Fiddling on the Roof

I'm performing and teaching at the Divisional Senior Music and Gospel Arts Camp for the Salvation Army. Youth from all over Ontario meet just northeast of Toronto to study performance and the Word. The Lord is at work here. On the opening night the chaplain, Dr. Ron Powell, challenged the students to stand if they have certainty that they'll spend eternity with the Lord in heaven. Most of them stood, but there were several that sat. Lift us up this week as we seek oportunities to explain the Gospel in formal and informal settings.

Two extaordinary nights

On August 17, 1945, the internment camp in Weihsien, China, where Eric Liddell had been held, was liberated. On Thursday night, August 17, 61 years later, I got to perform my play about Eric Liddell for the family of David Michell. His book, A Boy's War, about his time in the internment camp with Eric, was the basis for the last quarter of my play. He died a few years ago, but his entire family was able to attend. Pictured here, from left to right, are Joan Michell with their three children: Ken Michell, Robin Serez, and Judith MacLeod.

A Boys War By David Michell / Overseas Missionary Fellowship A Boy's War is a true story of a boy in China in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. Yet it is an account more about children and their adventures than the atrocites of a deathcamp. And it includes glimpses of Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell not included in Chariots of Fire.

Hobbits are dancing...

...and the show has not yet begun!

...Now that it's over it has become my new favorite, only slightly dislodging Les Mis?rables, which inspired me to spend my life doing theatre. Lord of the Rings inspired me all over again!

The acting and singing were fine, but it was the creative telling of such a rich story that put it on the top of my all-time list.

The Balrog and Shelob were phenomenal, but the real star was the stage. It started as a simple turntable (a la Les Mis), but it had so many sections that could each move independently that it could become anything, and it did.

I was also tickled by a couple of things the films left out: a reference to Tom Bombadill and Sauroman's hijacking of the Shire and his subsequent fall.

An amazing piece of theatre.

Swingles atop the world

We're on the tallest man-made observation deck on the planet. The tower above us makes the CN Tower the tallest building in the world.

Getting here I was in 6 airports in four days and five of them were different: Newark to O'Hare, O'Hare to LaGuardia, JFK to Toronto. That may be a personal record.

And now...

...for something completely different.

I went straight from TAM to EWR (Newark Airport) to fly to Chicago to coach architects for a presentation.

Passing the flame

During our program last night a representative of Star Lake Musicamp received the baton from our prayer warriors. First one of our students prayed and then the gal from Star Lake ignited their week of 24/7 prayer a state away.

The Eastern Territory of the Salvation Army has been praying continuously since June. They plan to pass the flame from one site to another for a whole year.

Our students were invited to carry that flame to their own communities.

Kids of the King

During our closing worship session we were empowered to share all that God did in us and through us this week. I was a mess. We caught a glimpse below the surface, and the Lord was stirring some deep waters.

I shared a vision I had during listening prayer. Our instruction was to imagine that we were bringing the person sitting next to us to the Lord. I saw Him place a crown and royal train on the gal sitting next to me. I told the students that the vision is for each of them as kids of the King.

In the photo, many are bowing before their Father, empowered through various prayer stations.

The Word of God is a Hammer

While contemplating this verse we smashed pottery to bits.

The Sword of the Spirit

At this station we pondered how the Word of God cuts through the deceptions of the enemy as we sliced through clay and flower arranging material.

Bread of Life

This station had the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread.

My cast

Here are my actors for my piece on the woman caught in adultery. The final performance went so well! I was quite proud of what they accomplished in a week.

During our closing worship service there was a time of sharing. Several students spoke of the impact of our program: Over 100 students in more than a dozen pieces (acting, dance, choreodrama, mime) all interwoven with our theme of prayer. Awesome.

By the way, our piece was linked to the section of The Lord's Prayer in which we ask the Lord to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Our prayers were creative

These are just a handful of our written and painted prayers that we brought to the lobby for our final performance.

Our prayers covered the world

My small group

This is the group I've met all week to explore TAM Conservatory's theme of prayer. It was this group that prayed through NYC on Wednesday. Here we are in the 24/7 prayer room. It's now packed full of written and painted prayers.

