61 – Successful Creative Collaborations

A weekly blog of Creative Ideas for Leading Worship

 

Successful Creative Collaborations

 Adding Drama and Dance to Your Service

Click for audio narration of this post

On 14 December 2025 I led a service focused on Mary’s Magnificat from Luke 1:46-55. What made this service special was the inclusion of drama and dance by Drama Christi, the drama group that is part of our church.

Here is how this creative collaboration came together, and why it worked. My hope is that this story will encourage worship leaders to work with others and confidently introduce creative elements into your worship.

 

Initial approach

At the start of October, a Drama Christi director/choreographer asked me for suggestions for Advent readings that could be dramatised in church. I shared copies of The Witnesses and other poems by Clive Sansom, Bronwyn Angela White’s book Something New to Say which I had republished a couple of years earlier, and a poem of my own.

The director quickly identified two poems from The Witnesses and “Mary full of grace – Anna’s story” from Bronwyn’s book. She then asked whether I was leading any services during Advent and whether I would be open to collaboration.

I was rostered to lead the service on 14 December and already knew I would be using Worship at Hand material for that Sunday. A Drama Christi presentation fitted naturally into the Introducing the Theme or Children’s Talk slot, so we agreed to work together.

I told the director that the Magnificat would be the theological centre of the service and shared with her our choir Festival Singers’ 2015 CD recording of Jonathan Berkahn’s setting of the Magnificat text in English and Latin. Knowing she is a skilled dancer and choreographer, I asked whether she would like to create a dance or movement piece to the music.

She loved the music, could see how the first three minutes would work well for a combined dance and drama, and began choreographing straight away.

We also refined the spoken elements. One of The Witnesses poems, “The Innkeeper’s Wife”, had been acted in church before. However, we decided not to use it this time as the service was centred on Mary herself – her courage, her consent, and the social cost of pregnancy for an unmarried young woman – rather than on the birth narrative.

 

Next steps

Drama Christi rehearsed the spoken readings on Monday nights in their studio and the dance on Thursday nights in the church.

I attended the second-to-last Thursday rehearsal to observe the developing dance and drama. This clarified that I needed to take responsibility for playing the music through the church sound system and that we needed to agree on the exact moment the music would begin.

Initially I played the track through a Bluetooth speaker connected to my phone, placing the speaker near the lectern microphone. This worked technically, but it would have been visually distracting on the day. Instead, I chose to sit discreetly in the second pew with a handheld radio mic placed next to the Bluetooth speaker. Tapping “play” on my phone was simpler than adding the track to the hymns slideshow and meant nothing appeared on the projector screens. The element of surprise for the congregation was preserved.

 

Compromises and adjustments

In my draft Order of Service, a hymn followed immediately after the dance. The director and dancers felt that this would undermine the stillness and emotional weight of the ending. They were right.

Instead, I moved the Luke reading to follow the dance, then placed the hymn after that, followed by the Matthew reading. I normally prefer to have both readings immediately before the sermon, but this small adjustment strengthened the flow of the service.

The Drama Christi section ran for around 14 minutes, so I shortened my sermon to about 1200 words rather than my usual 1400–1500 to keep the service to roughly an hour.

The reading “Mary full of grace – Anna’s story” includes an earthy reference to sex during pregnancy and uses the word “bitches” to describe gossiping women. While I was personally comfortable with this language, we decided to omit the sexual reference and soften “bitches” to “crones” to avoid unnecessary offence. The reading retained its power and clarity after these edits.

 

Dress rehearsal – the Thursday before the service

Our church is a large space with a clear but not resonant acoustic, so the two readers needed radio lapel microphones to be heard well. I booked the microphones with our church office, clipped them onto costumes, and set levels through the sound system.

Both actors needed gentle encouragement to maintain vocal energy. A common mistake is assuming microphones allow you to speak quietly. They don’t. Mics amplify what you give them.

On Sunday morning I briefed the sound operator at the back of the church to keep a close ear on levels throughout the readings.

One of the dancers, a child, introduced the Drama Christi presentation. We rehearsed her speaking at the lectern and used a short rhyming script that the director and I had written together in language appropriate for a child.

We also moved the wooden altar table to the back wall to create space and checked that the angel wings would not clash with the three Advent candles placed on the table.

 

Costumes

Drama Christi has been operating for 75 years and has an extensive costume collection. We drew on this resource, including one of the flowing angel costumes that are always visually stunning. One of the dancers, who is also a seamstress, made new tunics for four of the performers.

Video of the service

You can view the YouTube livestream from the start of the whole Drama Christi presentation here:
https://youtu.be/mXeM-MzMd6Y?t=605

The Magnificat dance/drama starts here:
https://youtu.be/mXeM-MzMd6Y?t=1179

I was delighted with how the service went.

 

Lessons learned and tips for collaboration

Be open to the gifts of others
The director brought a clear artistic vision and a deep desire to serve worship. Let people offer what they do best.

Trust works both ways
She trusted me to shape the wider service sensitively. I trusted her to create and lead the drama and dance. That mutual trust was foundational.

Refine ideas early
Two months out from the service we exchanged ideas and settled on the content. Seeing a new dance emerge from music our choir recorded ten years earlier was a genuine joy.

Sweat the technical details
Audio and visual planning matters. Assemble the gear, test it properly, and ask for help on the day. Being fussy here frees the worship to flow.

Rehearse thoroughly
Fourteen minutes of action took two months of rehearsal. The final rehearsals in the church were essential for staging, entrances, exits, and logistics. For example, we needed to unlock doors behind the sanctuary to allow performers to move unseen between spaces.

Stay flexible
I shifted readings, shortened my sermon, and adapted my usual structure. None of this weakened the service. It strengthened it.

Use your space creatively
Our church has an open space at the front/sanctuary on three different levels which is wonderful for dance/drama. The actors came in and left from two different doors. The dancers came in down the left aisle and left up the middle aisle to exit at the back of the church. How can you use your worship space for creative performances? Can you move seating, the altar, lectern or pulpit to make room?

 

A word of encouragement

If you are a worship leader who feels the quiet nudge to try something new, take it seriously. You don’t need to do everything yourself. Look around your community and notice the dancers, actors, musicians, writers, and visual thinkers already among you.

Creative worship isn’t about being clever or flashy. It is about making space for the Gospel to be seen, heard, and felt in fresh ways. Start small if you need to. Trust others with real responsibility. Be brave enough to adjust your plans.

When collaboration works, worship becomes more than a service you lead. It becomes a shared act of offering.

Ngā mihi
Philip