Drama
Bruce’s Dramas:
Feel free to download any of Bruce Hennigan’s Drama Collections. You are free to use them as often as you want. However, there are a few requirements you must fulfill to utilize my drama:
1 — You may NOT change the substance and basic story of the scripts. You CAN adapt the script to fit your specific location and actor mix.
2 — If you perform my LONGER plays I require that you include the following information in your program:
Name of Play
by Bruce Hennigan
And this short bio:
Bruce Hennigan is a published author, published playwright, and an apologist (one who defends the truth of the Christian faith). More information on Bruce’s ministries please see his website, www.brucehennigan.com. Bruce is available to speak on drama, Christian fiction, and defending the Christian faith. Bruce Hennigan is the founder and director of 613media,LLC.
3 — If you perform any of the LONGER plays please send or scan in and email me a copy of the program. If you VIDEO the play, I would appreciate a complimentary copy of the DVD or video.
613media Short Dramas
This is a three volume collection of short dramas that can be used for sermon illustrations. Some are humorous and others are serious.
613mediaShortDramaVol1, 613mediaShortDramaVol3, and 613mediaShortDramaVol1
“Bayou City” Dramas are long dramas that can be used in dinner theaters or in worship drama settings. They are set in the mythical city of “Bayou City”.
allingodsfamily, AllInGodsFamilyShorts, UNCLEALBERT, TheNightGift, TheFamilyCircus, TheCouch, Murder in the tea room, MadelineGetsMarried, DONTTOUCHDIAL, BobbieJuneDirector
Aunt Bobbie June’s Tea Room (Director’s cut has more roles) — The beloved story of four women confronting a stranger in town. This play has been performed throughout the United States.
Madeline Gets Married — The sequel to “Aunt Bobbie June’s Tea Room”.
Murder in the Tea Room — Aunt Bobbie June is accused of murder!
Deacon Bob’s Antique Shop — The play from which Aunt Bobbie June was adapted. This short drama has some controversial topics.
The Attic Tree — A Christmas drama set in the attic of Papaw’s house on the eve of the day his daughter takes the house away and puts him in a nursing home. A touching tale of unconditional love.
The Messiah of Main Street — A stranger comes to town and everyone questions his motives.
Uncle Albert’s Problem — Inspired by the play and movie “Harvey”, this drama highlights a man who walks around town trying to introduce everyone to his friend, Jesus.
The Night Gift — A Christmas play set in a high rise skyscraper when coworkers in an office get trapped together on Christmas Eve and find out they don’t like each other as well as they thought. But, there is a surprise coming that will unite them in love and concern for each other with the arrival of the Night Gift.
The Couch — A couple on the verge of separation dig through their couch and find objects from their past that remind them that their relationship is worth fighting for.
The Family Circus — A collection of short dramas for children through adults.
All in God’s Family — The short collection is a series of short dramas for sermon illustrations. The final dinner theater version is a full length play featuring characters reminiscent of Archie and Edith Bunker.
Don’t Touch That Dial! — A montage of short dramas celebrating the Golden Age of television featuring Lucy, Carol Burnett, Green Acres, the Twilight Zone, and the Andy Griffith show.
Some of these titles are combined under the title “Bayou City”.
Biblical Dramas — Four long plays featuring Biblical based stories from the life of Christ and his brother, James.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE REMOVED ANY SCRIPTS RELATED TO THE LIVING LAST SUPPER. DUE TO INFORMATION RELATED TO ME BY SOMEONE, THE SCRIPT I ADAPTED FOR OUR CHURCH IS BASED ON A COPYWRITTEN SCRIPT BY Ernest K. Emurian IN HIS BOOK, More Plays and Pageants For Many Occasions. AT THE TIME I ADAPTED THESE PLAYS, I WAS UNAWARE OF THE AUTHOR’S NAME AND HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF HIS PROPER AUTHORSHIP OF THE ORIGINAL PLAY. I WAS REMINDED BY SOMEONE THAT TO CONTINUE TO POST MY ADAPTATION OF THIS PLAY WAS PLAGIARISM AND THIS IS UNETHICAL. IF YOU HAVE EVER DONE THIS PLAY, PLEASE GIVE PROPER CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS PLAY. AND PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY ADAPTATION OF A PLAY WITHOUT THE AUTHOR’S PERMISSION IS ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL!
Bruce Hennigan, Dramatist
I began writing drama in 1987 at the request of Bruce Edwards, our fine arts minister at Brookwood Baptist Church. By 1989, I was fully involved in writing full length dramas and directing full length plays. In January, 1992 my pastor, Mark Sutton asked me to start a new drama ministry at Brookwood after the departure of Bruce Edwards. His one requirement was that all dramas had to be original and had to be written by me!
