Paul Patton

Paul D. Patton, Ph.D., is associate professor of communication, media and theater at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. He was a pastor until he was forty, ministering in the Detroit area at Trinity Church in Livonia. It was at Trinity, while a youth pastor, that Patton founded Trinity House Theater in 1981. He has graduate degrees in counseling, religious education and a doctorate in communication with an emphasis in theater arts. He is the author of over 30 produced stage plays, radio plays and performance essays. He is involved in several academic writing projects, and has lectured on topics ranging from "The Idolatry of the Cult of Celebrity" to "God Talk: Lessons in the Manipulative Use of Religious Language."

He has been married to Beth for over thirty years and has three daughters (all actresses)—Jessica, Emily and Grace.  Incidentally, Paul and Beth met at Spring Arbor in the early 1970s. 

To contact Paul about the Spring Arbor Theater program e-mail him at paul.patton@arbor.edu or visit Paul's website.