Even though most churches have gone back to in-person services, that does not mean we cannot perform fun and educational performances for church services over Zoom. In fact all of the plays on this site can be easily “Zoomified” to be converted into either a live or recorded presentation that a congregation can enjoy online or in small groups indoor or outdoors (in the evenings projected on a large tarp/sheet for a screen while the crowd sits socially distanced for example). For Christmas 2020, our church used the play “Zooming to Bethlehem” which was written specifically for Zoom by Carol Penner. You can find our finished product below.
The most important role in this new environment is the “Director”, the Zoom host who calls all the shots remotely and uses the “Spotlight” feature to highlight the person who is about to speak. Here are some easy directions on how to convert one of our plays into a successful online presentation.
- First you must distribute the scripts far in advance to all the members of your cast and make sure they print them out and have them ready in front of them. This will also give people time to create costumes and be ready for the one or more virtual rehearsals you have before the final performance. Scheduling a few rehearsals is very important so your cast is ready to perform when it is time for the main event. Plus everyone should have a printed script ready for the rehearsals or it will be painful for them to flip screens during the performance. Mail them or deliver them a paper script to their front door if you have to do it!
- During both the rehearsals and the actual performance the Director must be familiar with using Zoom and how to mute everyone (Alt-M) and spotlight the participant about to speak. You should also instruct the cast so they know not to speak until they see themselves appear on the screen as the spotlighted speaker. Then they can un-mute themselves when they speak, and mute themselves after they are done (especially before any page turns.) If someone has speaking lines between pages make sure they are either very quiet flipping pages or they can briefly mute themselves when they do it.
- The Director should ideally be using a laptop or desktop computer, not a tablet or smartphone, and it works even better with multiple screens if possible, one for the speaker view and one for the gallery view of all the participants. This will make it easier to find the proper cast member to spotlight when it is time for them to deliver their lines.
- Make sure your cast sets the scripts up high (propped on something) when they are reading so they look up towards the cameras when they speak and not stare down at a desk or table during their parts. Ideally they could memorize enough of their lines so you do not have to watch the tops of their heads when they speak!
- Good lighting and backgrounds are crucial. Make sure nobody is in front of a bright window and everyone has some good lighting in front of them so they do not look like they are in the shadows. Similarly instruct them not to stand in front of anything too distracting. Beware of any ceiling fans which can look odd perched on people’s heads! During rehearsal help the cast members to orient their cameras and their bodies well so their faces properly fill the screen and you do not just see a lot of blank wall or ceiling. Also check their sound levels and remind them not to be too close to a washing machine or dishwasher making loud noises.
- Creative church members can produce decorative backgrounds that the performers can stand or sit in front of. Make sure they are large enough so the camera does not see the edges (6′ by 8′ is usually large enough.) Often just a plain sheet, curtain or blanket with some props in front of it or some homemade signs or artwork taped to it is fine. Set changes are much easier with Zoom. Just change the background and a few props and you are done.
- People with newer computers with good graphics or with a physical green screen can use Zoom virtual backgrounds which makes it even easier. That way people in different locations can use the same virtual background image file and it looks like they are in the same place when they could actually be miles apart.
- Costumes only have to be from the waist up! The cast can wear shorts and flip flops with their costumes and nobody will know. Similarly if you are short on cast members, it is easy to have one person be two (or more) characters by just adding a hat, wig, fake mustache or beard. Just make sure there is a break to another participant for them to quickly switch between characters.
- Just like in a typical live performance most people tend to speak too quietly and too quickly. In a recorded Zoom video it is even more apparent if a cast member is only on the screen for 3 seconds. Remind everyone that once they are spotlighted to pause, take a breath, and then speak slowly, loudly and clearly and direct their voices towards the microphone of their computer, tablet or smartphone.
- If they are using a tablet or smartphone, remind them to orient them horizontally (landscape not portrait) so their videos will fill better for the finished product, but then also remind them the camera and microphone are likely to be on the sides of the screen. Tablet and smartphone users can place their devices on a music stand and have the script located right next to it for easy reading and good placement.
- You should definitely have a virtual “dress rehearsal” where you turn on recording and record the whole play so you can post the recording and have the cast watch it through before the final performance. It lets them know what they will look and sound like in the final performance. It will probably remind them to speak slower, louder and more clearly.
- Special music can be inserted by the host sharing their screen and then playing a pre-recorded video on their computer. Showing a video is a nice way to break up the speaking parts and add a little music and change of scenery. If you have a cast member who can sing and/or play an instrument (or has someone in their household who can accompany them on a musical piece) that is another way to break up the performance. It can be performed live over Zoom, but often a pre-recorded video of known quality works better over screen sharing. Playing old video clips from previous church plays or performances is a fun way to remember how things were back in the “good old days” in the sanctuary.
- Little kids who cannot speak a line are always popular in Christmas plays, but unfortunately they cannot do much over Zoom. So mute them all and have them dressed up in front of a nice background at their homes, and play some nice music from the Host’s computer while you spotlight all the little ones dressed up as angels, sheep or whatever. Just show them each for several seconds as the music plays and they sit there and look adorable. They do not have to do anything!
- Live performances are often more fun, but recorded ones can look more professional. If someone in your congregation is good with a video editor they can download the recorded Zoom MP4 file and edit it to perfection if they desire. A simple, free, open source video editor to use is OpenShot which runs on both Windows and Mac systems. Once the video is complete, your church can post that improved version on their FaceBook page, YouTube channel or website. But the live version can be just as fun, with any slight gaffes adding humor to the show.
- To be really fancy you can add videos of a “virtual choir” which requires each choir member to record a video of themselves singing to the same recorded track, and then they send it to the “video editor” who stitches them all together into one video. It is pretty cool. You can find our 2020 Christmas Cantata below. It helps to have tech savvy people at your church.
Good luck with your Zoom performances! Even with churches resuming in-person services, it is still an option for reaching a wider audience. If you would like to see what all we have done at Samuel United Church of Christ, you can see our Zoom recordings on our church Facebook page.
