Tuesday, June 17, 2008

A Cornucopia of Talent in Christian Arts

God has blessed so many Christians in the arts and I just had the pleasure of fellowshipping with many of them at the Christians in Theatre Arts Conference in Los Angeles. We were moved, challenged, equipped and blessed as we spent three days exploring how to "Take Theatre to the Next Level."
Singer Marcia Whitehead and filmmaker Lauralee Farrer shared Marcia's inspiring journey as an opera singer. We were all moved by her perseverance and the message that "sometimes just pursuing the dream is enough." Find out more at http://laundryandtosca.com/home.html
Keynote speaker Robert Smyth, producing artistic director for the Lamb's Players in San Diego, offered four deceptively simple "secrets" to taking theater to the next level:
• eat well
• exercise regularly
• get out more often
• slow down
In fleshing out the spiritual meaning behind those points, Robert's challenge was to have vision, be bold and to be willing to step out into the darkness, guided by the knowledge and light of what God has done in the past. Check out the Lamb's at http://www.lambsplayers.org/
Also inspiring was a screening of the film "Purple State of Mind" featuring the ongoing friendship and religious discussions between Craig Detweiler and John Marks. The divide between "red" and "blue" state perspectives is examined with humor and passion. Find more at http://www.purplestateofmind.com/
Among numerous other presentations, I was impressed with sketches from writer Michael Leathers. Check out his new website at http://www.rileysdiner.com/
Next year's CITA conference is in Orlando, FL. See you there!

1 comment:

Michael Leathers said...

Lauren,

I enjoyed meeting you at CITA in the screenwriting discipline track. Thanks for your kind words about my sketches and the reference to the Web site. It was a great conference with lots of useful information and the chance to renew and to make friendships.

-- Michael

Daily Inspiration

The Blind Side

Read about the real life mom from "The Blind Side."

Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169816

Guideposts: http://www.guideposts.com/story/sandra-bullock-blind-side-football?page=0,1

Read Matt Mungle's review of the movie at http://www.buddyhollywood.com/.

Lauren Yarger, Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with a Christian perspective for Reflections in the Light (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/) and is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection. She also is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com

She also reviews books for Publisher's Weekly and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She formerly was Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp, a national theater web site bsed in New York and a reviewer for American Theater Web.

She also served as Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. and worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

She is a freelance writer and member of the Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women and The CT Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger lives with her husband in West Granby, CT and has two adult children.

Copyright Notice

All contents copyright © Lauren Yarger 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, contact masterworkproductions@yahoo.com.

Scripture from THE MESSAGE Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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