First of many steps

I got my start in the arts in church. I sang in the kids’ choir (which my mom directed), got my first speaking parts in musicals, and did special music on Sunday mornings, all starting from the time I was 5 years old. My first full-length script was produced there; I started directing plays when I was in high school; I did shows where I simultaneously wore the hats of director, producer, production manager, and designer; and I even got my first taste of arts administration and producing in the church. I wouldn’t have called it that at the time, but I instinctively knew that something had to make the show go. Someone needed to create the infrastructure for the work to happen, and there was no one else doing it, so I did.

I’ve gone on and done a lot of work outside of a church environment, of course, and I’ve never wanted to build my entire career within the church, but I’ve always had a very clear view of its strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the arts. I know how important the arts are within the church. I know the kind of growth and support that a church can give to an arts program. I also know how incredibly frustrating it can be at times to work primarily with volunteers, or to work in an organization whose mandate is not, first and foremost, arts-centered — where the arts fit into the fabric of the rest of the community, and not the other way around.

However.

I still believe, and always will, that there is a great big hole in the church when it comes to creative arts ministries. In my church, at least. There is the potential for incredible growth, training, mentorship, and support, and there is a place for this ministry to become even more impactful and strategic than it is. Foothills has a great foundation, but for too long, it’s been left floundering, pulling through from year to year without a clear vision of what the arts can do and be in the church, and it’s time for that to change.

Which is part of the reason why I’ll be joining the staff at Foothills, part-time, starting in January.

I’m really excited about this. Foothills is in a place where there are a lot of people who are committed to theatre as an integral part of worship, but there’s very little in place in terms of strategic planning and programming. I’ll get to do a lot of program development and long-term planning, and hopefully be able to move the drama ministry (which I’d love to start referring to as “arts ministry,” especially because I really don’t like people using the term “drama” when they actually mean “theatre”) to a… well, to a new place.

I’m not going to go into too many specifics right now, since all of these plans and ideas are still in development, and since I’m not actually starting there for several months, but I think that there’s a lot of potential for some great things to happen and some really effective work to take place. Connection with the greater arts community, training, discussions about theology and the arts, an exploration of genres and themes beyond the Christmas and Easter shows that are currently the core of the ministry. When it comes down to it, my passion is to see a ministry where artists are challenged and given tools to grow both spiritually and artistically. I want no one to leave the arts ministry after some time in it and not have moved forward in some way.

Like I said, this is going to be part-time. This can’t be my only job in the arts, but it frees me up to find either another part-time job or some contract work after graduation, if I don’t find something full-time. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a great job in a professional environment, because as important as volunteers are to the success of any organization, I also want to be working in a place where I’m being stretched professionally by people who have far more training and experience than I do. I don’t want the entirety of my job to be in a place where I’m the most highly trained one (in my field) in the room — although that’s sometimes a nice feeling, too. ;o)

I didn’t get my MFA so that I could work in the church. I was qualified for that job before. If running a drama ministry within a church (any church) was the height of my career ambition, I could have done that without investing the mental energy of another degree, the years of a long-distance relationship, and the many dollars in tuition and student loans. My goals go beyond that, and I want to have my voice heard in more of the theatre world than that.

I went to grad school so that I could eventually start up my own theatre company. I still see that on the horizon somewhere, but I’m not sure where. In the meantime, I’ve grown to love producing in all its forms (and I wrote several months ago about why I produce), and this job at the church allows me to use that training in some very specific ways. I love the fact that I’ll get to take a look at where we’re going and help shape a program that can impact artists in deep ways. I really do. But I also want to go bigger, go more professional, go further than one program in one organization.

This is one step, one opportunity. It’s a good one, and it’s a way to invest back in the community that nurtured me and got me heading in the direction that I’m going now. It’s a way to use my skills and training to serve and worship, and a way to hone my skills in program development and big-picture producing. It’s a reason for Colin and I to be back at Foothills permanently (although, to be honest, we’d already made that decision before I got the job offer).

This job is a lot of things, and it’s also not a lot of things, but right now, it’s the next step, and it’s an exciting thing.