How does theatre help audiences discover something true about themselves? How does theatre reveal humanity’s reaching for the divine? How are actors, writers, and directors changed by inhabiting new personas? As part of our ongoing engagement with Christianity and the arts, we sit down with two people who are shaping Milwaukee’s theatre scene in important ways.

Guest Appearances

Lori Woodall is an actor and director with more than 25 years of professional theatre experience including television, film, radio, modeling, and voice over and 10 years of experience in drama ministry working primarily with disadvantaged urban youth. She obtained her MFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts and a BA in theatre and Afro-American studies from UW-Madison and is currently the director of the theater program at Concordia University Wisconsin. Lori continues to work as a professional actor, director, and voice-over artist in the Milwaukee area. 

Ben Parman studied theatre at Wisconsin Lutheran College, graduated from the film program at Full Sail University in Orlando, and worked as a casting assistant in New York City. In January 2016, his second play, Starlings, premiered at Soulstice Theatre. Ben is a recent graduate of the Second City improv program and performs across the Milwaukee and Chicago areas with a variety of theatre companies. He is also the business manager at Acacia Theatre Company as well as a regular contributor to Cinema Faith where he reviews classic film.

Key Topics

• Both of our guests have experience working with Acacia Theatre Company. They share about it as a place for Christian themes to be explored in theatre. Listen in at 21:50 .
• How do audiences respond to themes of racism and white supremacy on the stage? Listen in, starting at 25:10 . 
• Plays can often function as modern parables. Listen in at 31:20 . 
• The theatre can often serve as a means of authenticity and identity. Lori and Ben share their experiences at 38:25 .
• Why should you go to see live theatre? Our guests give us the inside scoop at 43:35 .

A Few Mentioned Items

• Above the Clouds arts nonprofit
• Concordia University Wisconsin theatre minor
• Acacia Theatre Company and Artistic Director Janet Peterson
• Best of Enemies, the play and film
• Oleanna by David Mamet
• The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L Sayers
• The Endurance of Light by Amanda Petefish-Schrag
• The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess

Do you have thoughts, experiences, or opinions on our episode? We’d love to hear from you. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your feedback on this episode.

Lori Woodall: When [audiences] share their responses, especially when it’s a revelation to them that has helped them with a spiritual stumbling block of some kind, I feel like it’s a great reminder that it’s not about me at all. This is all God. We use our gifts to glorify God. This is all God. This is his doing and not ours. It’s just a good reminder that we’re the vessel for his work.