SCRIPTURE PYRAMID
Performing Bible Verses One Phrase at a Time

In Scripture Pyramid, a group of performers build a Bible verse one short phrase or word at a time. The drama based technique can be used to emphasize an important line in a readers theater performance or other staging of scripture, inviting the audience to hear the verse in a new way.

Instructions:

Before creating and rehearsing a Scripture Pyramid, it’s best to view a video of the technique being performed.

Scripture Pyramid Simple Form - Building the verse forwards:

1.      Select a Bible verse to present. For example: “The peace of God that passes understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

2.      Ask your performers to stand shoulder to shoulder in a line facing the audience.

3.      Assign each performer a few words from the verse you’ve chosen, beginning with the actor on stage right and ending with the actor on stage left. In the example above, the person on the stage right end of the line could be assigned the words “The peace.” The next person in line could be assigned “of God,” and the third, “that passes,” the fourth, “understanding,” the fifth, “shall keep,” the sixth, “your hearts,” the seventh, “and minds,” and the eighth, “in Christ Jesus.”

(If you have a limited number of performers, you can circle back to the first person in line and keep assigning words in order.)

4.      To perform the verse, the actors say their words in this order:

Actor 1: “The peace.”
Actor 1: (after a pause) The peace
Actor 2:                                         of God…
Actor 1: (after a pause) The peace
Actor 2:                                         of God
Actor 3:                                                     that passes…
Actor 1: (after a pause) The peace
Actor 2:                                         of God
Actor 3:                                                     that passes
Actor 4:                                                                       understanding…

      This pattern continues until all the actors have said their words or phrases in order and we hear the complete verse.

5.      Work with your actors until they can deliver the line smoothly, as though speaking with one voice.

Note: Encourage your actors to listen carefully to each other, and to try to anticipate when to add their word or phrase—almost connecting their words to the words of the actor speaking before them. Of course, they should also be sensitive to maintaining the natural pauses present in the complete verse. As an added refinement, instruct your actors to be “in the moment”—not always saying their words the same way every time, but rather shading their delivery and subtext to fit what feels best with each repetition of the verse.

In a more elaborate use of the technique, you can arrange your actors in a pyramid formation—hence the name “Scripture Pyramid”—and build the verse backwards one word or phrase at a time.

Scripture Pyramid Elaborate Form - Building the verse backwards:

1.    Select a verse and arrange your actors in a pyramid formation, with Actor 1 at the peak of the pyramid. As an example, let’s use the verse “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put and new and right spirit within me.”

 2.      Assign Actor 1 the last word or phrase of the verse. Actor 2 takes the next-to-last word or phrase, Actor 3 takes third from last, etc. till everyone has part of the verse to say.

3.      To perform the verse, the actors say their words in this order:

This pattern continues until all the actors have said their words or phrases in order and we hear the complete verse.

4.      Work with your actors until they can deliver the line smoothly, as though speaking with one voice.

Building the verse backwards adds a level of suspense to the presentation. At the beginning, the congregation may not know what the words are building up to. Then, at the very end when they hear the full and completed verse, there’s a fun sort of “Aha” moment. Once you’ve built your scripture pyramid verse, you can use it as a framing device to introduce or sum up other material.

MORE IDEAS FOR PERFORMING SCRIPTURE:
DUAL TRANSLATIONS - A way of staging scripture where two performers alternate reciting different translations of the same passage
ENACTED WORD - A collection of creative approaches to memorizing and staging scripture, especially suited to worship settings
MOTION PICTURE SCRIPTURE - A creative group technique for interpreting Bible passages and stories with repetitive movements and lines

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