Interps on a Mission

By René Schiltz

I hope by now you have viewed the June interview I did with RIch Swingle.  If not I encourage you to watch it - bring the parents along as they will enjoy it too!

I want to ask you, students, a question.  Why does the Christian league you participate in value interps as a competitive speech category?  Now hold that thought.

Interps have been around forever in speech and debate leagues and are often some of the most popular events to watch when you find yourself with a free round and nothing to do. I remember as a college professor of theater, I attended numerous tournaments and watched various kinds of interps to potentially recruit students for our college theater program.  I even saw some interps in high school when I went with a friend to a tournament (that was the early 80’s ya’ll - maybe even 1979).

Needless to say, interps are, and always have been, a hit with audiences.  Why?  Because theater impacts people.  It can show you a glimpse of something that you can relate to and produce an emotional response and provoke deep thought.  And for Christians, interps are another mission field.

As theater and film has become less appealing over time due to content, there you are, producing quality theater with a message that can be life changing.  Rich Swingle travels the world with his 10 minute plays to tell the stories of people like Eric Liddell and others, who made sacrifices to serve the Lord and were greatly blessed by God’s mercy and grace.

So why not you?  I believe these interps you are doing have a place in the world beyond competition.  The world is our mission field and some of us have been given gifts related to theater.  The world wants to corrupt those gifts, or at the minimum, ask you to compromise here and there.  So why not take those beautiful interps and perform them…out there.  Start at church.  Ask if you can entertain the youth group if your piece suits the ages.  Ask if you can perform for an adult Sunday school group - senior citizens especially will enjoy your work and appreciate your sharing it.

Senior citizen care facilities are always looking for performances suitable for their residents.  Gather some of your friends doing interps, call and make an appointment to perform, and go!  What a blessing it will be for them.

So, now, I will ask the question again:  Why does the Christian league you participate in value interps as a competitive speech category?  Because this is also a mission field!  As we love to read the parables of Jesus, and we know they generated questions from His audiences that led to deep reflection, your interp can do the same.  Even the funniest interps can have a deep moment of reflection, where characters make choices which determine consequences in the character’s lives. 

And one important note for you to remember, the competition room is also the mission field!

When choosing a piece, think about the mission. Consider avoiding the slapstick that has no real moment of reflection. Consider moving beyond the piece that has shock value and no real reason for it.  Consider stepping past the goal of playing a part just to look cool or to gain adoration from the audience. These temptations will not even remain in the running once you find a piece that fits the mission and you realize what a blessing it will be to perform it over and over to bring a message of love to those who need to hear it.  

I want to encourage you to choose content that fits the goal; the mission.  This year, search with a serious desire to find a story that will reveal that moment when a character must decide between right or wrong, between kindness or selfishness, between pride or humility, or another struggle that helps the audience to see God’s truth and prioritize it in our lives.

The search is the challenge - so read, read, read!  Ask mom and dad for ideas.  Go to the library.  Search Google for stories with redeeming Christian values.  And when you find your gem - the story that you love - telling it will also be a joy.

And who knows, maybe someday, like Rich Swingle, you might travel the world sharing the Gospel using 10 minutes of theatrical performance to change lives and impact the world for Christ!

PSALM 150 reminds us to use music and dancing to praise the Lord.  Why not theater as well?

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the LORD

“Hallelujah!

Praise God in His sanctuary.

Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His mighty acts;

praise Him for His excellent greatness.

Praise Him with the sound of the horn;

praise Him with the harp and lyre.

Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;

praise Him with strings and flute.

Praise Him with clashing cymbals;

praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Hallelujah!”

https://biblehub.com/psalms/150.htm