Welcome to Performing for the Don!

My name is Hank Willenbrink. I’m a performance scholar and playwright. I started this publication building off the work done in my book, Performing for the Don: Theatres of Faith in the Trump Era, and to continue my ongoing examination of the intersections of religion, politics, and performance.

I’m going to be using this space to take a look at figures that you may know and may have heard of like Donald Trump and Paula White, but because my emphasis is performance, my investigations look a bit different than others. Rather than thinking primarily about political implications, I’m going to be breaking down how the performance of religion operates, what the significance of it is, and why it matters for everyone (religious and non-religious alike).

How does it work?

Posts will go out every Wednesday with a bonus post or two a month. Emails will go directly to your inbox. Should they not appear, please check your spam folder.

Free subscribers will get a free post every 2 weeks.

Paid subscribers ($5/mo) get access to everything (regularly 4 posts per month + bonus posts) as well as my deep gratitude.

See ya!