I figured it would be best to begin this blog here, in a strange country filled with smiles, spice and hidden sadness.

The genesis of Stille Nacht actually began several years ago, as I was working on the Sanctuary's production of 'Plight Before Christmas.' If you are not familiar with this show, it's one that our very own Bob Levy wrote, and it was performed for five years! It's a great show and I hope that one day we'll do it again so you can see it if you haven't.

One of the things I did was help make or find various props, and try to make sure things stayed historically accurate (as best as I was able). For that show we needed a 5' square banner with the Roman Eagle on it. As I researched imagery for the Roman Eagle, I was surprised to see how incredibly similar it was to the Nazi Eagle.

A little bit of research showed that the Nazis patterned themselves after the Romans in many ways, and I think the idea for Stille Nacht started there: what if we took the Romans out and replaced them with Nazis?

Several years later I wrote the first draft of my play for a college playwriting class. It was good and I thought it was ready to go so I presented it to Pastor Marty. He said he loved the concept, but for a number of reasons the play didn't happen that year, or the next. I let the proverbial 'bird' fly away.

Then after we finished Screwtape, Pastor Marty came to us and we jokingly said we were already gearing up for Christmas! (It was July at the time.) He said something along the lines of: '..better believe it!! Stille Nacht!' (I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like that.)

I partly thought he was joking because I'm a little bit of a pessimist about such things, but a week later he said he'd dug the play out of his files and was going to start reading it again. I quickly told him to throw it away. I had re-read it recently and discovered the show was no where near being ready and was gearing up for a rewrite.

So we packed up and left for Thailand. Most people would have called it quits and said to just do a different play. I am not most people. (Though sometimes it would be a lot simpler and saner if I was.) After much discussion with Jonathan (and a few heated moments) we decided on a plan.

I stowed a printed and digital copy of my script and worked on it during my free time. Needless to say, there were times I felt like I was being pulled in half, wanting to work on both Zoe and Stille Nacht at the same time. I'm glad to say that Zoe was definitely my priority while I was here. I did what I came to do.

But I also completed a major overhaul of my play! It went from being 60 pages to 120. (It really isn't as long as it sounds! 1 page = 1 minute, so it's only as long as a normal movie.) There are a few more characters now and I think everything is much more believable.

And last week, the play was approved for this year, was announced at the Family Meeting and a sign up sheet will be at the Welcome Center very soon! If you know me, you can imagine how excited (and scared) I am, because this is my first play to ever be produced!!!!

I hope the plug doesn't get pulled...

I thought it would be appropriate to do this entry here because I feel like I 'birthed' this show in Thailand . While I did have the original idea for it back at home, it really ripened and matured in 'the Land of the Free People.' (That's what 'Thailand' means if you were wondering.)

One very fun memory was the very first production meeting for Stille Nacht, a picturesque snapshot of the colliding of worlds. We spent four hours sitting in a Starbucks, overlooking an ancient city gate and courtyard that was overcrowded with Thai vendors catering to natives and tourists alike. East meets West to the fullest. That is where this play was born. Now we just need to bring it home and introduce it to the world.