A place where Education and Theatrical Arts merge with Student Thought to foster greater understanding of the World of Acting.
THE RULES of THIS BLOG SITE
Any response that uses inappropriate language, content, or anything else that Mr. Williams would deem offensive will receive an automatic grade of "0" with no hope for resubmitting the post. You are expected to respond in a mature and Godly fashion. Content can talk about topical things (drugs, drinking, relationships, family, sex, God, emotions, etc.), but the delivery of the information should be in such a manner that well represents yourself, your parents and family, CBHS, Mr. Williams, and most importantly, God. I really look forward to your posts. -- Mr. Williams
September 12, 2010
Theatre History Blog 5
DUE WEDNESDAY 9/15/10 BY 8:00 AM! For directions, please visit BLOG5 at the CBHS Theatrical & Choral Academic Activities website. I look forward to your posts!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Location: Tory’s wedding reception
ReplyDeleteTime Period: Present Day
Story Line: Tory’s wedding reception told from the perspective of her younger brother Al. Half way through the reception, Tory’s father discovers that they are about to run out of wine. The stores are all closed and in order to avoid a huge embarrassment, a plan is devised. Tory’s Father gathers the family to discuss the options. After weighing all of the options, none of which seem plausible, Tory’s 8 year old sister suggests that they get Jesus to change water into wine like he did for his first miracle. After much argument about the possible effectiveness of that plan, they agree that the Jesus is their only option.
Characters: The Bride Tory, Al her brother, her father Big Al, Her mother Martha, Her little Sister Bernadette, her groom Leonardo and various other friends and family.
Plot: A catholic family explores an ancient solution to a modern problem
Ending: After they pray for the wine to be changed, the mother suggests they taste the hopefully former water. As the father tastes a sip of the drink the curtain closes.
Moral: Do you have real faith?
Set: Back Room of the reception hall with table, chairs, a jug and a sink.
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
ReplyDeleteTime Period: March 7, 1968
Story Line: Once a former anti-war leader, Pvt. James McCoy is drafted into the marines. He is immediately mocked among the other ranked officers and throughout Boot Camp. Days and days of torment go by, and he is eventually faced with the stunning realization that he is not strong enough to survive on his own when faced with the imminent danger of face to face combat in the jungles of Vietnam. Seeing that training is futile, he becomes extremely depressed and after fighting another private who mocks him, he sees no other option but to end the life of himself and his other servicemen. He realizes this when he had a dream the night before when the devil appears to him and tells him how to execute his plan of killing everyone. (the devil trying to win over James’s soul). After being stationed in Saigon, he is blasted with a grenade and when unconscious sees an angel appear to him and tells him that there is no need to kill the others cause he is being sent home for his injuries. (good winning over the soul).
Characters: Pvt. James McCoy the hippie, Sgt. Robert Greene the drill instructor, Cpl. Vick Thompson James’s hippie friend,
Plot: The hardships of being drafted and the brutal training in Boot Camp are seen through the eyes of a hippie who realizes his true fate and realizes the only way out of his personal “hell”.
Ending: after being injured, the Pvt. Doesn’t kill his other fellow marines for the angel has won over his soul.
Moral: that good and evil will try to win over an individual’s soul and evil will sometimes win for man is mortal.
My response to Xander Broughton:
ReplyDeleteThe whole plot seems to bring in some humorous scenes throughout the play and it was clever that and eight year old girl suggested the miracle of Jesus rather than the adults. Also I liked how asking Jesus was a serious solution to the problem of the shortage of win at the wedding.
Paul Cianciolo response to Blog 5:
ReplyDeleteMiracle Play
Few have heard the legend of Fr. John Young. John was a Catholic priest from Spain that lived in Mexico City, Mexico in the 18th century. He dedicated his life to helping the poor in Mexico and spreading the Catholic faith to anyone he could. He knew that the environment around him would never improve, but keeping a strong faith would improve that spiritual life’s of all the people he encountered.
John was mostly a quiet man that led by example. The one thing that John didn’t keep quiet about was the Mexican government’s mistreatment of its citizens. John saw men without work thrown into prison just so the government could make them work for no pay. He wanted to believe that money was sparse among the entire country, but he found himself wrong after he saw the lucrative houses that government officials lived in. He saw the fattened calf eat from the abundant amount of grass on the land. He could only watch with disgust and pray for change.
John saw that change was not coming unless he brought it. John began to sleep rarely and pray for hours on end. After teaching he would gather a crowd and march to the capital building. He taught this group not to terrorize, but instead fight with peace. They brought empty bowls and asked for food. They were shunned and some were even arrested for trying to start riots. After a weak of extensive efforts, John noticed that his followers began to lose faith. He didn’t go to sleep that night. He felt different when the sun rose and he decided to check the church pantry for what he could ration through the day. He opened the pantry to find it completely stocked to the last inch of space. He awoke the city with the ringing of the church bell and thousands poured down to see what was happening. John gathered helpers to distribute the supplies and they kept giving to the people from dawn to dark.
Government officials became suspicious of the event and had John arrested for stealing the food. He was sentenced to death the day after his arrest, but John was not found in his cell the next morning. He was actually never seen again, but the pantry was refilled everyday until the government was finally overthrown. Fr. John Young’s legend is still remembered and he is known as the patron saint of the suppressed.
Response to Ben Haynes:
ReplyDeleteI really like your story and how real it felt. The thing I like the most is the moral to your story. I also believe that man can not always defeat evil, but he should make it his life mission to fight against it. I also enjoyed how you put the main character at his lowest point and redeemed him in the end.
