From the Inside Out

Gary and I jumped into the Mercedes today and headed North. It was time for a road trip! We were traveling to the city where my sister was born (Oklahoma City) to see Katie performing in Be Aggressive at Oklahoma City University.

Even though I prefer to fly, there is something distinctively fun about a road trip. You get to drive on the open road, listen to great tunes on your iPod, and see the countryside up close and personal. For this trip, the trees in Oklahoma were displaying their Fall colors, and it was a beautiful sight. You don’t see that in a plane.

After three hours and an unexpected delay by a state trooper, we arrived in OKC. We had some extra time before the show started, so we ate dinner at a Mexican food restaurant and then headed to the OKCU black box theater for the show.

Be Aggressive is a play written by Annie Weisman. Set in Southern California, the story revolves around cheerleaders Laura and Leslie (played by Katie). After Laura’s mother is killed, the teenager is left to care for her little sister and her grieving father. The play takes a darkly comedic turn when the girls conspire to better themselves by running off to a cheerleading training program called the Spirit Institute of the South.

Be Aggressive is a witty, energetic and entertaining play. Katie’s performance was AWESOME! She did an outstanding job playing Leslie. It was a challenging character to play, and she made it look easy. Katie is extremely talented — we’re lucky to have her in our dramas when she’s not away at college.

After the play, we got back on the road and came home. We arrived late, but daylight saving time ends tonight, so we get an extra hour to sleep before church tomorrow.

Don’t forget to change your clocks, and have a great Sunday!

In case you were wondering why I didn’t post a blog last night, here’s the story.  I got bored so I decided to rip the Pirates of Patmos DVD and turn it into a short music video that follows the basic storyline.  I am by no means an expert in video editing, but I love playing around with it. 

In fact, I love it so much that I accidentally stayed up until 4 am working on it.  Hey, it’s not easy squeezing 2 hours of content into a 6 minute video!  Plus, it was already late when I started.

Here’s the completed video…check it out.

free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools

After doing some early birthday shopping at the Galleria, Gary and I headed to the Garland Civic Theater to meet up with the young married’s group from ALC. The GCT was performing Murder on the Nile, a play based on the famous Agatha Christie detective novel.

When I was younger, I was an avid Agatha Christie reader. I loved her murder mysteries. In fact, one of her stories (Ten Little Indians) provided inspiration for And Then There Was One. Agatha Christie could weave a thrilling mystery with many unexpected twists and turns. It was rare if you figured out the mystery before it was revealed.

Since I’m such a big fan of her work, I was looking forward to the play. We entered the theater ready to be transported to Egypt. The stage looked great. The mood was set. We were excited.

Unfortunately, GCT’s adaptation fell flat. They replaced the famous detective, Hercule Poirot, with a priest. That was disappointing, but it could have been forgiven if the rest of the play was good. It wasn’t. The characters were one dimensional. Each actor seemed to be trying to outdo the other with his/her dramatic interpretation of the character. Don’t get me wrong. I love drama, but when each character delivers their lines in the same overdramatic fashion throughout the entire play, it becomes loathsome.

Some of the actors had problems with their accents. We overheard a couple of people talking during intermission. One of them said, “I can’t understand anything they’re saying. Maybe we’re not supposed to?”

Hmm…not good.

I think their biggest mistake was not knowing when to edit. The play clocked in at 2 hours and 45 minutes (including intermission). It was waaay too long! There were many things that could have been cut out to make the play flow better.

We were begging for it to end. That’s the last thing you want your audience to be doing. Know when to say when.

All in all, it was a memorable evening. We had a good time hanging out with our friends, and that’s what these nights are all about.

Gary and I wrote a play last year for the ALC Drama Players. And Then There Was One is a “whodunit” murder mystery. Ten strangers are snowed in, out of power, and no one can escape. One by one people start dying until there’s only one person left.

The play was a big hit at ALC, and I was approached earlier this year by a church in Denison that wanted to use it for a dinner theater production this summer. We made a few arrangements and voila! It was done.

Tonight we went to see the show. They made us feel very special from the moment we arrived. We got the best seats in the house and were recognized by the organizers of the show. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the end along with a gift card for dinner. It was such a nice treat!

We had a fabulous evening. The food was great, and the cast did an outstanding job with the production. I really enjoyed watching what the directors and actors did with the characters. That’s the great thing about a play. It’s a living entity. Each actor brings a bit of their own personality to a character, so it’s always a little different depending on who is playing the part. In addition, the cast threw in a few surprises which had me laughing out loud. Below is a picture I snapped during Act One.

Watching the show was a neat experience although it’s difficult to explain exactly how I felt as others performed my work. I’m having trouble putting it into words. I guess I’d have to say that it was a mixture of joy, excitement and pride coupled with a sense of accomplishment. I’m so thankful that God has used us to reach out to people and convey His message through drama evangelism. Now that message is extending beyond the walls of ALC. Isn’t that amazing?

Lights…camera…action! Pirates of Patmos opened tonight, and we had an outstanding crowd. The energy from the audience was amazing; that’s what makes acting so much fun.

After a “so-so” dress rehearsal plagued with costuming issues and sick actors, I was really nervous about the performance tonight, but I’m pleased to report that everything went flawlessly. God was definitely listening to our prayers!

I couldn’t be happier about tonight’s production. We received rave reviews from the friends, family and guests who were in attendance. We posed with the kids who wanted photos with our characters and had a really fun evening.

While the play is intended to be a lighthearted and fun pirate adventure, it does have a message. It’s one that I hope people will remember long after tonight. Even though I really enjoy putting on these productions, we don’t just do them for the fun of it. Ultimately, our goal is to minister to people through drama, leaving a message of hope and redemption.

Well, it’s really late, and I have to get up early tomorrow. I’ll try to write more about the Pirates experience when I have more time. In the mean time, you can check out the new photos in the Photos section of the blog.

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight to support us.

We will do it all over again tomorrow, and I can’t wait!