The Sound of Silence

If you look closely at the picture you'll see that none of the 130 high school and college students or faculty are talking. We're having a monastic meal in complete silence. Even my friends' baby waited to whimper until most people had left. I went back for seconds and dessert so I could soak it all in. One student wrote a note to the instigator, our chaplain Janet Munn: "This is the coolest experience I've ever had." I think we all felt closer to the Lord and, ironically, to each other. We were communicating on deeper levels.

Prayer Walk

We're on a prayer walk of NYC. Each group has been assigned nine of twelve strategic sites in the neighborhood where we're seeing Slava's Snow Show later.

$100k

The Commissioner just told us that the Territory is doubling our offering. We're sending the orphanage $100,000!

$50,447.08

We overshot.

$2.35

Last year at TAM we pledged to raise $10,000 by Dec 1 for an orphanage in Nigeria. Then a student proposed that we raise $50,000 by TAM '06. On The first night they raised $1818.96. By Dec 1 they raised over $11,000. The students used all sorts of methods and events. By June it broke $26,000. Their summer camps raised over $20,000 making it over $46,000. Now, Carol told us each to bring $2.35 to the auditorium. Our last offering brings the current total of $49,693.39 to $50,000. God has done an amazing thing through these students.

Around the world

Today four students shared international experiences they've had this summer.

Between them they've visited Chenai, India, San Luis and La Paz, Bolivia, the two cities I visited on my first Compassion trip, and the last students taught choreodrama in Kibera, Kenya, and Ghana. Choreodrama uses movement and minimal dialogue set to music. It's one of the techniques that got me started in theatre as a high schooler. The Africans created a scene which encorporated one of their common phrases: a single piece of straw is weak, but tied together in a broom there is great strength. They used this idea to illustrate how God gave each person a piece of straw, but they went their own way until Christ brought them together in his Body.

It's so exciting to see these young people getting out there, seeing the world and doing ministry. The trips I took in high school to Mexico and then to Korea, Hong Kong, and China, had so much to do with what I'm doing now. I can't wait to see how God uses these young people over the years.

One of the students asked people to stand if they wanted to use drama overseas. A good third of them (over 30) stood! Maybe some of them will become ethnodramatologists like my friend Julisa Rowe (Ethnodrama.com).

Another angle on our prayer room

Continous prayer

I'm teaching at a week-long theatre (and other performaning arts) conservatory for the Salvation Army (theTAMjam.com). We're signing up so that every hour that we're here (24/7) is covered in prayer. I have great expectations that the Lord is going to do some really cool things while we're here. Appreciate your prayers to that end!

In Christ alone,
Rich

Photos for promoting Beyond the Chariots

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A Boy's War and an anniversary

David Michell's book, A Boy's War, about his time in the Weihsien concentration camp with Eric Liddell was a major source for research on my play about Liddell, Beyond the Chariots. I just found out two exciting things:

1) Though David Michell died several years ago, his widow and children are planning on attending my Toronto performance.

2) I don't think any of us planning the event realized until Ken Michell pointed it out, that August 17, the first of two performances in Toronto, will be the 61st Anniversary of the liberation of the Weihsien concentration camp.

If you're in the Toronto area, I hope you can make it. Go to RichDrama.com/Itinerary for details.

Either way I highly recommend...

A Boys War By David Michell / Overseas Missionary Fellowship A Boy's War is a true story of a boy in China in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. Yet it is an account more about children and their adventures than the atrocites of a deathcamp. And it includes glimpses of Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell not included in Chariots of Fire.

Roger's report

I came home from MasterWorks to find Roger's report on our Off-Broadway run. You can download a pdf by clicking here.

Enemies

Fear and laziness are the two greatest enemies of art.
--Rex Daugherty
MasterWorks student

The inredible white board of folly oaths

One day, an anonymous student wrote, "I will be good during rehearsal," on our white board (she later revealed her identity: Shell). Soon it was filled with all sorts of silliness.

I filled the last space on the board. There, in the lower left corner I wrote, "I will not tolerate the phrase, 'I can't return to MasterWorks.'"

John Kirby blessed us beyond expectation

Our second master class instructor, John Kirby, gave more than asked. He worked with each actor on a monologue, which took about three times more than the classes he committed to do. This is quite a gift coming from one of the best acting coaches in Hollywood. We discovered that one of the only films in which he didn't coach Jim Caviezel was The Passion of the Christ. Instead he worked on Peter Pan, which was filmed in Australia, where he stumbled into a church and committed his life to the Lord. He just finished coaching Jim on Tony Scott's Deja Vu. He took time off from coaching the young star of Disney's live action feature film Underdog to teach at MasterWorks.

