Taylor Made Ministry Philosophy

Those of you who know me personally may find it strange that I would include a Philosophy page on this web site, or even stranger that I would have a philosophy to write about!  However, I would like to share with you how I feel about holiday programs, skits, etc. 

 All of us are children of God and partake of the goodness of God and His many blessings.  I believe that anyone who wants to be a part of a program should be allowed to, not taking into consideration his acting ability or aptitude.  What does this mean?  This means that often you will have a script that does not have enough characters in it to accommodate all of the people in your group.  You need a few characters written in so that more people can participate.  With Taylor Made Ministry scripts feel free to write them in!  Don't worry in this case about the copyright.  It is more important that Little Johnny or Debbie gets to be on stage with everyone else! 

I do understand that many times you will have a program that is just for adults, or just for children.  That is not what I am referring to.  I am speaking of the times when you, for example,  have fifteen children and only have ten speaking parts in a play.  Five of these children will go away feeling left out, or even inferior.  (Life is hard enough on little ones.  Let us not make it more difficult for them at church. )  What can you do in this situation?  Well, as I said before, you can write in a few more lines without changing the plot.  You can chuck the whole play and find a new one.  Or, you can find an additional skit or play to be performed on the same day.  Having two short plays is often more rewarding than having a lengthy one.  In this case you can have two different directors, different cast members, different practice days, etc.  Believe me, a skit with four actors can be much easier in practice sessions than a play with eight, or ten, or twenty!  Aaaaagggghh!

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "I give Debbie (or whoever) a part every year and then she doesn't show up."  Truthfully, I wouldn't want to give Debbie a part either, but this may be the year that she will become dedicated!  However,  I wouldn't risk the entire play by giving her a large part though.  I would explain to her that because of her lack of responsibility in the past, that she can have a part, but a very small one. (I would write in a few lines that can be left out without harming the dialogue.)  If she misses practice, then I would tell her that you tried, but she didn't stick to her end of the bargain and then take her part from her*.   You, as a director, have done all you can do.  I also would not hesitate to rescind parts from other actors who are not serious about learning their lines or  do not consider practice of high importance.  *(One drawback to taking lines out of the play entirely is that the other actors may be waiting for one of those lines as a cue for their line.)

A play that seems great to you is not worth the paper it is written on if all that is remembered  are the hurt feelings of those left out.  If you purchase a TMP play and need it "tweaked" a little, I would be happy to make suggestions to help you out.  Thanks and God Bless You!