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Early Heroes of the Faith
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Early Heroes of the Faith
Each of the plays in this collection is short and easy to fit into a church service. With only 2 actors needed for each play, minimal costuming, simple set design, and limited rehearsal time, they are easy to produce.
Author: Delvyn Case
Synopsis:
Take your church congregation back to the early days of church history, when courageous men and women stood steadfast in their faith and spread the gospel to new lands. This collection of plays dramatizes stories of the first six centuries of Christian history not only in Rome and Carthage but in the countries of Europe as Christianity spread. With plays lasting only 5 to 10 minutes, your congregation can be encouraged and challenged by heroes of our faith.
PERPETUA IN THE LION’S DEN takes place in Carthage, an early center of Christianity. There a young Christian woman who has just given birth to a child while imprisoned is begged by her father to offer a sacrifice to the emperor and spare her life from the lions. How does Perpetua answer her father when he claims there is no hope for her?
VALENTINE’S DAY, 269 A.D.–THE END OF THE BEGINNING is set on that famous day we celebrate: February 14. On that fateful day, Valentine is entreated by the wife of the jailer to acknowledge the emperor as a god. Before Valentine is martyred, children in the congregation send Valentine in prison messages of love and encouragement with pictures of Christian symbols such as a cross, a fish, or an anchor. These little notes began our custom of giving Valentine cards to those we love.
ALBAN-FIRST MARTYR OF BRITAIN is a play set at the extreme end of the Roman empire where a small church grew “seeded” by the blood of martyrs. Here Alban, a member of the church, exchanges clothes with the leader of the church so the leader can escape with his life. However, Alban is caught and is accused of spreading Christianity and becoming the new leader of this illegal cult.
SAINT PATRICK-MISSIONARY TO IRELAND dramatizes how Patrick returns to Ireland after escaping slavery there and entreats the king to eschew vengeance though it is allowed by Irish law. Patrick also teaches the king about the trinity using a common plant of the emerald isles-the three-leaf clover.
SAINT COLUMBA-MISSIONARY TO SCOTLAND takes place 100 years after Saint Patrick goes to Ireland. Columba immigrates to Scotland to spread the gospel but is summoned to appear before the king because his preaching and songs offend the Druid priests. Columba teaches the king about Christianity and how its acceptance would change his life, including freeing of slaves (that became a landmark in early Scottish legal history).
Each of the plays in this collection is short and easy to fit into a church service. With only 2 actors needed for each play, minimal costuming, simple set design, and limited rehearsal time, they are easy to produce. EARLY HEROES OF THE FAITH offers your church live productions that teach about the lives of great men and women who were part of the foundation of Christianity.
Early Heroes of the Faith
Early Heroes of the Faith:
Five Short Plays Celebrating Remarkable Women and Men of the First Century
by
Delvyn C. Case, Jr. EARLY HEROES OF THE FAITH
Copyright ©2017 by Delvyn C. Case, Jr.
All Rights Reserved
CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that EARLY HEROES OF THE FAITH is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Commonwealth, including Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, and the rights of translation into foreign language are strictly reserved.
The amateur live stage performance rights to EARLY HEROES OF THE FAITH are controlled exclusively by Drama Source and royalty arrangements and licenses must be secured well in advance of presentation. PLEASE NOTE that amateur royalty fees are set upon application in accordance with your producing circumstances. When applying for a royalty quotation and license please give us the number of performances intended, dates of production, your seating capacity and the admission fee. Royalties are payable one week before the opening performance of the play to Drama Source Co., 1588 E. 361 N., St. Anthony, Idaho 83445.
Royalty of the required amount must be paid whether the play is presented for charity or gain, and whether or not admission is charged. For all other rights than those stipulated above, apply to Drama Source Company, 1588 E. 361 N. St. Anthony, Idaho 83445.
Copying from this book in whole or in part is strictly forbidden by law, and the right of performance is not transferable.
Whenever the play is produced, the following notice must appear on all programs, printing and advertising for the play, “Produced by special arrangement with Drama Source Co.”
Due authorship credit must be given on all programs, printing and advertising for the play.
No one shall commit or authorize any act or omission by which the copyright or the rights to copyright of this play may be impaired.
No one shall make changes in this play for the purpose of production without written permission.
Publication of this play does not imply availability for performance. Both amateurs and professionals considering a production are strongly advised in their own interests to apply to Drama Source Company for written permission before starting rehearsals, advertising, or booking a theatre.
