Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Worship

Reveling in the Mystery of Christmas

December 30, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen 5 Comments

Reveling in the Mystery of Christmas

I hope that this finds you reveling in the mystery of Christmas. We are only halfway through the 12 days, so let’s keep at it. Pour yourself a mug of eggnog or mulled wine and think about it: The eternal God has taken human flesh and dwells among us! That is far too big a […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Music, Theology, Worship

Christmas Play World Premier!

December 17, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

Christmas Play World Premier

It really happened! I wrote a play (with a great deal of help from Matthew, Luke and John, and the kind permission of the folks at Crossway) and I got to see it produced. My friend Claudia in New Zealand said in the comments of an earlier post that she’d like to see it. So […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Christmas pageant, Christmas Play, Nativity play, Video, World Premier

Director’s Journal: Run-Through?

December 8, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

This week we had our 4th rehearsal of my new Christmas Play. Next Saturday is the dress rehearsal. Sunday morning the show must go on. The agenda at this point should be a “run-through”. That is, the cast should perform the play, start to finish, without interruption. Then I would make some comments on places to improve. But putting on […]

Filed Under: Bible, Worship Tagged With: Christmas Play, Church plays, Director's journal, Run-Through

Director’s Journal: Including the Children

November 24, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Including the Children

My pastor scheduled a short third rehearsal: just 45 minutes before an all-church event. That’s three quarters of an hour for two complicated jobs. 1. Re-block what Didn’t Work The first job was to re-block things that were troublesome last week. Sticking with my original plan might preserve my pride, but only temporarily. Better to just admit where it hadn’t […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Christmas Play, Director's journal, Including the Children, re-blocking

Director’s Journal: Blocking

November 18, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Blocking

There was one aspect of directing my play that filled me with dread: blocking. It’s also the aspect that filled me most with excitement. Blocking “Blocking” is what you do in the second rehearsal–the first few rehearsals in a longer play. You work through the script, line by line, and teach the actors where they […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Adapting a play to a church, Blocking, Director's journal, How to direct a play

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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