STAGE & STORY

Cultivating the Christian Imagination

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The Real Reasons I Like Hamlet

The Imprisoned Imagination: A Reflection on John Bunyan’s Soaring Creativity

13 Great Movies Worth Renting. . .If You're in the Mood

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My Dog Consumes Filth...and Likes it!

Nov 30, 2018
2 min

My Dog Consumes Filth...and Likes it!

A few weeks ago I woke up to my dog eating our bathroom trash. Arghh...If I were to eat trash, trash from our bathroom would be a last resort. And yet, for my dog, we have to actively close the door so she won't get in. After this incident, I couldn't help but think of how this applies to our lives. Desires are a natural, and important, part of being human. EAT AND DRINK AND ENJOY Consider this theme in Ecclesiastes: There is nothing better for a person than that he should ea

5 Reasons to See the Movie "Searching" (2018)

Nov 29, 2018
3 min

5 Reasons to See the Movie "Searching" (2018)

I saw Searching (2018) in theaters a few months ago, and I really enjoyed myself. It was very moving and thought-provoking. This film won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival, which most of the time raises red flags in my mind, but not with this film. I'm not giving the film a review, because I think you should go see it. But I will give you five not-too-spoily reasons why I recommend this film. How's that for a compromise? (Note: While the movie does deal with a

How My Mountain Rooster Helps Me Write

Nov 28, 2018
2 min

How My Mountain Rooster Helps Me Write

A few months ago my wife and I got a dog. She's a little thing...half dachshund and half chihuahua. At 6'2", I stand much taller than she does, and so does my wife, my nieces, and the chipmunks in my backyard. I doubt you'd be surprised to learn that she's quickly become our friend and companion. But you may be surprised to find out that over the last month and a half she's helped me become a more efficient and effective writer. As strange as it sounds, she's given me more t

The Haunting Truth About Stories

Nov 27, 2018
4 min

The Haunting Truth About Stories

Ray Bradbury wrote a wonderful short story called “The Pedestrian,” which is set in the year 2053. (It’s only two pages long--take a moment and read it!). The story centers on a man named Mr. Leonard Mead. Toward the beginning of the story, the narrator offers an eerie description of him, “In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time.” Never met another person!? What kind of a future world

History Will Remember This Person

Nov 26, 2018
3 min

History Will Remember This Person

This morning a bird woke me up, and it wasn't to a pleasant song. It's getting colder up here in Lake Arrowhead and the bird has the dream to get inside our warm little cabin. Let me rephrase that, she's had this dream for about a week now. The problem isn't so much her dream, as I can't blame her wanting to escape the cold and join us. The problem is the way she's going about it. For the last week, she's been relentlessly charging the window over and over again. I'm not sure

Rethinking the Movie Night

Nov 20, 2018
3 min

Rethinking the Movie Night

Movie nights are times to shut down. Off with work talk. Off with stress. On relaxation. On mindless joy. And who doesn't need that sometimes? I do! >>MOVIE NIGHT EVERY NIGHT But I can't help think that we're having movie nights more often then we realize. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average, Americans watch around three hours (I rounded it up) of TV a day. That's almost a movie night...every night! And what if I told you that movies are Trojan Horses? The

Writing in the Cracks and Chunks: An Interview with writer Marian Jacobs

Nov 13, 2018
5 min

Writing in the Cracks and Chunks: An Interview with writer Marian Jacobs

Editor's Introduction: I'm been looking forward to publishing this interview with Marian Jacobs for a while now. Marian and her husband, Tim, are close friends of ours from Kentucky. We served in the same church, and Tim and I both attended Southern Seminary. Among many other things, Tim is a philosopher and Marian is a writer. Marian writes at her own site (www.majacobs.com), Speculative Faith, Desiring God, and, of course, Stage & Story. One of the many reasons that I want

A Day in the Life

Nov 6, 2018
4 min

A Day in the Life

I smiled when I recently saw that several seasons of 24 were available on one of the video streaming services. [Editor's note: All seasons are currently on Amazon Prime.] I smiled because 24 was a fascinating series. I did not actually watch it on live television, but instead watched it a season at a time via DVD. I really have no idea how anyone could have watched it week-to-week because every episode ended on a cliff-hanger, at least during the first few seasons. It was

8 Ways to Direct a Play So No One Will Forget You...Ever

Nov 1, 2018
2 min

8 Ways to Direct a Play So No One Will Forget You...Ever

STEP ONE: Share the “bad news” that no auditioner was good enough for the lead role, so you, as the director, will make the sacrifice and play the part. STEP TWO: In the middle of at least one rehearsal, when the actors aren’t meeting your standard of excellence, storm out of the theater. Remember, it’s not what you say but what you do that shows you’re in charge. STEP THREE: When blocking a scene, improvise the directions you give. Only a novice uses a crutch like forethough