Acting group presents Christianity through skits During his days on Earth, J es us fre qu endy us ed parables to teach his disciples impo rtant lessons and truths. In the same way, Theatron is a Christian drama group mar seeks to serve teenagers with their performances, according to Jill McDonald, sophomore. Theatron is composed of sixteen stude~[ members, plus several honorary members who perform occasionally as their schedules permitted. Dr. Dan StOckstill and Robin Mill er round out the group as advisors. "Dr. StOckstill does the scheduling of performances and helps to keep us on track with practices," Missy Suggs, senior. said. "Mr. Miller is in the theater depanment, so he gives us a lot of drama tips." Members of the group said they are involved in Theatron for a number of reasons. Many, like senio r Darren Knowles, are involved due to their chosen major. ''I'm a youth and fam ily ministry major and theater minor, so I think it's the perfect way to combine those twO fields," Knowles said. Heather Irwin, junior, said the time the group spent offstage was a major element of their minist ry. "At the youth rallies, when we aren' t performing, we spend the majority of our time hanging out with the kids," she said. "We eat with them, go to class with them - we.really try to get to know them. " By performing at youth rallies, ~hegroup had the opportuni ty togo to cities all ove r the nation. "We travel all over the COUntry," Knowles said. "We've been to places like Seattle and Chicago. "We try to cover as much area as we can , but we usually stay in the southeast region." "I have absolutely loved performing in Mountain Home, Arkansas," Suggs said. "It has been pretty much the same kids all four years that I've gone there. and they are awesome. Travel timeofren required members to sacrifice thei r weekends for pe rformances. "Sometimes it's reall y hard ," Suggs said. " It calls for a lot offocus. It 's hard to find a balance between T heatron, school, fri ends and all the otner campus activities, especially with us being gone almos t every weekend. " McDonald said that me group got most of its ideas from real-li fe situations. "We write all of our skits ourselves," McDonald sai d. "If someone is struggling with a problem. or if something is really weighing of!, their heart that week, they bring it up at practice. "We take the idea and everyone just builds on it. I think sharing in our struggles also helps bring us a lot cl oser as a group, besides JUSt givi ng us skit ideas." "It really challenges you to take a look at your own li fe and wonde r if you' re really living the li fe of the person you're portraying on-stage," Knowles said. "We' re trying to be an example to teenagers, and that 's a big responsibility- we don ' t want to be hypocri tes." - Sarah Hardesty " Theatron I'm a youth and family ministry major and theater minor, so I think irs the perfect way to combine those two fields. " Darren Knowles. senior Dusrin Bartee, senior, scratches his head in con fusion during a T heatron practice. The drama group promoted "focusing on God" through skitS that encouraged youth and adults to think about their relationship with God. Drama
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