Debby Ledet (Department Director)
I am Debby Ledet, previously Debby Monette, and I am the Director of the Fine Arts Department at Living Word Church and here is a little about how the Fine Arts Department began. All throughout my childhood I was a part of children's plays, school programs and church musicals. As I grew older I began to feel the call of ministry on my life in the area of music. In 2004 I graduated from Houma Christian School and moved to San Antonio, Texas to study music at a Bible college there. My first year of college was focused completely on music and that summer I toured with the Choral team. After Choral tour I came back excited about music and worship. Throughout the summer I did what I thought I was called to do. As the summer came to a close and I packed to return back to Texas I felt tired and discouraged. As my sophomore year developed I joined the drama team and began working at a small church in Seguin, Texas in the area of drama. As the year went on a classmate of mine asked me to visit their church with them in Katy, Texas one weekend and there I was introduced to the world of Fine Arts and Human Videos. For the remainder of the year I would travel down to Katy, Texas and work with an Assembly of God Church in the area.That summer I traveled with their team to a national fine arts competition and from there I was hooked. I fell in love with the arts and I began to feel direction. In 2008 I made the decision to move back home to Houma and start a drama team in my father's church and in 2009 I met Albert Ledet.
Albert Ledet IV (Production Director)
I stepped into my first theater at the age of four. It was a traveling production of "The Marriage of Figero" at the locally famous Talbot Hall. I hadn't been easy on my mother the whole evening, but kicking and screaming she ushered me into my seat. The second that the curtain opened and the first chord permeated from the orchestra I was hooked. My mother told me, although the whole production is in Italian, that by the nights end I had explained to her exactly what we had seen.
Throughout my childhood, anywhere I could make it on stage I did. Whether it be church or school, every opportunity for me to be a ham I took full advantage of. This childlike curiosity for the stage was solidified by Theatre Arts Director in high school, Mrs. Elaine Bixiones. She took the rawness and began to refine my techniques, as well as opened my eyes to all aspects of a production i.e. costuming, lighting and sound. From there I decided to attend North Carolina State University where I majored in Mass Communication with a theater concentration. While in Raleigh I began to feel lost in a sub par program and left with only a year of undergraduate studies behind me. From there I found myself traveling back and forth between Wilmington, NC and New Orleans, LA trying to find my voice as a film actor. As I persisted in auditioning for every role that I could possibly "pass" for, I never landed anything more than a one liner in a low budget film. My next move, naturally, was to the bright lights of New York. There I found myself studying acting, dance and anything else that could possibly benefit my career. Even with this training I could never land my big break. What I failed to realize is that God the Father was preparing me to do the work of his Kingdom.
Throughout my childhood, anywhere I could make it on stage I did. Whether it be church or school, every opportunity for me to be a ham I took full advantage of. This childlike curiosity for the stage was solidified by Theatre Arts Director in high school, Mrs. Elaine Bixiones. She took the rawness and began to refine my techniques, as well as opened my eyes to all aspects of a production i.e. costuming, lighting and sound. From there I decided to attend North Carolina State University where I majored in Mass Communication with a theater concentration. While in Raleigh I began to feel lost in a sub par program and left with only a year of undergraduate studies behind me. From there I found myself traveling back and forth between Wilmington, NC and New Orleans, LA trying to find my voice as a film actor. As I persisted in auditioning for every role that I could possibly "pass" for, I never landed anything more than a one liner in a low budget film. My next move, naturally, was to the bright lights of New York. There I found myself studying acting, dance and anything else that could possibly benefit my career. Even with this training I could never land my big break. What I failed to realize is that God the Father was preparing me to do the work of his Kingdom.
Everyday Albert and I are constantly reminded how awesome God is. Our relationship together and the growth of the Fine Arts Department is a living testimony of His power and plans. When we met in 2008 we quickly began to realize that God placed us together for a reason. With all that we have gone through in our past from performing human videos and dramas in Texas to working on movie sets and stages in New York, we see that God trained us in this area so that we can help further His kingdom.
Albert has such a great eye and knowledge of theater and performance arts. He can take a script and transform it into something natural and unrehearsed. Those who have done productions with us have often said that he doesn't just tell you what he wants you to do, he makes you believe the character is real. He takes what his teachers taught him and what he learned from his time in theater and applies it to every one of our productions.
In the beginning I (Debby) never quite realized why God had me study music if His plan for me was to teach drama. As the years go by though I use more of my music training then I thought I ever would. The ear training and conducting classes I took have really helped me to break down a song to it's beats and chord changes. This has really helped me communicate the song better to the performance team when we are preparing for a sermon illustration or human video. It reminds me constantly that God never just has you learn something. He takes everything you have learned, been through or experienced and uses them for His plan.
In 2010 we put on our first ever major production called "At The Cross". As we prepared for the house lights to go down and the stage lights to go up a family member came to encourage us and said to Albert "I'm sure it's gonna be great but just remember this isn't Broadway". Albert's response was simple but it is something we have begun to base or work on. His response was "No but we are going to get as close to Broadway as we can". We aren't searching to be famous or to just put on a "show" but we want our quality of work to be the best it can be and to glorify God.
Albert has such a great eye and knowledge of theater and performance arts. He can take a script and transform it into something natural and unrehearsed. Those who have done productions with us have often said that he doesn't just tell you what he wants you to do, he makes you believe the character is real. He takes what his teachers taught him and what he learned from his time in theater and applies it to every one of our productions.
In the beginning I (Debby) never quite realized why God had me study music if His plan for me was to teach drama. As the years go by though I use more of my music training then I thought I ever would. The ear training and conducting classes I took have really helped me to break down a song to it's beats and chord changes. This has really helped me communicate the song better to the performance team when we are preparing for a sermon illustration or human video. It reminds me constantly that God never just has you learn something. He takes everything you have learned, been through or experienced and uses them for His plan.
In 2010 we put on our first ever major production called "At The Cross". As we prepared for the house lights to go down and the stage lights to go up a family member came to encourage us and said to Albert "I'm sure it's gonna be great but just remember this isn't Broadway". Albert's response was simple but it is something we have begun to base or work on. His response was "No but we are going to get as close to Broadway as we can". We aren't searching to be famous or to just put on a "show" but we want our quality of work to be the best it can be and to glorify God.
Special Thanks
A huge thanks to Thomas Pitts of Passion Designs for all the signs and props he has custom designed for us. Thomas is a great friend of ours and a plays a vital part in our productions. We feel blessed to have such a giving and gifted person on our team.
Check out his website: www.passiondesignsinc.com
Here are a few things Thomas has done or is working on for us.
Check out his website: www.passiondesignsinc.com
Here are a few things Thomas has done or is working on for us.
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Josh Bourgeois and his wife Brooke are the Youth Pastors at Living Word Church. Josh and Brooke are a great team and are such servants of the ministry. Josh records and edits all of the videos we use and does an amazing job with them. He has a true gift of taking our visions and puts in on screen.
Brooke handles all of the live music. No matter if it's worship before a production or putting together a choir and band for a musical she always does a great job, and is a true worshiper in all she does.
To check out what they do with the youth visit the Elevate Student Ministries website.
Brooke handles all of the live music. No matter if it's worship before a production or putting together a choir and band for a musical she always does a great job, and is a true worshiper in all she does.
To check out what they do with the youth visit the Elevate Student Ministries website.
