The real heroes of faith revealed. City News sits down with drama directors Cassandra Yeo and Jaslynn Khoo to talk about the creative process.
Contributed By Annabelle Low
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| CN PHOTO: Michael Chan |
Put together by a team of passionate volunteers, the Christmas Drama has become an integral part of the Christmas experience that tens of thousands of City Harvest Church members look forward to every year.
This year, the CHC Drama Ministry is staging a production entitled “Heroes Of Faith Academy” that chronicles an ordinary individual’s journey toward love and reconciliation.
The DM prides itself on its entirely original scripts and staging, always having an element of surprise in them, or as they call it, the “wow” factor. This year, the audience can look forward to a performance that has been unprecedented on CHC’s stage.
The road to the Christmas Drama was not without its challenges. As time goes on, it becomes harder to bring something new to the table as many ideas have already been used.
The real heroes of faith lie in the creative team of individuals who come up with a script that would, year after year, capture the “Spirit of Christmas” and move the audience’s hearts. This year, the directors knew that they wanted a period story—it was just a matter of packaging it so that the Christmas story could be told in a fresh yet relevant way.
Round after round of script proposals were submitted, only to be rejected and sent back to the drawing board. Still, the creative team did not lose heart. They put aside all conventional ideas and doggedly stretched further and further out of the box until they finally grasped a unique angle that was able to embody the message of Christmas.
This year, the entire journey from brainstorming the concept to actual approval took almost two months. Once the proposed plot was approved, the preparations for the drama could finally begin, starting with script writing, auditions and casting, then rehearsals.
The drama team was excited to invite onboard a new set designer, Nicholas Goh, a graphic designer by profession. Raved drama director Cassandra Yeo, “Nicholas was very dedicated from the start. Throughout, he was very enthusiastic and had a lot of inspiration.”
In this production, the actors were stretched to their limits. “We especially love the music—it helps to set the tone of the drama right from the start,” said the directors. All the hard work from the CHC DM can be distilled into this brief: what happens when an unlikely candidate joins the crème de la crème of the prestigious Heroes Of Faith Academy in their Heroes’ Quest? In the course of this perilous journey, will he find the answer he’s been searching for? Join the band of five as they draw on their wit, talent and charisma to decipher clues, overcome obstacles, resolve conflicts and ultimately, find the Savior of the world.
