Playing the Rapture: about

about the project

Playing the Rapture is an original performance work that examines American evangelical belief in the Rapture--a moment when every true Christian will suddenly vanish from the earth, leaving the rest of humankind to struggle through a period of extreme tribulation. Playing the Rapture explores the social implications of a belief that we are entering the "end times" described in the book of Revelation. In this era of global warming, the idea that we may have entered the end times of life on earth takes on a new meaning and urgency, as we all wonder what the future has in store for us, and what we can do to change things.

A scene from Playing the Rapture, with actors Jay Wallace (left) and John Mellies; one of the machinima videos making up a major environmental element is visible as a floor projection.

Playing the Rapture revolves around two characters who are playing a computer game set in a post-Rapture world. Designed by one of them, the game posits a choice for those who have been left on earth between conversion to Christianity and joining the Antichrist. As the two gamers beta-test this new creation, they engage in an intense struggle over everything from the rules of the game to the problem of belief. In striving to win their apocalyptic showdown, they must also come to terms with how Rapture theology offers hope and a promise of escape while fueling their sense of alienation and despair.

In bringing the worlds of religion and computer games into collision, Playing the Rapture raises questions about the assumptions that govern each field. Are games really as trivial as they are often made out to be? Can religion be understood as the world's most serious game? At what point does "just playing" turn into "playing for keeps"?

In Playing the Rapture, the audience enters the gamers' imaginary world via large-scale projections within the performance space. Many of these projections are machinima videos, created from an actual computer game set in a post-Rapture world. Thus, the real world, the game world, and the stage world are inextricably entwined from start to finish. In their struggle for dominance, the protagonists discover that while they are playing the game, they are also part of the game.

The Rapture is a vivid metaphor that illuminates a number of powerful psychological forces at play in America today: the urge to make intractable problems magically go away; the need to be part of a select and privileged group; a diffuse sense of disappointment with life and corresponding yearning for payback; and the desire for a god that can be seen to be actively engaged with human life.

Playing the Rapture premiered at the Baltimore Theatre Project, March 26-30, 2008. It was performed by actors John Mellies and Jay Wallace and directed by Robert Allen. The script is by Antoinette LaFarge with contributions by John Mellies. Visual design is by Antoinette LaFarge with Robert Allen.

Playing the Rapture has been supported in part by the University Gallery at the University of California, Irvine and by a UCI Faculty Research and Travel Grant, as well as by contributions from individual donors.