Austin Rudolph response to Blog 5
ReplyDeleteLocation: Somewhere off of California’s Pacific coast
Time period: present day
Story Line: Three rich men named Paul, Duke, and Wilson, left the coast of San Francisco on a weekend fishing trip. They had planned to catch as many fish as they could to bring back and sell for profit. The men took their boat on a ten-mile cruise, which would take them to the perfect fishing spot. Along the way, it began to cloud over and it became very windy. By the time they had reached their fishing spot, it was a full-blown storm. It was defiantly not a good day for fishing so the men decided to head back to shore. Duke and Wilson could not believe what was happening to them but Paul was calm and had faith in God. The now furious men were on their way back when the engines suddenly stopped. They were now stranded with no land in sight. That night, before going to sleep, Paul prayed to God for their safe return. The next morning, they found themselves drifting through heavy fog when Paul saw two red towers straight ahead. It was the Golden Gate Bridge!! Duke and Wilson could not believe what they saw and Paul praised God and thanked him for their safe return.
Characters: Paul, Duke, and Wilson
Plot: Three men are saved from the seas through their faith in God
Moral: Never ask for more when you already have enough
Ending: Through Paul’s faith in God, the three men were saved from the rough seas and awoke in the safety of the San Francisco Bay.
Austin Rudolph response to Paul Cianciolo:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. It showed how Fr. John Young remained faithful and was able to provide for those who had nothing.
It was the morning of September 14, 2010. I walked into the classroom of Coach Williams and he was doing something I have never seen before, singing opera like a champ. His voice was a mix of Fergie and Jesus and it brought tears to my eyes just listening to it. It was like God had reincarnated his voice into the pirate from dodge ball’s identical twin brother (but not an evil twin). I said to Mr. Williams, “where did you geteth this voice of heavenly proportion?!” He humbly said “God has bestowed this great gift of singing upon me because I have prayed a lot and I don’t sweat.” This moment was a major turning point in my life because I realized that the truly blessed people in this world are the ones that don’t sweat because they all have great voices like Dr. Coach Williams. Saint Williams will always be remembered as one of the great singers in “God’s Chorus of Great Singing Saints” aka: GCSS. The mystery of Jesus is very important to King Williams because he is a very religious person and goes to church more than the average non-sweater. Morality is a big part of this play because Mr. Dr. King Coach Williams has to decide if he will give up his gift of singing and not sweating for a life of drugs, sweating profusely, and smelling like a dog (unfortunately his allergicness to water will stay not matter what he chooses). In the end his chooses the right path of no sweating and having a voice that only the likes of Justin Beiber have. After this decision he becomes a full time member of the GCSS and is paid a billion euros a word (God uses the euro). Mr. Dad Coach King Price Dog Dr. Williams will always be in the hearts of people around the world because of his dedication to God and his generous donations to the no sweating foundation.
ReplyDeleteresponse to Austin:
ReplyDeletethat's really cool dude
Location: Pacific Ocean (Off of Florida's Coast)
ReplyDeleteTime Period: Present Day
Story: On August 9, 2010, Rick and his dad set off for another day of work cathching shrimp off of off the Florida coast. It was a very calm day and the water was crystal clear. Rick and his dad, Jim, thought that they would catch a ton of shrimp since the water and weather were perfect that day. Once Rick and Jim had reached their usual fishing spot they dropped the nets and began to fish for the shrimp driving the boat up and down the shoreline. Once the nets had been in the water for about a hour they pulled them in expecting the nets to be ripping full of shrimp. Once all the nets had been pulled in they realized that they had not caught a single shrimp. Rick then looked over onto the shore and noticed that the famous shrimp fisherman, Jerry, was talking to a group of fishermen who were complainin that they had not caught anything. Rick and Jim both saw this and rode over there to Jerry and asked him why they were not catching anything. Jerry told them that they were not believing in him. Jerry then told them to return to the fishing spot and begin fishing again. Once Rick and Jim had dropped their nets in the ocean, the nets began to rip because of the huge amount of shrimp that they had caught now because of them believing in Jerry.
Characters: Jerry, Rick, and Jim
Plot: A father and child go fishing
Moral: You always have to believe in Jesus to succeed
Ending: Once the son and father had started believing in Jerry, they started cathching fish.
My response to Cody Costa:
ReplyDeleteCody yours has to be the funniest blog yet this year. It is a very good and funny story.
To Cody Costa:
ReplyDeleteI like your story it is really cool. And I wonder if Coach Williams does sound like a champ at singing opera.
My: Response to Cody Costa
ReplyDeleteMr. Dad Coach King Prince Dog Dr. Williams should also do the right thing and learn to pant like his name suggests. Pretty soon we would be taught by a dog.
Modernized Birth Of Jesus
ReplyDeleteMy Script Jesus lives in the 2010 world and he is the sone of a full time garbage worker, who is Joseph. Nobody would expect a garbage worker to do anything incredible, a sad but true fact. He would be around his late twenties but could possible 30 or 31. What scares the modern era of 2010 the most is that a girl, Mary, around the age of 11-13 is going to get married to this garbage worker. The story would be on the news and have who knows what saying the most insulting comments and acting as if they have not right and to do this and never had the right at all. Of course, somebody would speak out against Joseph because he is only a garbage worker, but if they truly tried to get to know him, then they might forget about the situation he is in. The same goes for Mary.
Suddenly, Mary becomes pregnant and Joseph is being tried in court. Him and Mary both say nothing happened, but I know people who will take no for an answer. Mary says that an angel appears to her and she through the Holy Spirit has been pregnant. Some people would never believe her because I know some people that believe Jesus isn’t real because you never see miracles any more. People would tell Mary and Joseph to prove this that they really witnessed a miracle and eventually Joseph goes to jail. Months later, Joseph sees a way to brake out of jail and finds his way back to Mary because he know he will have to take of her baby, who is Jesus. They both get in a car, they go to the very very very tiny town almost no one has heard of and search for a home.
