Should

justin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:48:12 +0000

When we ask “should I do” this or that, we’re enabling the habit of pretending to take action.

I have a friend who works at a local television station news program. I have a show to promote. Obviously, asking how to get on the show is something I should do.

Except, I had to think about it. Think through all the implications. I haven’t done a TV interview in a while. I don’t want my friend to think I’m taking advantage of our relationship. Blah blah blah…

I asked him. I’ll be on the 7 am morning newscast the Friday of opening weekend.

Opportunity is. It isn’t everywhere. It isn’t magic. No amount of positive thinking can bring more to us. It just is.

If I choose to seek out the opportunities that fill my environment, I’ll see them. If I choose to begin from the assumption that there aren’t many opportunities, and worse, that most of them are too risky, I’ll fail to pick up on the opportunities that surround me.

That’s the secret of positive thinking. If I seek I find. If I don’t seek, I can’t hope to find.

How about you? Trust yourself and your community. Act. Now. We’re waiting on you to bring something special to the table.

Science Sunday: Guess the Embryo

justin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:20:54 +0000

Very cool stuff from NOVA. This science-y link takes you to a game where you are given a picture of an embryo, then asked to identify which of four animals it will develop into. I like it!

Rapture Ready

justin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:43:59 +0000

John, the main character of Born Again Yesterday, has a video blog. In this edition, he gets a little concerned about the End Times.

Poster for the November Show

justin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:59:55 +0000

Here’s the poster for the November show. Work is by Dan Fritschie of Tulsa, OK. Let me know if you’d like to get a hold of him. He’s brilliant.

Press Release for the November Show

justin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:03:44 +0000

BAY Press Release

Press Release

Nightingale Theater

1416 East 4th Street, Tulsa, OK 74120

For Immediate Release

Date: 10/21/2009

Contact: Amber Whitlatch

Phone: 918.633.8666

Email: info@ nightingaletheater.com

Web page: www.nightingaletheater.com

Nightingale Theatre presents Justin McKean’s “Born Again Yesterday”

Sunday, November 15th and Sunday, November 22nd

7:00 pm both Sundays

Tickets are $10

Call 918.633.8666 for reservations.

Former Fundamentalist Pokes Fun at the Faith-free and the Faithful

Faith is a journey. This is the tale of the long, awkward trip back.

Justin McKean’s “Born Again Yesterday” guides the audience through a hilarious maze of experiences drawn from the author’s life as a strict fundamentalist. “Everything in the play is based on something I did, or saw or heard,” McKean says.

Laughing at himself through this two-hour comedy, McKean hopes to build bridges. “The point of the play is to humanize, not demonize,” he says. “Christians who see it understand this quickly. They laugh more loudly than the non-religious people. I think this is because they know the people in the play very, very well. They’ve been to church with them. They have had potluck dinners with them. They went to church camp with them. You can love your family and still roll your eyes at them sometimes.”

McKean calls his fellow atheists out as well. One character wants to participate in “National Blasphemy Day” by defacing a religious symbol. “That’s just stupid,” the main character replies. “Being non-religious doesn’t mean you’re being intelligent,” says McKean. “There’s nothing smart or clever about picking fights. We’re neighbors, right? We need to be able to work and play and live together if we’re ever going to make this world a better place.”

Most of the play is comedy, but there are moments of sadness. “I’ve made people cry,” McKean says. “The show is based on a true story, and when I found that I’d lost my ability to believe the same things I did as a child, it truly devastated me.” These teary moments have a lighter side, too. “I’m a happy guy. I don’t take things too seriously, so there’s always a joke in there. In the saddest moments of life you have to laugh through the tears.”

The story ends on a note of joy and hope with a plea to the audience to work together in their community locally and globally. “There are more important conversations to have than why I’m wrong and you’re right, or vice versa,” McKean says. “People need food and medical care. Seems like there’s a war on that we might want to find a resolution for. Surely a God would rather we argue about our differences after we’ve solved a few more pressing problems.”

Born Again Yesterday will be performed two Sundays in a row, November 15th and 22nd, at the Nightingale Theater. Showtime is 7pm on both days. Tickets are $10. For more info call 918-633-8666 or go to www.nightingaletheater.com.

I just wanted to share.