Ideas on Building a Strong Drama Ministry

A drama department can be a powerful tool in a church's arsenal for reaching the lost. A good drama can make a congregation feel the point of a message, rather than just hear it. Ultimately, a good drama department can become a powerful outreach tool to help the church fulfill its mission. When I first began my church's drama department many years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. Now, eight years later, I've learned a few things that might help you in your struggle to do the Lord's work with your department.

Be Aware of What You're Getting Into

Running a successful drama department is no piece of cake! It takes a lot of hard work on your part, possibly in skill areas you probably haven't pursued. Here's a sampling:

-Producer: Every aspect of every piece is under your control, from writing to casting to staging, to scheduling. That makes you the producer.

-Director: Responsibility for each piece will ultimately lie with you. You will need to cast and direct each piece. You will need to envision the final result, and pass that vision on to your troops.

-Actor: You are going to have to appear in some of your pieces. When I first started out, I was all by myself, and was therefore in everything. Volunteers eventually came along, and now I do everything I can to stay off the stage...it is extremely difficult to direct a piece in which you are playing.

-Writer: You will be called upon to draft pieces for certain messages. Unless you're a Neill Simon already, your first pieces will make you cringe to read. Don't worry. You'll get better.

-Set Designer: Be ready to paint backdrops, and build papier mache rocks. There are those who volunteer to do this, and you will be blessed if you find one.

-Stage Manager: Although there are people who prefer this thankless job, you will most often be the one making sure the props are in place, the cast members are in their places, the stage is set, the light guys are ready...the list goes on and on.

-Coach: You've got to pull the theatrical talent out of people that don't know a key light from a nightlight. You've got to inspire them to do a greater good, and get them to work together as a team.

-Diplomat: There are factions in every church, and you will find representatives in your department. You've got to get them to work together as a team.

-Preacher: At the end of the day, each piece is about the message. You've got to make sure that each cast member understands the message to ensure that they present it correctly to the audience.

-Parent: It's true. You have to mete out discipline and love in good measure to help your people reach their potential. You have to love the art, love the artists, and love the venue. Out of that love will come respect and focus.

-Manager: In truth, all of these things are under the aegis of a good manager. In this job, your people skills are just as important as your theatrical skills.

Define Your Mission: Before you can successfully do what you are going to do, you need to know what you are supposed to do. A good visit with your pastor will help you fully understand his goal for you. Search your heart for what you want to accomplish. In our church, my drama department's mission is to illustrate and support the pastor's messages, provide a tool for the church's outreach program, and to provide a creative outlet in which church members can serve the Lord.

Begin Each Rehearsal with a Prayer: It is important to remember that your department is a ministry. Your job is to help flesh out the pastor's message. Remind your cast and yourself that you need the Lord's help to do His work, and that only comes through prayer. I ask a different member of the group to lead the prayer each week - it helps in team building and in encouraging a walk with God.

Assign a Secretary: I'm an actor and a writer. I'm not an organizer. I have the big ideas, and I can see the details that will bring them to life. But I'm not the guy to make sure everybody knows when the next rehearsal is, or make sure everybody gets a copy of the script, or to keep track of phone numbers. There are people who actually volunteer for this job, and they are a blessing. Find one for your department. They are worth their weight in gold.

Everybody's Idea Deserves Some Air: I look at each of our endeavors as ensemble pieces. I have the entire department read through a script before we even choose it for performance to make sure everyone is comfortable with it. I can tell you that as a writer, you will have some very un-comfortable moments when your ideas are read by others who don't like it. Be patient, be generous. Remember: it's not about you; it's about delivering the Lord's message.

Having the entire group review each piece helps the members function as a team, and insures constant buy-in to the department.

During rehearsal, too, try to be open to ideas from cast members and lookers-on about how things might play. If you don't want to use an idea, be generous in your explanation as to why you're not using it. "Because it's a dumb idea" won't fly, but explaining how the idea telegraphs a joke will.

Write for Your Cast: When you are called upon to write a piece, write roles that will be easy for your actors to play. This doesn't mean that you should dumb-down your language or drain the value of your characters. But, for example, I have one actor who is narcoleptic. He's a terrific actor, and he has a heart of gold. If he has a narcoleptic episode at any time prior to his performance, his memory goes out the window. When I write a piece for him, I always make sure his character has a reason to be sitting at a table, or referring to a newspaper. We print his lines on the table or in the newspaper so that he can keep up. Write your pieces to capitalize on the strengths of your actors, and to mitigate their weaknesses.

Cast Wisely: When you assign your cast members, cast carefully. Rotate your "juicy" roles to make sure that each cast member gets at least one shot at a good dramatic part. Avoid the temptation to throw the best roles to your best actors. Your job (see "Parent", above) is to help your actors grow. The good roles will help them do that. Rotating the good roles, too, keeps actors engaged and interested. That being said, be careful not to torpedo a good message for the sake of training an actor.

Make Friends with the Technical Staff: The adage is that not every member of the audience will like you, but none of them will like you if they can't hear you. Your sound guy is your best friend...well, right there with your lighting guy. And if you are lucky enough to have video in your church, your video guy is also your best friend. Work with them as you stage your pieces prior to rehearsal, and include them whenever you can. They are just as much of the team as your actors. Praise them often, and thank them sincerely.

Replace Yourself: Nurturing actors is a part of your job. Setting up an organization that will survive you is another. CEOs of the big corporations come and go, but their organizations continue anon. Your department should be like that. Your job is to grow another director from within your ranks. This works in your favor for a variety of reasons. One is that you can now produce twice as many pieces as your normally would, because there are two directors. Another is you help an actor grow in his service to the church. And, hey, wouldn't you know it, you now have a replacement should another opportunity befall you!

Have Fun: I've said it so many times it makes my eyes water, but there is no finer business than that of acting. It's freeing, challenging, and so deeply rewarding; it's always a surprise to me that more people aren't acting. So, have fun with your department. Laugh often - we had a moment in a piece where the boss storms angrily off stage, and then returns with the line "oh, and don't forget your bananas!" But the actress often left out the "and". It became a joke. Once she came back on and said "Oh, don't forget your bananas" and one of the other actors said "and". So she said "and". Everybody cracked up. The joke from that point on was to say the line "Oh, don't forget your bananas! And!" The performance was flawless, and we all had a great time

You are the Director: Don't forget that your job is to carry the department's mission forward. Your department can have a democratic flair, but it cannot be a democracy. It can be a benevolent dictatorship, perhaps, but not a democracy. You are responsible for delivering the pastor's message, not for making sure everybody agrees with how to do it. You can solicit input, but always remember that the final decision is yours.