The time has come to say adieu to my Monroe Project, though I think I will continue working on Jesus Play and explore other options within the realm of drama ministry.  I am particularly interested in the role drama has with Maranatha Touring Choir, especially as I navigate the ins and outs as the new director.

To summarize my work:

1. The seven-week period stretched into approximately nine weeks total, though it was broken up into segments to allow for MTC Tour and other considerations.  During that time, I researched the role of drama in the church, directed Celebrate Life! for MTC, and wrote Jesus Play as my own contribution to the growing collection of religious dramas.

2. Though the focus of the project was on the practical application of drama ministry through MTC and writing Jesus Play, I did some research on the history of theatre within the church as well as on the role drama has in modern ministry.  An accompanying paper briefly discusses my research, as well as my experiences as a director and playwright.

3. I took on the role of Drama Director for MTC this year, which proved to be a challenging and enlightening experience.  Because the choir had performed Celebrate Life! the year before, my job was mostly to remind them of the staging.  However, I was able to work with the four narrators, especially one newcomer who took on his first ever acting role, to enhance their performances through timing, line delivery, embodiment, and group interaction.  I think my biggest accomplishment was helping the novice actor grow to the point where he nearly matched the experienced performers in terms of energy and delivery.  I also learned valuable lessons not only in regards to directing (what techniques work or don’t, how to run an effective rehearsal, et cetera), but also in terms of the spirituality of drama ministry.  As a perfectionist, it was sometimes hard to “let go and let God,” but by the final performance, I was quite happy with the work my actors and the rest of the choir did—I even got goosebumps at one point, I was so impressed by their performance!

4. Jesus Play focuses on the twelve disciples as they encounter and learn from Jesus throughout his three-year ministry.  The cast is relatively large, but props are minimal and sets are verbally suggested, making the play useful for theatre troupes, youth groups, and other groups whose anticipated participation is high though skill level may vary.  One identifying feature of the play is the use of the entire sanctuary (or wherever the play is being performed) for staging, which literally places the audience in the middle of the story.  One important aspect in the writing process that bears mentioning is the vast amount of information I discovered by delving into the biblical text and historical notes as I developed characters and wove events together into a narrative.  There’s a lot more to the Gospels than we think, from references to Jewish practices to characterizations of Jesus and his followers that are, to say the least, unexpected!

5. To follow-up my project, I would like to explore the use of “theatrics” in worship services—part of worship is performance, but how strong is that association?  Also, I was intrigued by the enormous influence the Medieval morality play cycles had in terms of culture and the development of theatre as an art form.  Finally, I would love to try my hand at writing other types of religious dramas—maybe, with practice, I’ll actually accomplish something producible! 

This project made for an intriguing summer of research and revelation.  Through frustrating at times, I learned a lot from both theatrical and religious points of view.  I look forward to applying the lessons learned through this project in MTC, my further studies, and my own religious experiences.

Though my project has wrapped up, it is by no means finished!  I have learned quite a lot—academically, practically, and religiously—and am brimming with ideas for future projects.  Drama ministry truly is a viable form of worship, instruction, and outreach.  Theatre itself reaches people on an elemental level, providing entertainment even as it probes deeper, sometimes disturbing questions.  Religion and theatre parallel each other in goals and experiences, and it is only fitting that they be joined in a meaningful way.

Drama should be used not only to evangelize, but also to encourage discussion and a fuller understanding within the congregation.  Reenacting the Gospel, for example, is all well and good…but how it is presented, from the casting choices to staging to incorporation of the congregation to word choice…the list goes on and on, but suffice to say that the slightest thing can send a (sub)conscious message.  There is a Hebrew term for interpretation and exploration, midrash, and I like to think that a great deal of midrash happens naturally in theatre.  The very process of embodying biblical characters creates a venue for discussion of motive, background, et cetera.  Even when the drama is a modern-day testimony, there is room in theatre for the discussion and debate that is too often squelched elsewhere because of the religious nature of the subjects. 