From 1992 to the end of 1995, Brookwood had a vibrant and expanding drama ministry that included quarterly dinner theaters, quarterly worship dramas, a youth drama team, a children’s drama team, Easter pageants, Halloween oriented dramas (Eternity House), and a young adult multi-media Saturday night service quarterly known as Saturday Night Alive!
By the end of 1995, changes in my family’s health issues and my own onerous schedule plunged me into a deep depression. I gave up church based drama for two years during which I underwent counseling and healing. We picked up our drama ministry on a smaller scale in the fall of 1997.In the spring of 2000, we started a full time video ministry producing short videos for our worship services.
Up until the fall of 2006, the drama ministry of Brookwood continued to be involved in weekly sermon dramas, quarterly dinner theaters, pageants, and a new version of SNA known as BSN or Brookwood Saturday Nights. During this time, I formed a writing group known as the Scribes of the Round Table to brainstorm and write short dramas and video scripts for the worship services.
Due to changes in the personality of Brookwood and a desire to restructure, the drama ministry folded in late 2006. I joined the Worship Production Team and turned my attention to creative ways to promote our worship services.
In 2009, Brookwood’s children minister, Rosalyn Milliken approached me to help her put together a new drama and music based program known as Kidstuf. Kidstuf is a thirty minute weekly worship service for parents and their children utilizing fast paced music and drama. Months of planning led to the premier of Kidstuf in February 2010. It continues to this day.
My role at Brookwood now is to teach apologetics (defending the Christian faith) and to be an integral part of Kidstuf. In Kidstuf, I produce, direct, act, and I am the principal adapter of our scripts. The scripts are pre-written but have to be adapted to our unique situation as a church. We have also created additional recurring characters to give some relief to the weekly “grind” of producing a Kidstuf. For that reason, I have to write new dialogue by converting the existing scripts to fit the new characters.
I continue to teach at the annual state drama festival on many topics related to church based drama based on my years of drudgery, I mean, experience.
Bruce Hennigan is available to speak on the following topics:
The ABC’s of Playwriting
An overview of the essential ingredients in writing a dramatic play.
Bath Robes and Duct Tape
How to form a layperson drama ministry.
Cookbooking a Dinner Theater
A “recipe” for a successful dinner theater.
Scribes of the Round Table
Putting together a successful brainstorming, creative, writing group for developing drama on an ongoing basis.
The Homecoming Tree — available at this link
Ray Blunt is about to make the most lucrative decision of his career in a hostile takeover of a large business from its aging founder. To celebrate his upcoming victory, he has decided to fly to the Caribbean with his mistress leaving behind his wife and children to spend Thanksgiving alone. He is confronted by the elder founder of the company, Daniel Collinsworth who is more concerned about Ray’s infidelity rather than the business deal. The two are arguing in the park across from the office building housing the main company when they are both mugged. Ray awakens with no memory in 1941. He is taken in by a family running a boarding house on the sight of the park and he spends Thanksgiving in the company of strangers. He meets Daniel as a thirteen year old boy whose father is a hero training pilots to fly airplanes for the American Army Corps. Soon, Ray is pulled into the horror of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor when Daniel’s father goes missing while in Hawaii.
A local business, Lazarus Cheatwood, tries to take the house and the land away from Mrs. Collinsworth in order to get his hands on a capped oil well his father had discovered on the land before he sold it to the Collinsworths. Ray sees disturbing similarities in himself with the devious and deceptive Cheatwood and helps the family overcome his plan. As Christmas Eve approaches, Ray helps Daniel find his strength as a young boy coming of age in the horror that will become World War II. Daniel must cut down a tree his father planted on the day he was born and bring it back to the house by himself for the family’s Christmas tree. It represents Daniel becoming a man and the mantel of responsibility passing from father to son.
As Cheatwood presses on with his plan and tries to take away the house on Christmas Eve, a mysterious stranger appears and thwarts the man’s plans. Ray suddenly remembers who he is and awakens in a hospital room with the dying elderly Daniel Collinsworth. The old man has changed Ray’s life in a supernatural way. Ray discovers it is now Christmas Eve and he rushes home to spend it with his family.
This book, based on the successful play of the same name, is a strong family oriented inspirational story. It evokes nostalgic and tragic memories of a time when life was much simpler and evil was more unrestrained in the world. It is the story of one man’s journey into self discovery and one young boy’s ascension to manhood.
