Drama Do's and Don'ts.

Quick Summary - for those who don't read lengthy handouts.

• There is a good precedent for drama worship; and it might just save the church from decline.
• There is a large range of drama worship activities & styles.Take your pick.
• Be sensitive to what your congregation needs. Having said that, congregations are more appreciative than paying audiences.
• Keep the commitment light for drama group members; or you won't keep the group.
• Use whatever resources you have, but you don't need much tomake a good start.
• Good results can be achieved with novice actors, and/or disabled members.
• Keep the group on the right tracks with prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Good drama material is scarce. Shop around for drama books or write your own.
• Watch out for licensing restrictions on the books.

Ok. Busy people can tune out here. Budding producers can read on...

The antecedents of Drama Worship. Is it OK to do this?

• Psychologists will agree that the mind learns & remembers best if the information is "dressed up" in a striking or humorous way.
• The ancient Greeks based two inventions on this ... associative memory tricks, and drama to entertain & educate citizens.
• As an oversimplification, Jesus used stories (parables) to entertain and educate his listeners.
• The UK church has used story-telling techniques to entertain & educate congregations for more than 1000? years. These stories take the form of sermons and bible readings.
• UK Christian drama probably started with the medieval mummers and their mystery plays. Drama worship in the UK is not a new phenomenon, folks!
• The church's traditional entertainment & educational techniques are now being eclipsed by the easy availability of glitzy media (TV, radio, print). Therefore, sermons & bible readings are not as entertaining as they once were. Recent generations regard them as boring and irrelevant.
• It is time to fight back, if we are to win souls for the Kingdom. Drama worship works; it is effective.
• Multimedia in-church presentations (of which drama will be but a part) are already beginning too. Welcome to the challenges of the 21st Century.

Drama in a church context

• Audiences expect to be entertained; they even paid for this. Congregations expect to be challenged, and will listen reflectively for "the message", or "bite".
• Audiences expect a high level of professional polish. Congregations will accept "rough diamonds". - but, you must avoid the "cringe factor" at all costs.
• Audiences expect special effects, lights, sound, props, scenery ... and lots of glitz. Congregations are much more prepared to just listen to what you have to say.
• Having a problem retaining teen-age church members? In this writer's experience drama worship livens up an otherwise dull experience for all age groups.
• It's OK to do comedy in a church service, and it's OK for congregations to laugh (preachers can tell jokes; why not actors?). Comedy is a great way for people to "get the point", and they will remember it for a long time.
• Some congregations feel awkward about applause. Be sensitive, and don't force this issue. A meditative silence as the point "goes home" is worth far more to the seasoned Christian actor than applause.

What to perform (and what not) and how to organise this

• Not all forms of drama are equally acceptable to all fellowships. Be sensitive to their needs. For example, an ageing tradition-bound congregation may not take kindly to quick-fire comedy routines full of smart one-liners. Youth members may not tolerate slow meditative monologues.
• Talking of "youth", young children really appreciate puppetry. Even something as simple as a sock puppet, if it is done well. The puppet can ask all the daring & controversial questions that the kids would not dare to ask themselves. Being seen to be "naughty", the puppet represents the their hopes, fears, and joys.
• An example of getting it wrong (a personal view) ... Revelation took a show on tour where we'd written the script ourselves. It was set in the future and it's style was "light science fiction" (a little like Star Trek). Problem - our first "audience" was a residential girl's school (average age 13), and only those with older brothers had even heard of Start Trek, let alone watched it. Result - no contact. Moral - choose the material and its style to suit the congregation.
• You must give thought to whether drama worship will just occupy a slot in normal services, or whether to give over the occasional service to entire 100% drama worship. Whichever you choose, be aware that a linking theme for the whole service is jolly useful. Even essential.
• There is still a place for a sermon along side drama worship. Having watched the drama, the congregation will be ripe for a deeper analysis … or a hard sell.

