Paul Patton, guest artist, playwright and lecturer

100_6107Paul Patton, playwright of Lifting the Veil, shared his lecture The God Talk: The Manipulative Use of Religious Language, at our departmental meeting on September 21.  His lecture was a good warning for our students against using, and allowing others to use, the name of God (and the authority that goes with it) for self-serving ends.

Paul was present for the premeire of his play, directed by senior theatre major Jonathan Dixon, and also shared with several of our classes, including a talk with our Scriptwriting class on generating play ideas from one’s personal history, and encouraged our Acting 2 and Directing class towards “Stewarding the Stirrings of your Soul” by committing to memory those things (scriptures, passages of novels or plays) that stand out as being useful or valuable for further consideration.

Paul’s visit was a significant blessing to our students and faculty alike, and we are thankful for his time with us.100_6096

Visiting guest artist – Paul D. Patton

Visiting with us Sept. 20-22 will be guest artist Paul D. Patton, playwright of Lifting the Veil, which will premiere on September 21.  Lifting the Veil is based on the true story of the runaway wedding of evangelists Katherine Kuhlman and Burroughs Waltrip, as they struggle to divine the will of God in their hasty marriage.

Paul is the author of over 30 works for the theatre and was the founder of Trinity House Theatre in Detroit.  He is the co-author of the recently published “Prophetically Incorrect: a Christian introduction to Media Criticism”.Paul_Patton Paul has lectured on topics such as “The Idolatry of the Cult of Celebrity” and “God Talk: Lessons in the Manipulative Use of Religious Language.”  He is an associate professor of Communication and Drama at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, where he lives with his wife, Beth.

Paul visited Belhaven previously in 2007 when we produced his play, Kurt Gerstein, winner of the 2007 Christians in Theatre Arts New Play Contest.

Paul will be guest lecturing at several classes, including our Scriptwriting course and performance classes, and will make a special presentation at a whole department gathering on Tuesday afternoon.