Christian Skits

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Preparation

Adequate preparation is critical when it comes to the performance of Christian skits.  This is especially true when it comes to performing a Christian skit as part of a Sunday morning service.    The most powerful way to prepare is to make sure that you give your actors, technicians and yourself enough time.  Time really is the great equalizer.   Actors of lesser skill with a greater amount of time will have a better chance of creating something good than actors of greater skill that don’t have enough time.  So, when in doubt, start early. 

Preparation Before The First Rehearsal

When you select your actors, and you hand them their scripts, give them instructions to read the script OUTLOUD.  Make sure to emphasize that they read BOTH parts.  Make your actor commit to reading the script out loud at least 20 times before they come to their first rehearsal.    This is critical for a couple of reasons.   First, it gets the actor comfortable with both sides of the conversation.  Actors have a tendency to focus mainly on what it is they have to say and not so much on what the other actors are saying to them.  Second, the gets the actor jump-started memorizing their lines.  One of the secret keys to memorization is having a very good understanding of the other actors’ lines.   Again, actors mainly focus on getting their lines memorized, but, because they’re not really all that sure what the other actor’s lines are,  the process of putting the piece “up on its feet” can go more slowly than it needs to because people aren’t sure what their cues are.  christian skits that are well performed always have actors in them that are in complete command of the dialogue in the script.

When Rehearsals Begin

Keep discussions of about character’s motivations and intentions  to a minimum to start.   If you spend too much time with these issues early  on, the actor gets will stuck in their head and will have a more difficult time making good active choices in the scene.  In the first rehearsal, don’t be afraid, to spend a fair amount of time with the actors simply reading the script aloud with each other.  Don’t have them put too much “acting” into it at that point.  Just let them read to get familiar with the script and sound of their fellow actors voices and treatment of their lines.   Once you sense that people are starting to become comfortable with the dialogue, put everyone on their feet and repeat the same process of simply reading the script aloud.  Encourage the actors to move around and begin to relate to each other.  Again, let them know that they can keep the “acting” to a minimum.  The idea is to now move a bit with the lines and continue to get more comfortable with the lines and deepen their understanding of what’s going on in the scene.  christian skits that are well performed always have actors in them that are comfortable and natural in the way that they move on the stage.

In my next post, I’ll cover blocking.

Technorati Tags: christian drama, christian play, christian skit, christian skits

What makes great Christian skits?  Good question.  The answer is a little difficult to articulate.  We’re more able to talk about what makes great worship music than we are about what makes for great Christian drama.  We like to see musicians up there who seem comfortable and at home playing their instruments.  We like to see them “in to it.”  We can tell (usually) if the music is in tune.  We have preferences for volume level.   We can generally say if the sound mix was good.

But when it comes to christian skits on Sunday morning, we’re not sure many times what we’re looking at.   If it elicits an emotion – if we cry or laugh- that may be the only barometer to tell us whether or not this piece of christian drama was any good.

Here are 4 points to consider when putting together Christian skits.  You’ll find them in the next 4 posts.  The first is Dialogue.

Dialogue

When you read what the characters say to each other, does it sound the way people actually talk?  Now this may seem like a bit of a “duh” moment.  But, really put this in the front of your mind as you’re considering a particular script.  Read it out loud to yourself.  Grab someone who isn’t an actor and read the script out loud with them.  If the dialogue seems stilted or awkward, then those weaknesses will only be magnified in a performance situation.  And it will gut the power of the message.

So, what do you do with Christian skits where you like the situation and concept, but the dialogue is weak.  You have two choices.  The first is to rewrite sections (or all) of the dialogue.  The second is to discard the piece and keep looking.  But, if you really like the piece, dialogue can be fixed.  And you can fix it!   “But,” you say, “I’m not a writer.”  Well, that may be true.  But, you are a talker.  You talk every day to many, many people.  Talking is dialogue.  Grab another actor that you trust and improvise through the piece together, concentrating on being the characters and talking normally as you imagine the characters to talk in the imaginary circumstance of the script.   As you go along, write down what is working.   

Keep on with this process.  Push past being uncomfortable.  Be open.  If you can development this process an entire world of dramatic possibilities will open up to you when it comes to the type of christian skits you could potentially put up on a Sunday morning.

My next post, I will be dealing with the subject of preparation.

Technorati Tags: christian drama, christian play, christian skit, christian skits