When Mary and Joseph are searching for a home, everyone they talk to wanted to ignore them or report them for what they had done. No body in town would help out. Soon they find a old shack and and realize this is where their son must be born. Laying on a towel and her head on a pillow, Mary gives birth to Jesus while Joseph tries to comfort her.
All the while, three three joggers who notice it starting to rain try to hurry back to there car but shortly after they had turned and gone backwards from their path, they notice a angel who tells them not to sop no matter what tries to get in their way because the savior of the world is coming. These people realize that the rain which is moving in the direction of where Jesus will be born, will lead them to where the angel wants them to go. On their way to see Jesus, they all stop at a bank and take out 1000 dollars. This was their gifts to the wonderful Son of God.
Response to Blog 5:
ReplyDeleteLocation:Rural Tennessee
Time period:Present Day
Moral Play
On December 26, 2010, John and his dad were going on an afternoon deer hunt. Around 2:15 p.m. they loaded their gear in the truck and headed off to the woods. Once they got down to the field they were hunting they sat there and didn't move a muscle for several hours. The most that they saw was a few squirrels running up and down a tree. The sun was starting to set and they were preparing to call it quits for the night. John was becoming very frustrated because he had been hunting for 3 years and had yet to kill a deer. It did not look promising that he was going to end his streak of going home empty handed. It was becoming tougher and tougher to see every minute and John was so ready to give up that he told his dad that he was ready to pack up and go home. His dad told him to stick it out and wait 5 more minutes. Within 3 minutes a 10 - point walked out of the brush 50 yards in front of them. John's misfortune turned around in the matter of a few minutes. He killed his first deer because he didn't give up.
Moral: Do not quit because you think that something is never going to happen. Be optimistic.
Characters: John and his dad
Type of Play: Morality
ReplyDeleteSetting: The Modern Day
Plot Summary: It is the end of HighSchool for four seniors, Bill, Nick, John and Ted who are hyped about going to war. The story is told from all point of views for each character. They are the best of friends and have always talked about going to war ever since they were Freshmen. They end up become an elite squad that goes on many covert and dangerous missions for the military. As their time progresses they go and complete many missions with high rates of success. Seeing this the high ranks of the military reassign them to a very secret branch of squads who do missions that no one ever hears about. Feeling confident after their many triumphs in combat they accept and go on a mission that is thought to be impossible. Their mission is to sneak into a secret base in afghanistan and find information relating to wheather or not terrorist orginizations reside in the various parts that they are to scout. As it begins all goes well. But it all goes south when John is captured by the terrorists. When high command hears about this they tell Nick,Bill and Ted to get back to an evac chopper that will get them out of there. They ignore this and try to go after and save thier friend. They fail and it results in all of their captures. Through this time they are all tortured, starved and beaten. Ted,Nick and John are brought to their breaking points after a year of this treatment but Bill isn't. Seeing this the terrorists try to play mind games with Bill by telling him that if he kills his friends they will release him but if he does not do it then they will kill all four of them. Bill at first does not believe this and calls this as a bluff saying he'd never do it. To test him the terrorists lead the four friends to a secluded area unchain only Bill and hand him a pipe. They tell him they will put him on a helicopter home if he beats his three friends to death but if he does not they will shoot all four of them. Beaten down phisically and mentally from the many months of torture and starvation Bill is faced with the ultimate choice kill his friends and trust that the terrorists are telling the truth or do whats right and not harm his friends and accept whatever fate is handed to all four of them. Bill does not go through with it and drops the pipe. Seeing this the terrorists call him weak and beat him.
For six more months they are all locked up and Bill is put into a solitary like confinement because he wouldn't hurt his friends. While there he begins to say many prayers to keep himself sane. One night he dreams that an angel comes to him telling him that the end is near and he is almost saved but in order to be saved he will need to make the ultimate sacrafice. The next day the terrorists release him from confinement and take all four of the friends back to the same place where they offered Bill the ultimatum. Once again they tempt him to kill his friends. Instead of doing this Bill tells the terrorists that they can kill him if they let the others go. Seeing this they call Bill brave but foolish. They allow Nick, Ted and John to go. As they are leaving on the helicopter they witness the death of their long time friend Bill. They realize that he sacraficed himself to save them.
Moral: In history there have been many accounts of people sacraficing themselves to save others. One story that inspired me to write this was the story about the priest who in the nazi death camps for the jews that took the place of a man who was going to be killed. In doing this he saved the man who had a family but at the cost of his life. The moral is evil is very tempting but good will always surface above it. In this case it was Bill giving his life to save others.
Response to Paul Cianciolo:
ReplyDeleteThat was a great summary of a miracle play. It was a very well thought out and descriptive way of portraying the plot of the story.
Response to Vince Correale: I liked your story because it dealt with never giving up. And it showed that through desire and want anyone can accomplish antything they set their minds to.
