4: Drama as Improvisation
“Ethics presupposes context, and an understanding of context presupposes narrative; yet if context is to be understood as genuinely communal, and ethics as genuinely interactive, then that narrative must be understood as drama. Such is my argument so far. If the Christian story is drama, then ethics, the embodiment of that story, is appropriately regarded as performance.”
Performance. “Thus to sum up the argument of the chapter so far, the notion of performance has much to offer a dramatic reading of theology. Performance does justice to the embodied, communal way in which the church tries to involve itself in the life enjoined by the Scripture while remaining faithful to the character of God that emerges from the biblical witness. ”
Problems with Performance.
Improvisation. “How can the church continue to be faithful without the reassurance of the script? This is the central question that pervades my whole inquiry.” The key is improvisation. Improvisation is:
- inevitable.
- Scriptural
- Ecclesial
Some Misconceptions.
- Improv is about being original. Being original essential makes a person the focus as opposed to the group. It is OK to be obvious.
- Improv is about being witty of funny. Being witty is a skill that not all have. That is not what improv is all about.
- Improv is probably or potentially demonic.
- Improv is trivial or self-indulgent. This is probably because much of improv is related to comedy.
Quoted from: Samuel Wells. “Improvisation.”