We premiered our newest drama, Perspectives of Christmas in Bluefield, West Virginia on November 28th, 2009. This is a fresh look at the Christmas story, told from the perspective of those who were there.  After our premier, we took the show to Florida.  The two weeks we were in Vero Beach were spent mostly rehearsing, meeting and preparing for the performances, but we also were able to rest and attend a beautiful Christmas production at Central Assembly of God.  One blessing that we are most grateful for was the traveling cast we had with us.  This was made up of several friends and family members of all ages who were at almost every performance.  This was a blessing as it allowed us to better teach each cast at the churches we performed at.  And as we went to each rehearsal we continued to perfect the songs, choreography, etc.  The traveling cast worked so hard and often stayed after the performances to help us clean up.  We are not sure what we would have done without them!


Port Orange, Florida Performance at Victorious Life Church
This performance at Victorious Life Church (www.victoriouslifeportorange.com) was outdoors.  It looked like we were in a large stable with a large vaulted ceiling overlooking the back porch area.  The church put a star on the peak of the roof that made it look like a typical manger scene!  I would highly recommend looking through the pictures on our website.  The performance itself went well except for the tripping of a breaker.  Other than performing in the dark for a few minutes, everything went great!  Here are a few comments from Pastor Tom Finken, "I recommend every pastor, church, or ministry group looking for a professional musical drama team to use them. They offer a spiritual experience, true to the Scriptures, without placing restricting demands on the hosting organization. It was a pleasure to have them at our church and we would readily have them again."


Vero Beach, Florida Performance at Indian River Estates
Our next performance was on December 8th at Indian River East Estates (www.actsretirement.com), a retirement resort community.  We have worked with them a few times on past trips.  It was fun to see them again and see the residents in different roles as we bring our dramas.  There was a large audience that enjoyed the drama.  Your heart would have been touched to see one gentleman who was part of our cast who had recently lost his wife. Our production provided an opportunity for him to be involved in a Christian Christmas celebration, serving his Lord, which he told us, gave him so much encouragement.  After the performance the staff fed us some wonderful food.  We are thankful for our relationship with Indian River.  Here are some comments as submitted from Wendy Bushong, Activity Director at Indian River Estates East/Division:  "Wonderful", “Fabulous", "The residents loved the performance", "They especially like to see other residents and staff in costume", "...some had tears in their eyes when it was over" and "It's uplifting, and dramatic at the same time”.

Ft. Pierce, Florida Performance at Crossing Community Church
On December 11th we performed at Crossing Community Church (www.tcccfl.com), with a very large cast. The congregation members who joined us for Perspectives of Christmas put on a short Christmas choir concert before the drama.  They did a great job and worked well with the drama.  You would have been excited to see the stage filled with cast members!  We also got a great video of this performance. Many friends and family members of the Shorts attended this performance. What a blessing!

Vero Beach, Florida Performance at St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church
Our final performance of the tour was at St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church on December 13th.  This was our smallest cast, but they all did a fabulous job and worked hard.  St. Peter’s is a very lively church and on that Sunday morning we got to dance and move with the worship music as they took the offering.  The performance went great and was well received.

Another great tour....  The Joneses drove the van and trailer back to West Virginia right after the St. Peter’s performance and arrived safely.  That was a feat with just 2 drivers!  All in all we were honored as so many experienced the Christmas story anew as we glorified God through music, worship, and drama!