ReplyDeleteLocation: Sahra Desert
ReplyDeleteTime period: Present Day
Story: There was this guy named Bob who was driving around in the Sahra Desert looking for lost treasure. His car engine had a problem in it. So he got out and looked at it and he couldn’t fix it so he was stranded out in the desert. He had a cell phone but he didn’t have any signal so he couldn’t call for help. He only had a little water that might last him a day. As the sun beats down on him he is getting weaker and weaker. As night rolled around it was really cold and he didn’t have anything to make a fire with so he had to be cautious with the night creatures. While at night a scorpion bit the man and he was bound to die because of the poison, but even though he knew he was going to die he prayed to Jesus for help to make him better and not die and that help would be on the way in the morning. The man went to sleep think he was going to die and woke up the next morning with the poison gone, him completely healthy, and there was a jeep on the in the desert looking for him. The man in the jeep was his best friend Dave he knew that Bob was out in the desert searching for treasure and when he didn’t come back to the tent that night he went looking and happened to find Bob’s car and followed the trail from there.
Characters: Bob and Dave
Plot: Bob is stuck in the desert and is in need of help big time.
Ending: Bob is saved and the poison in him is gone to
Moral: Is when you need someone to help you out God is always there and he will help you out. Don’t be afraid to call on God when you need him the most
Time and Setting: Present Day, Miami, Florida
ReplyDeletePlot: There once was a man named John and he was a very rich man. John had anything he could ask for. John came from a very rich inheritance, and was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. John had houses all over the country, but his hometown was in Miami, Florida. John had grown up in the wealthy part of Miami with the flasy places and such. One day John wanted to go out and see what the other part of town looked like. So he got in his mercedes-benz and took off to the other side of town. John is shocked by what he sees and heads back into town. That night John has a dream that he is left with nothing and he has to grow up in the ghetto. This is a nightmare for John, because he is used to the flashy lifestyle he has always lived and has never experienced something so terrible. The next morning John immediatly becomes a changed man, and goes back to the ghetto. John takes a couple million dollars with him and gives it to a man named Fred. Fred is shocked of what he has been given and nearly faints. John gave this to Fred because Fred had been living in a cardboard box, and John often saw Fred at his church across town. John and Fred become best friends, and John continues to do charity works for the community
Response to Marc Hodges:
ReplyDeleteI liked your story, because it is the modern story of the birth of Jesus. I found it really intresting
In response to blog 5: Location: Rich man’s estate (aka Cameron Greater’s house)
ReplyDeleteOne faithful day Cameron walked into the dining room to see his house maid stealing from him. Upon seeing this Cameron was infuriated to the point of imploding from within. Cameron thought back to what he had learned last week in bible study, “forgive your neighbor for God forgives you”. So after much self reflection Cameron decides to not press charges and even keeps the maid on his staff, because he knows she has a family to feed. The maid tells Cameron how grateful she is for showing compassion to her. On the way home that very same day the maid whose name is Shelby was driving home and was hit by an un-insured driver. Shelby sued the driver of the un-insured car for everything him and his family owned. The next week at work Cameron over hears Shelby talking to a friend about the case. Cameron Then in a blind range starts yelling at Shelby saying “I showed you compassion when you tried to steal from me, but you show no compassion to someone who wronged you”. Then Cameron pulled out his I-phone and called the cops to “report a thief in his house”. Cameron told Shelby “where you are going there will be people who unlike me do not turn the other cheek”, Shelby begged him to once again show her compassion. It was too late Cameron had made his mind up, the cops escorted Shelby out of Cameron’s mansion. THE END.
in response to : Austin Mclain
ReplyDeleteYour story was faboulas, the suspense was to die for. I really like how there is a happy ending showing that God really does take care of his creations.
Location, party after the cbhs football game, time, around two in the morning. There was once a cbhs student who liked a drink or two. One night he liked about 15 drinks, and he had a bit too much. He was the life of the party, showing off dance moves never seen before. He was dancing on tables and top of the furniture kicking ovr lamps and other house hold items. Well he passed out, but then woke up again, except there was no one watching him, he walked out the front door one shoe on and no shirt, got into his car and tried his hand at drunk driving. He ended up in a ditch outside lakeland, he did not die, he did not even have a scratch on his idiotic head. God had spared his life, for reasons he still can not understand. The moral is that God takes care of his children even when we don't deserve it.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Cody Costa: That is the funniest thing ive heard all day, and most of all the mental picture was the best, mr. williams dressed as a pirate singing opera.
ReplyDeleteType of Play: Miracle
ReplyDeleteTime: Present Day
Setting Mid Afternoon California
Plot: My story would be the modern version of jesus multiplying the fish and bread in order to feed the people. It was a Sunday afternoon and everyone was gathered in one of Californias parks to have a day of singing the word of God.
The people in charge didnt expect many peopole to come so they ordered a small amount of food. Within the first hour of the concert, more than double the expected amount of people showed up, people from all over the world showed up. So the management began getting nervous that people would leave because there wasnt enough to eat. They sat together trying to think of a way to feed all of the people but no one could think of any ideas. Finally one of the members thought about the story in the bible where the apostles ask Jesus to multiply the fish and he tells the others maybe if we pray to Jesus to help us out he will find some way to multiply our food. So the staff begins praying and there prayers are answered. The food was miraculously multiplied and more and more people showed up and it was a great day of singing and worship.
Characters: Tim, Bill, and Ed
Ending: JEsus answers their prayers and delivers them more food so that the people can stay and worship.
Moral: No matter what situation a person may be in they can always depend on Jesus and he will always listen to your problems and do his best to help.
Morality
ReplyDeleteThere is a boy and a girl, both being teenagers, and seniors in high school. It is early April of 2011, the year that they graduate. This is their prom night. They had been dating for almost two years and both thought they would marry one another. Prom night came and they decided this was the night they would give up themselves to each other. The girl was nervous about it, but she knew the boy really wanted it. She thought if she gave up herself he would be hers forever. On prom night, the girl decided that she was going to go through with it just for him. She had been talking to her friends about it and they all thought it was a great idea. When they were about to start, she decided that they should wait until they were married. She knew she couldn’t live with herself if she gave in to the pressure of her boyfriend and her friends.
