Retired drama teacher turns to directing

By Mark McKenzie

For the past decade, former Lake Highlands High School drama teacher Nancy Poynter has provoked thought and stirred faith by staging mainstream theatrical events at Wilshire Baptist Church. The program, dubbed Faith in 3D, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with Poynter in the director’s chair when it presents its full-length production of Lucas Hnath’s “The Christians” on Feb. 15 and 17.

“The original idea was to leverage the considerable talents of Nancy Poynter and our faith community, some of whom are her former students, to stage dramatic productions to stimulate important conversations among our broader community of friends and neighbors,” says Mark Wingfield, a former associate pastor who helped launch the program at the northeast Dallas church in 2014. “Nancy brings her years of teaching experience to create a serious theatrical experience in a church setting that allows us to wrestle with difficult theological challenges using the power of theater to move beyond words to ideas.”

Faith in 3D denotes an evening of drama, dialogue and desserts, all offered free to the public. Following each performance, a host leads the audience in a brief conversation exploring key themes in the work and implications for today’s world. The discussion model also has been used for productions at the Dallas Theater Center when it has staged faith-oriented content. In fact, when “The Christians” was presented at the Dallas Theater Center in 2017, ministers from Wilshire consulted on the show and participated in the audience talk-back sessions. 

Faith in 3D has staged scenes from notable works, including “All My Sons,” “The Crucible” and “Amadeus.” In addition to directing and producing the plays, Poynter writes all script adaptations and secures approval for licensing.

This year’s full-length production of “The Christians” will feature a 25-voice choir on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Road in Dallas. Admission is free. 

Run time is about 75 minutes, followed by dialogue and dessert. Learn more at wilshirebc.org.