Sunday School Insanity

You never forget the simplest little quirks of your Sunday School class.

Take this morning for example. The staff of Sunday School teachers had (apparantly) rehearsed a Christmas production of sorts to put on for the kids. So it began with some very pretty music featuring guitar and violin solos. Nothing harmful or unusual about that, right?

Well, then we move into the real meat of the production: the drama. I wasn't surprised one bit to see my former Drama instructor, Brenda Stephens, at the helm once again, headset and all. She just can't stay away from things like this. But anyway, she masterminded a skit featuring four kids that I remembered from my class gaining a new perspective on the Christmas season, approaching it from a poor man's point of view rather than assuming that all of their belongings will always be there. A very good moralistic story. But it was beset by a few problems...

Now, none of this goes back on the kids. Their line delivery was great and very believable. Mrs. Stephens does better as a director than an actress herself (but that's merely my simple-minded opinion, so don't hold me to it), but she also performed well. The problem was the sound system, specifically the microphones. It seemed all too obvious that they hadn't been properly trained on microphone etiquette when onstage. For one thing, you never, EVER, tap or brush your hand against the microphone pinned to your shirt (especially while speaking) unless you want to have one extremely LOUD, clanging backlash of sound blasting its way through the audience's eardrums.

Needless to say, we got those backlashes ... pretty frequently.

Thankfully, someone on the sound board wised up and just got rid of the microphones for the second half of the drama. This one was a "David Letterman" style parody that featured The Innkeeper's Wife and a Shephard being interviewed by Mr. Letterman, who actually made the effort to dress for the occasion. Of course, without the microphones, we had a new problem: how were we supposed to hear what they were saying (our gymnasium has really poor acoustics)? The kids had been trained in vocal projection by Mrs. Stephens herself, but this was all adults, older folks who were inclined to speak softer and project less. That alone hurt the premise of the play.

Oh well. None of that matters. The real highlights of the film were the short clips played as commercials between the drama skits. Included were clips from "Christmas Vacation," and my personal favorite, "A Christmas Story." But what made me enjoy it even more was the fact that they really hadn't prepared for this production at all. If you watched it for yourself, it's pretty clear. But that's what made it fun. The kids and adults all kept a casual attitude about their scenes, so you just couldn't fault them for it. Besides, I knew their hearts were in it together.

Now, I must be off. One final gift to pick up for a close friend of mine. Excelsior!

Song of the Day: Chris Rice - "Welcome to Our World"

Quote of the Day: "Unfortunately, Simeon won't be joining us today. He said something about building canals in the Sinai." - "David Letterman"

Verse of the Day: "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - Hebrews 2:17-18