Children's Christmas Pagents: Making life a little more sureal

[Mithrandir]

OK... Here's a thread where you can all list the wonderfully odd things that go on in Children's pagents. I LOVE watching these. It gives you wonderful insight into the sureal movement.

For example, according the pagent at my mother's church, the three wise men never made it to bethlahem. The first on hid under his mother's skirt and refused to go up to the stage. The second ran to hid behind the sheep. The third sorta ran past the baby Jesus, glanced into the stable and continued right on past, gift in hand.

So, what did you guys see this (or past) Christmas in the pagents?

[TheMelodyMaker]

Does anyone ever watch Life With Bonnie? In last year's Christmas episode, the children put on a pageant about our Lord's birth and it was rather humorous because much of it was rather ad lib. The best part was the two(!) kids coming in and saying "Hi there, we're the three wise guys."

[uc pseudonym]

I wish I had something to contribute. This is quite a humorous thread. But at my church most of our Christmas pagents have a bit higher aged actors.

[Ashley]

Oh, my experience with christmas pagents is quite long...I've helped produce them at my church for several years. Here's some highlights:
* When I was in 4th grade, my private school put on a play called "Three Wise Men and a Baby". It was a comedy. I was a shepherd (#2, actually) and we decided to bring Jesus a toaster and a tie.

*In a spin off of a christmas carol I played the main hero's pregnant, druggie daughter in the future. That was one of the hardest roles...especially with all your pastors and my father in the front row!

* One of the less glorifying positions...one year I was the rear end of a camel. Had to wear khaki pants and these brown volleyball kneeguards. And we wobbled when we walked. I nearly tripped trying to make it over the steps in the sanctuary.

* One year I didn't even have a walk on part...I hid behind some scenery and moved a stick with a bird attached on the other end with some fishing line.

[cbwing0]

This year's Christmas play (entitled "The First Leon") was pretty interesting. The main character was a little boy who became obsessed with Christmas after he learned that his name was "noel" spelled backwards. The youth group didn't have many opportunities to practice, so they had to use their scripts on stage. This made for some akward pauses, even though they practiced all afternoon before the performance. Unforunately I wasn't in it for the first time, since I was away at college when they handed out parts.

It was kind of weird, because the play was about people putting on a Christmas play. The kid (Leon) got the part of the inkeeper, and he ended up offering Mary and Joseph his room in the inn rather than making them stay in the manger.

[Heaven's Cloud]

In the Christmas pagent one of the little angels forgot the song she was supposed to sing. wasn't humouros, except when she had her microphone on and said, what's the next line. lol.

One wise man was walking to give baby Jesus a present when he tripped, and the manger fell over with the baby in it. I don't remember if the baby was crying or laughing.

It's quite fun to watch the Christmas plays at my church. What I am about to bring up has nothing to do with Christmas pagents or mess ups and stuff like that, but it was so funny I just have to share it.

In the Christmas Carol at our church the Spirit of Christmas Present was a Game Show host. Now this made me laugh. The person who played it was so funny. He played his character like a true actor. My church is always fun to go to.

[andyroo]

I'm sorta in the same situation as UC about the actors being older. The childeren are usually just extras probably playing as shepherds or townspeople (no lines; maybe ad lib, but that's it). Although, there was this one school program that I played bells in where this little girl, maybe 3 years old, grabbed one of the picket... I mean-- these signs with a picture for each of the 12 days of Christmas and was walking around up front swinging it in the air just like a true protester. Other than me having always forget my three sentence lines at Christmas pagents that's about it.

[c-girl]

This wasn't at my church and I wasn't there. But it was the play "The Nutcracker". My friends mom was the main character , the one who had recieved the nutcracker. She was supposed to jump into the nutcracker's arms.
But she accidently slipped and fell off the stage. According to my friend, she wasn't hurt a bit , but she was embarrased. (She was a kid then)

[uc pseudonym]

What we do have is a part where children "sing" a few songs. It's one of those moments where everyone says "awww" a lot and talks about how cute they are. Most of them just stand there, looking kind of scared.

For one song this year they were given stuffed animals. They still didn't sing, but they didn't want to give up the stuffed animals.

One song (which comes up every year) is about bells ringing. They give the kids bells to ring (but only during the song). You can guess when these bells get rung.

One kid didn't sing for about half the song, then abruptly broke into a loud "la! la! la!" directly into the mike.

[Haibane Shadsie]

The first year I remember being in a Christmas play, it was a Cantata... It was singing and acting, and it was about the whole life of Christ. I played "Jericho Resident" telling her perspective on the story of Zaccheas. It was really cool... 'cause I made some people in the audience cry. (It was a tear-jerking kind of testimony).

One year, I was involved in a play with the kids... it was based on John chapter 3... the story of Nicodemus. The play was called "Nick at Night." The surreal thing about it was that it was a play within a play. Due to lack of actors, some of the child actors played the kids who were going with their aunt to the play, then would play actors in the play. Confused yet? Anyway, my role was the hostess of the play - the narrator-person who would come in in between scenes. One of the more fun things about the play (besides the cute songs, heh, "Nick, Nick, Nick at Night!")... was the scene with the Pharasies. The Pharasies (who were in the play-within-play) all had names that started with "Ph". One of them was "Phorrest Pharasie"... who did a Pharasie version of Forrest Gump. It was fun!