I encountered God today, in the most unusual places. It wasn't in a sermon at church, it wasn't lifting my hands at a worship service, it wasn't discovering truth at a Bible study. It was in an acting class.
“...loves like a hurricane, I am a tree...”
This past week, I attended the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival. I had the privilege to be an intern at the conference and meet several wonderful, talented people. Every day there were workshops on how to do literally anything to do with the arts: from graphic novels, to songwriting, to acting, to how to light a movie set, to how to do 3-D films, you name it. It's a really informative conference and I can't even begin to tell you all the things I learned about my craft. But let me tell you something... nothing compares to what happened today.
“...bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy...”
I met Jason Hildebrand at last year's conference, and was blown completely out of the water by his humility and talent. He was kind of a big deal lol so I tried to steer clear of him and make sure I didn't get in his way. I can remember seeing his short film and thinking, this is a really talented man who has a heart for God. I want to get to know him. Well, as I said before, he was kind of off-limits to us last year, so this year, when I had the chance to pick a faculty member to have a meal with, I jumped at the opportunity.
“...when all of the sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory...”
I can remember when Becca (a dear friend of mine and fellow intern) and found out we were eating lunch with Mr. Hildebrand we were literally squealing like girls. Well... she is a girl... but... anyway, we were on cloud nine. I was so excited to finally get to pick the brain of such an amazing man. I could hardly eat when we sat down for that meal.
“...and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me...”
So we got to have lunch with Mr. Hildebrand and he shared so much wisdom with us, it was unbelievable. After talking for nearly an hour and a half, I no longer looked up to him because of his talent, I looked up to him because of his spiritual maturity and insight. Not only was he extremely knowledgeable about acting, but he had some pretty fantastic thoughts on what God thought about acting. Which brings me to today.
“...He love us, Oh... how He loves us, oh, oh how He loves us, oh how He loves us oh...”
When I heard, months ago, that Mr. Hildebrand was teaching an acting class, I literally wanted to attend the conference for that one class. That's how excited I was about that class. When his class rolled around today, I felt like jumping out of my skin. I couldn't explain why, but I knew this class was going to be one of phenomenal proportions. It was like the energy was buzzing in that tiny room today and you had to really focus to be able to hear over it. You know what? It's time for a flashback ;-)
“And we are His portion and He is our prize...”
I trot to the room praying he hasn't started yet, still lugging my laptop from the intern video and devotion from earlier this morning. I get to the room and it's already nearly full. I ease into the back row beside Becca and she gives me this grin. So she feels it too... the energy in the room is unlike anything we've felt all week. Mr. Jason is slightly pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands together as if he was trying to start a fire. Finally, everyone settles in their seats and he begins. He starts talking about what makes great acting, about what it means. “Great acting begins with and, ultimately, is transparency.” As he continues, his hands make several gestures to illustrate what he's saying. “We build walls that separate us as humans. We don't like to let people see our weaknesses. But if we can reach a point to where we tear down those walls, then our audience can connect with us. Transparency begins in our own personal lives, however. Being transparent is physically taxing and emotionally draining, that's why Christ often disappeared and went off to hang out with his close friends and Father, right?” He shifts gears for a moment and begins to tell us how our entire bodies are connected to our breathing and how important it is that, when we're performing, we breathe deep and circulate oxygen to the brain and make sure we're breathing right and all that jazz. Then he starts talking about how what we're wearing and how we hold ourselves can convey more than words ever could; how that can make or break a performance.
"...Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes..."
To demonstrate, he has Becca come up in front of the class. She shoots me a quick grin, as she walks up. I can tell she's a little nervous. Jason said, “Ok, you have 60 seconds to tell me about something that you love, something that you passionate about.” He starts the clock, but she just stands there. Finally, after about 10 or so seconds, she begins to tell us about reading. How, since her childhood, she's loved to read and go on different adventures. While she talks her voice is quivering a little bit, it's no doubt nerve-wracking. After calling time, Jason then turns to us and asks, “Ok, now what can you tell me about Becca? Forget about what she talked on, tell me what you saw in her posture, in her body language, in her voice.” We all share our speculations, and Becca walks back to her seat, hands still shaking just a bit.
"...if His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking in it..."
The next lady, Kim, goes up. Jason adjusts her posture before he gives her the go-ahead. “Same rules. You've got 60 seconds to tell me about something that you love. Go.” Kim doesn't waste any time delving in to her passion for gardening. How she's had a garden since she was a child and how she loves the way the flowers smell in the summer time and how her grandmother and her used to garden together. After she finishes, Jason just looks at her for a few seconds, thinking. He then turns to us and again asks the question of what we could tell from just her body language.
Finally, he looks around the room, asking for a guy to come up. I look at Becca and she nudges me with her eyes. You know what... she's right. Why would I pass up this opportunity to learn under one of my role models? I take a deep breath, and step out on faith. Here goes nothing...
No comments:
Post a Comment