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!
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI 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