Now he's back in Winona Lake blessing us again. He and his assistant Nathan flew out at their own expense to see our show!

We built an altar

Dr. Kavanaugh, founder and director of MasterWorks sent us back into the real world by challenging us to build an altar of rememberance for all that He's taught us this month and all that we've pledged to do. We each put one stone in an overturned conductor's platform. John Kirby coached one of our students, Staci Skiles, in a piece about Mary Magdalene remembering her encounter with the Lord. We planned it long before we knew about the altar.

Holy unto the Lord

Our friend, John Kasica, preached on holiness this morning. He shared how, nine months ago, the Lord called him to walk in holiness and share the message at MasterWorks. Today that message was born, powerfully. He pointed out the pattern of confession that has been boldly shared in faculty devotions. World class artists have been sharing how God has delivered them from pornography, drugs, homosexuality and other addictions. John shared this morning how, for three months (the first trimester), he had daily communion after examining himself and confessing sin. At the end of the message he invited people forward for a MasterWorks first: campus-wide communion. Our festival pastor, John Langlois, told how we come from many liturgical backgrounds, and though we didn't have a priest to bless the Eucharist, all were welcome to commune with the Lord and with each other. After that, many students came forward for prayer, some at very deep levels. May the Lord be praised! Can't wait to see what He does in our final week.

Since the spear hadn't been used yet...

...Jimmy thought he should make sure it works.

Seriously, he did have to file it down because the ironwood was so sharp.

Mincayani's spear

Jimmy Sites spoke to the students about the impact of media on culture: phenomenal! Mincayani, who speared Nate Saint and later helped raise his son, Steve, made this spear for Jimmy when he was filming a documentary on the tribe in Ecuador. Mincayani's story is told in the film, The End of the Spear.

And the rockets' red blare

Bold Humility

This morning Dr. Kavanaugh, artistic director of the MasterWorks Festival, spoke on bold humility. He challenged us to be the best artists we can be not so we can be at high places and live a little better those around us, but so that we can have a platform to share the Hope which lives within us. After the service he invited students to come up and pray with faculty if they were ready to pray for bold humility. Lift the many up who were ready and pray for those who aren't there yet.

Star Wars as the sun sets

The 1812 Overture sends us off to fireworks. Oh! There's an encore: Stars & Stripes Forever.

The MasterWorks Festival

We just closed out week one of the MasterWorks Festival.

We're exhausted in an exhillerating sort of way. Our play, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, is cast, and blocking is well under way. I'll post seperate reports on our fabulous master class instructors Jimmy Sites (host of Spiritual Outdoor Adventures) and John Kirby (acting coach for Jim Caviezel among many others).

Full page in Word

I've performed several times in Bill and Melanie Jeschke's church, just outside Washington DC.

She just had a full page article run in Word Magazine (A Rocky Path) about her Inklings romance novel series. The books chronicle the lives of students of CS Lewis at Oxford. In her upcoming prequil Lewis actually makes an appearance.

Congratulations Melanie!

Sociodrama Resources

To download The Effect of Sociodrama on a Population of Men in Transitional Housing, my masters thesis from 1997. Make a suggested donation of $7:

Then click here.

For more information on Sociodrama visit the National Association of Drama Therapists site: NADT.org.

For information on Enacted Prayer, click here.

For information on Ethnodramatology go to Ethnodrama.com.

For information on Bibliodrama, visit Bibliodrama.com.

My mentor, Pat Sternberg's book on sociodrama: Sociodrama: Who's In Your Shoes?

Here's a follow-up based on the same material of one of the classes she taught at Hunter College: Theatre for Conflict Resolution

Called to the Arts

The Christians in Theatre Arts (CITA.org) National Conference is off to a great start. Carol Dilley Jaudes (a MasterWorks Festival master class instructor last year) opened by singing a beautiful artist's prayer.

Then Dr. Marcos Rivera, Sr. Pastor of the Primitive Christian Church, laid down a theological foundation for the calling to the arts.

Be the best you can be in the field to which you're called. "The fruit of your life should be excellence."

