THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF "STORY"

 

This post is a follow-up to Bobbette Buster’s enlightening Q talk on “The Arc of Storytelling”. 

http://bit.ly/pDuHId Its message is extremely relevant for those of us who create or produce musicals with the intention of using them for outreach to the community.

First, let me make a significant distinction about the term “musical”. In the church world, the word “musical” is used to describe interchangeably, cantatas (songs threaded together with narration), concerts (a collection of songs on a theme), and traditional musical theater (a story which is told and advanced by character-driven songs). It is this last kind of “musical” that I believe is the most powerful in reaching unchurched audiences. It is a musical that tells a character-driven story that Ms. Buster talks about. Her focus is Hollywood films, but the principle she expounds upon is extremely applicable to the Christian message of redemption.

Think for a minute. What is the one thing every Hollywood movie has in common? Answer: It tells a story. Movies make us laugh and they make us cry. They can even make us mad (many times because it wasn’t a good story!) Movies are emotional. Whether the story is well told or poorly told, they all share the same elements of “story”. People go to movies weekly in search of that great story, well told. Many times, they come away disappointed, but occasionally, they’ll be moved by a great story to the point that they’ll return to see it multiple times.

Ms. Buster’s premise is that all human beings are in search of characters that go from the ordinary to the extraordinary and that what we look for in all of our stories is the aspect of transformation. She says that the most important theme in storytelling is the story of redemption – “this inexorable force - that everybody wants to experience a change and they don’t have a name for it. They don’t know what to call it. …”They want to see characters become the very best they can be and to discover what it means to be fully alive.”

So how does this figure into the musicals we present in church? I’m sure you see where I’m going with this. What more compelling story of redemption do human beings have than the story of God coming to earth to live as a man – one of us- then to die in order to redeem us and deliver us from the depth and destruction of our own sin? The challenge for us is in communicating that story in a compelling and life-changing way. If you ask the man on the street what Jesus Christ was best known for, he’ll probably say, “He died for the sins of mankind” or something to that effect. Most people know that, but how many have taken that truth to heart to the point that it radically changed who they are?

While anything is possible with God, it’s my belief that musicals, by themselves, aren’t likely to elicit a salvation experience. However, a well told (and acted) story that reflects biblical truth and connects with universal human experience and emotions can be very powerful in softening hearts and overcoming barriers to the truth of the gospel message. 

So many people live lives of desperation and feel as if they are “the living dead”. Their lives are stressful, their situations can seem hopeless, and their problems are perceived as insurmountable – to the point that they long to have more than just an existence. They long for that transformation –that change for the better -   for redemption. If we choose or write our scripts thoughtfully and prayerfully so that they convey the hope of transformation and redemption, the languishing soul will desire that for himself – even if he does not say it out loud. Our job is to use theater, music and drama in such a way as to reach the heart and the emotions, for it is there that defenses are their most vulnerable. It is there – in the heart and the emotions - that the Holy Spirit speaks.  As we carefully and effectively design our performances to touch those emotional “breakpoints”, the heart can be softened and prepared to receive the transformation and redemption it so desperately longs for.  We must do our job with excellence, so as not to hinder in any way the working of the Spirit.

Story, as used in genuine musical theater, is powerful. It takes us along on the journey. It has a transporting and even  - dare I say it – “enchanting” quality that no other style of musical has. By their design, cantatas can only “tell” a story. A Broadway-style musical (one with a story line and character-driven songs) “show” the story. The old adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is true as well for a musical. Showing is more powerful than telling. If you’re considering what kind of musical to do this Christmas, consider the life-changing power of “story” you'll find in a Broadway-style musical.