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Choosing a good script
posted on : 1/16/2005
Is this drama script right for you?
A well performed script can effectively prepare an audience for a biblical message on most any topic. Whether you are new to drama or it has been a regular part of your service for a long time, knowing how to select a script that will fit is the first step in the process of an effective drama ministry. There are several essential questions you should ask before you decide if a script is right for your service.
Does the script support the theme?
Drama should not be viewed as a gimmick or just another element in the service. Churches make the mistake of adding a drama for the sake of being unique or contemporary without any thought to how it might enhance the overall impact of a service that revolves around a central theme.
If the speaker talks about faith and the drama team performs a sketch on guilt simply because they needed a creative element in the service, the congregation will suffer from information overload. If instead the drama depicts a person’s struggle with doubt in a realistic way, the congregation can identify with those struggles and be more open and eager to hear a message on faith.
So the first question to ask in terms of theme is, “Does the script support and set up the message?” If not, keep looking.
Does the script steal the point?
If you look for a sketch that teaches the point or gives the same answer that the speaker will provide at the end of the message, then why use the drama? Drama that aims to teach or provide answers is most likely contrived, forced and unbelievable. If you try to show some one how to overcome depression in a seven-minute sketch, you will offend people for such a superficial treatment of a deep-rooted problem. And if people battling depression are watching, they won’t believe it and will be turned off because of it.
A good script raises questions, explores issues, identifies feelings and struggles. It brings problems and struggles out in the open for people to say or feel, “hey, that’s me. I struggle with that. I know exactly what that person is feeling.” Now that person’s interest has been raised and they are primed to hear a message from God’s word.
Is the script well written?
The use of drama in worship or outreach services continues to grow in churches across the country. Along with that increase is the demand for quality scripts. Although subjectivity may play a part in the evaluation of one script over another, there are certain criteria to follow in determining if one script is well written and has high potential for impact.
--Is the script structured well?
Most dramatic pieces from plays to movie scripts to TV shows follow the classic three-act structure: Set up, confrontation and resolution. A good script used in the church is no exception. Because the average length of a script is seven minutes long, a clearly defined structure is even more critical.
In the opening lines of the script, the audience needs to know what it’s about, where it takes place, who it’s about and what the character wants. Depending on your stage restrictions, most of that has to be conveyed through dialog and action. When possible, a few key props can help with the set up but the story is told primarily through dialog.
If you have used a drama script recently, take it out and ask those questions. Within the first 10 to 12 lines, can you answer those questions? The most important question is, “What does the character want or need?” This will drive the whole story forward and determine everything that follows
Once the character’s need has been established, the script has direction. The character’s need drives all the dialog and action forward toward resolution. If you can’t answer those key questions within the first 10 to 12 lines of a seven-minute sketch, the script is in trouble. The problem could be dialog that isn’t essential to the story. Every line should reveal something about the characters while driving the story forward to the conclusion.
Once those questions have been answered, the set up is complete and the script moves into act two. The transition is subtle and seamless to the viewer, but unless the story has been clearly set up in act 1, there will be no basis for the conflict to occur in act 2. Now we are ready for the next question.
--What is the central conflict?
All drama is based on conflict. Without conflict, there is no story. In drama sketches used in a church setting, conflict is the essence of the human struggle. For a script to have an impact on seekers or believers, the conflict depicted in the drama must mirror their own conflicts with the topic under discussion. If the conflicts are too trivial, no on will take the scene seriously and there will be no significant preparation for the message to follow.
Think about the movie “E.T.: The extraterrestrial”. What drove the whole story of E.T.? An extraterrestrial gets separated from his space ship and wants to go home. That’s the set up or act 1. The whole second act, the confrontation, occurs as Elliot tries to figure out a way to communicate with the aliens and keep E.T. from being discovered by the authorities. In act 3, the resolution, Elliot and his friends race to the meet point where he does indeed connect and goes home.
So when you are trying to determine if a script is right for your service, ask this question: Do the conflicts and struggles the characters face in this script mirror the obstacles faced by our target audience? If not, keep looking.
Take a look at this example. Let’s say you have an upcoming topic dealing with the need for rest, peacefulness or developing margin in your life. You want to encourage people to slow down from the hectic, frenetic lifestyle that pushes people to the extremes on the stress meter. You find a script about a woman who comes home following an extremely busy day at the office. In the opening lines, she enters, drops her briefcase, kicks off her shoes, collapses in a chair followed by a big sigh. She has only a few moments to rub her tired feet before the interruptions begin.
Now at this point, it’s possible that not a single line of dialog has been delivered but what do we know? She’s a working woman, she’s home and she’s exhausted. What does she want or need? We don’t know yet. Let’s continue.
After she rubs her feet, she falls back into her recliner, closes her eyes and smiles for the first time. Then a small child rushes in. Excited to see mom, she rattles off a few requests that would require mom to leave her momentary tranquil state. Mom replies, “Not right now honey, Mommy is tired and I just want to relax for awhile.”
There’s the character’s need. It is stated clearly and naturally. She wants to relax, kick back and take it easy. This raises a question that must be answered in act three: Does she get to relax and find the rest she so desperately needs? Before that question is answered, we have to go through act two where she is confronted with all sorts of interruptions.
Just as her disappointed child leaves the room and she settles back in her chair, the phone rings. No one answers it so she finally picks up the phone. It’s a telemarketer. It’s a charity for a very worthy cause so she feels too guilty to hang up. When she finally gets off the phone her husband comes in and reminds her it’s her turn to make dinner. Then a talkative neighbor returns a borrowed item and rambles on about nothing. Her teenage son begins to practice his drums in the other room and so the interruptions continue.
Does she get what she wants? No. Do the interruptions or obstacles to rest and relaxation mirror the barriers faced by your congregation? If yes, then you’ve found a script that will prepare your audience for a solution from God’s word.
--Does the script end well?
When should a script end? As soon as the main character’s central question has been answered. Not before and not very long after. To carry on for several lines after the central question has been answered belabors and dilutes the point.
In the example of the woman looking for some relaxation, when does the script end? As soon as she is interrupted? No, that would be a very short sketch. After the fifth or sixth interruption? Maybe. In this case, the story is resolved when she acknowledges that she is not going to get the rest she wants and gives up trying. Maybe she thinks all the interruptions are over and she settles into her chair one more time only to be interrupted on last time. As she climbs out of her chair to respond to the interruption, she delivers an ending line that summarizes her frustration.
The next time you look for a script to support your theme, ask these essential questions to ensure that you have a good match.
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