How can you tell the story of the nativity so that people feel they're hearing it for the first time? How about backwards! In this innovative pageant, Hartin shows that God's gift of his Son's birth transcends the arrow of time---and changes everything. Includes reproducible script, songs, audio CD, and more. Grades K to 6. 56 pages, spiralbound softcover from Abingdon.

"This will change everything," people say when something new or dramatic happens in their lives, and often it does just that. How do we tell the story of how the birth of Christ changed things long ago and how it continues to change things? Tell the story backward! Part of the point of The Backward Christmas Pageant is that time doesn't matter in this story. The birth of a baby two thousand years ago changed everything--God's grace is timeless. The pageant ends with, "This will change everything." This pageant is designed for a production with no set, no budget, no live musical accompaniment, and where the cast reads from their scripts. If you have a set, budget, live accompaniment, and decide to memorize it all, you can still perform this pageant. Cast members (and production staff) should be dressed to approximate shepherds, Mary and Joseph, wise men, and angels with costumes and props. Only two full cast rehearsals are needed. The cast is arranged so that only one speaker appears in more than one act. The group can rehearse all three acts (not including the music) during the first rehearsal! This allows each child to spend time practicing, rather than waiting for a turn to say their lines. The second rehearsal is just a matter of going straight through the script with actors and musicians. This pageant can be staged with as few or as many sets, costumes, and props as you desire. It works equally well with no costumes or sets (read with scripts in hand), as it does with a full production of costumes, scenery, and every word memorized. Vocal/piano scores for the sung music selections of the pageant are included, The arrangements of the Christmas carols used during and between the actsafford you the option of having a choir, a soloist, or instrumentalists, or others to participate in the pageant. Length: 35-45 minutes. Cast: Up to 25 speaking parts, plus additional opportunities for non-speaking parts.

Dennis Hartin is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology with an M.A. in Religion (emphasis in communication). Dennis has written for the ABC Radio Networks, the Episcopal Church Center, Theatre Three (Port Jefferson, New York), and DadsWorld.com He is active in the ministry programs of First Presbyterian Church of Northport, New York. Dennis has written three Christmas Pageants for Abingdon Press: The Surprising Christmas (2003), The Backward Christmas Pageant (2004), and The Very Important Christmas Pageant (2006).

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