Leaping Off the Page: Easter, Mother's and Father's Day Edition
Page 6
Christmas Bells
Short Story. Six to eight minutes.
What inspired somebody to write a poem that was to become a favourite Christmas carol? The poem, “Christmas Bells”, a testimony to the faith of Henry W. Longfellow, is better known by its first line: “I heard the bells on Christmas day...” This story tells of the journey Longfellow took through the devastation of the American Civil War and heart-breaking personal tragedy to a deeper faith in a God who is not dead “nor doth he sleep.”
A Christmas Moment
One-Act Play. Approximately 20 minutes. Three women.
What do you do at Christmas time when it seems like God has forgotten you and that you have no significance, no “moment”? Marilyn, a photographer, works with her husband at the local mall. He is Santa Claus, and she takes pictures of him and the children. Because her husband is battling cancer, Marilyn is facing a crisis of faith. Does God care, she wonders? Anna is the owner/operator of a small café. Sally, who works at the café, is Anna’s granddaughter. Anna and Sally also have tragedy in their lives that has battered their faith, but they’re fighting through it. “A Christmas Moment” is what happens when Marilyn walks into the café, and doubt and despair meet faith and hope.
This is a one-act treatment of the monodrama, “Megan’s Moment.”
Christmas Salutations
A Rap. Three to four minutes. Three people plus.
A raucous, rhyming piece of fun plaintively asks the question, “where is Jesus?” in the midst of Christmas chaos.
Christmas Truce
Short Story. Five to seven minutes.
It’s a well-known story: during World War I, several spontaneous celebrations of Christmas randomly occurred in the trenches as enemies put down their weapons and met in no-man’s land. In this story, we see the events unfold through the eyes of Franz, a young German soldier.
Megan’s Moment
Monodrama. Eight to 10 minutes. One woman.
Tired, sad, and discouraged, photographer Marilyn has returned home after working all day at the mall taking pictures of children sitting on Santa’s knee. Her husband Charles, who plays Santa Claus, did not come home with her because he is helping Megan, one of the children who saw him that day. Charles has cancer. Megan’s mother has cancer. Marilyn is trying desperately to grab hold of the faith Charles has in rich abundance as she struggles with her doubts. How can God care, she rages? We watch as she is lifted from despair into hope, from doubt into faith.
Recitations for Children
Nine simple pieces which vary in length from a couple of lines to a poem of four stanzas.
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Leaping Off the Page: Any Time of the Year Edition
Annual Report
One of the most devastating ploys of Satan is to steal a Christian’s joy. This humorous play has four demons giving an annual report of their year’s activities to a head demon. The most successful minion is the one who convinces a church congregation their salvation is by works. All five roles can be played by men or women.
Pilgrim’s Pathway
Using John Bunyan’s metaphor of the believer toiling on a journey with a heavy load, this play shows how both a “anything goes” attitude and a legalistic Christianity can weigh a person down with despair. This is an abstract play highlighting Jesus’ words, “Come unto me all that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
Two Captive Maids
I took the monodrama, “A Leper’s Song” (described below), and expanded it into a three-person one act play. The young maid tells her story of Naaman’s healing to another little girl who has recently been captured and brought into the household. The third character is Naaman’s wife.
Naaman’s Dilemma
One of the funniest conversations not recorded in the Bible had to be the one between Naaman and his servants when they persuaded him to bathe in the Jordan River. Lots of fun. Roles are for three men and two women.
Thine Is the Kingdom
A play that takes place in Nero’s Rome, it features the Centurion who was present at the cross and a Christian woman, Julia. Persecution against the believers has become intense and Julia has been arrested. Highlighting the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 145, we see how the courage of the faithful witnesses to the skeptical. One man and one woman.
Gracious Sakes Alive!
Have you ever wondered why a small child gets scolded for spilling his milk and then when an adult does something similar it is laughed off? This humorous play asks that question in the context of a discussion about grace. Two women, one boy and one girl.
Yikes! All Those Fruits!
This short two-person play is a humorous look at the Fruit of the Spirit.
Don’t Sweat It
A very short piece on the relevance of mission work.
