Good drama : What is it?

By John McNeil

This is just about the hardest question to answer in the world of Christian drama. It is not made any easier by the fact that different countries have different perspectives and approaches. For instance – and this is a big generalisation – in England, subtlety, open-ended conclusions and a certain surrealistic element in humour work well, whereas Americans are more direct, like finite endings, and tend more towards slapstick in their humour. I am a New Zealander, and because our literature and films have been drawn more or less equally from both England and America, we understand and enjoy both. Monty Python is as popular as Home Improvement.

Nonetheless, there are things that are true, regardless of the culture we are set in. Let me start by looking at the nature and purpose of drama.

Drama is theatre. This is where much Christian drama goes wrong. Drama is not a sermon. This does not mean it cannot contain a message. But it does affect the way in which that message is played out. 

So what do I mean by “drama is theatre”? Drama is dramatic: it portrays the human condition so that the audience identifies with what’s going on. Let me reinforce that, because it is the most important thing. Drama is all about the human condition, with its failures, its triumphs, its weaknesses, its glories,  its tragic times and its hilarity. That is why the Bible is so dramatic – it reveals the human condition in all its starkness, without pulling any punches. The flaws of the mighty are laid bare for all to see. God is very dramatic – consider the burning bush, the opening of the Red Sea, the pillar of fire, the Holy Spirit as a flame, the crucifixion of Jesus. How much more dramatic can you get? 

Yet God is not a dramatist just for the sake of effect. He does it to get our attention, to prepare us for the message to follow, to make the message stick. Sometimes that message is very subtle (like the word to Elijah in the quiet breath of wind), sometimes a panorama that fills the skies (as did the angels at the birth of Jesus). Sometimes it’s very funny (as in the behaviour of Balaam’s ass or Jesus’ parable of the log of wood in our eye). Sometimes it calls for great sacrifice (as with Hosea’s marriage to a woman he knew would cuckold him). Sometimes the message was not particularly clear or well understood at the time (for instance, many of Jesus’ parables). It was only later that the penny dropped. 

What can we apply to our drama from this?

1) Engage people’s emotions. 

2) Explore the full breadth of the human condition.

3) Hold up a mirror with which people can identify.

4) Be real; the pious people in the Bible frequently get the worst press. The righteous frequently suffered terribly (eg, Job, Jeremiah, the New Testament martyrs).  

5) Understand that you are just one link in a long chain of history. 

6) Don’t try and resolve the issue every time; don’t strive for neat endings.

7) Consider different ways of approaching the subject; don’t always go head on.

8) You are not there to preach a sermon; let the subject be its own message.

A good Biblical model is the parable of the seed. We are the seed sowers. Others will come behind us to water and harvest. It is not our job to reap. If we try and reap before the crop is ready, in fact, we will do great damage. Just as in the parable, not all the seed will fall on receptive ground. But that’s okay – our job is to spread it. 

Of course, we can be more effective by spreading the right seed for the soil conditions and climate. Which means knowing our audience and making sure that we speak (and act) in a way which will connect with them. But remember, the onus is on us to understand them and seek to build the bridge – the onus is not on them to understand. Don’t forget to find out whether you are connecting – get feedback. Listen with open ears, and don’t be afraid to let your preconceptions be challenged.

The essence of drama is tension. It can be comic tension or dramatic tension. You could almost say that without tension, there is no drama, and sadly much Christian drama suffers from this. The characters are wooden, the situation has little relevance to everyday life outside the church, the dialogue is filled with cliché and Christian jargon, and the plot rolls along full of pat Christian answers, with everybody quoting the Bible and living happily ever after. There is no art, and no sense of real encounter. 

Because of this, church drama has got a bad name for itself over the years, and is not taken seriously by the majority of people involved in theatre outside the church. To quote the director of drama at Willow Creek, Steve Pederson: “Because many view the church as less than serious about drama, drama people who are serious about their art are not interested in working in the church. But with this kind of thinking, drama will never progress to the level where it will wield real impact in churches worldwide. There's a desperate need for trained people who have a vision for what drama can be in the church, for people who are willing to invest their best time and energy into the creation of drama that has the potential to transform lives.”

So to my list above of what makes good drama, I would add the following:

9) Good drama is well-written drama. If you want to learn more about this, there are many good tutorials listed at the Dramatix site; there are probably helpful books in your local library; and you can learn from reading the scripts of well-known playwrights.

10) Good drama is well acted and well produced. If your group lacks skills in this area, get training. Send your people to drama school, attend short courses, pay a professional to come and tutor you, join a local theatre company for some experience. There are many ways to get training.

11) Aim for excellence. Would this script or this performance stand up outside the church? Can it be better than what I would see in a local theatre?

12) Good drama has impact. And this is the payoff for all the hard work. If someone comes up to you after the performance and says, “that was me; I never thought anyone understood,”  then your reward is great. You’ll know that at least this once you achieved something wonderful – you connected heart to heart.

What Makes Good Story?
(The following is taken from the tutorial website, ScreenwritingInfo. While it applies particularly to writing for movies, the general principles are just as applicable to writing for the theatre.)
Let's hazard a guess. The movies you loved most featured characters that swept you up, who captivated your emotions, got you involved. The audience viewing a movie not only wants to be interested in and care about the people they see on the screen, they want to be PASSIONATE about them, whether they like them or not. Great heroes and heroines inspire us; great villains make us want to jump into the screen!
There is always something at stake in a good movie. Not just something someone wants, something that must be acquired, no matter what the risk, as in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or something highly desired by as many main characters as possible, like the small black statue in The Maltese Falcon. Some times it can be an intangible thing, like the freedom of a people in Lawrence of Arabia or Gandhi. All these things drive the character's quest, even gives the hero superhuman strength. It can be something personal (romance) or for the good of all (saving the world from aliens) but it must be powerful and grow more desperate as the story unfolds.
There are always obstacles, which provide that catchword that actors love so much -- CONFLICT. This is the heart of drama. Someone wants something and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both parties, as in Jingle All The Way. In that film, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad battle to achieve the same goal--the acquisition of the last popular action figure for sale that Christmas season. Both of them have promised their son, and they must not fail. Conflict and obstacles can be physical or emotional. But they have to be in your story or you don't really have a story. In most good stories, the protagonist will also have an inner obstacle, some mental or even spiritual problem, that will be resolved by the time s/he reaches the outward, physical goal of the story. Some people call this inner demon a "ghost," while others call in a "wound."
You need a hook. That's a songwriting term that describes that thing that catches the public's attention. A popular Hollywood term is a "high concept." A better idea might be a simple "What if?" In Galaxy Quest, for example, the concept is "What if the washed-up actors from the crew of a cancelled but still popular sci-fi TV show are pressed into a real war in space by aliens who think the TV show broadcasts they received were documentaries?" A good enough "what if?" will set your script apart from the pack. It is why people will leave the comfort of their homes and plunk down their hard-earned bucks at the local cineplex.
http://www.screenwriting.info/01.php