Chapel credit for Shrek: The Musical? How the production incorporated spiritual formation

The last thing students who attended Shrek: The Musical expected to receive was chapel credit for the show; however, Kaden Vinson-Kinney was determined to make the musical not only culturally beneficial, but spiritually enriching.

Vinson-Kinney is a junior with a double major in Musical Theatre and Ministry and Leadership, and he found himself in a new role as the Steward of Spiritual Formation within the theatre program. He created this role so that he could bring the spiritual formation he gets outside the theatre program inside as well. “I think Lipscomb does those things really well, and it was kind of lacking in the theatre department,” Vinson-Kinney said.

In this new role, Vinson-Kinney was given the opportunity to start leading prayers during rehearsals and even give lessons from the Bible. He said that this change has created a new “openness” within the theatre department.

The theatre department wanted to share the spiritual foundation that they built in Shrek: The Musical with the audience. After the show on Friday the 13th, Deron Smith, the Director of the Accelerated Pastoral Leadership Program, along with four other students in the show, including Vinson-Kinney, gave a spiritual talk-back.

At the beginning of the Friday show, a video will invite the audience to pay close attention to the show and think critically about what they are about to see. 

Then, right after the last bow, Dr. Smith and the other students will return to the stage to give the talk-back. Dr. Smith will ask the students on stage questions, and also open the mic to the audience.

Vinson-Kinney explained that a main Biblical takeaway from Shrek is the flaws showcased in each character. Every character struggles with something, and the musical encourages the characters to love themselves over everything else. “That’s just not how it is in scripture; it’s the opposite. Instead of this internal glorification, we have an external glorification with Christ,” Vinson-Kinney said.

Shrek: The Musical is a huge production, with over 60 students involved in running the show on any given night. This is one of the biggest productions in Lipscomb Theatre program history, and will certainly live in the heads of those who watched it.

Even if students can’t attend the Friday chapel, there are still two more shows this weekend. Vinson-Kinney invited the audience to watch the show he’s worked so hard to prepare for: “I would just say come out, tell everyone, tell all your friends. There’s still plenty of tickets for this next weekend, and I think people will love it.”

Cover image courtesy of @nuan.ting_photo