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25 New Plays for the Workshop Rotation Classroom,
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I've been teaching Sunday School for over 18 years and teaching children's drama for seven. Something wonderful happens every week. I'll let you know what we're doing and share some tips to help with your own drama room.
Readings
Union Avenue Books
June 17, 4-7 pm
Knoxville TN
Local Authors Celebration
Touching the Hearts
"I have seen younger children roll with laughter as they portrayed favorite Old Testament characters, and I have seen older ones moved to tears as they begin to grasp the reality of Jesus' sacrifice through "The Gift is Given." Laura clearly writes with children in mind, but her unique sense of humor transcends generations and her deep spirituality touches the hearts of children and adults alike."
December 23, 2010
Whew! I've barely stopped since Walk Through Bethlehem last Sunday and I'm just now making some time to write about our fifth graders' take on Jesus Is Born: A Special Report. The class was a little smaller than the cast list, but we were able to double some of the parts and get the show on stage.
The fifth graders don't need much help figuring out what the proper
costume for their character should be and reading the lines doesn't
require much coaching either. We usually get the play finished and have
plenty of time to discuss the issues involved in the story. We can get
into deep spiritual territory and I have to be prepared to answer
honestly that sometimes there are things about God's plan that we will
never know until we get to heaven. This was one of those Sundays—the
plays brings up questions about the nature of faith and why two people
can see the same thing and interpret it in completely different ways.
Another important point we discussed was how Jesus wants to live our
faith and not just talk about it. What a great beginning to Walk
Through Bethlehem Sunday!
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and
I will be on vacation from December 26 through January 2, so this is my
last blog post of the year. My prayer is that all of you will have a
Christmas full of love, hope, and peace, and these blessings will
follow you throughout the New Year. I'm thinking of the last lines of O
Little Town of Bethlehem: We hear the Christmas angels their great glad
tidings tell, O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel! May the
light of God's gift to us shine in your hearts this Christmas and
always.
December 17, 2010 - All Done!
It
is done! The shops are stocked, the kiln is lit, the stable is full of
hay and ready for the Holy Family. Outside, the shepherd's croft is
waiting for the animals and there's a seat on top in case a heavenly
messenger should appear.
The only thing missing is you! So come
in, my friend, come and walk the streets of Bethlehem on that special
night two thousand years ago. Listen to a story at the storyteller's
tent, have a snack at the food shop, learn about spices and medicines
and making baskets and cloth. You may talk to a Wise Man or a shepherd
who will tell you a strange and wonderful tale about a baby, a star,
and angels.
The gates open at one o'clock this Sunday, December 19, and close at six. Come and be counted in the census, but don't plan to stay the night. The inn is full.
December 16, 2010 - Wheelbarrow Day
Wheelbarrow Day got off to a slow start: my driveway was a solid
sheet of ice and everything outside had a glossy coating—really
beautiful if you have nowhere to go, but I did. Fortunately the power
stayed on and I was able to watch the temperature rise slowly. About
10:00 AM I checked with Sue and she said they had made it to church but
were still waiting to hear from the sawmill about the delivery of the
wood chips. I bundled up and checked my driveway and road , then headed
out.
By
the time I arrived they had an estimated arrival time for the first
dump truck load and the rest of our trusty Wheelbarrow Brigade had
started to trickle in. We stayed busy hanging lights on the shops and
walls while waiting for the truck to arrive. Once it got there,
everyone swung into high gear, shoveling the chips into barrows and
wheeling them down the ramp to dump on the floor.
I was in charge of directing the distribution of chips and assisting
the raking crew to spread them evenly around the shops. The first load
covered about half the floor in only around 40 minutes—our Chip Monks
are pros. We weren't sure the second load would arrive in time to get
them in before dark, but we filled the time by finishing the lights and
starting to stock the shops.
Some of the Monks had to leave before the second truck arrived, so
for the first time in years I was allowed to take charge of a
wheelbarrow and bring in chips myself. After that, I admire the regular
crew members even more than before. It's back breaking work, and
rolling those barrows down the ramp isn't nearly as easy as it looks.
In spite of having a smaller crew, we got the second load down in about the same amount of time and Sue was able to look around and call it good. Even better, she called it time to quit for the day. Tomorrow we'll be stocking shops and hanging greenery, plus I have a bit more outside work on my shepherd's croft, but we're on the home stretch now and it's definitely looking a lot like Bethlehem.
December 15, 2010 - Setting up for Walk Through Bethlehem
It's Wednesday already? Going back in time tends to make me lose
track. As you can see from my morning snapshots we had gotten a lot
done in spite of uncooperative weather—it snowed on Monday and I was
one of a crew of three that showed up for the first day of set-up.