Foul
A two minute piece about attending church even though golf beckons.
Home Run
I must be honest: including this two-person sketch is a little self-indulgent. I wrote it about Charles M. Tanner, the founder of Covenant Players, after his death in 2006. Only people who knew him will get some of the in-jokes, but I'm hoping other people will get some fun out of it as well.
It’s a Life
A short play on missions and how living your faith can show in your life.
No Show
In a replaying of the Unforgiving Debtor Parable, an athlete gets into hot water with his coach.
Sisters
This is a light hearted treatment of the sister relationship. Can sisters also be friends? Delightful if performed by two children. The play is about five minutes long.
Eve’s Elegy
I wrote this for some children's ministry. It has an object lesson followed by the story of the Garden of Eden as told by Eve.
Damascus
Saul is on his way to Damascus and the followers of Jesus fear for their lives. A brand new believer, still unsure of herself, struggles with her fear and her faith. She works through the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 145 to a point of peace and victory in the Lord. This monodrama is similar to “Thine is the Kingdom” listed previously.
A Leper’s Song
A monodrama, it features the young maid in the Old Testament story of Naaman who recounts the events of Naaman’s healing. The play is fun and energetic. I used much of this material in the one-act play “Two Captive Maids.”
Saved Alone
This monodrama deals with a family ripped apart by death and the healing that comes through mourning. It features the writer of the hymn, “It is Well With My Soul”.
So Send I You
The great missionary hymn, “So Send I You”, was written by Margaret Clarkson when she was a young, discouraged school teacher in Northern Ontario. This monodrama captures the feelings of her famous poem and culminates with a recitation of it. Please note, the play quotes the full poem, which can be acquired online.
Who In the World Does Paul Think He Is?
The characters in the Bible fascinate me. I've written several monodramas about them. But what about those people who merit only passing mention? Who were they? What are their stories? I've long wondered about Euodia and Syntyche, the women Paul asked to try and get along with each other better in his letter to the Philippians. How, I wondered, did they feel when the letter was read in church? This monodrama is my idea of how Syntyche responded.
Zacchaeus:
I love the Zacchaeus story. Makes me think of Ebenezer Scrooge. The thing that moves me the most is how Zacchaeus responded to grace. This humorous monodrama, I hope, captures that.
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Any Time of the Year Sample
Saved Alone
A Monodrama
HORATIO SPAFFORD: A wealthy Chicago lawyer and friend of D. L. Moody, writer of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul”. His wife and four daughters were on their way to England to join Moody on one of his evangelistic crusades. Spafford, who had been detained in Chicago by business, was to follow a couple of
weeks later. The ship his family was on collided with another vessel and sank. His daughters all drowned. His wife was spared. This play takes place about one week after the tragedy. Spafford is now on his way to join his wife in Wales. The captain of the ship he's on has just pointed out to him the spot where it was believed his daughters died.
SCENE: A small passenger cabin on board a ship enroute to Cardiff, Wales. A lone man, Horatio Spafford, is sitting on the bunk, his head in his hands. It is late November, 1873. The room is small and sparsely furnished - narrow bunk, a chair, a chest of drawers and a porthole.
(Sitting on bunk) “Saved alone.” (Shakes head, staring at nothing) Two words. That's all. Just two words and they split my life apart. (Beat) “Saved alone.” (He pulls a worn telegram from his coat pocket and smoothes it on his leg.) My wife's telegram pounds at my brain until it is all I can hear. (Looks up in anguish.) Why, Lord? (Paces) How can we ever come through this? First our son, dead after a quick illness. Then our property—burned in that dreadful fire. And now our daughters, lost at sea. (Cries out) Must we endure all the trials of Job?
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Upcoming Projects
This is My Story, This is My Song
Fanny Crosby, the beloved hymn writer of the 19th century, is the subject of this program that explores her story and her songs. It can be performed by as few as four people, or it can involve many.
Clean Hands
A full-length play for six women, Clean Hands delves into how we interpret and apply our deeply-held principles. The women are planning a Christmas program entitled “No Room” to raise money for a local home for unwed mothers. But while they want to help these girls, are they willing to bring them into their own homes?