Live lives of integrity. "Your values should effect the projects you do, not the other way around."

Rich

Rich Swingle
@ the Helen Hayes Theatre
240 W 44th St, Ste 7
New York, NY 10036

Wings as Eagles

Ken Wales, the executive producer on CBS's series Christy, came out to see my performance of Beyond the Chariots here in Los Angeles on Sunday night. He wants to produce a film about the same part of Eric Liddell's life and invited me to write the screenplay. The working title is With Wings as Eagles. Please join me in praying for this project.

He recently produced Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce's successful drive to abolish Britain's slave trade. Watch for it early in '07. He showed an eight minute trailer that was just phenominal.

Wilberforce's accomplishment has meant even more to me since a discovery I made while performing at Pocklington School near York, England. I performed A Clear Leading, about John Woolman, who spoke out against slavery in America 100 years before the Civil War. He spoke against slavery throughout England and died in York the same year that Wilberforce wrote his first anti-slavery essay as a student of Pocklington School. The headmaster thinks there's a high likelyhood that Wilberforce heard Woolman speak.

Wings as Eagles

Ken Wales, the executive producer on CBS's series Christy and the film Amazing Grace, came out to see my performance of Beyond the Chariots in Los Angeles. He wants to produce a film about the same part of Eric Liddell's life covered in my play, and he invited me to write the screenplay. The working title is Wings as Eagles. Please join me in praying for this project.

To follow our progress through email updates, sign up at RichDrama.com/Updates. To follow us on FaceBook, click here.

Jr. High Camper

I just performed Jonah at Alex Walker's church in Upland, CA. Alex, pictured here with his wife, Jacquie, and their son, Sam, was in my Jr. High cabin when I was a counselor at Twin Rocks Friends Camp while I was in college. Tonight I'll perform Beyond the Chariots: RichDrama.com/Itinerary.

Besides serving as music and young adults minister Alex is lead singer and song writer for the band Five O'Clock People, who produced a CD through Pamplin Records: The Nothing Venture.

Spider Man 3

They've completely transformed the theatre across from the Helen Hayes Theatre, where I keep my office, for Spider Man 3. Tomorrow at 5am it will be back to normal and ready for the History Boys, the play that's normally there.

Bob Hoover

While my brother and I were at the new Air and Space Museum (see posting from earlier this week) our tour guide ended by telling about this plane, flown by Bob Hoover, who would have been the first man to break the sound barrier if Chuck Yeager had fessed up to his injury. The guide said Hoover would take prospective buyers of the plane up, pour ice tea into a cup while rolling the plane without spilling a drop. Then he'd tell them they should buy the plane because IT handled so well.

When we told the guide our dad had flown in air shows with Hoover he gave my brother and I an extended tour.

When Dad saw the picture of Hoover's plane he wrote the following:

I was lucky enough to watch Hoover fly this plane several times. He was amazing, sometimes with one engine feathered and even both engines shut down he would do very low level aerobatics and at the last minute start the engines or even land and roll up to the crowd with the engines feathered. His energy management was unbelievable. I'd heard the stories of not spilling a cup while rolling. I watched him shut off both engines at several thousand feet, then make several passes rolling the plane and doing hammerhead turns at each end of the runway, then when you can't see how he can go any farther he landed on one wheel, turned off the runway, came up the taxiway across the ramp up to a line in front of the crowd and stopped. All this without restarting his engines. It was VERY impressive. Did you know he was flying chase in a P-80 when Yeager broke the sound barrier?

Enacted Prayer Resources

Last August I introduced Enacted Prayer to the Territorial School of Music and Gospel Arts (Click here for the report). Now they're gearing up for a meeting and are planning to use it! They've requested resources, so I've posted a couple of articles Jeff Barker, the creator of Enacted Prayer, gave me permission to share:

Enacted Prayer by Jeff Barker
Enacted Prayer Workshop by Heidi Friesen (student of Jeff Barker)

Now Jeff has written a book that has a chapter on enacted prayer and an appendix with some coaching for enactors: The Storytelling Church: Adventures in Reclaiming the Role of Story in Worship.

Immigrants Hear God's Word, In Chinese, by Conference Call

I've had a heart for reaching Chinese people since I ran a race in Guangzhou or Canton, China, in high school. This New York Times article was SO encouraging to me: Immigrants Hear God's Word, In Chinese, by Conference Call. You can read it all for free until (I believe) Sunday.