However, we got windows and door panels covered and more people came to
help on Tuesday, in spite of bitter cold (12 degrees F for the low) so
we were able to start putting up the shade cloth to cover the ceiling.
Since the county schools were closed, we actually had lots of our
youth available once the roads melted off a bit. While the adults
worked on covering the floor in preparation for the wood chips the
youth moved tables and trees from other parts of the church. My
youngest son assisted me with duct tape and conversation as we attached
stone-patterned paper to the walls of the stable. We got it about
half-finished and I was able to complete it before lunch today.
After lunch our crack maintenance staff assembled the scaffolding
that forms the base for my shepherd's croft/angel's perch and I donned
my polar work clothes and started the transformation. Due to mechanical
difficulties (all I want for Christmas is a staple gun that really
works!) I wasn't able to get it completely finished, but our kind and
generous youth director came out in the cold to help me and we got
everything but the greenery and lights completed.
The forecast tonight is for snow, sleet, and rain—in who knows what
order! Say a prayer the weather will cooperate with us tomorrow; it's
Wheelbarrow Day: two truck loads of wood chips will be delivered and we
will cart them in by wheelbarrow and shovel them onto the floor.
December 12, 2010
Advent is upon us, and our fourth grade class had to do a speed version of our play Jesus is Born: A Special Report,
since most of them had to report to the choir room by 10:30 to sing in
the 11:00 o'clock service. At times like this I announce that casting
must be by executive decision in order to save time.
Fortunately, there were exactly enough kids for the parts to be cast
and I had an excellent shepherd, who began costuming and handing out
scripts as each character was cast. She even helped some of the kids go
over their lines while waiting for their scene. Having help makes all
the difference when class is shorter than normal—we got the play
completed and had a final prayer around the manger in plenty of time
for the singers to make their deadline, and no one felt short-changed,
least of all me. It is a great blessing to work with these kids every
Sunday, even around the holidays when everything seems to be happening
at once.
Happening this week: my favorite week of the entire year, Walk Through Bethlehem
Week! Starting on Monday we begin transforming our Parish Hall into the
village of Bethlehem on the night of the birth of the Christ Child.
Lights, windows, walls and floors are covered, wood chips are hauled in
by wheelbarrow, and shops stocked with spices, leather goods, jewelry,
and pottery till it looks (and smells) like that tiny town of 2000
years ago. Thousands of tiny white lights are strung to light the
darkness like stars and shepherds and wise men roam the crowded streets
looking for a special baby. It's the Christmas story told in a way that
makes you part of it, live animals, Roman soldiers, and all. If you
keep your eyes open, you may even see me hovering about the shepherd's
croft. Hint: to see an angel, you need to look up!
December 5, 2010 - Jesus is Born: A Special Report
Advent is here and our second graders are fired up about it! They were bubbling over with Christmas spirit as we began our Advent rotation. Our play for this season is Jesus is Born: A Special Report, which is in my book, Acts of the Apostles, Vol I. The play brings back some of the kids' favorite characters, the reporters of the Israel Broadcasting Network, or IBN. In this story, IBN investigates the rumors and strange stories around the birth of a child in the town of Bethlehem. The reporters interview Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and wise men and commentators discuss the information gathered and put together different versions of the truth, asking important questions about faith as they follow the others to the stable to find the Christ child.
My stage is set up with the IBN desk in Jerusalem on one side and
the Biblical scenes on the other. The stone walls of the village
dwelling can be folded up and removed for the street scenes against the
stone wall backdrop and manger scene at the end. The walls are
lightweight so the kids can move them easily and hooking the fabric to
the back wall helps stabilize the structure till we're ready to change
the scene. It is best to assign this task beforehand to avoid too many
helpers crushing the set, especially when you have a large class of
excited 7 and 8 year olds! 
This week was a lesson in the importance of making sturdy props and
teaching the children how to handle them, as both microphones and our
wooden manger took a beating. However, everything was repairable and we
were able to gather everyone around the manger for a grand finale.
November 28, 2010 - 5th Graders Run The Show
This was the final Sunday of our rotation on Abraham and Sarah and
the fifth grade class could hardly wait to get the show started. After
reading the Bible and reviewing some key points of the lesson, we cast
the roles and got costumes distributed.
The great thing about fifth graders is that they've been coming to
my room so long they can practically run things themselves. They know
how to choose the right costume for the character and locate the
necessary props. One of them hands out scripts and another volunteers
for sound effect duties—this time I even handed over my camera and let
one of the girls be the official photographer during the performance.
She did a great job capturing all the important moments of the action,
from the angels preparing to carry the message to Abraham to the party
for Isaac's birth.
