Suspension of [this] belief

Unrestricted All participants were recorded, with permission, using a video camera to gain documentary footage for a future broadcast project that will expand the scope of this master’s project.; This project explores how three Christians-in-theatre with notable industry experience integrate their devout religious beliefs within America’s commercial theatrical arena. Over the course of their varied careers in acting, casting or playwriting – highlighted by Broadway, national tours and Off-Broadway productions – their religious convictions and practices, representing three different religions (Catholic, Evangelical and Mormon), have been received differently within the workplace.; In actor Jennifer Naimo’s case, her dedication to specific language and moral choices earned praise and condemnation by both the religious and theater communities over her 30-year career; she, a devout Catholic, has weathered the conflict and to this day maintains a steady presence on stage and on screen in Southern California. Derided for his Evangelical religious practices, David Clemmons, however, experienced a different trajectory. He initially caved into industry pressures, only to return years later as a committed, transparent Christian who proudly announces his faith in his professional role as casting director. Tim Sutton, on the other, is an openly homosexual playwright and a Mormon, who has been isolated and shunned by both his church and the theater community. At present, Sutton remains prohibited by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from formalized religious practices, because he is gay. Yet, he is also criticized within his theater circles for not taking more of a gay activist stance in the plays he writes.; All three interviewees experienced rejection for their faith by the theatrical world in which they were determined to work, and all three found ways to surmount such social and professional obstacles. This is the story of their journeys of faith. Each has learned to accept their own limitations, to know themselves and, as each notes in the profiles that follow, it is only by being outspoken and flexible that negative implications associated with Christians-in-theatre are reversed.; Religion; Theatre; Catholic; Evangelical; Mormon; Comedy; Scripture; Gender Orientation; Singing; Audition; Broadway; New York; California