{"product_id":"jesus-mary-and-jake-a-different-christmas-drama","title":"Jesus, Mary, and Jake: A different Christmas drama","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWritten by Bruce Maples\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eWhat if the Christmas story was told by someone who grew up next door to Jesus?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"216\" data-end=\"582\"\u003eJake remembers Jesus as his childhood friend, Mary as the woman who slowly trusted him with impossible stories, and the birth of Christ as something far stranger, warmer, and more human than a stained-glass memory. This readers’ theatre Christmas piece invites the audience to hear Mary’s story with fresh ears and to wonder, with Jake, what God is going to do next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt can be produced as either a readers’ theatre or a fully-staged play, and either without music or with music you select. It can also be simply read as story, as the dialog is an expanded and somewhat fictionalized treatment of the Biblical narrative.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI enjoyed writing this, and everyone involved in the first production enjoyed putting it on. We hope you do too!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"608\" data-end=\"621\"\u003eRun-Time:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approximately 25–35 minutes\u003cbr data-start=\"649\" data-end=\"652\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"652\" data-end=\"661\"\u003eCast:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 actors, or adaptable as a monologue\u003cbr data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"702\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"702\" data-end=\"717\"\u003eCharacters:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jake, Mary, Jesus\u003cbr data-start=\"735\" data-end=\"738\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"738\" data-end=\"761\"\u003eBiblical Reference:\u003c\/strong\u003e Luke 1–2; Matthew 1–2; with later references to Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection\u003cbr data-start=\"850\" data-end=\"853\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"853\" data-end=\"865\"\u003eSetting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Simple church stage \/ readers’ theatre setup\u003cbr data-start=\"910\" data-end=\"913\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"923\"\u003eProps:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 stools, music stands\/scripts optional\u003cbr data-start=\"963\" data-end=\"966\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"966\" data-end=\"979\"\u003eCategory:\u003c\/strong\u003e Christmas, Readers’ Theatre, Biblical Perspective, Mary, Jesus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSample Script\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0884\/3241\/0943\/files\/Jake-Mary-Jesus-excerpt.pdf?v=1780020333\" title=\"Jesus, Mary and Jake Christmas drama\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDownload Jesus, Mary \u0026amp; Jake Excerpt\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"17\" data-end=\"128\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"17\" data-end=\"65\"\u003eFrom \u003cstrong data-start=\"23\" data-end=\"48\"\u003eJake, Mary, and Jesus\u003c\/strong\u003e by Bruce Maples\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"65\" data-end=\"68\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"68\" data-end=\"128\"\u003e© Copyright 2015 by Maples Media LLC. All rights reserved.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"130\" data-end=\"180\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"130\" data-end=\"180\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"131\" data-end=\"179\"\u003eJake enters stage right, addresses audience.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"182\" data-end=\"300\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"182\" data-end=\"191\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"191\" data-end=\"194\"\u003eHello! My name is Jacob, but you can call me Jake. I understand you want to hear about my neighbor, Jesus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"302\" data-end=\"391\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"302\" data-end=\"348\"\u003e(as if hearing a question from the audience)\u003c\/em\u003e What’s that? Oh sure – he was my neighbor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"393\" data-end=\"672\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"393\" data-end=\"410\"\u003e(sits on stool)\u003c\/em\u003e He and his family lived next door all the time he and I were growing up. We used to play ball in the road, out in front of our houses. I was usually the captain, and I’d pick him for my team, ‘cause even though he was skinny, he was quick. Kinda wiry, you know?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"674\" data-end=\"999\"\u003eHis dad was the village carpenter – had his shop back behind the house. Used to go over there and watch him build things. Joseph was one of those quiet, serious types – but with a twinkle in his eye, too. He ran a good shop, and things were going along pretty well for them, pretty normal. At least, until Joseph up and died.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1001\" data-end=\"1290\"\u003eIt was real sudden. Caught everybody off-guard. I think it was his heart, but I’m not sure. Jesus was about twenty, and suddenly he went from working with his dad to running the whole thing. I mean, there were his brothers, and they helped, but Jesus was the oldest, so it all fell on him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1292\" data-end=\"1489\"\u003eSince my dad and I ran the village bakery, we would be done by mid-afternoon, so sometimes I’d go next door to help Jesus in his shop. And that’s where I got to know his mother, Mary, a lot better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1491\" data-end=\"1558\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"1491\" data-end=\"1558\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1492\" data-end=\"1557\"\u003eMary enters stage left, sits quietly on stool, looks at Jake.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1560\" data-end=\"1878\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1560\" data-end=\"1569\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"1569\" data-end=\"1572\"\u003eWhen we were kids, she was just Jesus’s mom, you know? She’d call him to come in, or give him chores, or give him a snack – you know, mom stuff. But after Joseph died, and I’d go over to help out, she started talking with me like an adult, a friend. I guess she trusted me, since I was Jesus’s best friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1880\" data-end=\"2096\"\u003eMost of the time it was just small talk, or something about our two businesses. Sometimes she’d poke fun at Jesus with me there, with that little grin on her face, and he’d blush while I laughed. We had fun together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2098\" data-end=\"2296\"\u003eBut sometimes, when Jesus was delivering something to a customer and it was just me and her in the shop, she would tell me serious stuff. Stuff that made you think. Hard-to-believe stuff, sometimes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2298\" data-end=\"2330\"\u003eFor example – how she had Jesus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2332\" data-end=\"2390\"\u003eSo imagine my surprise when one day she just up and says …\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2392\" data-end=\"2431\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"2392\" data-end=\"2431\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2393\" data-end=\"2430\"\u003eJake turns to interact with Mary.