Having started a conference call prayer group of my own, I'm thrilled to see others utilyzing technology for good purposes.

Jim Hudson Taylor follow-up

In February I performed Beyond the Chariots in Hong Kong. After the performance several of us were kicking ourselves that Jim Taylor didn't say something about his experience in the concentration camp with Eric Liddell as a boy. We wished we could have used his talk to drive the message of the play home and make the impact deeper on the mostly-teen audience. When Dr. Taylor's sister, Mary Previte, did this after one of my Off-Broadway performances the impact was profound!

I just got the following note from Dr. Taylor:

I was finally able to follow up your performance at Hong Kong Mandarin Bible Church with a personal account of what Eric Liddell meant to us kids in the Weihsien concentration camp. It was amazing to see the quiet attentiveness of the young people. Thanks again for being with us.

May the Lord continue to bless your ministry.

Your brother in His service,

Jim

Taking flight

Last year my brother, Bob, and his wife, Shannon, came to NYC for a book fair (see May 05 in Archives). This year the fair was held in Washington, DC, so I arranged some performances in the area (including one at my nephew, Charlie's school. He's Joyce's sister Amy's son.)

Bob and I were able to get out to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Center, the new annex to the National Air & Space Museum. We took a tour, and the guide's last story was about Bob Hoover. After the crowd dispersed we told him our dad used to fly in air show's with Bob Hoover. He gave us an extra tour and showed us some planes that are the only examples of their kind in existance: pretty cool.

June 3

My friend, Chuck Neighbors, is coming to NYC.

He's offering an acting workshop and performing his one-man play, In His Steps at Theatre 315, where Roger and I had our Fire Off-Broadway run. On June 3.

Also on that date, at 7pm, our church, Westchester Chapel will be offering an arts night. I'll be performing "The Move", which was published in Handbook for Multi-Sensory Worship. There will also be dance, music, and Jim Warren, our pastor (and former creative director for MTV) will create a work of art as you watch.

Proceeds will go toward helping us move into a new building and create an art center there.

Eric Liddell's morning devotions

In Pittsburg I was thrilled to have an audience member request a copy of the prayer I led people to pray after Beyond the Chariots if they wanted to invite the Lord into their lives. I sent him to the link on the right side of RichDrama.com called "My Passion" after telling the person the words aren't as important as the state of his heart.

Then, in my morning prayers I came upon Eric Liddell's daily prayer, which I've incorporated into my own. He shared it in Manual of Christian Discipleship, a guidebook for Chinese pastors. I'm going to email it to my new friend, but I thought I'd share it with you here:

1. Have I surrendered this new day to God, and will I seek and obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout its hours?

2. What have I specially to thank God for this morning?

3. Is there any sin in my life for which I should seek Christ's forgiveness and cleansing? Is there any apology or restitution to make?

4. For whom does God want me to pray this morning?

5. What bearing does this morning's Bible passage have on my life, and what does He want to do about it?

6. What does God want me to do today and how does He want me to do it?

Can I go to China with you?

I've been performing and teaching in Pittsburgh in what has been a very exciting week! I got to present in two public schools, for the Acting Up Club (a delightful kids group led by some gals that came to NYC to see BTC Off-Bway...oh, and one of their sons, who preaches on our district.), this morning I spoke at a men's breakfast (the night before I was so exhausted I asked someone if they'd be serving food at the...men's...breakfast), tomorrow I'll do a performance in the Sunday service, but the main event has been Beyond the Chariots (BTC) four nights in a row at a dessert theatre.

I really hope more churches use this model to bring my plays to their community. There have been many wonderful things that have come from doing it this way, not the least of which has been the number of visitors that we've seen, at least two of which indicated that they asked the Lord into their lives for the first time.

Another highlight was when a wee 7-year old lass came literally running up to me as soon as I was done, looked almost straight up into my face and begged, "Can I come with you to China?" I had just told them how I hope to perform BTC in Beijing during the '08 Olympics, and I was glad to tell her volunteers are welcome. Follow this blog as more details develop.

I believe there are still a few tickets left for closing night. If you're near Pittsburgh visit RichDrama.com/Itinerary for details.

Eric Liddell and John Wesley

Roger and I had a great Off-Broadway run. I'll post a more detailed report soon.

