On November 19th, I walked into church & asked our four middle & high schoolers if they'd be willing to take part in a Christmas play. We have one super sweet girl who is a rockstar & had asked about a play, but since our kids department consists of only her a three others (when they can make it), I went to our older kids for help.
All four of them were on board & I let them choose which musical they wanted to do from past musicals we did at our old church. The only open Sunday in December was the 7th (3 weeks away!), but everyone said they'd work hard & have it ready.
The next Sunday (2 weeks away!) I passed out speaking parts. Everyone only had maybe 8 lines in the whole play, but those lines were loooong. Some of them were solid paragraphs!
So they left with their scripts & said they'd practice, practice, practice. We were suppose to get together Wednesday night, but ended up having to cancel. So, the next Sunday (1 week away!). I came in and asked everyone if they had practiced. They all said "no". While my heart sank a little bit, I told them I really did appreciate their honesty. Once I realized that these kids memorizing all of those long lines in a week was just unrealistic, I told them to scratch that & I'd have new lines for them on Wednesday.
I went home & redid the whole play. I took out lines, added lines, shortened lines - praying they'd be able to pull this off!
On Wednesday (4 days away!), I handed out new scripts. We sat there and went through each scene & worked on memorizing their parts. We went through the songs, too, but they had those nailed from the first time we did the play a few years ago.
On Saturday (1 day away!), we had final rehearsal. Usually, we have final rehearsal where we'll be doing the play. That way, everyone can see how it will be set up, know where they will stand, & run through it exactly like it will be the next day. Since we don't actually have a church building of our own yet, we had to do final rehearsal at my house. I set up the living room as close to the real thing as I could, but it's still much different when you get in the actual place. Then, add mics & chords too the mix - so much stuff!
Sunday came & those kids rocked it. They sang their songs, they said their parts, & they were confident about it all. Our three babies put on little aprons & danced around during a couple of the songs, too. I was blown away at how hard everyone really did work. In just three short weeks - only five practices - they learned their lines & put on a Christmas musical.
Only five kids (& three babies), but they were such a blessing.
Cast
Paula Queen : Stacey
Betty Rocker : Carman
Emerald Lasagna : Sebastian
Uncle Earl Humdinger : Pete
Rachael Day : Kaitlyn
Bobby Grey : Bruce Jr.
Martha Steward : Jaelin
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