I will hazard a guess that most people don’t associate the acting profession with religion.  But we at Hollywood Pres know differently. There are indeed Christian actors and I am so proud to be one and equally proud to be a member of the Actor’s Co-Op here on our campus.  An entire troupe of actors who love and worship our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Many in our congregation have seen our shows and continue to support us (and we are greatly appreciative of that) but I would like to share some info that you may not know.
 
When we audition new member prospects, not only do they have to have a professional headshot/resume and show their “acting chops” by doing prepared monologues and singing (if they are singers) but they also must summit a form telling of their walk with Jesus. 
 
We begin all of our meetings with prayer first and then do our business meeting, theatre cleaning, set painting, etc., whatever is needed.  Sometimes we do “group prayers” where we ask who needs prayer for themselves, a family member and/or a friend.  One of us will then volunteer to pray for that request.  When all requests have been made we have a large group prayer and bring all of those requests to God.  Other nights, we count off and have prayer with groups of three, four or five.  Again, we ask what prayers are needed and we pray for each other.

 

In our shows we often have guest artists.  We audition our membership first but if we don’t have enough turn out from our members (yes, we do have lives outside of acting) we have open auditions.  We do cast guest artists that are not “church attenders” and sometimes non-believers.  We show them the same love we share (that is what Jesus taught) and do our best to make them feel welcomed.  
 
Before every rehearsal and performance we have group prayer.  We circle up, hold hands and ask God help us to use the talents He has given us to the best of our abilities.  We extend the invitation to our guest artists to join in the prayer circle. Some accept and some decline.  It is always exciting when someone declines to join the prayer circle at the first rehearsal but decides to join in before the rehearsal/performance time ends.  
 
I am so thankful to this church for supporting the Actor’s Co-Op. We had a great past season getting “Ovation recommended” for four of our shows.  I hope and pray this church will continue to give Christian actors the opportunity to share their love of Jesus (and each other) while bringing quality theatre to the community.

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