About the Presentation
Shining Light Drama
Each of our presentations includes several short dramas depicting challenging real life situations that most people face directly or indirectly. Our goal is to eventually present how someone who is seeking to follow Jesus Christ might respond when faced with this or a similar situation. Sometimes we use our members’ testimonies to introduce the drama or even depict their stories in the drama. We strive to present the complexity of both the situations and the choices individuals face in their responses. We usually respond to the questions raised in creative and artistic ways, including songs, dramatic dances, video, etc.
Through each season we gradually replace dramas and their accompanying songs/artistic responses, striving to have a complete new program every 12-18 months.
Most of our dramas are developed and written by Kelly Enck, our Production Director, with the assistance of Shining Light members.
Here are the dramas used in a recent presentation:
Opening Poem: “Depression”
Written by one of our own members, expressing the honest feelings of emptiness and pain, and questioning the significance of life.
Humorous Drama:
“Open House” Elvin, the main character, finds himself caught in a very bad dream: Entering a new school, with an opportunity for a fresh start – to be who he was created to be – Elvin must walk through an “Open House,” which turns out to be not so open. Every person he comes in contact with forces him to join their own club, team, or class, even though his interests are completely different from what is being offered. Eventually his mother, girlfriend, roommate, and even his grandfather all join in and place “leashes” around his wrist, literally pulling him in all different directions. When he wakes up, Elvin admits his confusion about who he is and the direction he wants for his life, but he resolves to figure that out on his own and “not let anyone else define that.”
Response: This drama is immediately followed by the song “Free” (by Virtue). Performed by the whole chorus and featuring several soloists and rappers, “Free” celebrates the freedom in breaking out of the “ideal mold” to be authentic and real – who God created us to be.
Serious Drama: “Worlds Apart”
Based on true life experiences of the lead actress, this drama depicts the struggles of living in a home with constant tension. Erin (fictional name) describes the frustration, fears, and loneliness of being the daughter of an alcoholic and depressed father and busy-body mother who can never seem to get along with each other. The perpetual fighting and threats to abandon the marriage leave Erin wondering which is worse: for her parents to stay together and live with the constant fighting, or for them to split up but finally live in peace. Neither outcome offers much hope, but in the midst of the tension, there seems to be no other way out. Even cries out to God seem to be met with silence.
Response: This drama is immediately followed by “Set Me Free,” in which Erin – held captive by the dark ones around her – finally finds freedom and rescue from Jesus Christ, who has the power to wipe away all darkness.
Serious Drama: “Wake Up”
One of our members, Jeni, weaves together her personal thoughts and experiences with a fictional character, Danny, to demonstrate how diverse yet similar we are as human beings in our efforts to “be our own gods,” and the destruction that can cause. Each describes their response to struggles in life: Danny turns to drugs, sex, or violence; Jeni relates her experiences of turning to a “false happiness” and taking her anger out on herself when no one was looking. Then, when the idea of turning to God is introduced by his mother and girlfriend, Danny first responds by mocking the idea, but eventually he gets angry and hardened. Jeni shares her initial response to accept Christianity, but only to protect her image. Both reject the offer of personal relationship with Jesus Christ and resolve to do things their own way, and both find themselves in a dangerous downward spiral. For Danny, it begins with owing a lot of money for drugs, which leads to his brother getting shot and killed, and it ends with his mother making the painful choice to send him away for his own safety. Jeni describes her downward spiral with eating disorders and cutting: those things that she turned to in an attempt to take control of her problems eventually took control over her and she found herself in a vicious cycle.
Response: The drama concludes with the actors portraying their parts in the song “Wake Up” (by KJ-52 w/ Toby Morell from Emery). This song is a challenge to Danny, and the audience, to “Wake Up” and admit that maybe there’s Someone who can run our life better than ourselves.
