Derek and Dave in Search of a Bench
The cast of ‘Derek and Dave in Search of a Bench’
From Play It By Ear:
In the height of the summer, we here at Play it by Ear HQ, were in the middle of holiday club season which actually means we were not really in Play it by Ear HQ at all, rather we were spending the summer with 9 different churches of various denominations, encouraging children to live life to the full with Jesus through our Saddle Up, wild west themed, holiday club programme.
On top of that we also did workshops, services and performances with a number of other churches and organisations, travelling up and down the country meeting all sorts of new people along the way.
It is indeed typical of our work throughout the year, journeying here, there and everywhere, meeting people for an hour or two at a time and then moving on the next location and doing it all again. As such, most of the time it doesn’t really feel like there is a Play it by Ear HQ beyond our respective home offices/3rd bedrooms and the occasional visit to the office in Edgehill House to rehearse a new sketch (yes, we do rehearse sometimes).
With all this in mind, when the opportunity came up, via the Creative Ministries Grant, to work with members of an existing community over a number of weeks and months, it seemed like a no brainer; the chance to work with the same people over a longer period of time, to rehearse together, to share food, to build relationships through creativity was a very exciting prospect. The process of putting on a play is well known for being highly conducive to community building; it places a diverse group of people in a room together and forces them to find creative solutions toward the end goal of the final production.
We had a play in mind, ‘Derek and Dave, in Search of a Bench’, the story of Palm Sunday reimagined as if it took place in present day Belfast. We had written it many years earlier and performed it ourselves but we always knew there was the potential to include a larger cast if the opportunity arose. That opportunity came about through the Creative Ministries grant, enabling us to partner with the East Belfast circuit and allowing us the time to invest in rehearsals and preparation, giving our actors the best possible chance to develop their skills and hone their performances.
Speaking of the actors, we met with the cast in February and assembled a small group of performers at various ages and stages of life. Some were extremely comfortable treading the boards, while for others it was a fairly new experience but for each this was a chance to explore something a bit different and to develop gifts and talents in a safe environment and to then perform in front of a friendly audience.
It was wonderful to see confidence grow over the few weeks of rehearsal and to then feel the buzz of a warm and supportive audience in Sydenham Methodist Church. It was also really encouraging to feel the power of drama, to hear the laughter but also the silences as the more poignant moments sunk in and to know that the story of hope that Jesus brings was being brought to life not necessarily in the slickest way but in the heartfelt performances of our fantastic actors. Big thanks to all of them, the whole East Belfast Circuit and of course the Ministries Team and Home Mission of the Methodist Church.
Ross Jonas/Chris Neilands
The Methodist Church in Ireland is committed to the ongoing learning and development of its lay people and to the ministries they are involved in. To further enable this, creative ministries grants were made available to lay people within the Methodist Church in Ireland, whether voluntary or employed, for exploring, starting or maintaining creative ministries within their local church/context.