December 2004 Table of Contents

Musical Insights
Believe

J&J: Believe is the eighth book that the two of you have collaborated on. How do you keep your writing so fresh, especially with a story that has been told countless times?

David T. Clydesdale: You pray...then you walk around the mall for hours thinking... "How can I say this in a new, fresh, interesting way?" One of the things I do is to collaborate with someone who brings a new perspective to a project. Steve is wonderful for this; he always sees things from a different angle than I do.

Steve Moore: David and I both grew up in church. My mom was the church pianist/organist and my dad was the part-time choir director for a time. I believe I heard just about every work designed for Easter from the time I was a kid.

The Easter story HAS been told countless times. But it is most compelling when told by someone who has been greatly affected by it. We try to look at Easter through the eyes of those people. And we also try to strip away pretense or distractions in our work. I remember when the New International Version of the Bible came out and I read it for the first time unencumbered by the King James translation. We try to do the same thing with our musicals: translate them into language and situations that people relate to.

JJ: Share with us how you choose the songs that you include in a musical like Believe.

DTC: Well, first of all the Easter story is perfect— I call it an A B A form. You have the highest high to start (The Triumphal Entry); the lowest low in the middle (The Crucifixion); then the absolute high to end (The Resurrection and Redemption). If you stay with the story, then the arc is built-in. One of the greatest helps with song choice is the team at Word Music.

JJ: What does Word Music do to help you find songs?

DTC: They keep up on everything going on with new music. They put out APB’s to all the writers and publishers searching for the perfect songs. One of the songs I used was "He’s Everything To Me" that Avalon recorded.

JJ: How did you find it?

DTC: Actually, that one came from Celeste. She had the Avalon CD on in the car and I just started to cry when it was over...and said to her..."I just have to use this song somewhere NOW!"

JJ: There are lots of potential characters in the Easter story. How did you choose which five characters you would explore in depth?

SM: With Believe, we chose characters keeping in mind the people who would be watching the musical, especially those who were non-believers. I tried to imagine the reasons that audience members have used to reject the message of Christ (or reasons they will use to reject)—whether it’s pride, lifestyle, fear, power, or what have you. Then, I tried to find characters that used the very same rationalizations in their rejection of Christ. It was my goal that regardless of the particular reason a person had for resisting the call of God, they would relate to at least one character in the musical that was resisting for the same reason—and see the foolishness of their resistance.

DTC: Steve is totally right. Every character has a story- and a purpose... Obviously Pilate and Caiphas were both feisty guys— defending their own agendas- we knew that would play out. Mary, the mother of Jesus always brings the sensitive viewpoint all moms can relate to... Thomas- the doubter... when he finally sees Jesus…and believes...My Lord and My God!" I mean- wow, there’s a moment! And John – well, somebody had to run to the tomb. And John lets us know he was the fastest!

SM: I’m also fascinated by Pilate’s reaction to Christ. I frequently wonder what Pilate really thought of Christ.

JJ: Do either of you have a "favorite moment" in Believe?

SM: I like the interplay between Pilate and Caiphas. We sometimes forget how human these two were.

DTC: When Mary breaks down just before "He’s Everything To Me" it just about does me in every time I hear it and see it. What an impact this has. I just LOVE the songs in this... They’re all 10’s!

JJ: This sounds like it’s a pretty big production. Can the smaller church pull this off with limited resources and space?

SM: This musical is actually designed so that the smaller church can pull it off with limited resources. It’s a "scale-able" musical. I’ve seen Eyes of Faith done very well in a really small church and it is similar in concept. That’s the beauty of having the scenes ready to present on screen - churches are not limited by the choir size or available actors. (And the DVD has yet to forget its lines.)

JJ: How does the DVD work?

SM: I think you slide it in a machine and push play.

JJ: Ha! No, seriously…what purpose does the DVD serve for rehearsal, preparation and performance?

SM: We’re aiming at a blending of live music and prepared video. As a participant in too many church plays to count, people are sometimes distracted from the message by the presentation. If a character forgets a line, the listener forgets all about the message, and is immediately uneasy for the person on stage. With the pervasiveness of television in our culture, the average church-goer is used to getting information from television so we designed the filmed segments of Believe to be "television quality." This way your church provides a good quality presentation and removes the potential for distraction. In a way, we’re using the medium of television as a spring-board for Christ’s message.

DTC: The DVD has the actors filmed in a kind of 20/20 style interview, similar to what we did in Eyes of Faith, but this is the "next generation" – even better. They are so believable and real. You can use live actors if you choose, but by using the drama on the DVD, I bet almost any church could learn this musical in about five rehearsals. The lyrics to the five songs on which the congregation sings along with the choir are all synced with visuals on the DVD. Then there are special effects like a sunrise, or scripture verses, or cross scenes that really make this story come to life. There are several mixes on the DVD so you can use split track, or stereo track, or even if you have a live orchestra, we provide a click track to follow so everything stays in sync.

JJ: Well, Believe sounds like a great choice for churches of all sizes, especially since Easter is at the end of March this year. Thanks to both of you for taking time to talk with us and we look forward to hearing more great things from the two of you!

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