I’ve enjoyed being a part of many Christmas dramas both as an actress, a director, and producer. Each one was enjoyable because of the community of the actors and actresses working toward a goal was a meaningful endeavor. It’s wonderful to see costume designers, set artists, visual and audio teams as well as the dramatists work in community – truly allowing us to be part of something bigger than our individual selves. Our teams have done kids musicals, adult slapstick productions, radio theaters, serious dramas, funny productions, readers theaters, and pantomimes.
An impactful dramatic genre is the tableau and that can be done by children or adults. A tableau is a scene in which the actors remain frozen and motionless in a staged picture. You can add costumes, still gestures, and different stage levels. To get in position for these “still” snapshot pictures, you can black out the lights in the room or you can simply ask the audience to close their eyes. The still picture is created when the lights darken or audience closes their eyes as a narrator reads a story. When the picture is ready to see, have the audience open their eyes or turn up the lights. These still pictures a powerful and moving. The Christmas story, from Luke 2, is an ideal story for a Christmas Tableau.