Senior English Major Brings Book of Job to the Stage

Ethan Holmes ’15 of Blue Island, Illinois, had been considering adapting the Book of Job for the stage when Dr. Craig Mattson, professor of communication arts, contacted the senior English major requesting that he direct a play for the Spring 2015 semester.

Taking the timing as a sign, Holmes accepted. “Not having a full understanding of how or whether such a thing was going to come together, prayer immediately after that moment took a much more central place in my life,” Holmes said.

Having been invited to complete Bible readings throughout the summer with Mattson, Holmes took the opportunity as a chance to draft his script.

By the time Mattson asked him to continue the readings throughout the school year–this time with a more thorough look at Job–Holmes had already completed a revised draft; however, after his readings, Holmes found his most recent draft incomplete.

“The reading Dr. Mattson and I did together inspired me to go back and overhaul the entire thing, so that the dialogue did a better job of maintaining the emotional arc in the original text,” said Holmes.

After Mattson and Holmes were happy with the script, the search for actors began. He spoke at theatre club meetings, approached professors, and invited friends.

In the end, Holmes had enough actors to fill the cast and put on two performances in March for full houses. Each performance was followed up with rich discussions led by Trinity theology professors.

Holmes has now listed his play as public domain.

“I’m putting together a formalized version of it for use by others that honors the play as we put it on, but I’d like for the script to get out there and get used by whoever wants to use it to the glory of God,” Holmes said.