Dr. Deryl Davis

Wesley Theological Seminary

Deryl Davis

Bibliodrama and Liturgical Drama as Tools for Theological Education

ABSTRACT: This presentation explores the use of Bibliodrama and Liturgical Drama as tools for theological education in my work as a professor of drama, literature, and film at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.  I will present findings from over a decade of student engagement with Bibliodrama, liturgical drama, and secular drama in terms of general theological education, experiential engagement with Biblical texts, and how drama offers novel and occasionally disruptive opportunities for theological exegesis and reflection. My argument, based upon numerous student case studies, is that dramatic engagement with scripture provides students with a deeper, uniquely personal, emotive, and reflective experience of Biblical texts that is an important and indeed necessary complement to traditional “intellectual” theological training.

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"The Poet as Prophet": A Dramatic Reading drawn from the words of the Hebrew prophets and poems by Walt Whitman, T. S. Eliot, and Denise Levertov.

This short choral presentation explores dramatic, rhythmic, and ritualistic elements in the words of ancient Hebrew prophets and latter-day poets from the U.S. and Britain. Includes a short discussion with presenters on the dramatic power of religious and prophetic texts.

Deryl Davis is Adjunct Professor of Religion and the Arts at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and a Producer and Writer with Journey Films, an independent documentary film company making films on religion and spirituality for American public television. His journalism covering religion, arts and culture, politics, and public affairs can be found at https://derylandrewdavis.journoportfolio.com/.

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