Setting up a drama group

• People today are frightened of Commitment. They won't join if they feel they have to learn lines, and/or attend large numbers of rehearsals.
• So keep the commitment light. There is no point rehearsing for four weeks, just for a one-off four minute sketch. Members will not stay long in such a group.
• Line learning should be the exception. Choirs can have their music in their hands, why not actors? Trust me on this - congregations do accept and enjoy drama performed with scripts in-hand.
• The more parts in the drama, the harder it is to get everyone to agree on a rehearsal schedule/date. Stick to smaller sketches mostly (say 1-4 parts).
• You do not have to use every member in every sketch or service. Members appreciate the rest when they are not called on to take part.
• Accept that some members just want to read, not act. There is always scope for good readers in a drama group; use them for narrators or bible readers. Many sketches are written for narrators and actors/mimes.
• Fight to retain readers with good voices. Later (much later, & with extremely gentle encouragement) some will change their minds and try a small acting part.
• Accept that you will never have the ideal members for the chosen material. Don't worry about using the correct genders, ages, colours, etc. of actors/actresses to match the required parts.
• In fact, some drama groups will be entirely female. Ideally there should be no problem with them portraying parts like Jesus, Peter, etc. Most congregations will accept this without a murmur. But ... check first for any sensitivity in the congregation regarding "female ministry".
• Be aware that, like gender and age, physical and mental disability is also no bar to participating in drama worship. I have seen congregations deeply moved by wheelchair-bound dancers, and actors with learning disabilities "giving 110%".

When to meet?

• Whichever weekday evenings you choose it will rule out some potential drama members (who have other commitments). However, a surprisingly high proportion might agree to meet during early Saturday or Sunday afternoons … providing you finish by 4 or 5pm. But they will only attend (at most) 3 out of 4 sessions, due to weekends away. This is a tricky choice - to have fewer people on weekdays evenings, or a larger group of weekend part-timers. Discuss with the members.

Getting Started

• The first few meetings should ideally just involve sketch/play readings, with no deadlines or pressures to perform. This builds the group's confidence in themselves & others. With nervous members, the first hurdle is just to get them to relax with other members. This slow start also gives you a chance to assess members' strengths & weaknesses (voice quality, acting ability, confidence, actors vs. readers, etc.).
• All meetings must begin & end with prayer. This is mandatory (See later), although it can be hard to stick to.
• If there is an associated bible reference, the group should do some bible study on that passage before rehearsing the sketch. Once members understand the biblical foundation, they will perform the material with greater enthusiasm and authority.
• Aim (eventually) to cut the rehearsal load to no more than one or two meetings per drama sketch to be presented. In an established & experienced group, short sketches can even be rehearsed 20 minutes before the service. True; my first drama group achieved this.
• Drama groups do not function well if they are given short notice of a theme they must follow. Published dramas can not always be found to fit arbitrary themes, no matter how large the group's drama library appears to be.
• Some groups will eventually write their own material. Writing is hard work and takes time; allow at least a month for a 5 minute piece to be written, tried out, corrected & rehearsed.
• Drama groups flourish if they are allowed to suggest a theme based on the material they already have to hand (or have written).
• Be aware that there is not much published material. Be prepared to haunt Christian bookshops, ... it won't do any harm to get friendly with the church's treasurer!!
• Encourage members with a creative gift to write some material themselves ... but do not force this or exhaust them. Writing is hard work, and most will have day jobs. Let the Holy Spirit direct those with this talent in His own good time.

Basic acting 101

• Face the front. The congregation needs to see actors' faces, and remember that sound is directional (so aim all voices at the congregation).
• Even if you are supposed to be having a face-to-face dialogue, still face the front. Turn in slightly to each other. No need to look at each other directly, just turn the head a little to look across each other. It feels weird for beginners, but looks right. (Anyone remember the front-of-stage dialogues between Morecambe & Wise?)
• If it is not your turn to move or speak, stand still!!!! Nervous beginners have a tendency to "bounce & jiggle". This distracts attention from other actors who are speaking at the time.
• Speak up. Speak clearly. Remember:- deaf old ladies will always sit at the back. It's a fundamental law of God's cosmos, so speak clearly just for them.
• D o n ' t ... s p e a k ... t o o ... f a s t. Nerves usually cause a newbie actor to gabble. Such lines are hard to follow.
• Lastly -- Relax. Enjoy yourselves!!! Enjoyment is infectious. If performers enjoy the sketch, so will the congregation. If members are not enjoying themselves, they are being worked too hard, and they'll eventually stop participating.

