Christmas Plays

Christmas plays have come a long way since the time our parents were in the church choir, and I am not talking just of the theme of the plays. The themes have diversified no doubt, and have entered into almost all realms of our normal life, but even the manner in which the plays are organized and performed have undergone a sea change. In earlier days, Christmas plays meant only a handful of performers, mostly children, enacting a nativity scene amateurishly, with a choir warbling out the common noel hymns at the right places. This is common even nowadays, but we can all see the finesse that has come up in Christmas plays. So, if you are planning out a Christmas play for your church this season, you will need to do more than you expected to do.

The first thing you will need is to think out a theme for the Christmas play. The nativity theme is still a superb theme to weave your Christmas play on, but you should consider a few factors. You will have to see whether you have enough good performers who look the part, or else your play could be reduced to a mockery. A nativity enactment will also require excellent singers, and a good number of them too. You will also need to check out if you have all the props, the costumes and the makeup material ready at hand.

Nowadays, the trend is to make your Christmas play a medium to say something that is socially poignant. You can give out a message with your play too; just make sure that the message is relevant to modern times. You can choose whatever theme you want – from grandparents teaching their grandchildren the true meaning of Christmas to the vices of smoking or alcoholism. You will also need a good scriptwriter to write a taut script for your play, since it is not right to stretch out a Christmas play too long.

It is better to begin your rehearsals as much in advance as possible. You will need at least ten clear days of practice, even if your players are only adults. In fact, children will perform Christmas plays with better zest, and there are all chances they will get trained faster. If you have no time, you can still organize a Christmas play using some creativity. Here's an idea. Make a narrative script. The other players will have no dialogs. Someone will narrate the script from the backstage, while the other performers will only act as directed. In that way, the huge pressure of remembering lines is not there, and you can get a play with fewer boo boos. But you will have to make sure the narrative script is good enough to hold interest.

Music is important. Arrange with your church choir to select a few hymns relevant to the theme and to sing them at proper places. Also, they must play some kind of background music when the play is running.

As in all plays, a Christmas play will also need a dress rehearsal before the real thing rolls on. Since the few days preceding Christmas will be extremely busy for the church, you will have to decide where you will hold the rehearsals. Make sure all the props and costumes are ready when you are having the rehearsal. Have at least three full rehearsals before the actual performance, so that you get a chance to improve upon individual performances. However, it is not a good idea to make changes in the script at the last moment. Your performers will already be nervous and your changes will make them more so.

Always make sure your Christmas play has a positive feel to it. There should be something about loving, sharing and caring, which are the main themes of the festive season. Do not let the plays extend beyond a half hour, or it will put the audience in a testy mood. It is a very good idea to have all the performers come up to the stage at the end of the performance and give the people a courtesy bow as the final hymn plays on. That will give an opportunity for the audience to applaud all performers equally, and that would be the best 'thank you' your performers can get.