Having so much help makes everything go smoothly and we have extra
time at the end to discuss the play and find ways to apply the lesson
to our lives. Fifth graders are on the edge of their leap into the teen
world and all kinds of confusing changes. The time we spend talking
together about carrying our faith into that world feels very important
to me and I'm always humbled by the intelligence of both their
questions and their answers.
November 21, 2010 - Working with a big class
Acts of the Apostles was
back in action this week for our combined class, now composed of 3rd
and 4th graders with around 20 children on the roll. Since Abraham and Sarah is a play with
only five speaking parts, this means serious competition when it comes
to casting.
At least seven hands went up every time I announced the character
being cast, so I had to use the “choose a number” method: I ask a child
who is not volunteering to be cast for that particular character to
pick a number out of a range. The range can be 1-7 or 1-100 depending
on how many people are guessing. When the number is chosen (silently),
all the kids who want to be cast pick a number and the closest guess to
the original number gets the part. This is the first time I've had to
do that with every character, but it worked pretty well.
The play has a birthday party scene at the end after Isaac is born,
so all the kids had a chance to put on a costume and sit around the
firepot for the final scene. However, this class really likes to
participate so I improvised a little: in addition to assigning sound
effects and lights, I created nonspeaking roles by giving the children
in costumes duties as servants of Abraham and Sarah: carrying in the
water jug and cups for Abraham, helping Sarah serve the food for the
meals, etc. Other jobs that can be assigned in this kind of situation
are props assistant, scene change crew, or assistant costumer. Everyone
felt necessary and so paid more attention. It was great to have a real
crowd for the last scene too—it really felt like a party!
November 7, 2010
The first graders tackled Abraham
and Sarah
this week, and though I have some really good readers this year, the
play always takes more class time with younger, less experienced
performers. I try to get to my room extra early when I have first
grade, so I can get everything set and ready to go. I bookmark the
Bible story in the classroom Bibles we will be reading from and make a
couple of large flash cards from legal-size paper. One has the book,
chapter and verses we will be reading (Genesis 15: 1-6 in this
rotation) and the other has any word or words that are important to the
lesson that I want to make sure the kids recognize and understand.
The
word I emphasize for this play is “covenant” which we define as a
solemn promise. Showing the children what the word looks like and
discussing what it means helps them recognize it when they have to read
it in the play. Sometimes I make cards for place names or character
names (Biblical names are hard to pronounce even for adults!) and we
practice these out loud before reading the Bible story.
The first graders were very excited about dressing up and again I got
boys to put on angel costumes! As always, the tent and firepot were
child magnets, as was the artificial fruit and bread we used for the
meals served during the play. I stayed on the stage the entire time to
help with reading lines and stage directions since this was only the
third time the first grade has been in the drama room. It's amazing how
soon this group is getting the hang of things though—every year first
graders get smarter and faster. Already more than one parent has told
me “My child says we must never miss when it's drama room Sunday.” Joy
makes first graders the most exciting group to work with, worth every
bit of my extra time.
For the last few years we have combined our third and fourth graders
due to a very small class, so every third Sunday of the rotation I get
a week off. I usually use my extra week to refurbish props and
costumes, or organize what I will need for the next rotation. It's a
good time to make a new set piece if I need one or clean out the
storage shelves. This year it's a little different because I have the
very great honor to be mentoring two of the Confirmation class members
(6th grade). I plan to spend Sunday School hour on November 14 visiting
their classroom, so I'll be back in Acts of the Apostles on Sunday
November 21.
October 26, 2010 - Abraham and
Sarah
Abraham
and Sarah: The Gift of
Laughter is the play for our rotation on the story of Old
Testament patriarch and his wife Sarah. Traveling from Heaven to
Earth and vica versa, the action tells how God foretold the birth of
Isaac to Abraham and Sarah in spite of their age and kept his promise
to make Abraham the father of nations. When Abraham laughs at the
idea of becoming a father at 100, God assures him it will happen and
sends three angels to reiterate the message.
The angels, Zeal, Hope, and Joy have issues of their own: Joy is brand new and giggles constantly, which annoys Hope and makes her worry that they won't be taken seriously. Her fears make her angry when Sarah falls to the ground laughing after hearing the message, but Joy saves the situation by explaining that God's amazing and abundant gifts should overwhelm us with happiness.
I had second and third graders for the starting week of the story and they loved the stage set. I had a tent for Abraham and Sarah on one side and the Angel Messenger Station in Heaven on the other. I used cardboard walls draped with fabric for the tent and put the firepot in front of it, using rugs to cover the cord. As usual, the kids couldn't stay away from the firepot, so we had to sit around it in a circle for our final discussion and prayer. One of the boys asked if he could sit in the doorway of the tent during the prayer. Since he had bravely donned sparkly wings and a halo in order to be an angel, I thought he deserved to!