Theater, an imitation of life, has been a powerful way to share a story for centuries. Since 2013, Stephen Burke (Speech Communications ’04, M.A. ’06, M.F.A. ’12) and his wife have been running the Shining Light Players, a touring company that performs The Hiding Place: The Life of Corrie ten Boom. How Stephen decided to use Theater is not novel, but it has been a potent tool to share God with others.
Using the stage to share the story of Christ was very familiar to Stephen early on in his life and provided the catalyst for direction in his life. “I grew up on the mission field in Singapore,” he said. “My father always kept our family very involved in ministry and encouraged us to use our talents for God. I wrote and directed several plays as a teen in Singapore, as well as pursuing a professional acting career.”
In 1999, Stephen began looking at colleges that would allow him to further use his talents for the Lord. At the time, his mother was concerned about his going to a secular college, and encouraged him to attend Pensacola Christian College. “I was at a crossroads in life,” he said. “I had to decide whether to travel and audition for secular acting jobs, or to attend a Christian college. Because of the promise of the Dramatic Productions class, I decided to go for it.”
At PCC, Stephen got hands-on experience in every area of the theatre. He also met and married Alisha (Coggins, Music ’01, M.A. ’03). “Overall, I would have to say it was the practical experience I gained through class projects and extracurricular performances that meant the most to me. I learned about so many techniques and stage devices that I use constantly now,” he said. “I also graduated debt-free which has allowed us to do without in order to launch a fledgling ministry.”
Stephen’s time in college was not without the Lord’s guidance. He found the dramatic community lacked a variety of quality Christian productions. “God awakened in me a passion for evangelistic drama. The delight of my career at PCC was directing the Christmas cantatas, because of the strong gospel message,” he said. “When we started Shining Light Players, we realized that evangelistic drama is sadly neglected, while it seems that every town has a community theater that is producing very ungodly content. We have been delighted to offer opportunities for Christian actors to use their talent for the Lord!”
Since starting the Shining Light Players, Stephen Burke has found himself wearing a number of hats (some for costumes) in the company. “I serve as the producer and director of the show as well as playing two characters and understudying a principle character,” he said. “I am in constant contact with the pastors that are hosting us and keeping everyone up to date on addresses, call times, and meal times. I also have to handle all the paperwork and pull my weight in the setup and teardown.”
At home, Stephen has his hands full managing the Shining Light Players from behind the scenes. He spends his time writing new productions; booking future tours; keeping up the website and correspondence; handling royalties; creating and planning props, sets, and costumes; raising funds for future projects; and any other task that might need to be done. “Time and budget constraints are constant—but God is always faithful! He provides creativity and funding just when it is needed,” he said.
The Hiding Place: The Life of Corrie ten Boom debuted in 2011 at Pensacola Christian College. Since then, the Shining Lights Players have completed over 50 performances. This summer, there have been 16 performances in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Some previous actors in the production include PCC grads Deirdre O’Dell (Interpretive Speech ’12, M.A. ’14), Shelly Prenevost (Interdisciplinary Studies ’13, M.S. ’15), Hannah Miller (Performance Studies ’14, M.A. ’16), Liz Thomason
(Performance Studies ’16, M.F.A. ’19), and Dakota Wilson (Performance Studies ’16, M.F.A. ’19).
Having worked with a number of PCC alumni in the cast over the years, Stephen has found a unifying sense of fellowship with each of them. “There is a special camaraderie among the team that I haven’t found elsewhere,” he said. “Although everyone on the team is incredibly talented and accomplished, they have all been so humble and supportive of one another. We share a special bond in our desire to share the gospel. They have all been so genuine and transparent—our times of prayer together have meant so much to me.”
Stephen Burke has been vigilant about using his talents for the cause of Christ. As he’s worked, he hasn’t lost sight of his desire to promote God to others and not promote himself. “Mrs. Crawford, my acting teacher, told us that the world has their philosophy backward,” he recalled. “The world says, the actor must be true to himself first, then to his art, then to his patrons, then to his audience. A Christian actor must be true to his audience first—the most important audience being God—then his patrons, then his art, and lastly to himself. I’ve always remembered that.”
Read more about how God is directing and working through PCC faculty and alumni.