Blog by Rich

I've devoted my life to a career in theatre, knowing that films changed my life as a boy.

Tonight I experienced the kind of film that could inspire someone to be a world-changer.

I caught a sneek preview of Amazing Grace, which opens in theatres nationwide on February 23.

I was weeping through mu...

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Fox Faith's second offering was hitting theatres. The film is WONDERFUL. I highly recommend it. I promised a review, but after reading the following I don't know what I'd add, except for my own wholehearted endorsement of it. It didn't make it the top ten list...

If there's still time to see it tonight stop reading and go see it so it counts toward opening weekend.

I'll post a review here soon. Now stop reading and go!

The Church of the Nazarene's World Missions Communications ran a press release on my visit in the Philippines: Actor Rich Swingle At WMC Studios

I was glad to see the owner and the coach of the Colts each give credit to the Lord for helping their team win.

Well, they played a broadcast of the game as they could pick it up, but it was mostly static. Every once in a while we could hear, "Payton Manning."

That's Chicago, the view (albeit atop the Sears Tower) that sparked my interest in travel when I was in the third grade, when my parents took...

On Thursday I was in Miami, where fans were already flooding in to watch the Indiana Colts play the Chicago Bears. A fellow on my row said a AAA discount saved him over $300, as without it there was nothing under $500 a night!

I was in Indiana this morning (the pastor said, "I'm rooting for ...

This ramp was set up for the youth behind the Nazarene church, where I performed.

I got to teach acting to the drama team at Manila's Christ Commission Fellowship. When they would hear something cool they'd hold up three fingers on either side of their mouths and say (and spell), "WOW."

Guys, your work, especially on enacted prayer, was WOW!

New York Times Review of The Great DivorceSome friends of ours are on the production team of a stage adaptation of CS Lewis' The Great Divorce. Joyce and I enjoyed it, and so did the NY Times:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/theater/reviews/31divo.html

Tickets are available through SmartT...

I never got a good shot of the sides of the chapel, where I performed and preached at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary. They're mesh. So in typhoons (well, hopefully before they hit) they have to take all the electronics to fully enclosed buildings.

That means "mix mix." It's a good description not only of this treat made of about 20 different things but also of Filipino cuisine in general. They've been influenced by the cultures of Asia, Spain and America and all three and more show up in their food. They do tend toward sweet things....

One of the coolest things about my time in the Philippines was getting to coach MasterWorks alumna Vicki Gregory. I got to perform and teach a workshop at her school, Faith Academy.

These are shots Joyce took on her camera:

The The Ming Tombs, factories, Great Wall, Olympic Pavillion
The Forbidden City, Old Beijing
Old Beijing, Tiananmen Square, Tientsin
Tientsin, Shanghai, Guatemala

An ancient Celtic name for God was Gloriosly Wasteful. He's given us so many things that we don't need just to bless us.

When Aury (left) was 8, she went door to door to take out people's trash in exchange for two-day old bread. At school no one wanted to be her friend because of her work. They called her trash. Compassion has helped her rise above all that. As a part of the Leadership Development Program she is in he...

Our speaker here at the Compassion ( RichDrama.com/Compassion) Artist and Speaker Retreat is Mark Yaconelli. We heard his father Mike speak, only months before his untimely death, at a Compassion retreat at Michael W. Smith's ranch. Mike founded Youth Specialties. Mark is just as funny.

He's talking...

The grounds on which we're staying is filled with incredible works of art everywhere we look.