If, DRAMA is a question, ask it…er…a skit?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_pd97-o5O0&feature=youtu.be video "Parable of Talents" skit 2004July 31, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Very early on, the question came up that if we really want a “full production”, then we should have some drama in there. I can’t quite remember what sorts of things we did in the earliest shows, but as time went on a host of people began to show up wanting to participate and skits began to develop. We even had a speaker come in one time to talk to us about group drama. I vaguely remember us all forming a car – I was the right rear wheel. I thought everyone should sing out their part to the tune of “Driver’s Seat”.
But Living Waters drama didn’t really get started per se until the arrival of Joyce Akillian circa 1978. She was a real go-getter and a true lover of drama and finally organized this wing of our ministry. Along with her came Mike Mattingly and Cathy Cormier as I recall. Cathy was the dancer Michelle’s sister and Mike ended up marrying the dancer Sharon, making that the very first of MANY LW marriages.
In the next very important wave of crucial recruitments came Mary Gillis. When Chuck & Joyce Akillian (now ROSSIGNOL!) – left the group as a permanent presence, Mary stepped in to oversee scripts and props and such and it became clear, that although she was different from Joyce, she had a real talent at judging and a sense of what worked. Eventually, people like the versatile John Drahos (who did so many different things!), and Miles Tardie and Joan Evans came along, too. Chuck and Joyce “left”, but they didn’t really “leave” in a sense, also. They helped form a beating heart of the group as a community, organizing the yearly St. Valentine’s get-together, for instance, establishing customs that continue to this day. Occasionally they came to minister with us, and it was as if they had never left at all.
We should note that, far from being exempt, the other members were frequently enlisted to join in drama, and, in fact, many of us really wanted to! I had always felt the dramatic stage was like my true natural habitat; what a ham! Dave acted, Anne-Marie narrated, Greg played the “Trees” song from Rush during the Light of the World skit, one of our favorites. That skit required eight people (?). It was a powerful Gospel message and we did it every concert for a while earlier on.
Another early perennial favorite in our concerts was Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” with Joyce as the Tree and me as the Boy. I think it’s brilliant. It SHOWS you the abstract truth, “the heart of the Lord is mercy”. However, the king of them all, a skit that spanned decades, was probably “The Parable of the Talents”. The cast was absolutely perfectly cast, Dave as the business-like guy, John the earnest farmer, Tony the jazzified, hip Master, and then me as the clueless fop, Julian Potterton Brown! I could do clueless fop in my sleep. We did it in the last Reunion Show and it felt wonderful. The timing of the narration, the classic team being Mary and Anne-Marie was impeccable; it was flawless comedy timing when we did it right, and comedy is something GOD knows and likes, I know that for a FACT!
Sorry to be so DRAMATIC, but I truly don’t think I can help myself! What’s going to happen when I get into talking about the Crew work?? That was something we all did. Maybe next time.
Peace, Love and Joy!
Mark Lajoie
But Living Waters drama didn’t really get started per se until the arrival of Joyce Akillian circa 1978. She was a real go-getter and a true lover of drama and finally organized this wing of our ministry. Along with her came Mike Mattingly and Cathy Cormier as I recall. Cathy was the dancer Michelle’s sister and Mike ended up marrying the dancer Sharon, making that the very first of MANY LW marriages.
In the next very important wave of crucial recruitments came Mary Gillis. When Chuck & Joyce Akillian (now ROSSIGNOL!) – left the group as a permanent presence, Mary stepped in to oversee scripts and props and such and it became clear, that although she was different from Joyce, she had a real talent at judging and a sense of what worked. Eventually, people like the versatile John Drahos (who did so many different things!), and Miles Tardie and Joan Evans came along, too. Chuck and Joyce “left”, but they didn’t really “leave” in a sense, also. They helped form a beating heart of the group as a community, organizing the yearly St. Valentine’s get-together, for instance, establishing customs that continue to this day. Occasionally they came to minister with us, and it was as if they had never left at all.
We should note that, far from being exempt, the other members were frequently enlisted to join in drama, and, in fact, many of us really wanted to! I had always felt the dramatic stage was like my true natural habitat; what a ham! Dave acted, Anne-Marie narrated, Greg played the “Trees” song from Rush during the Light of the World skit, one of our favorites. That skit required eight people (?). It was a powerful Gospel message and we did it every concert for a while earlier on.
Another early perennial favorite in our concerts was Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” with Joyce as the Tree and me as the Boy. I think it’s brilliant. It SHOWS you the abstract truth, “the heart of the Lord is mercy”. However, the king of them all, a skit that spanned decades, was probably “The Parable of the Talents”. The cast was absolutely perfectly cast, Dave as the business-like guy, John the earnest farmer, Tony the jazzified, hip Master, and then me as the clueless fop, Julian Potterton Brown! I could do clueless fop in my sleep. We did it in the last Reunion Show and it felt wonderful. The timing of the narration, the classic team being Mary and Anne-Marie was impeccable; it was flawless comedy timing when we did it right, and comedy is something GOD knows and likes, I know that for a FACT!
Sorry to be so DRAMATIC, but I truly don’t think I can help myself! What’s going to happen when I get into talking about the Crew work?? That was something we all did. Maybe next time.
Peace, Love and Joy!
Mark Lajoie
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