Extreme Makeover

Our pastoral team had our small group meeting right down the street from an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project. Paulie, one of the designers, took a moment with our pastors' kids: (left to right) Jesse, Anna and Rebekah.

Tony Campolo's Compassion video

I just stumbled upon a video of Tony Campolo with his newest Compassion sponsor child. I watched the video being filmed on my trip to Honduras. Click here to see the video.

Who needs a chair lift?

Friends of my parents took this picture of them flying over Mt. Ashland in Southern Oregon. I grew up skiing there, but I never saw it from this angle!

To get the full effect you have to click on the picture or here.

See Splinter

The cast of Splinter asked Max McLean and I to give them feedback. They were great. They were tight and passionate, and I told them to each count it as a successful audition to MasterWorks (MasterWorksFestival.org).

Tonight is sold out, but there may be tickets left for closing night tomorrow, and they're free with a donation.

Program inserts now online

The program inserts for our Off-Broadway run are now online.  Dr. Jim H Taylor, III, graciously penned these as "a labor of love."  Go to http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/JamesTaylor/indexFrame.htm.  In the left column scroll to the bottom.  His foreword to the Chinese translation of Eric Liddell: Pure Gold is also well worth reading, and it is just above Beyond the Chariots in the left column.

Dr. Taylor's sister, Mary Previte, who spoke quite eloquently after my performance last Saturday also has a page on this site: https://weihsien-paintings.org/Mprevite/index.php.  

People who were there the day she spoke are quick to bring up how much they appreciated her words.  She told of her recollections from the concentration camp mentioned in the play: it's horrors but also the great things they learned from their teachers there, including Eric Liddell.  Most touching to me, was her story of Stephen Metcalf.  

Stephen was a favorite runner of "Uncle Eric's," who appointed Stephen as a helper.  Ms. Previte told how Eric taught all the students to love the Japanese, even as Christ taught his disciples to love their enemies.  Stephen grew up to be a missionary to the Japanese.  His speech at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp is well worth the time: World Peace and Eric Liddell (after clicking, scroll down the left column to find his name).

Front Page news

Phil Snyder, who did the horse whinny (on MP3) for Roger's play during our Off-Broadway run, just made the front page of the Los Angeles Daily News: "The Man of a Million Voices."  It was his wife, Karen, that developed the artwork for our run, and she's also mentioned in the article.  It's great to see believing artists featured this way!

Splinter this weekend

Joyce and I are looking forward to seeing the next play at Theatre 315: Splinter (for tickets click here).  I've heard great things about it.  Here's a note from the creator, Christian Gonzalez:

We performed it at 315 last year and this year have presented it 6 times at Valley Forge, Penn State and several churches performing for a total of more than 4,500 people and the responses of audiences to the pressence of God have been overwhelming.

One man said: "I felt such an incredible presence of God. I was
overcome. I've never seen anything like this before." 

A musician from the NY Philharmonic responded: "It was like a
piece performed by the Philharmonic! It takes your breath away!" 

A college athlete explained: "I don't cry very often, but I was
overwhelmed with tears and joy. This is something everyone must
experience."

A woman wept: "These young men  women shame me with their love
for God  their discipline for excellence. This combination of
professional excellence  passion for Christ is profound. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you."

Also, many people have been saved, including 6 men at a detention center we presented for. One of the inmates said: "The whole time you were speaking I was shaking I can't explain it."

Jimmy Sites Newspaper Coverage

Jimmy Sites, who will be one of our Master Class Instructors at MasterWorks just sent the following encouraging note:

Begin forwarded message:

Last week was a good week for the ministry of Spiritual Outdoor Adventures. We were covered by the press in newspapers in Toronto, Louisville, Birnmingham, and Tennessee. If you are interested in reading any of the articles, they are posted below.



WSFA

Tennessean

Courier-Journal

The Star

Go!

Only four shows left in our Off-Broadway run, Fire Off-Broadway.

On Saturday Mary Previte will be speaking after Beyond the Chariots. A former assembly woman for the State of New Jersey, she's the great-granddaughter of Hudson Taylor, and she was with Eric Liddell in the concentration camp featured in the play.

