A few weeks ago our church, Blackshear Place Baptist, had a special evening of worship during which we partook of the Lord's supper. In addition, we viewed a dramatic sketch of Jesus and the 12 disciples at "the last supper." I was honored to be asked to direct it. The sketch began with the characters posed like the Da Vinci painting while the choir sang. At the end of the song, they came to life and spoke, sharing from the scriptures what took place that night. Once the dialogue was over, they went back to still and the lights went down. This was definitely my favorite staging job ever! In honor of the season, here is a photo of the drama. Judas is missing, as the picture was taken at the end of the sketch after he had departed.
Your program sounds like it was wonderful. I would have loved to seen it.
Happy Holy Week Patsy!!! The staging is beautiful, what an incredible honor indeed to be part of this piece of history, the week that changed the World.
That would have given me goose bumps! I'm sure it was an honor to be the "stager" on this project!
Wow! What a fabulous honor to have Patsy. For three years I had my 8th grade class do a rendition of the Passion of Christ and it was the highlight of my teaching career. I know that this was amazing - the picture speaks volumes. Is there a video - I would love to see the whole thing!?
Sharon - Not your run-of-the-mill staging job, but truly a blessing.
Sheila - There's a video somewhere, although I haven't seen it. It was an 8 minute sketch in the middle of a musical service. Would love to see your 8th grade version!
What a fabulous idea, Sharon. I'm on the beginning stages of writing a 30 minute production for next Easter's services of a different approach. I like this idea equally to mine. Did you design the costumes or did each person make their own? Down in Laguna Beach each year there is a group that creates the Pageant of the Masters, where live models and volunteers recreate a famous painting. Don't know if they've done this one or not but I assume so.
Hi Barbara. Glad to hear there's another church drama buff out there! I've done some script writing, too. Not my favorite part. But I LOVE directing.
These costumes have actually been in our costume closet for years. They were all made according to a pattern which can be found in any fabric shop that also sells patterns. (Sorry, I can't remember the brand name.) Isn't it great that biblical dress never goes out of style? You can use them over and over for years to come.
I first saw the scene done in this manner where the actors begin "in still," then come to life, at a production of the Atlanta Passion Play, which I've participated in. There, they did the scene behind a scrim, which gives a great "faded" effect. In the picture shown above, we had to do it out front and open due to the choir and orchestra being in place behind the set. Please feel free to email me directly if you have other questions. I would love to share ideas! patsyoverton@bellsouth.net
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