound technician.  The students receive Theatre credit, and a scholarship equal to one-third of their tuition.

Dr. Wayne Rood arrived to teach at the Pacific School of Religion in 1952 and by the end of 1953 he had organized a touring troupe which had performed Christopher Fry’s A Sleep of [page 96] Prisoners for at least twenty-five churches.  The play was repeated annually at summer youth conferences up and down the West Coast.  In the fall of 1959 Professor Rood, as an educational laboratory, directed students and faculty in Auden’s For The Time Being.  This "laboratory for educational theory" was well received by the students, faculty, participants, and audiences.  In the following year some of the previous cast members reorganized and developed a repertory for summer performances in churches.  A study guide for each play including the script, historical background, religion and theatre theory, questions on the play, source, and reading materials was given to the churches several weeks prior to the performance in their church so they could prepare themselves for the play and the discussion which followed the performance. 

In the first season, 1960-61, the repertory included Jonah  by James Birdie, The Masque of Mercy by Robert Frost, and The Sign of Jonah by Gunther Rutenborn.  Performances were scheduled for fall, winter, and spring. Original music was scored for the plays and a choreographer was hired for the dance numbers.  The audience response was overwhelming.  The troupe booked up to twenty performances for each play, for a total of 60 performances.  Dr. Rood led the discussions following the performances.  Thus BARDS, Bay Area Religious Drama Service, came into being.  The second season’s repertory included Noah, by Andre Obey, which was directed by a student.  The For The Time Being cast was a combination of students and professionals because Elizabeth Berryhill’s Festival Theatre members at the San Francisco Theological Seminary united with BARDS.  The united groups performed at three locales in Berkeley, San Anselmo and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco; thus the churches came to one of these three locales.  Seventeen performances were given and city wide attention was being given to the performances.  Although BARDS died because of some misunderstandings with the seminary administration, BARDS spawned BARDS EAST (Boston) and PARDS in Portland Oregon and LARDS in Los Angeles. [page 97]

ONE PERSON TOURING

There were few one person touring ventures in the early 1900’s but in the 1960’s and 1970’s numerous one person shows toured the United States.  The character portrayals in these productions included Biblical characters as well as other extra-biblical religious historical characters.

Norman Dietz is one of the earliest to perform the one person presentations, although he originally traveled with his wife Sandra for several years in the 1960's.  Mr. Dietz operated out of Orient, Long Island and in between local and national tours he does voice over ads and records books for the blind.  Over the years Norm has developed a repertoire of monologues on a variety of subjects and performed in theatres, hotels, churches and colleges.  His programs range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes and include Testament: A Life of Jesus, Lumbering Toward Brouhaha, American Fables and Norman at Random (which is described as "an assortment of original tales as theologically astute as they are compelling”).

Alex McCowen conceived, wrote, and directed himself in an interpretation of the entire Gospel of Mark in 1978.  His first performance was in a church basement in Newcastle, England dressed in a sweater and slacks.  He introduced himself and the concept and used only a chair and cup as properties.  He spent 16 months learning the King James version by memorizing several verses every day.  Initial responses were favorable so he toured England and the United States twice.  Prior to the tours he was the original Dysart in Equus and performed with the Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare Company.  He has performed the Gospel of Mark in the West End, in London, on Broadway, in regional theatres, at Princeton University, and in the White House when Jimmy Carter was President. [page 98]

When Tom Key is not performing at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, you will find him in colleges and churches and service organizations around the nation performing The Cotton Patch Gospel, An Evening with C. S. Lewis, or  Pilgrim.  Starting in the 1970's, Key continues to write his own material and adds to his repertoire annually.

Phil Nash began the Dramatic Word project in 1976 as the Apostle Paul dictating his last letters.  Six other scripture based plays were subsequently added to his repertoire.  Following the completion of his MA from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles he spent ten years teaching theatre.  Inspired by the early church's drama and his personal Christian commitment he formed Dramatic Word.  His national tour performances have been in churches, schools, theatres, and civic organizations.  He also leads church drama seminars which include classes in acting, directing, creative dramatics, and oral interpretation.

Dale Sherry started performing in 1986 after graduating from Bethel College in Indiana with major work in drama and music.  He employs music, drama and preaching to portray Joseph the Carpenter, Man Born Blind, and Judas Iscariot.  Mr. Sherry creates his own scripts, uses computerized lighting and sound, and makes on-stage costume changes as he performs mainly around the Great Lakes area.

In 1988, Robert Mason composed a script entitled The Tongues of Men and Angels from the writings of Shakespeare and passages from the Geneva Bible, which Shakespeare used.  The plot revolves around shipwrecked lives being transformed by love.  "Tongues" followed his first script, All the World's A Stage.  Dr. Mason performs for junior high students through senior citizens.  He uses a compact sound system and is willing to perform on any stage.