For my final post, I thought I’d comment more about my final product, conveniently titled Jesus Play (the working title just kinda stuck).  The writing process was a joy and a trial.  It seemed like a simple matter of putting them into plain language and stringing the stories together.  After selecting my favorite vignettes and developing brilliants plans for the play, I realized that it is not as easy as all that.  While there is an inherent plot within the gospels, it can be difficult to translate into a play that seeks to do more than merely present the story.  How should questions like ‘Why did Jesus decide to go to Jerusalem?’ and ‘What were the disciples like before they met Jesus?’ be answered?  Finding the internal story arcs within the individual characters as well as within the frame of the entire story proved tricky.  I had a lot of fun with running gags, jokes, staging ideas, and audience incorporation, though!

The play follows Jesus’ three-year ministry beginning with his baptism by John the Baptizer, and ends with his resurrection.  Though his story is the glue that holds the play together, I think the play is about the disciples.  How did they react to Jesus?  What did they think of his message?  What did they do after he died?  The disciples are us, modern people.  They encountered Jesus and had very real responses of faith, doubt, despair, joy, confusion, and understanding.  Their stories are our stories. 

Some characterizations are fairly traditional, but I had fun turning expectations upside down.  For example, Peter is the most recognizable disciple, but I learned that Andrew actually has the distinction of being the first follower of Jesus (ref. John 1:40).  It was intriguing to think of how Peter managed to work his way up to being the leader of the disciples.  The character I hold close to my heart, however, is Nathanael.  He ended up taking on several aspects of my own spiritual journey.  I expanded his role as a traditional Jew (ref. John 1:47), and through his story explored how the Hebrew Scriptures were (or were not) fulfilled in Jesus and how to reconcile this new faith with the traditions of old.  Thinking about the back-stories for each disciples and bringing their own testimonies into the dialogue proved a fascinating endeavor.  I hope that audience members are able to connect with the disciples, to identify with them, and recognize their own stories within these first-century Galileans.

The character of Jesus was my biggest challenge.  It was hard to distance myself from the idea of an untouchable Christ whose words and actions cannot be altered.  I remained as faithful as possible to Scripture in terms of quotes and events, but I also like to think that my Jesus is a more relatable Jesus.  He is a person with drives, motivations, expectations, emotions—just like us.  What was he thinking as he taught and healed the people?  When did he switch from the healer-teacher role to the Suffering Servant?  Although the role of Jesus is, of course, pivotal in a Christian drama, I was comfortable leaving some of those questions unanswered.  It was interesting to navigate how the disciples may have dealt with the ambiguity that we still encounter in the person of Jesus.

Though Jesus Play is certainly not a masterpiece, I think it is an honest attempt to bring the Good News closer to home.  The most important lesson I learned was that the point of theatre and religion is to challenge people, to make them think.  It’s okay to look at scripture in a new way and tease out different insights.  In my own way, I was making midrash on the Gospel texts. 

I have several ideas for other plays I’d like to write in the future, ranging from a modern Everyman to an account of the events in Acts to a colloquial retelling of the Gospel.  Now that I understand what goes into successful playwriting, I hope that my next endeavor will be a little easier from the technical standpoint, but equally challenging and provoking from a personal view.

Throughout the history of the Christian church, theatrical elements have been used to demonstrate the mystery and majesty of the faith, from allegorical plays to musicals to the very act of worship itself.  Theatrical elements are now being recognized as useful tools in ministry.  Drama ministry is becoming viable ministry in the modern church, inviting the faithful and doubtful alike into conversation with the Christian message in an arena that supports different interpretations, choices, and ideas.  Drama can be used not only to evangelize, but also to encourage discussion and a fuller understanding of religious and non-religious issues.  Through research and my work as the drama director for Maranatha Touring Choir (a choral
outreach ministry), I hope to learn about the application of theatre in the
church, culminating in the composition of a religious drama.