TORONTO, Canada, November 1, 2002 — At 44, he could well be considered to have reached middle age. But Dennis Hassell, founding artistic director of the innovative, Toronto-based theatre company Brookstone Performing Arts, is most definitely not experiencing a crisis; at least not one of the mid-life sort. Overseeing one of this country's foremost Christian theatre companies might be a career in which every day is riddled with one crisis or another, but Hassell is enthusiastic, even passionate, as he talks about his work.
"The church is normally very strong on truth and very weak on imagination"
| "Our culture is very good on imagination and very weak on truth; and the church is normally very strong on truth and very weak on imagination. But I think when you combine those two, you have the kind of powerful ministry that Jesus had when he told his parables..." |
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- Dennis Hassell, Founding Artistic Director, Brookstone Performing Arts, Toronto
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Brookstone began in 1988. Hassell says he chose the name for the company from his favourite Bible story, David and Goliath. He recalls, "David used stones from a brook - but he used them imaginatively. He could have used conventional armour, but no, he used his imagination and faith to meet a great challenge. So I said, 'we're going to combine our faith with imagination; that's the only way to overcome the challenges facing our company.' Because without imagination, we end up with advertising. And without faith, without truth, we end up with novelty and entertainment. Our culture is very good on imagination and very weak on truth; and the church is normally very strong on truth and very weak on imagination. But I think when you combine those two, you have the kind of powerful ministry that Jesus had when he told his parables, his stories; because people suddenly understood the kingdom of God, and were able to grasp it. So we're telling stories that allow people to see the kingdom of God - to see grace."
To say Hassell 'thinks big' would be an understatement
Brookstone
A scene from "The Big Picture" a powerful drama -- the Bible told as one story with five actors in less than two hours. Written by Dennis Hassell and directed by Tom Carson
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Hassell is also a playwright. He tells stories about Christians and Christianity. His goal, he says, is to allow Christianity and Christian experiences to permeate our culture. To say the man 'thinks big' would be an understatement. Brookstone is currently on tour with a play written by Hassell (and sponsored by The Canadian Bible Society) called, "The Big Picture". It tells the story of the Bible; in less than two hours.
Hassell commends the Bible Society for their sponsorship, "The wonderful thing that the Bible society has done, is take a chance on something new. They are doing a grand experiment to find ways to reach the next generation. And The Big Picture - what we've found on the road, is that people under thirty have absolutely ... embraced the show. They've stood on their chairs and they've shouted and whistled. This show breaks through the stereotypes about the Bible, and stereotypes about Christians and churches. The Bible Society made it possible. I was really amazed that they were willing to take a chance on something so radical and so experimental."
The story of the Bible - in less than two hours
Radical indeed. The story of the Bible - in less than two hours? Hassell admits writing the play was a challenge: "What I felt called to was, 'what if I could tell the whole Bible as one story?' Not just to be clever - to make it the 'Readers' Digest Bible', but what if we could see the Bible, as one story happening through millennia, instead of dozens of books that are hundreds of years apart. So the challenge wasn't to do it really quick; the challenge was to tell it as one story, so that people could experience the Bible as being a unified thing."
Hassell says he believes the story the Bible tells is fundamentally simple; how a Creator lost his relationship with His creatures and restored it. In telling that story through a dramatic art form, the details, he says, he has left for the audience to discover once the play is over.
'You've seen the play - now read the book!'
He explains, "We like to use the motto, 'You've seen the play, now read the book!' We want (the audience) to go into the details. We can't do the details. We don't need to. The Big Picture is not the Bible; it is the big picture of the Bible. The goal of the Bible is to have people enter the story themselves. We need to make the images clear for the people of our culture today so that they will go into the Bible. The Bible is, for me, a bridge to God through a personal relationship with Christ. It is a doorway to God's presence, and it is a window into his kingdom and His way. The Bible is not an end. The Bible is a way in. And we think the play is a way into the Bible."
| "The Bible is, for me, a bridge to God through a personal relationship with Christ. It is a doorway to God's presence, and it is a window into his kingdom and His way. The Bible is not an end. The Bible is a way in. And we think the play is a way into the Bible." |
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- Dennis Hassell, Founding Artistic Director, Brookstone Performing Arts, Toronto
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Dennis Hassell has a quarter century of experience in the theatre. But The Big Picture is clearly, the culmination of a life-long dream. He laughs as he says it was "44 years" in the making, but it is true that the project is one that was planted in his heart as a young man. He reflects on his teenage years as a time when he was constantly writing plays for his youth group and high school. "One verse that got me started in my calling of the arts was (James 1:22) 'Be not hearers of the word only, but also doers.' I found out that the Greek word for doers ... the original word, means performers. It's true that surgeons perform surgery and musicians perform music and people perform tasks. So I thought, 'we have to perform the Word in our lives and in our art.'"
The Big Picture's cross Canada tour concludes November 9. From November 10 to December 8, it will play for Toronto audiences at the Main Stage, Walmer Centre Theatre. For more information on Brookstone, visit www.brookstonetheatre.com.
Source: Patricia Paddey, Bible Network News
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