Father-Daughter Playwright Team to Open New Show

Church plays and pageants are a staple of Christmas celebrations. But at Stone Haven Free Methodist in Troy, the plays are original works by an award-winning father-daughter playwright team: John and Ellen Young who write collaboratively as Arising Drama. The team’s latest work, Ebenezer Society: Scrooge Strikes Back, will debut at Stone Haven in December.

“As playwrights, we aim to create out-of-the-box stories that both entertain and explore the very messy business of being human,” says John. “Ebenezer Society was birthed from a question I’ve been asking myself for years: While we’re celebrating at the end of a story when the good guy finally triumphs, how are the ‘bad guys’ who are reading or watching the story responding?”

Ebenezer Society is set amid the moguls and mobsters of 1930’s New York. A young shopkeeper, Edward, unwillingly inherits his father’s business. As he struggles to keep it afloat, he is wooed by a secret society of business titans who idolize Ebenezer Scrooge and the greed and miserliness he represented. Edward wrestles with the agonizing choice of continuing his father’s good work or letting his soul fall into the hands the nefarious characters who put money above all else.

John has written independently as well as in collaboration with Ellen. In total, they have written and produced seven plays, with two winning CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts) national New Play Awards : Pandora’s Inn in 2010 (written by John) and Patron Saint of Pirates in 2011 (a collaborative effort by John and Ellen). Pandora’s Inn sparked the interest of an independent producer who approached them about adapting the play into a movie. While the movie has not yet materialized, the team is now considering writing for the screen.

Ellen notes, “A favorite response to one of our plays was ‘That wasn’t like a church play; that was like a real play.” John adds, “We enjoy the process of writing together as much as we do the final production. Being able to work with my daughter on these projects…I’m inspired, challenged and blessed beyond measure.”

If you go 

Location:

• Stone Haven Free Methodist Church
  1349 W. Wattles Rd. Troy

Show dates/times:

• Friday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets:

• $2 each
• A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Grace Centers of Hope
• For ticket information, call (248) 906-8127
• To order tickets by phone, call (800) 965-9324