A Few Good Men

Presentation time: 60 minutes

Characters

• James Hart        Husband of Julie, not so much backslidden as uncommitted. Selfish, egocentric 
• Julie Hart        Wife of James. Loves James, but wants a family, especially one committed to Christ
• Bro. Stevens        Father of Julie
•  Pastor Cooper        Pastor of the church
• Bro. Carlyle        Deacon of the Church
•  Carla            Neighbor of the Harts
• 2 Angels
•  2 Demons

A Few Good Men is the story of James and Julie Hart. She has discovered that she is to have their first child, but James is furious. He is not ready. Julie has been in the church and is solid in her belief. James has attended, but never committed. He is currently on a downward spiritual spiral.

The 'Few Good Men' of the title are Julie's father, his friend, Bro. Carlysle, and their pastor, Bro. Cooper. They take on the task of fighting the spiritual battle for the young Harts. Julie's friend Carla, is also around for help and encouragement.

The spirit world is represented through two angelic and two demonic beings. They have no words (with one exception), but their presence and influence is felt. 

During the course of the play, the characters go back and forth from modern day to Bethlehem. They provide parallels between the new and the old and the Few Good Men of today have the same characteristics as the Few Good Men of old.

Ensemble acting for
A FEW GOOD MEN
Elements of Ensemble Acting
·    All actors remain on stage at all times.
·    In this piece there are two exceptions to that rule.
·    When the demons arrive
·    When the demons leave
·    Simplified set design.
·    This is a blessing and a curse.
·    The technicians and designers have little to so good acting must carry the load.
·    Lighting may play a large role in the mood.
·    During our performance the lighting never changed.
·    Had I the lighting available I would have focused lighting according to various scenes and scene changes.
·    Costuming is not a major player
·    Uniform outfits are appropriate or use simple signifiers. (i.e. white shirt and tie for preacher. Denim shirt for James)
·    In this play I used simple head pieces for the characters to be distinguished from modern day to Bethlehem.
·    I also dressed the angels all in white and the demons all in black. (how creative!)

In ensemble acting the characters are generally to the back of the stage with their back to the audience. If it is a long piece (which A Few Good Men is) they may have small stools, chairs or boxes to sit on. These may even play a part in the set. Shorter pieces – anything less than 30 minutes – it should not be necessary for them to sit while 'offstage'. When it is time for their character to come onstage they turn around, take their position and speak. When they are done with their scene they go 'offstage' by returning to the back and turning their back to the audience.

For shorter pieces I recommend that the 'offstage' position remain the same for each character throughout the piece. This avoids confusion for the audience. For longer pieces this is not essential.

One of the obvious advantages to ensemble acting is the simplicity of the staging. It makes it very easy to perform with limited facilities. You can travel from church to church. Take it to a mall (although A Few Good Men is too long for a mall atmosphere). Perform in a park.

Although A Few Good Men does not require it, often in ensemble style performances the 'offstage' performers create tableaus or sound effects or add to the piece by becoming elements other than human.

Ensemble acting requires a crispness to movement. When a character 'leaves' a scene his break from his position must be sharp. He must freeze once he is 'offstage' so that the audience has the time to forget him. Additionally, characters coming on must move quickly to their positions and begin. They must time their first lines for when the audience has shifted attention from the former scene and is ready to watch them. At the same time it may be their very movement or lines that finalize the audience's refocusing.