The moral of this morality play is to not give in to the peer pressures that surround us everyday. The girl fell to peer pressure but at the end she thought it through and decided to live above the influences of others.
response to tyler:
ReplyDeletethe bread and fish story is one of my favorite bible stories of all times. and the moral is great because jesus is really always there for us and can help us out at all times.
Location: Memphis, TN
ReplyDeleteTime: Present day
There once was a guy named Chris, who had just graduated from CBHS. He was very intelligent and was very wealthy. He was going off to a very prestigeous college, and his father gave him his first year's tuition and sent him off on his way. However, instead of going to college to get an education, Chris takes the money and travels around the country, spending his money and partying all the time. When he is all out of money and has no where to go, he eventually crawls back home to tell his father what he had done. On the other hand, his brother, John, was very well off and used his father's money wisely and had a good job. Chris expected his father to be furious with him and to not look at him the same way every again, but instead he was overjoyed to finally see his son again. That weekend, he threw a welcome home party for Chris, because he had missed him so much. John was very jealous and asked his father why he was doing this, since Chris had wasted away all that time and money. But his father said that he was back home now, and that's all that matters, and that he was very glad to see his son again. This story shows that God will always love us. If we are truely sorry for what we have done and ask for forgiveness, God will never abandon us.
response to john:
ReplyDeleteI like the moral of your story, too many people always give in to peer pressure, and we all need to think things through a little more and make better decisions
Mexico City at 7:11 There was once boy that was born in Mexico City named Adrian Vivar. Every single day since Adrian was 7 he had tried to cross the border form Mexico to the U.S. Everytime he tried to cross three devilish border patrol men would try and kill him. the border patrol men's names were Trent, Cody, and Will. these patrol men were sinners. they dipped and drank andsmoked weed and had sex with prostitues. after the 708th attempt to cross the border Adrian decided he would just try and go to church and maybe God will help him over or under the fence. Well soon Adrian got really involved in the church choir and sang hymns in his free time one time Adrian was walking by the border and was singing a hymn and noticed it made the devilish patrol men turn and run.one day Adrian decided to get a whole bunch of church singers to try and sing hymns and then cross the border with him. so as the group of heavenly singers lined up with Adrian and Lil Donnie leading the pack they sang hymn until the three devil patrol men disenegrated and crossed the border with no harm.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Cody Beuatiful piece of work
Justin Scheuner Response to Blog #5:
ReplyDeleteMy play would take place in some general American town. The time period is present day. This play is a modern retelling of the birth of Jesus. A young couple, mary and Joseph, are going a trip back to their hometown. Mary is pregnant, and on the way they have to stop for the night, but since it is holiday season, all the hotels and motels and inns are sold out. They luckily find a gas station manager who is willing to let them stay in the gas station for the night. Then an angel appears to a bunch of punk metal rockers and tells them to travel to the gas station to witness the birth of Christ. Then three ambassadors from foreign nations are hanging out when they hear of the birth of Christ. They decide to try and find him. Then the story shifts back to the gas station where Mary's water has just broken. After a long and traumatic experience of child birth (both for Mary and Joseph), they name the child Jesus, and are conversing with the punk rockers. They place the baby Jesus, wrapped in rags used to clean the gas station, on a small bed made from cardboard boxes and paper towels. Later on the story shifts back to the three ambassadors who arrive at the gas station and give the baby Jesus one present from each of them. One gives him a cell phone, the other gives him an ipod, and the other one gives him an Xbox. The story comes to a close with the young couple and their newborn baby fleeing from the angry gas station manager, because they had eaten some of his food that was on the shelves.
Justin Scheuner Response to Stephen Kelley:
ReplyDeleteStephen I liked how you were able to take a well-liked story and convert it into a more modern tone, without losing any of the elements of the original story.
One of the most important things that Christ taught us was to love one another. The setting is the Beale Street in Memphis one summer night at 2 am. A man in his late twenties stumbles out of a bar after too many drinks. Before he can hail a cab he is savagely beaten and robbed by two escaped convicts from the Shelby county convections center. They steal his clothes, cell phone, and wallet and leave him lying in a gutter in his underwear. The manager of the bar looks out, but decides that he doesn’t want to get involved. A police car drives by, but they decide to take their dinner break before checking on the man. An elderly couple from England who are visiting Memphis because they are elvis fans walks down the street. They immediately check on the man, get him in a cab, and take him to the Med. They wait in the E.R. with him and get him food. They contact his family for him. The young man has no insurance, but the kind couple offer to pay for his medical expenses. He will never forget them.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ryan Lafferty:
ReplyDeletevery nice story Ryan.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMemphis, TN in 2010, football season: Once upon a time there was a tiny boy named Mikey Steep. He was not a large man, but when angered he would turn green and start beating people up. There was nothing that angered Mikey more than getting called, "Tiny Steep." After he attempted to kill people, he went on to commit other sinful deeds, such as abuse of alcohol, treating women without respect, and ignoring the calling of God. Then came a angel named Hunt Stafford that would change Mikey's life. Hunt Stafford came to Mikey in a dream and said his life of sin had to stop. Mikey was so amazed by Hunt's masculinity that he could not help but to start praising God and joining his school football team. Mikey would become the star of his football team and he owed all the the angel/alphamale known as Hunt Stafford and God. Mikey became a holy man and a role model to his community. Once Mikey died he was declared the patron saint of football and joined Hunt Stafford in heaven.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Hunter: I like your main character, but I believe that the setting of this play is not very believable. I think Spain would be a more appropriate location.
