"Reflections of a Man" (Oxford 2014)
Our Vision
Phoenix Performing Arts Trust in 1989 was set up by Danny and Mary Scott with a vision for seeing the restoration of God’s plan and impactful use of creativity and the dramatic arts to start in, and come out from His Church for the benefit of reaching out into the world! Operating for over 35 years in as many countries and in nearly every denomination of churches, Phoenix has been training, mentoring, teaching, performing and supporting the body of Christ and operating in secular contexts – reaching out to the unbelieving world.
Jesus was an Artist because he was the Son of the Creator of the universe! Jesus himself said that he only did what he saw his father doing (Jn 5:19). Craftsman by trade, Jesus was, more importantly the consummate story-teller which he may well have acted out together with his disciples. In Mark’s gospel it says “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Mk 4:34).
When we talk about ‘drama’ (or ‘performing arts’) to people - regardless of their faith stance, most will immediately think about entertainment, performance, ego, fame and fortune but this is not God’s purpose and heart! God created human beings as sensory beings and each individual was ‘embroidered’ beautifully in their mother’s womb (Ps 139:13). We were created with all the senses; taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing, sensing (intuition) and with imagination. Imagination is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. Imagination is at the root of all innovation, artistic creativity and even faith! (Heb 11)
The arts are not just an expression or reflection of God’s creativity in beauty and worship – the dramatic arts are designed for incarnation of human story. “The word became flesh….”. The baptism of Jesus was an act of drama - he didn’t need forgiveness of sins – rather, he demonstrated in physical, dramatic form who he was and why he was here (John 1:29-31). There are many other examples in the Bible of dramatic demonstration of the character and ways of God.
Phoenix has set up a number of companies and ensembles for performing and training: PointZero physical theatre (a physical theatre/mime performing company, TouchPoint productions (a drama/theatre and file community ensemble, CORE theatre arts training (professional training up to level 6 and apprenticeships) and CORE CPD lab (lecturing, workshops, seminars and training/CPD).
""Be-Longing" (Coventry 2024) - picture by Sam Oates
Our Beliefs
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We believe that true success is defined by demonstrating the qualities of self-discipline, excellence, patience, kindness, goodness, integrity, wisdom and humility. These are the character values we will endeavour to instil into those who come through our doors and so we will equip individuals for a fruitful and satisfying life, regardless of whether they choose to work in the industry afterwards.
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We welcome and provide expert mentoring and equipping to gifted people with potential who have mental health, social, behavioural or educational disadvantages, and who are marginalised or have faltered in the education system - regardless of their faith stance.
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We believe that regardless of their beliefs, God has a purpose for every individual, and those who are called to be artists can have confidence in their calling and will live this out for the benefit of their community and society.
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We believe that provision of excellence in performing arts training, as well as individual coaching, mentoring and guidance will equip our students for the rigours and challenges that the performing arts world will demand of them.
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We believe that those who have vision have life - and we will provide expert support and guidance for individuals to find their calling and vision for their lives