Please see the post Drama!Drama!Drama! for the beginning of this series.

In this series I have been writing summaries of the elements that I use when constructing a dramatic presentation in a church setting. None have I delved in too deeply. That may come later, but I wanted to topically cover the things I have seen which have been receptive to an audience.

This topic is “obviously” the most obvious. When you think of church drama, the use of acting & dialog is what pops into most’s mind. I think that it is also the most direct form of communication in drama.

Yes, I have discussed the almost instinctive or spiritual aspect of how people “get” art or dance (still trying to understand the connection there) but with your acting and dialog, there is directness that exists. It is the traditional method, and while I am always looking for new ways to bring out a message, this is certainly tried and tested.

Acting, can be involved with mime, maybe that needs to be a topic unto itself, and with the traditional conception. Where you can write a script that has CHARACTER ONE saying “Hey, let’s go to the carnival tonight.” and have CHARACTER TWO reply “Great, let’s do it!“, the Mime has a unique way of handling things. Say the Mime is the clown at the carnival in which there is no dialog.

I hate traditional mimes as much as I hate traditional clowns (something in my childhood – they always freak me out!) but I have seen mimes used in anointed segments. The use of black lights and white gloves for example. This is not my church or my creation but it is noteworthy of a mime type of acting that I thought was very effective. We did a different song in this manner but we did not catch it appropriately on video. but you can watch this one instead. Watch it here.

Another form of mime or dance is Stick Ministry. This where a group of people (can be of any size but usually the more you have the more visually effective it is) each with a set of “sticks” or “rods”. These are enacted out to story-lines or music. Here is an example of a Stick Ministry. not my church or drama team but powerfully communicated. The movement the “sticks” create tell a story in their own right. Watch video here.

Let me know if you have a mime presentation to share. I would love to see it.