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Table of Contents
Perpetua In the Lion’s Den (205 A.D.)……………………………..1
(Perpetua’s father urges her to offer a sacrifice to the Emperor to save her life)
Alban—First Martyr of Britain (249 A.D.)…………………………7
(Alban becomes the first Christian martyr in Britain for spreading the gospel and for refusing to renounce his Christian faith)
Valentine’s Day, 269 A.D.—The End of the Beginning
(269 A.D.)………………………………………………………………….14
(The wife of the Roman jailer pleads with Valentine to acknowledge the emperor as god to avoid death)
Saint Patrick—Missionary to Ireland (440 A.D.)……………..23
(Patrick entreats an Irish king to eschew vengeance and uses a three-leaf clover to teach the king about God)
Saint Columba—Missionary to Scotland (565 A.D.)…………30
(Columba is summoned to King Bridei’s court because Columba has offended the Scottish Druid priests with his singing and preaching of the gospel)
Perpetua in the Lion’s Den
Characters
PERPETUA , age 22
VIBIUS, father of PERPETUA, age 45
Time: Morning, March 8, 205 A.D.
Place: A prison in Carthage
Set/Costumes/Props
The stage is bare except for a small dirty mat at center stage. PERPETUA wears a rough, soiled, torn robe. She is barefoot. She has blood stains on her robe. She holds a baby infant wrapped in a blanket. VIBIUS wears a clean robe with sandals.
Perpetua in the Lion’s Den
[SFX: roar of a lion]
(As the lights come up, PERPETUA is sitting on the mat. She gathers the infant to her as she finishes nursing him. She hums audibly to the infant and looks tenderly at the infant. VIBIUS enters from stage left and crosses hurriedly to PERPETUA)
[spot #1 on PERPETUA as the lights come up and widen to cover VIBIUS as he crosses to PERPETUA]
VIBIUS
(anxiously)
My dear Perpetua. Are you feeling better today?
PERPETUA
(happily)
Since they’ve given me back my son, my health has returned…even after the…
VIBIUS
How is he?
PERPETUA
He’s nursing very well. (patting infant’s head) It makes him happy. (smiling) It makes me happy, too. (hand up) The prison’s become a PALACE since he’s arrived.
(VIBIUS shudders in distress)
FATHER
(anxiously)
You know I’ve come in love…
PERPETUA
(kindly)
Yes, father.
VIBIUS
I must ask you again. (pleadingly) PLEASE…change your mind!
PERPETUA
(genuinely)
I can’t.
VIBIUS
Hasn’t the heat or the stench in this hole been enough? There’s nowhere else in Carthage like this.
(PERPETUA looks down)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
(pointing to PERPETUA)
Or the torture you’ve endured?
(PERPETUA looks at the blood stains on her robe)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
Have pity on your father’s gray head. (pointing to infant) Have pity on your son! What’ll become of him?
(PERPETUA looks at son and holds him tightly)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
Perform the sacrifice for the welfare of the Emperor. You must.
PERPETUA
(strongly)
I can’t go against God.
VIBIUS
You don’t have to BELIEVE what you’re doing. Just go to the temple…and pretend…PRETEND to worship the Emperor. I beg you.
PERPETUA
(gently)
I will not.
VIBIUS
(in desperation)
YOU’RE DOOMED!
(VIBIUS crosses closer to PERPETUA)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
The beatings have only been the beginning. They’re coming for you this morning, to take you to the amphitheater. They’ll make you run the gauntlet between the elite guard as you enter the arena. Whip you with scorpions, and strip you naked in front of the whole crowd. NAKED…the shame! (pointing at PERPETUA) Is that what you want?
PERPETUA
I can’t stop what they’ll do to me.
VIBIUS
(earnestly)
Yes you can. You can. They’ll release the lions from the cages. I could hear them roaring as I walked over here.
(PERPETUA nods and looks down. VIBIUS kneels down
beside PERPETUA)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
(imploringly)
Perpetua!
(PERPETUA looks at VIBIUS)
VIBIUS (cont’d)
They’ll tear you apart. You’ll…(with a sigh) die. Please…(holding up one finger) just ONE sacrifice.
(PERPETUA stands up with difficulty because of pain)
PERPETUA
(shaking head)
No!
(VIBIUS falls on face in front of PERPETUA)
VIBIUS
(with great pathos)
THERE’S NO HOPE!
PERPETUA
There IS hope, father.
(VIBIUS looks up expectantly at PERPETUA for her to change her mind)
PERPETUA
(triumphantly)
I’M A CHRISTIAN!
(VIBIUS despondently shakes his head. PERPETUA
holds infant toward FATHER)
PERPETUA (cont’)
Please.
(VIBIUS gets up on his knees. PERPETUA hands infant to
VIBIUS. VIBIUS looks at the infant and then at PERPETUA. PERPETUA with determination smiles at VIBIUS. VIBIUS
shivers with fear)
[spot #1 off PERPETUA and VIBIUS]
(black out)
[SFX: roar of a lion]
END OF PLAY
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Early Heroes of the Faith
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