A Scrooge Family Christmas: A Christmas Pageant

 

I have been directing a play for the Children's Express Theatre with a cast of 34 children, youth and adults.  It is a parody based on Charles Dickens' characters from "The Christmas Carol."   Instead of one Scrooge, we have a modern day Scrooge family.  There is the Spirit of Christmas Present; the Spirits of Christmas Future and the Spirit of Christmas Past who explains the real meaning of Christmas.  There will only be one performance but it will be video recorded for You Tube.

Children's Express Theatre Presents "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales"

The Children's Express Theatre Presents "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales" this Wednesday, at 6:00 p.m.  At Shores UMC on 714 Shores Blvd., St. Augustine, Florida.  Admission is free!  Afterwards, everyone is invited for refreshments at the Education Building.
The Express Theatre will also be performing at several other locations in St. Augustine as Outreach to people in assistant living facilities.  On Friday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. they will be performing at BayView, 161 Marine Street.  Saturday, December 20 at 6:30 p.m. they will be performing at Allegro, 1101 Plantation Island Dr.

Children's Express Theatre Performs at Allegro

 The Children's  Express Theatre performed 'Lost Treasure of Shipwreck Bay' for the residents of Allegro in St. Augustine, Florida.  It was a full house with people lined up outside the doors trying to watch.  The audience loved the play and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the children and youth.  This is the third performance the Express Theatre has performed at Allegro within the past 12 months.  Last September, the Express Theatre performed "That Dastardly Dirty Darlene".  It was about the town of Dirt Clod and the town's bully "Dirty Darlene". 

 

At Christmas 2013, the Children's Express Theatre performed "Charlie Browns Christmas" and it brought back memories for many of the audience since Charlie Brown comic strips have been in newspaper comics for 52 years. 



In September, we will start rehearsing for a new Christmas play and will be returning to Allegro to celebrate another Christmas season with them.

Children's Express Theatre Presents "Lost Treasure of Shipwreck Bay"

 

 The Children's Express Theatre of St. Augustine performs "The Lost Treasure of Shipwreck Bay."  The play is an 5 act slapstick comedy that takes place on a Caribbean island.  Captain Chris P. Cooky is the proprietor of an island excursion company.  He is assisted by colorful locals (Coco Banana, Pearl Shellfish, Brad Krumbs) in searching for his long-lost family fortune. His great-great granddaddy's ship was carrying the treasure when it wrecked on Shipwreck Bay near an crumbling lighthouse. The play's theme is 'The Way of Love' base on I Corinthians 13.  These young actors have demonstrated love for others in giving their time, effort and hard work in rehearsing for a month to perform this play for children within our community at VBS and they will be performing for Allegro Assisting Living residents.

The Way of Love

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."   

Children's Express Theatre of St. Augustine

The Children's Express Theatre is a performing arts readers theatre for children ages 5 to 17.  I formed the group in September 2012 to fulfill a community need to provide a theatre for children in St. Augustine that was affordable and opened to all children. The local community theatre charges $450 fees for a child to enroll and participate in a theatre production.  Children's Express Theatre is free and opened to all children. It is called 'Express' because we can take our play to different facilities such as nursing homes, assistance living.  Our props are simple like medieval 'street performers'.  Express Theatre has performed at various functions such as a dinner and talent show, Christmas Party, Christmas Eve Service, Children's Moment at Shores UMC, and End-of-year Exploring LIFE Program. They have performed 5 plays during the 2012-2013 school year:

• Call 911
• Daniel, Daniel He's Our Man
• A Shepard's Night
• The Two Little Pigs
• Shipwrecked

The pictures below are from a performance of  'Shipwrecked' at Shores UMC.  The story was about the Apostle Paul being a prisoner and taken to Rome by ship to stand trial in the middle of a terrible storm and were shipped wrecked on Malta. There were over 10 children participating in speaking and non speaking roles, ages 5 to 17.

 

 

They are currently rehearsing 'Rip  Roarin' a 5 act play about the wild western frontier town of Dirt Clod and that dastardly dirty Darlene. They will be performing the play over a five day period July 29 through August 2 for the SonWest Roundup VBS.

They will also perform the final act for Shores UMC in August.  I will be doing a summer camp the last week in June to rehearse stage movement, working on props, and memorizing lines.