Location: somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
ReplyDeleteTime period: modern day.
Plot: There was a crew of men sailing the Atlantic Ocean. The crew started at 10 men, and was now down to 3. The captain, Tom, the cook, Bob, and a navigator, Bill. They did not know why all their crew members had died, and thought that they would all die soon. They then realized that they had not gotten their ship blessed by a priest before leaving. They all began to pray, but just as they began it started storming terribly. They thought God was not looking out for them so they began to curse Him. They figured that they were going to die before the voyage was over, so they just decided to stop trying to survive. After 7 days of no food and no water, they reached shore. They were not sure of why or how they survived, but soon realized that it was by the grace of God. Though they had not trusted God, he still saved them. Once they got back home, they began to do much more to help those in need in their communities.
Characters: Bill, Tom, Bob, God
Lesson: God offers grace to all people, whether we want it or not.
Response to Tyler Wingfield:
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, so I'm glad you decided to write a modern day version of it. I think you're version is pretty much the way it would happen if Jesus were here today performing that miracle.
My play would take place somewhere in small-town Southwest America during the time in which the "Wild west" was most prominent. It is about a cowboy named Billy who witnesses the shooting of the sheriff, Joel by Billy's best friend, Walker. Billy feels the need to confess who shot the sheriff but at the same time he doesn't want to turn in his best friend who he knows will be given the death penalty if convicted. The characters will be in traditional "cowboy attire" and the main setting will be that of an old dusty town with old buildings, cactuses, etc. Obviously the play focuses on the morality of men.
ReplyDeleteThe first act includes Billy walking down the main road toward the saloon where he catches a glimpse of two men arguing in a side street. He stops and realizes that these men are his lifetime friend, Walker, and the local sheriff, Joel. The dispute becomes very heated and eventually Walker pulls a gun on the sheriff and shoots. Billy is astounded but runs away from the scene of the crime so as to not be convicted. The next day, the town was in chaos over the murder. Billy knew that the right thing to do was to turn his friend over to the authorities. However, he also knew that if he did this, Walker would most certainly have the death penalty handed to him. For many days the situation torments Billy and almost drives him to suicide. However, in the end, his conscience gets the best of him and he anonymously turns his friend in. While Billy will forever know that he indirectly cost his friend his life, Walker will never know that it was his best friend that turned him in.
My response to Hunter F.
ReplyDeleteIm not really sure if you were going for this but... the symbolism in your play is definatly on point. When we cant get what we want, it is always a good idea to ask God. Also, pretty funny stuff.
Location: Middle of nowhere, Utah.
ReplyDeleteTime period: Modern Day
Story: There was a religious man, Jose, who was driving down I-22 through the barren wasteland of Utah to aid in the development of a new church. About 2 hours into his trip, 40 miles from the nearest civilization, Jose's car overheats and becomes useless. Jose prays for guidance and assistance through this "roadblock." After five hours of sitting around his overheated vehicle, a man in a U-Haul comes barreling down the road. He sees Jose, however, speeds on into the unknown. Jose continues to pray for further guidance and assistance. Hours pass, until an old grandma driving her stylish olds-mobile, stops and gives him a ride. Miles down the road, they see the U-Haul. Not paying attention, the driver had driven off the road into a field of cacti, where his remnants were never found. Jose and his new bff, grnadma, made it to the church safely only to find out that the U-Haul driver was the leader of the church he was helping to develop.
Characters: Jose- the troubled missionary
U-Haul Driver- the church leader that willingly abandoned one of his followers and suffered the fate of wandering in the desert.
Grandma- the unsuspecting savior, who goes out of her way to take care of her heat-stricken friends Jose.
Plot: Jose is stranded in desert, and is rescued by an unsuspecting grandma after being passed by his church leader.
Ending: the man who followed his faith, Jose, ended up safe from the barren unknown of Utah. While the supposed leader of Jose's church, left him on the side of the road.
Morale: God provides and the religious leader of a church is not perfect. He provides in unexpected ways.
Response to Donnie:
You're right, God provides even if we don't want it. He does so to show that He is there and will always be there at times, whether we want him to be or not. He provides us an escape from the most hopeless situations, it might not be our idea of a perfect escape, but it all has a purpose in the end.
Location: New York City
ReplyDeleteTime Period: Modern Day
Story: There was a man who was a well trained police officer but spent all his money on gambling. He was one of the best marksmen and tactical leader on the police force before he got fired for his gambling addiction. He went on living life in his apartment still gambling with what little savings he had until he was evicted for not paying rent. John went on living in the streets and met some interesting people. He had an idea one day that he could make some money and be set for life. He would get these men and himself and rob the Federal reserve bank of new york. This plan would make him rich. He had the most thought out best plan to rob this bank. Everyhting was going perfectly until he finds out that he now has a hostage situation outside...
Ending: John goes to jail with his street friends
Moral: Don't let your life be taken over by something as stupid as gambling and then lose everythign you have
Response to Kevin Brazzel: good story shows god is there when we really need him
The setting of my play is on an Indian Reservation somewhere in the southwestern United States. The protagonist of my play is a teenage cherokee named Hunter Fick. Hunter has developed many problems in his youth. He has picked up a horrible habit of smoking, he has abused alcohol, and has murdered two of the white men in the near by town. His racist attitude toward white people has created a deep separation in him between himself and society. As life went on and he got older he was forced to interact with white people. He discovered that they were not evil as he used to view them. He befriended a white guy named Cody. Cody showed him that all people were meant to coexist peacefully. Hunter was overcome with grief for his previous sins. He abandoned his life of smokes and alcohol, and he also came forward and admitted to the murders of the two white men. While on death row, Hunter reached out to all races through his writings on peace and unity. A week before his execution he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Adrian Viviar: Your work sounds like a truly touching piece of man's struggle with society.
