Acts of Faith Festival

For the fourth year in a row, Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV will be participating in the Acts of Faith Festival, the joyful winter's celebration of spiritual synergies that exist among Greater Richmond's professional theatres and faith communities.

Please share this wonderful program with your synagogue, church or mosque. For more information, please visit www.theactsoffaith.com or call our box office at 804-282-2620.

 

Now - January 20, 2008
at Hanover Tavern
For more about Swingtime Canteen, or to order tickets, click here.

Acts of Faith Post Show Discussion will be Jan 20 immediately after the final performance at Hanover Tavern.

Acts of Faith - Questions to Consider when Viewing, Discussing or Contemplating Swingtime Canteen
 
The following questions are not meant to have easy answers.  They have been prepared to assist with post-performance discussion and/or introspection regarding the connections that exist between Swingtime Canteen and concerns of faith and religion.  If you choose to do so, you may consider these questions during and following the show.  You may find that they add depth and interest to your appreciation of the production.

1  “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,” the cast sings near the top of the show.  The clear implication of this WWII standard is that God is on our side.  In this title line of the song, there seems to be little or no tension between the first phrase and the second.  We all know that both sides of a conflict often believe that God is on their side.  And yet, in almost all faiths, believers are taught that their God is a God of peace.  How do people of faith determine if God is on their side?  Is such consideration appropriate or helpful?  Was WWII different from other conflicts with regard to this question?  If so, why?

2  In Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive, the power of positive thinking is extolled.  “Have faith,” we are told, “or pandemonium is liable to walk upon the scene.”  In the popular 1940s intro to the song, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald but not included in Swingtime Canteen, the lyrics place this tribute to positive thinking in the context of a sermon:

“Gather 'round me, everybody, gather 'round me, while I preach. Some feel a sermon coming on here.  The topic will be sin, and that's what I'm agin'.
If you wanna hear my story, then settle back and just sit tight
While I start reviewing the attitude of doing right.” 

The steadfast faith of “Jonah and the whale” and “Noah and the Arc” is discussed elsewhere in the song.  To what extent do you associate negative thinking with sin?  When our country faces a national crisis, how does your faith prompt you toward or dissuade you from the exercise of positive, uncritical thinking related to the moral guidance provided by our national leaders?

3 In the spoken introduction to and the lyrics of My Finest Hour, the character of Topeka takes pride in the many and varied roles that women are playing in the war effort.  Since WWII, the roles assumed by women in the military have expanded, and may soon expand again to allow women to participate directly in combat.  Many persons of faith oppose expanding roles of women in wartime, citing examples found in religious texts that subjugate women to the power of men.  Many others support the expanding roles of women by citing the Old Testament story of Jael who demonstrated wartime courage in Judges, Chapter 4.  How does your faith guide you as you consider the expansion of the roles filled by women in wartime?

4  The young character of Katie Gammersflugel makes a surprise announcement in Act II, revealing how she has broken one of the rules of the Hollywood Canteen.  For many young men and women during the WWII years, affairs of the heart were sped up and entire romances were abbreviated to a matter of hours or days as men prepared to ship off to war.  “Rules” were broken; conventional “morality” was set aside based on the life and death situations of the time.  This form of “situational ethics” was widely understood and embraced during the war years.  In the 80s and beyond, “situational ethics” frequently was viewed as a vestige of the 60s and 70s, and disdained in many communities of faith, particularly among the religious right.  What made “situational ethics” acceptable for so many in our nation in the 40s, and so unacceptable for so many in more recent decades?  How does your faith influence your view of “situational ethics.”

5  Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a majority of Christians in the United States (not all) turned their backs on Nazi threats to exterminate Jews, gypsies and gays in Europe.  In more recent times, many U. S. Christians (not all) have ignored the annihilation of hundreds of thousands of innocents in Africa.  After Pearl Harbor, the Nazi treatment of Jews became a rallying cry against Hitler and the Axis forces in Germany, Italy and Japan.  How does your faith lead you to respond when other nations seem intent on allowing or promoting the genocide of minority populations?  When should the United States engage in the battle to protect these populations?  How does your faith inform your beliefs about when we should or should not turn a blind eye to the plight of others?

 

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DOUBT
A Parable
by John Patrick Shanley
Feb 15 – Mar 22, 2008
at Willow Lawn
Winner, 2005 Tony Award for Drama
Part of the 2008 Acts of Faith Festival

Acts of Faith Post Show Discussion on March 2

And don't miss our 9:30 AM March 11 Acts of Faith Coffee and Conversation in the lobby at Willow Lawn.

"What do you do when you're not sure?", Father Flynn asks the audience at the opening of Doubt. At a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Father Flynn is a charming young priest who takes a more personable and familial approach to his charges. He clashes with stern traditionalist, Sister Aloysius, who keeps faculty and students on a tight leash. Playwright Shanley deftly brings us around to see the compassion hidden beneath the Sister’s hard exterior and the weight behind her suspicions concerning Father Flynn and his relationship with the troubled young boys he takes under his wing. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Doubt is a powerhouse performance that takes an unflinching, passionate look at both faith and accountability.

Purchase Tickets Online
or call 804-282-2620

Directions to Willow Lawn

The Supply Room is the Office Products Sponsor for Barksdale Theatre.

 

 

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For information about Theatre IV's Acts of Faith production, click here.