Once a year for the last fifteen years, the congregation at St. Pauls United Church of Christ in Chicago has been treated to a dramatized story from the scriptures during the Sunday worship service. They are joined by their church school teachers, adult guest actors from the congregation as well as a handful of professional actors in pivotal roles in an always amazing intergenerational creative process and production. It is particularly amazing because there are only three workshop sessions conducted during church school and one afternoon rehearsal for the principal players prior to the dress rehearsal and performance on the fourth Sunday. During the preparation period, the Bible Story Theatre company actors lead participatory workshops designed to create an ensemble spirit as well as to provide skill-building exercises in voice production, physical movement, and improvisation.
Music is taught, roles are assigned, and action is explored.
Bible Story Theatre originated as a joint program of St. Pauls and a neighboring professional theatre company, the Body Politic. Henry and the Body Politic director, Jim Shiflett, a Presbyterian minister, came up with the idea of bringing an intergenerational group from St. Pauls to the Body Politic one Sunday a month. Shiflett, whose acting company was steeped in the Story Theatre tradition of Paul Sills and intensively trained in the theatre games of Viola Spolin as well as in mime and other physical theatre disciplines, developed short scripts verbatim from the Bible which the company would perform. Following the performance, Shiflett would ask experiential questions. When Shiflett returned to parish ministry in 1979, Sharon Phillips assumed the role of director.