Director’s Notes:
Let’s face it – telling others about Christ isn’t easy but it’s what we’re called to do. There are ways to evangelize (Sharing our testimony, walking the walk, following the promptings of the Spirit, looking for opportunities to share and care, etc.) and ways we shouldn’t. This drama is one of the latter… (In my humble opinion, of course!)
Cast:
Isabelle: A girl
Dave: A guy
Props:
A laptop computer
Achair
Setting:
Somewhere in the house (doesn’t matter)
(LIGHTS UP CENTER STAGE where Dave is typing stuff on his laptop.
(Isabelle comes walking in)
Isabelle: Hey, whacha doin?
Dave: Hmmm?
Isabelle: I said, Whacha doin?
Dave: Oh, I’m evangelizing.
Isabelle: What do you mean? There’s no one here.
Dave: I know. I’m doing it online.
Isabelle: Wait a minute. You’re evangelizing online?
Dave: Yep. I’ve got to meet my quota and I figured doing it online was the most productive way.
Isabelle: What do you mean you’re quota?
Dave: Well, if we want our church to grow larger then it’s important that I meet a daily quota. Jesus said to go out into the highways and byways and I figured that I should concentrate all my efforts on the information super highway. Jesus would be impressed.
Isabelle: Okay, I’m not going to even touch that one. Let me get this straight – Your building the church through evangelizing on the web?
Dave: Yep. I mean, look here. I was talking with this person I found in this soap opera chatroom and see, I sent her this cool smiley face and a plus sign. Get it, it’s like a cross. That means that they should be happy about Jesus.
Isabelle: And this is your plan?
Dave: Uh, yeah.
Isabelle: Where is the person from?
Dave: Um, I don’t know, hold on. (types and waits) Dubuque Iowa.
Isabelle: And how are they going to come to our church to hear about Christ?
Dave: Uh, well. Hmmmm. Well, okay, you have me there. But what about this?
Isabelle: What, this email?
Dave: Yeah, go ahead and read it. I’m going to spam it out to 50,000 people.
Isabelle: “Got Jesus? No, then come to our church. It rocks. Dave”
Dave: Get it? It’s a play on “Got Milk?”
Isabelle: Dave, I don’t think…
Dave: And look at this! It’s my new website! People are going to be falling all over themselves to get into the church when they see this. See that? It’s an animated image of our church.
Isabelle: What are those?
Dave: Those are angels.
Isabelle: Are those bow ties?
Dave: Yeah, classy huh? What do you think about the snow I’ve got coming down?
Isabelle: Are those happy faces?
Dave: See, now you’re getting it. Now, the next thing I’m going to do is send out those emails and then I’m going to post these to newsgroups and… (Isabelle is saying “Dave” throughout his speech here until finally)…
Isabelle: DAVE!
Dave: What?
Isabelle: Do you have any friends?
Dave: Yeah, of course.
Isabelle: Why don’t you start with them? If they’re your friends, then go tell them.
Dave: (Begins thinking about it as LIGHTS FADE DOWN)
END
(c) 1999 Dave Marsh
Hello and welcome to Stage Right, the online drama ministry of EXW. My name is Dave Marsh and there are a few things you should probably know about me. First, I’m not a ‘theatre guy.’ I’ve never quoted Shakespeare (at least seriously), and I’ve never played Daddy Warbucks in Annie. Second, I received my ‘training’ in writing, directing, and acting at a church called Willow Creek (in Illinois.) Third, I’m an online games producer by trade but my real passion is found in telling others about Christ through contemporary church drama.
I have a few opinions about drama in the church as well. I think that contemporary drama is both underutilized and misunderstood. I believe it is something like 5-10 years behind contemporary worship. When many churches think about using drama, it usually involves the Passion Play or a children’s Christmas musical. Many people don’t have the opportunity to experience what are called ‘slice of life’ dramas. These dramas may last only 3-4 minutes long but create a powerful (and many times humorous) illustration on any given Sunday. I also believe that any church, no matter what size, can use drama effectively, giving God glory, and inspire/convict normal folks like you and I to walk closer to God
So, what’s Stage Right all about? It’s about offering you the advice and resources you need to help you create and act in contemporary Christian dramas. I’m no expert, but I’ve seen lives changed as I continue to strive for excellence in this area, constantly praying that God would use me to tell others about how to live for Him. Over the coming weeks and months, I hope to provide you with articles about creating a drama philosophy, working with your pastor, developing a team, writing short effective scripts, directing actors, and acting on stage. I also look forward to hearing from you, taking suggestions on topics that you feel should be covered
Over the last 3 years, I’ve written over 45 dramas that are easy to memorize, require few actors, and are highly humorous and relevant. These dramas are available to you for free and will be added to this site over the course of the next few months. You can currently download all of these dramas from my personal site (www.dave-marsh.com) and can contact me personally if you wish (dave).
I look forward to serving you here at EXW and want to thank Steve for asking me to jump on board.
In His hands
Dave Marsh