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2433\" data-end=\"2502\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2433\" data-end=\"2442\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2442\" data-end=\"2445\"\u003eDid I ever tell you about when I was pregnant with Jesus?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2504\" data-end=\"2561\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2504\" data-end=\"2513\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2513\" data-end=\"2516\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"2516\" data-end=\"2530\"\u003e(hesitating)\u003c\/em\u003e Uhm, no, don’t think you have.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2563\" data-end=\"2629\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2563\" data-end=\"2572\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2572\" data-end=\"2575\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"2575\" data-end=\"2629\"\u003ePauses while thinking, considering how to tell this.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2631\" data-end=\"2839\"\u003eTo start with, Joseph and I were promised to each other early on. That’s how it worked back then: your parents and someone else’s parents arranged the whole thing, worked out the agreement, and that was that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2841\" data-end=\"3062\"\u003eSo, one day, this … THING happens. Remember, I’m still a teenager, living with my folks. Anyway, I’m sweeping out the house, and this stranger comes to the door. I know everyone in town, so I know this guy is not a local.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3064\" data-end=\"3215\"\u003eThis is pretty weird, for sure – but catch what he says next! “You are going to get pregnant, and have a son, and this son is the Promised One of God.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3217\" data-end=\"3488\"\u003eI just start laughing at the guy, and tell him “You’re crazy! I can’t get pregnant if I haven’t slept with anyone, and I haven’t. And besides, I wouldn’t, because Joseph is the one I’m marrying, and that’s that. So, if I’m still a virgin, how am I going to get pregnant?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3490\" data-end=\"3838\"\u003eAnd the guy says “Look, this isn’t going to happen the regular way. The Spirit of Yahweh will come to you, and you’ll become pregnant, and the child you have this way will be the Son of the Lord. And besides, your relative Elizabeth is pregnant now in her old age, and this was done by Yahweh as well. Remember, nothing is impossible for the Lord.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3840\" data-end=\"3873\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"3840\" data-end=\"3873\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3841\" data-end=\"3872\"\u003eMusic #1: Gabriel’s Message\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3875\" data-end=\"3916\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3875\" data-end=\"3884\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3884\" data-end=\"3887\"\u003eYou don’t believe me, do you?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3918\" data-end=\"3962\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3918\" data-end=\"3927\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3927\" data-end=\"3930\"\u003eMary, it’s pretty far out there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3964\" data-end=\"4049\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3964\" data-end=\"3973\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3973\" data-end=\"3976\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"3976\" data-end=\"3987\"\u003e(nodding)\u003c\/em\u003e I thought so too. But what he said about Elizabeth struck me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4051\" data-end=\"4272\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"4051\" data-end=\"4082\"\u003e(pauses, then speaks quietly)\u003c\/em\u003e Of course, before I could check it out with Elizabeth, I began to realize that I really was pregnant. Me, who had kept myself for Joseph just as I was supposed to! How could I explain this?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4274\" data-end=\"4487\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"4274\" data-end=\"4289\"\u003e(shakes head)\u003c\/em\u003e Those were tough times. Everyone assumed I’d slept with Joseph and he was the father. Joseph assumed I’d slept with someone else, and he was ready to break off the marriage before it even happened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4489\" data-end=\"4550\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4489\" data-end=\"4498\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4498\" data-end=\"4501\"\u003eWell, obviously he didn’t. What changed his mind?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4552\" data-end=\"4835\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4552\" data-end=\"4561\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4561\" data-end=\"4564\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"4564\" data-end=\"4587\"\u003e(looks at Jake funny)\u003c\/em\u003e You won’t believe this – but he had a dream, and in the dream a man came to him and told him that God had made me pregnant, and that he should name the child Jesus, which means Yahweh is Salvation, because he would save the people from their sins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4837\" data-end=\"4950\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4837\" data-end=\"4846\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4846\" data-end=\"4849\"\u003eThat’s not too surprising, that he would dream that, after you told him what the man had said to you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4952\" data-end=\"5015\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4952\" data-end=\"4961\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4961\" data-end=\"4964\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"4964\" data-end=\"4996\"\u003e(stares at Jake, pauses, then)\u003c\/em\u003e I hadn’t told him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5017\" data-end=\"5105\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5017\" data-end=\"5026\"\u003eJAKE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"5026\" data-end=\"5029\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"5029\" data-end=\"5047\"\u003e(pause, shocked)\u003c\/em\u003e What? You didn’t tell him why you were suddenly pregnant?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5107\" data-end=\"5236\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5107\" data-end=\"5116\"\u003eMARY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"5116\" data-end=\"5119\"\u003eNo. It was already bad enough that he thought I was sleeping around. Why make him think I was crazy or lying as well?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5243\" data-end=\"5353\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"5243\" data-end=\"5279\"\u003eWant to see how the story unfolds?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"5279\" data-end=\"5282\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"5282\" data-end=\"5353\" data-is-last-node=\"\"\u003eGet the complete script and bring this powerful moment to your stage.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DramaShare","offers":[{"title":"35 \/ 3 \/ Christmas - Jesus","offer_id":53319525204287,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0884\/3241\/0943\/files\/jesusjakemary.jpg?v=1780021820","url":"https:\/\/dramashareministries.com\/products\/jesus-mary-and-jake-a-different-christmas-drama","provider":"DramaShare","version":"1.0","type":"link"}