Overview
Sacred Stages: A Church, A Theatre, and A Story (28 min, 37 sec), released in 2014, tells the unique and inspiring story of the relationship between the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple—Chicago's oldest Christian congregation—and Silk Road Rising, a theatre company founded in response to 9/11.
A shared commitment to storytelling, racial and economic justice, and LGBTQ inclusion characterizes this profound partnership between a religious community and a secular theatre.
Includes interviews with:
Rev. Philip Blackwell, Malik Gillani, Cheryl Hamada, Jann Ingmire, Jamil Khoury, Rev. Claude King, Michael Leech, Jonni Miklos, Adriana Sevahn Nichols, Megha Ralapati, David Rhee, and Brenda Russell
Creative Team
Directed, Edited, and Produced by
- Malik Gillani
- Jamil Khoury
Directors of Photography
- Deann Baker
- Stephen Combs
Digital Imaging Technician Deann Baker
Script Consultant Jon Steinhagen
Production Managers
- Caitlin Duerinck
- Corey Pond
Music Composer Peter J .Storms
Photographers and Videographers
- Deann Baker
- Michael Brosilow
- Stephen Combs
- Dale Heinen
- Marty Higginbotham
- Joe Jensen
- Johnny Knight
Archival footage, b-roll clips, and still photos courtesy of Silk Road Rising. Archival photos of the Chicago Temple courtesy of the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple and Bailey Edward Architecture.
All other images courtesy of the public domain.
Essays
Special Thanks
- The First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
- City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events CityArts Program
- Illinois Arts Council Agency
- National Endowment for the Arts
Screening History
April 25, 2014 | Mennonite Church of Normal, Normal, IL
May 4, 2014 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
May 18, 2014 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
May 21, 2014 | University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
May 27, 2014 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
June 1, 2014 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
February 4, 2015 | Knox College, Galesburg, IL
July 15, 2016 | The University of Chicago Startalk Program, hosted at Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
October 13, 2016 | Al-Nour Mosque, Hamburg, Germany
March 31, 2017 | Religion Communicators Council Conference, hosted at St. James Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois
September 26, 2019 | The University of Chicago Divinity School, hosted at Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois
September 22, 2021 | The University of Chicago Divinity School, hosted online by Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL