Family Theater Productions
Hollywood Outreach
Hollywood Prays
Overview
Since 1947 Family Theater Productions has enjoyed a dynamic relationship with more than 500 Hollywood actors and crews in the creation of hundreds of high quality radio and television/film programs for broadcast. In July 2002 this Catholic production company launched a new outreach ministry to the entertainment industry called Hollywood Prays. This initiative complemented the existing RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program. Both Hollywood Prays and RCIA are meant to signal to Catholics in the Entertainment Industry that they have a spiritual home in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard.
Prayer and Pasta
The third Wednesday of each month from 7 - 10 p.m., Family Theater offers an OPEN HOUSE where Hollywood newcomers find hospitality and nourishment for body, soul and spirit. They join Family Theater staff and others working in the entertainment industry to pray for all the men and women who make a living in Hollywood. The evening always begins with a celebration of prayer from the rich variety of the Catholic tradition. The prayer is always accompanied by live music and singing. Following prayer, the guests gather for a meal of pasta and good red wine. {The great convert to Catholicism, G.K. Chesterton, once asserted in verse: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, there’s laughter and music and good red wine; at least I’ve always found it so, benedicamus domino.”} At times, industry veterans and notable spiritual leaders join the young people to offer insight, encouragement and direction in a friendly dialogue over dinner.
The Theology of the Body
Family Theater also offers Pope John Paul’s Theology of the Body, a radical understanding of human sexuality in the context of faith, at 8 p.m. Tuesdays preceded by prayer at 7 p.m. The late Pope used both the scriptures and his own pastoral experience with university students and young married couples, to probe the dignity of the human person in relationship to God and to others. Small groups reflecting on the Theology of the Body are presently meeting in more than 20 metropolitan areas in the United States. As in most places, a weekly study group meets at Family Theater to examine and discuss the various topics raised by the Holy Father.
Going Deeper
Leo Severino, an attorney who worked at Fox Entertainment and now is the manager of Mexican actor Eduardo Verástegui, is presenting his reflection and leading discussion on “Going Deeper” into the Catholic faith at 8 p.m. Wednesdays preceded by prayer at 7 p.m. This includes going deeper into the revelation of God's grace in Scripture, Tradition and the ongoing Revelation in the Church guided by the Holy Spirit. Participants have expressed how they have been deeply affected by the engaging, challenging and surprising disclosures of God's love and action by Mr. Severino.
Listen to individual sessions or subscribe to the podcast. 
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)
Several years ago Family Theater began conducting an annual RCIA to accommodate the special needs of men and women in the entertainment industry seeking to explore the Catholic faith or to gain full communion with the Catholic Church. The weekly RCIA sessions begin in October and reach a conclusion for most at Easter or Pentecost. The content of the program is the faith conveyed through great literature, art and film. The day and time are flexible to meet the special needs of busy people in the industry.
Behind the Scenes
05/05/08 - An Angelus Student Film Festival winner Harry Kellerman answers an audience member’s question in Case de Cinema, Rome, Italy’s main cinema house, during an “Angelus in Rome” event recently as fellow winner José E. Iglesias Vigil listens. Kellerman of Columbia University, New York, the 2007 Angelus Priddy Bros. Triumph Award winner and Vigil, Polish National Film School, 2007 Mole-Richardson Production Excellence Award winner, were part of a panel with Harry Barbara Stepansky, American Film Institute, and Nicholas Ozeki, Chapman University, Orange, Calif., the 2006 and 2007 winners respectively of the Excellence in Filmmaking Award. A screening of heir winning Angelus films preceded the panel discussion. Entries are being accepted for the 2008 festival. Click on www.angelus.org. »