What do your guardian angels do when you're in church?

Seeing is believing right? This fake 'live' video was shown during a church welcome in a way that tricked the audience into thinking it was live - at least until I showed them what their guardian angels do when they're in church? I filmed it three days before and wore the same clothes. I had a camera guy up the front with me trying to get the camera working as we stood on stage - the screen goes to blue then zaps in. Notice how it only shows feet as to avoid any obvious differences in the film from live reality and I quickly exit the door. Sermon topic of the day was about "Absolute Truth" - and yes everyone was drawn into and enjoyed the illusion :)

Long live the King

Signs of the Times, June 2015

I love our queen. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second - or 'Liz' as she prefers to be called. Well, to tell the truth, I’m only assuming she likes to be called ‘Liz’ as we've not actually met yet, but I'm sure that's how she'd roll. After all, she's so relaxed she has gifted us all a public holiday to celebrate her birthday each year.

Unfortunately, to date she's never been in my town on her birthday weekend, which is a shame because I’d freely invite Liz over for a barbecue and a game of table tennis.

Know Their Name

Brief: a positive short drama on the impact adults can make on the young people of the church.
Written: Deina Bailey and Scott Wegener
Performance: Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church - May 30 (2nd) / July 25 (1st), 2015

• GIRL ACTOR + GIRL VOICE
• BOY ACTOR + BOY VOICE
• WOMAN ACTOR + WOMAN VOICE
• MAN ACTOR + MAN VOICE

[GIRL ACTOR is sitting down brushing hair, getting frustrated at her hair]

GIRL VOICE Oh honestly, I don’t know why I bother, it doesn’t matter what I do with my hair, everyone at church seems to have better styled hair than me.

AND they’re always happy too. I wish I was always happy like everyone else at church. I guess God blesses them with happiness or something because they read their Bibles every day. I wish I knew the Bible as well as everyone else, but seriously, how do they find the time!

I guess until I learn my Bible and get baptised I should just expect people to walk past without making eye contact. Where’s my Sabbath hairclip… (walks off)

[BOY ACTOR walks on, Flopping into chair]

BOY VOICE Oh man I am soooo tired, I should just go back to bed. It’s not like I’ll be able to stay awake through church anyway. (YAWN)

Christian Soldier

Brief: a short drama leading to a sermon on "The Christian response to war".
Written: Scott Wegener and the Edinburgh College drama class

Performance: Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church - May 2, 2015

Venue is set up with 4.2 sound:
- left, right and woofer at rear
- left, right and woofer at front.

There are two featured cast: Chris Christian and GI Joe neighbour.

Also required are two sound operators.

Chris enters slowly reading the Bible, and sits at a table with Weet-bix, SoGood and a bowl of breakfast, and puts Bible down and says a silent grace.

Chris, does three rhythmic tapping scrapes of the bowl - of which the third is the cue to start/sync both sound players - then keeps eating waiting the the sound fx to start

Sound FX begins with plane flying over from rear of church to front and a slightly delayed bomb rumble at rear then a louder blast, a second later, at the front. FX continue throughout with gunfire war sounds etc 

Chris looks up at the sound of plane, looks alarmed at first explosion and at second loud blast they (secretly) wobble the table, knocking over the Weet-bix and they scramble under the table.

StatusTrix

Brief: a short drama on the theme of social media and it's focus on short term character, not long term character.
Performance: Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church - February 14, 2015,
Castle Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church - February 9, 2019.

( 75% based on The Matirx scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D7cPH7DHgA )

[Neo sits in an interrogation room (table two chairs). Smith and two other agents, all wearing dark glasses, suit and ties, walk in slowly staring at Neo, two agents stand behind Neo, Smith sits in chair]

Agent Smith: As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson. 
It seems that you've been living two lives. In one life, you're Thomas A. Anderson, program writer for a respectable software company, 
you have a tax file number, you pay your taxes, and you
 help your landlady carry out her garbage. The other life is lived on Facebook, where you go by the profile name Neo and are guilty of virtually every status update crime known to man.

In Heaven Tonight LIVE: Christmas Edition

Brief: A Christmas service drama without an obvious sermon.

Performance: Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church - December 20, 2014

In Heaven Tonight LIVE is a talk show like David Letterman where a presenter sits behind a desk and has celebrity guests that are light heatedly interviewed.

A desk is on the right side of stage with a guest chair/s or couch at centre of stage.

Jokes, free-flowing, but generally scripted, and fast paced - each guest has some fun but also some thought provoking concepts discussed (making this more than mere entertainment)

Set in Heaven, so there are retrospective questions of what happened on earth, as well as discussion about what they are up to in heaven.

- This is a ‘Christmas’ edition which has characters from the Christmas story of Jesus birth - the final guest being the biggest ‘sermon’ content of the production (written by Pr Rob Steed) This production covers an entire church service.

You could also have posters in the foyer, notes in the bulletin or video promos in the weeks before hand. Have a mug on the table with the logo glued to it.

Christmas Made Easy: Carols Programs

Brief: A Christmas drama (with a BIG finish).
Performance: Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church Carols Program - December 13, 2014

[Presenter] Welcome to chapter five of Christmas Made Easy, I’m your host, Ray Martin.

In this chapter we’re discussing how to run a successful Christmas carols program.

One of the simplest ways to build the ambience of your carols program is by adding Christmas lights. But make sure you don’t overload the power board by using too many lights.

[Assistant 1] Walks in while presenter is talking, is all tangled up in lights and, as kneeling down at back of stage, a camera flash and party popper goes off after presenter finishes paragraph. Assistant walks off waving hand as if clearing smoke.