Program Length—Over Planning – Part 1
Most often when you book a puppet program, you’ll be given a specific length of time to minister. It may be 10-15 minutes, 40 minutes, or some other set number. For those types of programs, it is simple to determine how to fill the time. If you’ve got 10 minutes, you can present a 3 minute play followed by a 2 minute application/link into the next play, present a 3-4 minute play, with a 1-2 minute application and closing. Practice it a few times (with the applications) so you are familiar with the time limit and go ahead with it.
If I’ve only got 10 minutes, I will plan the time out as above, but I’ll usually add an extra play—just in case. We’ve had a few times when we were asked to do an additional play on the spot and had to scramble to come up with something. By planning an extra play ahead of time, everything can be set up ahead of time. If you’re asked to do another one, you’ll be all set. If you aren’t asked, you simple don’t do the play.
If I’ve got a program of 30 to 40 minutes or more, I tend to over plan the program especially if there are several live scripts. When people get nervous, they tend to talk faster. If that happens during a live play, a seven minute play might finish in four or five minutes. You may plan five minutes for application, but the person only takes two. If that happens several times in your program, you could end up with an extra eight to ten minutes you weren’t planning for.
By over planning, if the program moves faster than you expected, it won’t be a problem, you’ll just get more puppet plays in. If the program goes slower than you expected, you will just need to cut one or two plays. You just have to determine who will make that call. In our programs it was the emcee.
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