Brian is an African-American teenager living in the inner city of Chicago. He remains a diligent worker in school and tries to the best of his abilities to make something of his life, and not end up like the drunken mess of a father that abandoned him and his mother after he was born. Despite all of his effort and willpower, he is eventually corrupted by his best friend Damien into joining a local gang, under the guise of earning enough money to pay for college. Eventually Brian becomes immersed in the so-called "thug life" and abandons all of his aspirations for the future. Petty crime gives way to mugging, which gives way to armed robbery, and eventually much more heinous crimes. Just months after his induction, he has become a strong asset in the hierarchy of the gang, and is even named a "lieutenant." His first action after this promotion is to rob a liquor store in the area, and kill the manager. While in the process, a police officer notices the disturbance and makes a move on Brian. After turning to face his would-be captor, he is shot in the chest.
ReplyDeleteHe later awakens in a hospital bed with his mother and father crying over him. After an emotional confrontation, he breaks down and begins to see the error of his ways, before quickly snapping back to his thuggish self. Later that day, he finds out that he is paralyzed from the waist down due to the bullet passing through his ribs and embedding itself in his spine, and also realizes his so-called friends have abandoned him. While being nursed back to health, a local preacher, Marcus, begins visiting Brian in his hospital bed and attempts to reach out to him. After days of contemplating his actions over the past months, he begins to see the wrongs he has committed. Their relationship turns from a bitter acquaintance to a friendship. A few weeks later after receiving extensive physical therapy, he regains the function of his legs, which the doctors believe to be a miracle at best.
The final scene shows Brian limping out of the hospital doors on crutches, surrounded by his family and Marcus. As they walk down the steps, a car pulls up to the curb and rolls down its window, revealing Damien and another unknown gang member. A flash of silver is seen and a loud gunshot echoes throughout the block while Brian falls to his knees. The car screeches away as he collapses to the ground. He utters his last words to his family and thanks Marcus for believing in him as his breathing comes to a stop.
Response to Justin Scheuner:
I think your perception of modern American life is misguided and placing Jesus in such an unbelievable scenario is blasphemic at best, and a terrible mix of religious fervor and hype at worst.
My play type would be more of a mystery play concerning the importance of religion to those who may find it difficult to understand. To me, mystery plays itself are very interesting to watch because the crowd will be more concerned about the storyline of the play. My play would include different scenes of what the Bible says about jesus and it will also include scenes about what may have happened that the Bible didn't mentioned. I would also be including another section of the play that would deal with organizations like the Freemasons. The reason for this is to prove to people that both sects believe in a mysterious higher power which could be God. I want to leave the audience with deep train of thought. I want them to have to think about the importance of the play and the meaning of it. Everybody wants to know the deep secrete of the universe, but there is no possible answer. After watching my play, people will come to the understanding that we all are searching for the truth and by searching for what could very much be the ssame thing, that makes all of us human. This play will leave you askin yourself why. Why are we all like this? The question is simple. Nobody knows and we all want to know. I'm the type of person that would dedicate my life to finding out the truth about life itsel and the exsistence. Thats why I would establish this play in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLocation: Chicago
ReplyDeleteTime period: Modern Day
Plot&end: A young guy from the rural areas of Illinois goes to Chicago to make it big in the music industry. His character faces many hardships along the way. He learns much about life too. His life decisions are not always good but what he thinks is right.Through his determination and work, he does eventually make it big and get signed on with a hit record company.
Characters: Jimmy's mom, Jimmy(protagonist), Jessica(his girlfriend), and some critics and people from the record company.
Morals/Lessons learned: No matter what, do not give up on your dream. God will help you get there if you have faith.
Location: european boarding school
ReplyDeletetime period: modern day
storyline: A man has lost his job and is forced to send his son to a boarding school in Europe where he is offered a scholarship for his academics. The boy, main charecter, is a smart student but lacks the ability to friends in new enviroments. This family is a very devout Jewish family who have found solice in their church community in San Francisco. Upon arriving at the new school, the boy is openly harrased by a variety of students for his religious beliefs. While he is one of the smartest in the class, there is no making up for the fact that the boy is not involved in any extracurricular activities. He is constantly jeered at and one day the unfortunate boy has his clothes stolen after P.E. and is forced to walk outside and grab them off of a tall tree. The plot goes on to showing how the young boy copes with his troubles with a strong relationship with God, and an even greater bond with his father. While he is back in the United States, they talk on the phone for one hour every sunday and go over the events of the past week. These occurrences are what drive the boy to succeed in the school, graduate, and eventually becoming a success in the world.
Moral value: even if things are not going the way they should in life, if you buckle down and strive for greatness you will succeed in anything put in front of you, with of course a little help from your family and God.
In response to will coker: I believe your view on Justin Scheuner's blog is a tad harsh. It is only a rendition of the actually birth of Christ in a modern situation. While some of the charecter choices are shady, they match those of the biblical era.
ReplyDeleteDear Cody your story is extreemly encitful, funny and relavent. I believe you are making refrence to the parable of the master and the wicked servant. You did a cery good job of making the story modern but stay true to the purpose.
ReplyDeleteLocation: Boat in a lake
ReplyDeleteTime: 31 A.D.
Effects: The stage is lowered in the center with water in a moat around it. Huge fans blow water to simulate a storm.
