The Arts

THEATRE
by Kelli Hornachek

I was raised in a Baptist church and went to a private Christian school. Bible stories were a common thread of both and therefore were read to me six days a week. At such a young age I certainly didn't understand the complexity of some of the underlying messages, but I remember feeling mesmerized by the storytelling process: manna falling from the sky; water moving to make a trail; Adam and Eve, avoiding the serpent around that tree. These are teachings put in a palatable form to feed one’s mind and soul; the pages, a sanctuary for me to explore.

I get the same feeling working in the theatre. I go to this room without windows and am asked to believe that I'm in the battlefields of France, or at a chorus line audition. The reason I became an actress and founded my own theater company was because of an intense sense of connection we have with one another by common experience, illustrated in plays and musicals. The same feeling I got in church where one focuses on the stage and is asked to be led by faith – that we all share in this life, on this planet, and are ultimately connected.

My spiritual journey lead me to the Community of Peace and Spirituality because it's a place where I feel welcome and am able to share in learning about different faiths. Much like the theater was a community to work on my creative life, the Community of Peace and Spirituality welcomes me as I am, to work on my spiritual life.

(Kelli Hornachek is an actress, producer, and member of the Community’s Co-ordinating Staff.)