By Torie Speicher
INDIA — Fletcher Lonsdale* shouts, “Let’s go, guys! It’s time for the run-through! And, Suman, you’re fired!” Everyone springs to action.
Setting up the stage takes hard work from the entire cast — even from Suman Patel,* who shakes his head at Lonsdale’s command. He’s heard it before.
Players sweat and stumble through the darkness with no lighting or A/C, trying to figure out how to design a theatrical scar with powder and eyeliner while downing coffee in a hurry because the coffee shop wouldn’t sell empty cups for props. Four hours of chaos transform the blank, empty stage into an office setting.
The office could be anywhere, but it happens to be in India. Patel is among the six Indian cast and crew members, but his faith in Jesus makes him different from the others. Four actors of the 10-member cast are American students with a passion for India.
Creating a theatrical scar was one of the many tasks that needed to be completed before the play began.
Fletcher Lonsdale, a graduate of Mississippi College with a degree in English literature and performing arts, is the director of this cast of ten Indian and American actors. Lonsdale’s towering presence is not afraid to express itself: he’s an actor, after all. He knows exactly what he wants and doesn’t hesitate to ask for it. When he talks, everyone listens.
In addition to directing, Lonsdale has written and acted in two plays in this Indian city. The first play, co-written with a former professor, is about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the second is about living a Christian life in the workplace.
Lonsdale had been told it would be impossible to stage a Christian play in such a predominately Hindu area of India, but he obeyed the Holy Spirit’s direction to submit the play for approval. Lonsdale felt so certain that his play would be rejected that he didn’t even have a cast at the time. Yet despite strict requirements from local officials, the play was approved.
So, Lonsdale got to work.
Lonsdale’s vision is to use theater to change the way people see the world and ultimately God. For him, theater is not just a play. It’s worship. Theater helps Lonsdale share the Good News with people who may not otherwise listen.
“When you watch a show or movie, you search for yourself on the stage or screen,” says Lonsdale. “You try to find someone to relate to, someone to tell your story. Their resolution, their conflicts become yours. If you see yourself on stage and see that your problems can be resolved through having a relationship with Christ, you want that.”
When Lonsdale saw his assembled cast for his first play, he noticed that everyone’s beliefs were different. A couple of actors were believers, but most were from other religious backgrounds, including Hindu, Jain, agnostic, and Muslim. Yet, all of these people had come together for the purpose of telling the story of Christ.
Under Lonsdale’s leadership, many of the actors who did not know much about Jesus showed an interest for the first time. Kishor Varma* is an architect by trade with a love for acting. He identified himself as an atheist before performing in a play about the life and death of Christ, but afterward, he said, “There has to be something out there. There has to be a higher being out there.”
Divya Mishra*, an Indian theater student who didn’t claim to believe anything about God, wanted to know why films about Jesus don’t always tell the same story. As a result, she asked for a Bible to read for herself.
Lonsdale took time to disciple Patel in his Christian life — when he wasn’t firing him for being late to rehearsal.
Tabbi, one of the character's in Fletcher Lonsdale's office play, hides behind her beauty so that no one will know she feels unloved. She is one of six characters who comes to the office to hide from her problems, but learns by the end of the play there is hope for her problems in Jesus.
Lonsdale knew his mission field was the cast first and audience second. So, Lonsdale created Bible studies for each character and spent individual time with each actor, simultaneously rehearsing and sharing the Gospel.
A local newspaper critic, renowned for his harsh reviews, called the play the best he’d ever seen. Since the first play was so well-received, Lonsdale was asked to stage another one.
“I wrote the script [for the office play] with specific actors in mind. For me, it was extremely personal,” says Lonsdale.
Lonsdale has been in love with theater since the third grade, when he watched a play that made him laugh, cry and think. He left the theater changed, with new ideas and a slightly different outlook on life.
The office play doesn’t completely resolve in the end. The characters go to the office everyday and pour themselves into their work to escape their problems. When they are forced to deal with the possibility of losing their jobs, one character offers Good News through Jesus.
Much like the actors, the characters respond to this news in different ways.
When the curtain closes and the curtain call is finished, Lonsdale sits on the edge of the stage, legs hanging off, while the audience comes forward to chat. It’s tradition, he says.
Because Lonsdale pauses to build relationships after an arduous day of last-minute rehearsals and quick fixes, he hears audience members say, “I needed that play,” or, “I can relate to that character.”
“If even one person is changed, that’s enough for me,” says Lonsdale.