So tonight, I had a little free time and decided to attend my church’s biennial theatrical production. Kim went, too, and I think that we both agreed that this was an extremely well-done, convincing, and funny production.
Some initial impressions – amazing production value. They didn’t skimp on the videos, lighting, props, and choreography. Videos were expertly edited. The set was constantly changing to fit the storyline. The actors and actresses were too good.
It’s hard to believe that a church and not a theater production company put this together, from training the student actors to coding the event website to streaming the entire showing in real-time on dual projectors.
The content of the production was equally good. Each class (freshman, sophomores, etc.) had their own act, ranging from funny skits and musicals to intense and touching drama.
The freshmen started off the showing with a bang in “What’s Your Status.” This act follows several freshmen living out the college life from the point of view of Facebook. Made a good point that the mindless pursuit of the ideal image leads more often to trouble than to acceptance.
The junior act, “Departures,” was next. Starting off with a group of four people at an airport terminal, this act follows how each of them got to the current state in their lives. Their act really worked to address different bad church experiences, ranging from jargon-filled meetings to hypocritical church leaders to (hilarious) fanatics. It then follows the story of a person whose life was positively impacted by a circle of Christian friends.
My favorite act of the night, “The Gospel,” was put on by my class, the sophomores. This act touched up on common misconceptions of Christianity, and uses hilarious side skits to explain the gospel in a very understandable way. My favorite side skits include the Wu Shu-cooking-master, giant ice cream sandwich, and medieval castle scenes.
The final act, “Free,” was the seniors’ story of a group of friends and their journey from freshman year in college to their lives twenty years in the future. It was an especially touching drama, compelling and relevant, and shows that choices lead to consequences, some good and some bad, and to make the right choices would be to live truly free.
All in all, a top-notch theatrical showing. I came in knowing that Gracepoint was really good with skits and videos, but this blew me away. The sheer amount of planning (two years), manpower, and practice this must have taken is evident in the final results. I’ll be looking forward to the next one senior year.
G-Live at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
