1) Players should face the audience while speaking.

2) Players need to speak loudly and clearly, or the line of communication will be broken and the audience will not understand what is happening; also, any humour in the play will be lost.

3) Players need to wait till laughter subsides before continuing.  A word of caution here, at times certain audiences have be known to laugh at things that the players were not expecting, so be ready!

4) The leader should introduce each play by reading the summarized story and message as outlined.

5) The leader should introduce each character and whom each is played by.  Players are asked to say one line or phrase from the play after their character has been introduced.  This has proven to be enjoyable and helpful to the audience in that they begin to learn the characters and have a chuckle or two. 

6) It is recommended that players memorize their appropriate parts.  There are a few exceptions to this rule:  leaders, narrators, and others with long reading parts (special plays have this).

7) It is recommended that a few practices be held; depending on the difficulty level of the play, more may be helpful.  At least one dress rehearsal (if required) has proved to be needed to ready players into their respective characters.

8) It is hoped that you enjoy these performances for they can be fun and entertaining as well as having a sound basis for a Christian message, using the morals and guidance provided by the Word of God.

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They are suggested hymns only and if you do not have these hymns available, you are welcome to choose others.  The number of verses you sing is entirely up to you, of course.  Remember to take into consideration that the more verses you choose, the longer the time required for the performance.

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The stage directions are set from the point of view of the actors on stage.  For example, stage left would mean the left of a person facing the audience.  Center stage is exactly that, and of course, stage right is to the character's right!

Some plays only have need of one entrance/exit.  If you have more than one door or stage entrance, the choice is yours which one you use.  However, if more than one door is noted in a play and you only have one available, simply use your one entrance/exit each time.

Curtains are very useful for plays, and you are encouraged to use them at each appropriate opportunity.  For example, at the beginning, before and after each act, and of course at the end.   However, if your performance area has no curtain, take heart, for many of these plays have been successfully performed without.  The use of hymns for the audience to sing has been a useful tool for  the substitution of curtains.

     The use of lights can be effective for letting the audience know what is happening.  For instance, if you have separate lights for the stage area, you may want to switch the lights in the seating area off while play is on.  Or, if the lights in the seating area are not able to be switched off separately, then you have the option to either leave them on or bring in extra lighting for the stage production. 
     In the case that the room is all under one switch, it is always useful to switch the lights off prior to the beginning to signal:  the beginning or end of a play or act.  If the lights are switched off at the end, they need to be switched on quickly as the next act begins or at the end of the play when characters line up to take a bow.

     Enhanced lighting, such as spot lights are most useful.  Such lighting instructions have not been included in the stage directions so that the general public can make use of each play.  However, if you are fortunate enough to have performace areas where lighting on the stage is available, feel free to use it.  Your play would be enhanced and given a professional appearance.  
     Spot lights are often aimed on the character who is speaking at the time, or a more general lighting on the center stage may be just as effective when there is more than one character speaking.  If there is an aside; that is a time when one character speaks to the audience when other characters are present; it is useful to use a spotlight on that particular character, briefly casting a semi-dark lighting on the others.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this information.  Please feel free to refer to this page in the future as updates are made.  Have fun!