Drama Ministries Ensemble, a group of students who perform with their script coming directly from scripture, had two performances on Mar. 22-23.
This year, the theme was Parables of the Kingdom. They performed parables such as: The Lost Sheep, The Wedding Banquet, The Good Samaritan, The Parable of the Sower and many others.
This performance follows the tour to Grand Rapids, Michigan that they took at the beginning of February where they performed for multiple Christian living facilities. These were the first public performances of the show and there were around 100 people present.
One of the performers said, “Being able to bring this performance to our community was a lot of fun because we got to show them the word in a new way.” This is the main sentiment from the group as each person has expressed how differently they look at the stories of the Bible after performing them.
The reaction from the community was overall very positive, and even some of the Biblical Studies professors attended to show appreciation for the work that DME has done.
Another member said, “Working on this since early first semester has been a challenge, but being able to finally perform it makes the process worth it, between the combination of worship, fellowship and theatre.”
The combination of these three factors is unique, so having a place where worship can be expressed through theatre is a blessing to this campus. There is nothing like DME anywhere else at Northwestern making it even more special.
The thing that makes DME stand out among other forms of theatre is the lack of assigned characters that each student plays. Everybody gets to be a range of different people from a rich fool, to a king, to a child.
Most notably, each student at different points takes on the role of Jesus, speaking the parables to his disciples, which is characterized by the green jacket that is worn throughout the show.
The rest of the characters might wear a vest or an apron at times, but for the most part, each student is in jeans and a black t-shirt showing the neutrality of the characters, as well as leaning on the audience’s imagination.
There are only two remaining times that this will be shown this year. One will be on April 3 for the board of trustees and the other will be at a church in Sioux Center on April 6. DME members are excited to perform their work at least a couple more times before the year ends.
Looking to the future with DME, next year they will have an international tour to a soon-to-be-determined location. DME enjoys going all over to show the word of God through theatre, but some of the most impactful performances come from right here in the community.
If you have any questions about DME, any of the students or faculty involved would be happy to discuss their experiences with it.
