OUR STORY
Where it all began
Why The Name?
In inspiration for the name Lower Lights Theatre Company came suddenly and powerfully in the night. It encapsulated what God spoke needed to be the focus of the organization and everything we do: LIGHT. Spreading light, preserving light, protecting light, living light.
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In the 1800s, Philip Paul Bliss, a composer, heard a story told at church of a ship captain trying to navigate his ship thru a storm to the safety of the harbor. They could see the lighthouse ahead, but the lower lights, which lit the rocks lining the harbor, had gone out. Without those lights to guide them, the ship wrecked and all were lost. Moved by the story, Bliss composed the well-known hymn, "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy," in which the lesson is beautifully conveyed: God's light will shine, but we must also shine our light to help lead God's children to Him. "Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore. Let the lower lights be burning; send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save." We hope our productions, and all we do, enable the light of God to shine.
The story of Lower Lights began 35 years ago, yet no one knew it then. Growing up in a family that highly valued the performing arts, developing talents, and faith in Christ, Cheri passed on these passions to her children.
When her children started showing strong interest in theatre, she tried to find programs that would give them performing opportunities while still allowing them to maintain their values and practice their faith. Unfortunately, there were no programs that didn't require Sunday participation.
Fast forward a couple years, after a conversation with the Executive Director of the local community theatre, a new program that didn't include Sundays was created! Immediately, Cheri signed her girls up for auditions. After performing in two shows thru this new program, the pandemic hit and the program shut down. Just 8 months later, Cheri's family moved to NWA.
Before moving, Cheri looked for theatre opportunities in the area, trusting that moving to a highly Christian area would likely have great performing opportunities. To her dismay, there were no options in the Bentonville area. Knowing, with 8 kids, she could not commit to driving to Fayetteville or Springdale for performance, Cheri was disappointed, to say the least.
But then, God got involved. The Spirit whispered, "You need to start a theatre company when you get there." And the rest, as they say, is history.
