New beginnings are full of promise, but I’ve had enough of them to know that a promising feeling is a guarantor of nothing. It’s a new season in my life, one whose boundaries have something to do with a self-imposed sabbatical from church life, a brief stint of anti-depressants, a sickness in the middle of …
Impossible Dreams?
So last week Taproot Theatre opened Man of La Mancha. I get the privilege of singing "The Quest" or as it's more popularly known, "The Impossible Dream." While thrilled to have the opportunity to take on the role of Don Quixote, there is also something daunting about singing such a classic song. Fortunately, the song …
“Transformation is Possible”
My coaching assignment from three weeks ago was to reflect on what I'd like people to say about me when I die. My report on that reflection is due today, and frankly, though I've put a good bit of time into thinking about it, I don't have it done. It's a funny question, more troublesome …
A Year of Going Deep
It's an oft-cited complaint: American Christianity is three-thousand miles wide and litte more than an inch deep. So they say. The four of us, Anjie, Amy, and Daniel and I sat over dinner last night and re-upped on an old family tradition. Well, that may be overselling it a bit...we did this particular activity several …
Letting Go: What I Meant to Say
Letting go is a ruthlessly practical matter. Actors get bound up by inhibitions, fear, and wasted muscular tension. Relationships go south because wrongs committed become posts to wrap fists around. New careers go unborn because persistent, outdated self-perceptions just won't fade. At this juncture in my life--one more sermon to preach, a new play rehearsal …
JEFF BERRYMAN 