Technical wizardry

• We're talking here about sound systems, projection equipment, multimedia facilities, lighting, staging blocks, costumes, makeup, etc., etc., whatever you have or can afford.
• Recommendation - An OHP projector is quite cheap, easy, and flexible. Use it to project scenery, clip art, subtitles (which deliberately may not agree with the action "on stage"), and words of songs or responses for congregational participation. You can also use it for scene setting (like the texts that appeared in silent movies).
• Many Christians ache to use their professional skills for Our Lord. Even if these are not directly drama-related, you may find ways to use them too. Building sets, creating electronic gizmos & effects boxes (sounds, lights), software skills for clever uses of computers (not just projection & printing), artistic skills for illustrations and slides, and so on.
• If you have resources, people, and gifts, use them, involve them. Be creative. Use your imagination, and theirs.
• And if you don't have such resources or people? .... Don't worry; all this stuff can be fun, certainly, but it's not actually necessary. In fact, used inappropriately, it will just get in the way.
• There is no need to be a slave to technology. It can be unreliable and let you down at critical moments, if not handled properly by the right people with the right skills.
• Fortunately, congregations are more willing to "suspend their disbelief" than theatre audiences.
  -- Example - Tell them the action takes place in a desert, and they will imagine it for you.
  -- Example - Make the Thumb-and-pinkie sign by your ear, and they'll immediately know you are on the phone (to make it more fun the actor can make the Brr-Brr noises too).
• Revelation takes shows on tour on a tight budget (IE no cash). Our presentations are necessarily minimalist. There is no scenery, not much costume, and props are few. Hopefully by now, you have experienced some examples of modern music & drama worship, so you can judge whether it "worked".

Ego versus service - the hard bit

• Keep the drama group focussed & based on prayer. Group prayer sessions need to include a request for the Holy Spirit
  -- to lead the group & individuals,
  -- to empower the performers,
  -- and to reach out and touch the congregation.
• Revelation is keen for its members to understand that
  -- we lead worship (we don't entertain),
  -- we present the Gospel (we do not perform it),
  -- what we write, sing, and act, are part of the act of worship,
  -- and any positive results are due to the Holy Spirit at work in the congregation, not our own efforts.
• At one extreme, the leader of Salt & Light Ministries (in the US) strongly believes in the efficacy of sending strong egos on mission work to "ground" them with a foundation of service. His article on this is reproduced (with permission) on the Revelation web site.

Administrivia

• Your normal church copyright licence may not cover the rights to photocopy portions of drama books. Read the copyright section carefully.
• Even though you may buy multiple copies of a book to avoid copyright issues, you may still need to pay for a license (or write for permission) to perform it. It is very variable.
  -- Example - Riding Lights charge a performance fee of £25 per publication. Happily the licence covers all the material in the book, and is not multiplied by the number of books bought, nor the times it is performed. Also, it is for the whole church (not just the purchaser), and lasts 5 years.
  -- Example - Rob Frost prefers to charge a larger amount per book, but give you rights to make as many copies as you wish, and there is no performance license fee. (Does not apply to "Hopes & Dreams" as some songs were written by people outside his ministry team)
• Some authors may just ask for a public acknowledgement (e.g. in the programme notes, or order of service). Others will impose no restrictions at all. Read the small print and avoid surprises.

Concluding summary

• Drama worship can be achieved in all churches, no matter if they are rich or poor in resources.
• Drama worship is so varied, a wide variety of skills, gifts, and abilities can be used.
• Drama worship is exciting and enjoyable, both for the congregation who watch it, and for those who present it.
• Drama worship has the potential to revive church worship and compete effectively with modern entertainment media.
• Drama worship is possibly the most effective way to stem the decline of the Junior church membership.
• Drama worship is open to all, easy and fun. If you invite the Holy Spirit to be one of the leaders, be prepared for miracles.
• So, what are you waiting for? Go and start a drama group this week.

About the author

I am keen to encourage other groups, and often answer questions sent by email from budding drama worship leaders & Christian actors across the UK (and US).

If you would like to discuss any issues with me about drama worship (whether arising from this handout or not) please email me. The address is always available via the contacts page of the Revelation web site.