Drama-in-the-church:

              THE BISHOP'S COMPANY
3904 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, BURBANK, CALIFORNIA
AREA CODE 213   849–2544


american repertory players

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drama-in-the-church


ABOUT . .
the first national drama-in-the-church company
What is The Bishop's Company?  Why was it formed?  Who are its members?  What happens when you invite The Bishop's Company to your church?  …

WE ARE a Company of individuals who see our opportunity to let our talents as professional actors serve the purposes of the Church.  Although six of the eight original members are vetcrans of the Company's beginning in Los Angeles in 1952, the Company now numbers 29 persons from 18 states.

WE BRING an art form that is not meant simply to entertain, but to enlighten … to open doors … to touch and even trouble man's thinking.  And beyond the troubling to leave something of substance that points a way to answers … we bring the emotional impact of the theatre into the sanctuary of worship … plays that deal fearlessly with the problems of greed, fear, faithlessness, prejudice, violence … plays of moral and spiritual concept that are designed to challenge men's thinking and bring men closer in their personal relationship with God.


PHYLLIS BEARDSLEY BOKAR
Founder—Producer



WE PROVIDE promotional material which includes suggested news releases, suggested promotional ideas, glossy prints, details of the Company's coming to your church.

WE PLAY in the chancel of the church, using the entire chancel area … no sets, few props, simplified costumes … carry our own banks of lights … the plays are set within the framework of a worship service.

WE OFFER eight plays for your consideration … the choice of play is yours.

WE ASK a guarantee of $150 and suggest the next $50 received to go to the church or sponsoring group and a 50 – 50 division on monies received over $200.  (The Bishop's Company is a non-profit corporation and gifts and donations are tax deductible.)  We ask the evening meal, bed and breakfast for the cast; maximum eight.

WE REMEMBER with pleasure when six persons of different race and religion began our Company in 1952 under the leadership of Phyllis Beardsley Bokar.  The ideas put forth in the productions became a personal challenge … to be lived as well as played … ours has been the pleasure to discover what it means to be anchored in an ideal.

WE ACKNOWLEDGE with pride that we are named in honor of Methodist Bishop Gerald H. Kennedy, who envisioned the potential of the new role that drama was to play in the Church … there are tremendous implications for good in this uniting of the interest of theatre and the church.


WE WISH we could write a book about the countless pleasures; the hundreds of individual experiences that give new depth; new heart; an ever widening scope to our first ten years of record … the record meaning 802,000 miles traveled in 49 of the 50 states (1962 saw our Hawaiian beginning with 25 performances on 4 islands in 14 days and Alaska has been added to our regular touring schedule) … 5,025 different cities and towns … churches of 21 denominations and 2 major faiths.

WE SEE the day by day working together that gives the individuals both from the theatre and the church a larger concept of what the world is, what life is about.

Let the play begin.

Let the chemistry of caring human hearts begin a new world!


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FAITH
THE BOY WITH A CART
by Christopher Fry

… the working together of man and God, like root and sky



RACE
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY
by Alan Paton

… more than a story, a profound experience of the human spirit



TEMPTATION
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER
by Stephen Vincent Benet

… our religious heritage is our American heritage



UNDERSTANDING
A SLEEP OF PRISONERS
by Christopher Fry

… the enterprise is exploration into God



JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
AN EPISODE OF SPARROWS
by Rumer Godden

… a street child makes love blossom in a London slum



DECISION
THE GREAT DIVORCE
by C. S. Lewis

… a mythical journey to the border of heaven



OUR OWN WORLD
PASS BY THIS HOUSE
by Phyllis Beardsley Bokar

TEMPORARILY REMOVED
… a man's discovery of his responsibility to all mankind



CHILDHOOD
WINNIE-THE-POOH
by A. A. Milne

… through the windows of childhood mankind could pattern his world




BOOKING THE COMPANY
Tours include every section of the fifty states and Canada.  Churches interested in being placed on the itinerary should write to Merle Harbach, 3904 Riverside Dr., Burbank, California.  A minimum guarantee of $150 is asked.  This allows even the smallest church to use this ministry of drama, the event paying its own way by advance patron donations.  The evening meal, bed and breakfast is asked for the Company.

Productions are designed for any type of architecture.  No curtains or special equipment are necessary.  The chancel and the church itself become the playing area.  The minister is asked to preside; the drama becomes a part of an evening of worship.



HOSPITALITY
Partners in a very real way with the Company are the over 8,500 families who have shared their homes and warm and genuine hospitality with the Company members on tour.  In many comunities, actors and parishioners greet each other as friends of ten years.


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