Play asks “Where do You Feel God’s Breath?”
CALGARY, AB—Actor Jason Hildebrand steps onto a stark, bare stage and pull his audience into the story of 'Greg'—a man who has just seen his father die and is facing divorce. The story changes and suddenly he is Jesus, at His moment of baptism. Then he is Leonard, a 12-year-old prostitute.
Breathe is a new play by The Arts Engine. It consists of two interwoven elements—character vignettes by Hildebrand and original music by award-winning composer musician Mike Janzen.
"It's incredibly raw," Hildebrand says, "very vulnerable, very honest. It's the story of a man who never heard the words 'I love you' from his father, searching through the various people in his life to find the breath of God in his life."
Breathe opened at the Fire Exit Theatre in Calgary this October and is starting a Toronto run in January. It is based on the book, Close Enough to Hear God Breathe: The Great Story of Divine Intimacy, by Greg Paul of Sanctuary street ministry. Hildebrand adapted it for the stage.
"One of the things we're very aware of at The Arts Engine is that you can find spectacle anywhere," Hildebrand says. "But what people need—in our 100-mile-an-hour-world—is connection and honesty.
"This is a play about taking down the barriers which we erect in our lives, to get to the truth that God loves me, right now, full stop. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to be anything. I don't have to aspire to anything. I just need to put my head against His chest, hear His breath in my ear, feel His heart beating into me, and know that I am loved."
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