Wesley Vander Lugt (PhD candidate)

Hometown
Breezy Point, Minnesota, USA

Education
BA, History, Covenant College
MDiv, Covenant Seminary

Thesis topic
Wes' dissertation, “Available Actors, Appropriate Action: Theotheatrical Preparation and Performance,” under the supervision of Trevor Hart, explores theatre as a model for theological ethics, looking particularly at the dynamic interplay between preparation as disponibility or availability and performance as fittingness or appropriateness. A primary goal of this project is to demonstrate how disponible preparation and fitting performance are multi-dimensional realities oriented simultaneously toward the triune God (as playwright-producer protagonist), Scripture (as transcript and prescript), the church (as company), tradition (as performance traditions and paradigms), the world (as audience), and local places (as stage). As a result, this theotheatrical approach seeks to integrate theology and ethics, describing and resourcing everyday Christian living with rich theological reflection. In addition, focusing on the dynamic interplay between preparation and performance is an attempt to unify agent-oriented with action-oriented ethics in a holistic, performative matrix. Finally, through attentive interaction with theatrical theory and practice, this project hopes to contribute to a fruitful conversation between Christian theology and the arts, particularly how theatre can provide imaginative, heuristic models for contemporary theology within the liberating constraints of creedal and confessional Christianity.

Other information
Before relocating to St Andrews with his wife Stephanie, Wes worked as youth pastor in Saint Louis, Missouri and then as a staff member with Armonía Ministries in Mexico City. He edits and contributes to Transpositions, serves as a Youth Worker at Holy Trinity Church in St Andrews, and takes every opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Scotland.

 

Home page • Return to Postgraduate community page