The author is a theatre professor at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. Because of the sensitive nature of the events she discusses, names have been changed to protect those involved. The church described is a vital, godly community and is the annual site of the Drama Improvement Conference, a CITA regional meeting in Portland, Oregon. A nthropologist Victor Turner has shown that one of the many ways theatre can function in a community is to portray its conflicts and suggest remedies for them. He notes that during times of crisis, a culture will often increase its ritual activity, including theatre.
Theatre can be part of the means by which a community experiences healing.
W est Hills Covenant Church is a congregation of some 300 people with a strong emphasis on community and fellowship. In the late 1980's West Hills flourished as a tight-knit, caring community. Worship services were family gatherings of people who truly loved one another. West Hills has also been home to an active drama group called Proverbial Players. In 1988, at the height of West Hills' flowering, Proverbial Players wrote and produced what was to be the first of a series of annual Christmas pageants.