LPU Arts has been one of many shining beacons within the LPU community over the years. It offers a place for students to build community and learn the intricacies in which the Lord can use the arts to minister to both participants and audiences.
The LPU Arts is filled with countless students who have been changed for the better as a result of being involved in the arts under the direction of Carissa Hawksworth. Students who enter into an LPU production and stick it out to the end learn invaluable lessons on expression of self, time management, art ministry, and they build lasting relationships in the process.
Katelyn Crocker, when asked about the impact this program has had on her said, “The LPU Arts’ Theatre program has helped me to connect with a creative and Christ centered community during my time at Life Pacific University. I have had the opportunity to be a part of several shows, both on stage and through creative projects. I have become stronger academically and spiritually because of this program. If it wasn’t for the LPU Arts and its Theatre program, I would not be the person I am today. When life has been tough, it has made everything worth it.”
Theater productions also allow the actors to take on the traits and actions of another person. By doing this, students are often able to learn new things about themselves as well. The Lord speaks through those characters’ stories similarly to how he speaks to us with the characters of the bible.
Audience members are offered the same opportunities to grow through watching and learning from these characters. Stories allow us to see both the worst and best versions of ourselves and help us decide which versions we would like to be. It offers an outside perspective on our internal conflicts.
LPU’s upcoming production of Guys and Dolls, which is performing April 10th, 11th, and 12th, is a play that allows viewers to deal with sometimes difficult topics in a gentle and digestible way. After all, everything sounds better set to music.
This musical explores the complexity of loving someone who struggles with addiction and learning how to allow God to change our hearts through the love of others. As the two couples in the show find their way to their happy endings, we see the conflict present when two very different people must learn to compromise and meet in the middle.
It allows the audience to reflect on the areas where we might need to find moderation. The Lord meets us where we are and as Christians, it is important we learn to do this for others as well.
Interaction with Art, if we allow it, can bring us to new depths and complexities in our relationship with the Lord and by extension our relationship with others.
Mark your calendars for April 10–12, 2025 and join us for LPU’s upcoming production of Guys and Dolls. Come support our students, be moved by the message, and see for yourself how LPU Arts continues to impact lives—on stage and off. Buy your tickets now!
This article was written by LPU Arts student, Megan Clark.