The apostles of Jesus Christ are on a boat and it is the middle of a storm. They become to panic and start talking amongst themselves of what they should do. They think that if they stay in the boat it will surely tip over. They begin to argue over who should be the one to wake Jesus to receive the orders. They explain that he has had a long day and they think they will get scolded if they wake him up. Finally they wake him and he indeed does scold them. The scolding is not because they woke him, but it is really because they were afraid of the storm. Jesus stands at the front of the boat and commands the storm to cease. Immediately after, the storm calms. The apostles praise Jesus because they had never seen such power over the sky. They reach the shore.
Location: Town
Effects: stage is raised so that it is higher than the moat to symbolize being on land.
The apostles go to a shop and buy something to eat. They then take Jesus to a hotel and they stay the night and have dinner. Once Jesus goes to bed, Peter goes out and begins to talk to people in the street about what had happened in the lake earlier the day before. People are amazed as Peter tells the story (exaggerating a little bit).
Location: A Pharisee’s house
Effects: The stage is the as it was in the last scene.
A Pharisee is sitting by himself, looking at a bundle of cash in his hand. A servant runs in. He is out of breath. He whispers something in the Pharisee’s ear. The Pharisee erupts and starts talking about how much he hates Jesus. The servant asks him what he proposes to do. He sits in silence as the lights fade out.
MY RESPONSE TO Chris Mathews
ReplyDeleteI like your story. There is humor in it when he has to go get his clothes from the tree. I like that he is religious and that you choose a different religion than Catholic. Seems like every religious story has Catholic characters to me.
Location: Suburban Memphis
ReplyDeleteTime Period: Present Day
Story: Carl was a staunch supporter of strictly enforced laws. He was a card-carrying member of the NRA and believed harsh punishment for even the least of offenses was necessary to curb violence crime. He carried his handgun at all times and frequent boasted about how he would gladly pull the trigger if he ever caught someone in his house. To Carl, justice should be swift – and not always left up to the courts. As he came home late from work one evening he was surprised to find a middle-aged man in his house with a bag of Carl’s more expensive possessions in his hand. He saw the gun tightly tucked in the man’s belt and knew he was clearly within his rights to shoot the man on sight. As Carl looked down the barrel of his gun at the man, the robber threw his hands in the air, dropped to his knees, and began begging for mercy. He quickly explained to Carl that he had been out of work for months and could not find any type of meaningful employment in the depressed economy. He further explained that he and his family were now homeless and he had no other means of feeding his children. The intruder apologized numerous times and continued to beg Carl not to shoot him. Carl had often thought of a moment like this. He had visualized how he would set an example for other law abiding citizens by removing another member of the criminal element from society if given the chance. But as Carl squeezed on the trigger, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. He began to think about what would happen to the man’s family if he were to die in Carl’s living room that night. The conflict in Carl’s mind started to rage at this point. What if the man was telling the truth? What if he was playing Carl for a fool just to escape the end he deserved? Suddenly Carl wasn’t so sure about what he should do. He begins to ask the man questions. As the two men start to talk, Carl begins to realize their primary differences are only economic.
Characters: Carl, the burglar
Plot: Carl finds conflict in his beliefs when faced with a certain situation.
How it Ends: Carl realizes that given the right circumstances, he might abandon his convictions and beliefs just to survive. He lets the burglar go free with a promise to help him improve his circumstances.
Lesson: You never know how you will act until you’re in a particular situation.
Location: Bronks, New York
ReplyDeleteTime Period: 1951
Plot: Louie Mondelli always wanted to be a gangster, a wise guy. He grew up hearing of famous criminals such as Al Capone and Baby Face Nelson. He heard through the grape vine that there was a cigarette racket in the area being run by the infamous Gambino crime family, he saw this as his opportunity to get in the game. Louie finally got in contact with a mid ranking Capo in the family named Casey D'alva. Casey liked Louie immediatly and started to give him some petty jobs for the family. Louie succeded at these jobs with flying colors, so casey gave him some better work, some wet work to be exact. Louie was given the task of assassinating a low ranking member of the rival Lucchese family. Louie accepted the job whole heartedly, thinking it would be a piece of cake. Louie even had a custom Colt 1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun made, just for the occation. He was given a tip that his target hung out a place in a place called McGillicuddy's Pup. Louie headed there and sat at the bar, several people down from the target. He waited for the man to get sufficiently inebriated and stagger out of the bar. Louie saw the man enter a back alley, to vomit most likely. He walked behind the doubled over man and placed the chromed barrel up against his head. After going through the upcoming few seconds in his mind, over and over again, Louie returned the pistol to his waistband. He finally realized what he was doing, taking a man's life simply because he was told to. Louie then bent down and asked the man if he needed any assistance.
Theme: Morality. Louie realized the error and stupidity of his actions, which saved a man's life.
Respnse to Ryan Lafferty: I enjoyed how your story was so relavent in todays society.
ReplyDeleteThe name of my story is "Cana." It takes place at the time of when Christ performes his firs miracle in his lifetime. Christ will be at his house with his mother when he recieves a message that he is invited to come to a wedding. He and his mother agree to go and get ready for the event. On the way there he and his mother will talk about the teachings of God his father. When they get there thay aare greeted and introduced to the bride and groom. They sit throuht the wedding and head to the banquet after. Christ and his mother do not drink, but converse with the other people. He soon is told that there is no wine left for the geuests and decides to help. He gets together a bunch of jars and ha the sevents fill them with water. One done he reaches over them and turns them to wine. All of the people at the banquet are astonished and begin listening to him preach.
ReplyDeleteMy response to Johnas Venzant: I agree mystery plays are more exciteing and keep eople entertained.