Be sure to tell people in your church this Sunday that Eric Liddell's middle daughter Heather will be speaking after the performance that evening. If you get seven people to come with you your ticket is free: FireOffBroadway.com/Group

Thanks for all your prayers. The run is going very well.

In Christ alone,
Rich

Comments on Beyond the Chariots

If you've seen Beyond the Chariots Off-Broadway or around the world, please post a comment below.

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Thanks!

Comments on The Man from Aldersgate

If you've seen The Man from Aldersgate Off-Broadway or around the world, please post a comment below.

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Off the blocks

Christi-An Bennett and her family joined our church for Easter. Before they moved away she and her husband Stephen were both on the preaching line-up. One Sunday she used Eric Liddell's story as an illustration for her sermon and I was reminded that the '04 Olympics were coming up and I should get going on my 1-man play about him.

Thanks Christi-An!

Happy Easter everyone!

Roger opens The Man from Aldersgate tomorrow night: FireOffBroadway.com.

Announcement

There are two one-man plays about Church heroes playing Off-Broadway from April 17-23. Relive the incredible adventures of 1924 Olympic Gold medal winner Eric Liddell in war-torn China. Rich Swingle's new one-man play Beyond the Chariots picks up where Chariots of Fire left off. Behold Liddell's greatest race: as a missionary who conquers persecution and succeeds by turning his greatest enemy into a "Powerful Runner Who Overcomes Great Obstacles." At different times, experience the widely acclaimed performance of the life and times of John Wesley, the man who rode more than 250,000 miles to bring spiritual renewal to England and America! The Man from Aldersgate brings to life John Wesley and his dynamic ministry. In John Wesley's own words you will gain new insights into the importance of prayer, and how personal failure can teach us to trust Christ. The play has been performed over 1,300 times in 32 countries and all 50 states! 

Well lit

David Lander, our award-winning Broadway lighting designer, went through Beyond the Chariots scene by scene today. His ideas are incredible! If you've already seen the play it will be worth the price of admission just to see how David's lighting it!

Attendance

I'm getting ready to perform here in Winona Lake, and I felt myself relax about who shows up. We've been so focused about filling seats Off-Broadway so that we'll break even that it's nice to just show up and perform for who ever attends. Then it occurred to me that I should ALWAYS want as many as possible to hear the marvelous story of how God used Eric Liddell. So, draw them in, Lord!

Interview on WPEL

Roger and I did an interview on WPEL, 96.5 FM, which will air Tuesday, April 11 at 4:05 pm. The station is in Montclair, PA, in the northeast corner, and they also have translators in Binghamton, Endicott, and Sayre. Their website is WPEL.org. If you're in the area I hope you can tune in.

Rich

Rich Swingle
@ the Helen Hayes Theatre
240 W 44th St
New York, NY 10036
RichDrama.com

Winging my way to Winona Lake

I'm en route to Winona Lake, home of the MasterWorks Festival. It doesn't start until June, but they host a Second Sunday series to keep Winona Lakers entertained throughout the year. Tomorrow I'll be performing Beyond the Chariots.

On the leg to Detroit I sat next to a former runner who, like I, watched Chariots of Fire before big meets.

I'm praying that the most inspirational part (I think) of Eric Liddell's life will draw many closer to the Source of Eric's strength.

Consider inviting someone who needs to be emPowered: FireOffBroadway.com.

The "Gospel of Judas" put into perspective

The New York Times article on the 'Gospel of Judas' is their most emailed article today. Be sure to check out this balanced piece from Christianity Today: The Judas We Never Knew.

Max McLean Fire

Max McLean is performing his one-man play, The Screwtape Letters in the Salvation Army's Theatre 315, where we'll be doing our run. He graciously recorded a radio spot, which is now playing on WAWZ. Listen for it!

Rich Acts Out

Retta Blaney's article just ran in the National Catholic Reporter: "Rich Swingle acts out his ministry." If it's no longer on the front page of their website: NatCath.com click here.

Do you have some marijuana?

Roger Nelson, who's performing in our Off-Broadway run in a couple of weeks, walked into a drug store the other night to pick up some milk. A young man approached him and asked, "Do you have some marijuana?" Roger said, "No, but I have something better." Within a half an hour Roger led this young man in a prayer to receive the Lord as his personal Savior! He told Roger that he was on his way into the drug store to get enough medication to overdose. Pray that he calls Roger back after he returns from NYC.