Following retirement from the Army, West Point graduate Robert Macklin made his professional acting debut in A Thousand Clowns.  In 1978 Mr. Macklin's decision to write plays [page 99] making a positive statement about life produced his first script about Saint Paul, entitled  All  Things To All Men.  He called it a play about a religious figure with a universal appeal.  Through story telling and story reenactment he highlights the life of the Apostle Paul.  Macklin's second script is The Road to Bethany, a 40 minute one man passion play.  He performs on any stage in biblical costume and with a few hand properties.

Other one person performers include:

1. David Rhoades, a theology Professor at Carthage College who gave several performances of his Greek translation of Mark in 1982; 

2. Max McLean who began performing Mark in 1993;

3. Dan Cawthon who portrayed Damien;

4. Paul Jackson who performed in Men Who Met the Master;

5. Scott Keely who portrayed The Devil, You Say?;

6. Mellis Kenworthy who performed in God's Tears...Women's Journey in Faith;

7. Ken Lee performing his music and drama programs which include There is Room, monologues by Biblical Characters;

8. Cal Pritner enacting Martin Luther;

9. John Schuurman's performance of Charles Spurgeon's Eccentric Preachers;

10. Phil Goble performing The Rabbi from Tarsus; and

11. Curt Clonger's humorous performance of God Views.

SUMMARY STATEMENTS

This cursory survey reveals a great diversity of activities, people, and organizations where religion and theatre have intersected.  The breadth and depth of the activities in this era can be represented by the following statements: [page 100]

1. Previous controversies such as the anti-theatre movement somewhat disappeared, but attempts at censorship on Broadway, in church related colleges, and churches continued in a variety of ways.

2. Terms and phrases which describe the religion and theatre intersections varied.  They have included: church drama, church theatre, drama in the church, theatre in the church, the church and theatre, religious drama, religion and theatre, Christian Drama, Christian Theatre, drama and spirituality, and drama ministry.  There was no single, generally accepted term, which fully defined the intersections between religion and theatre. 

3. During the 1950’s some positions in the theatre and church arena became professionalized.  In some churches the drama personnel moved from being a part-time position as a drama director within their religious education area, to becoming a full-time drama director.  In Church related colleges the speech and theatre instructors became theatre professors.  Actors in church pageants could eventually become professional actors in regional and community theatres with a Christian world view.  At the same time youth directors, Music directors, and interested laypeople continued to direct plays in churches.

4. Articles, books, theses and dissertations have continued to report on the medieval church drama, but started analyzing specific details rather than being general surveys. There were various and diverse religion and theatre topics which were viable options in scholarly research and popular publications.  The bulk of books published centered on how to produce drama in the church. 

5. Church drama performance forms added to their serious biblical one act plays and pageants the humorous skit and grand spectacles. 

[page 101] 6. The naturalistic style prevailed but theatre of the absurd occasionally entered the church door. 

7. Church productions went from “bathrobe” drama to expensive spectacles.  Most play or pageant performances in the churches were seasonal, at Christmas and Easter.

8. The origin of the church musical and "Broadway" style religious musical added to the diversity of options available to the church.

9. Broadway continued to present plays with religious historical significance and plays highlighting religious characters.

10. Church related colleges initiated theatre departments, originated touring troupes, developed theatre curriculums with majors, built or remodeled theatre facilities.  Unfortunately some of these programs have suffered cutbacks in curriculum and personnel at the end of the period.  The church related college theatre departments remain mainly a one-person department with a few exceptions.  The primary gain in personnel was in adding a technical or design person to the faculty.

11. The origin and development of the Community or Professional Theatre with a Christian mission has been a significant positive addition to the intersections between religion and theatre.

12. The origin of the outdoor summer theatres producing Passion Plays and religious historical events often have been rewarded with financial and tourist benefits.

[page 102]13. Denominations attempted drama programs, workshops, publications, and attempted to relate to churches and colleges but except for one or two denominations those programs no longer exist.

14. National organizations whose goals were to unite leaders and groups, promote religion and theatre relations, arose, flourished for a while, and died.

15. There may have developed a religion and theatre movement but almost all of the church, college, touring ventures were originated by independent interested personnel.  These creative highly motivated individuals made their dream a reality appropriate to their locale, their era, their mission.

16. The Rood era saw Dr. Wayne Rood contributing and involving himself in the religion and theatre intersection changes and developments.  Some of the students of Professor Rood have followed in his footsteps in contributing to the changes and developments in the relationships between religion and theatre.  Some of their students are also following suit.  In fact some of the students of the students of Dr. Wayne Ray Rood currently are forming the next generation of scholars and practitioners involved in exploring the intersections between religion and theatre.  One never knows where, or when an individual’s personal quest might turn into a “movement.”  Thank you, Wayne, for being in the vanguard of this significant quest in which we are all involved.