Last night, Above All kicked off performance season with a benefit for nursing homes, special needs and the Youth Challenge Program.  It was a rewarding experience to bless those who so many have forgotten.  Today, we recap the experience and how it is nuanced from a regular performance

Our Fourth Podcast is up for Above All.  We recap FDR week, look forward to the performances and recap the Sunday Come to the Table service.  Enjoy.

It was a big weekend for the Above All cast as we did two FDR run throughs on Saturday.  It was an exhausting but rewarding experience and one we will be including a recap of this day in our Podcast tomorrow.  However, today I wanted to focus on the special scene that was presented on Sunday at POA.  It involved Jesus, the Apostles and several people from Seven and other areas of our church.  We were to depict a dinner with Jesus where modern individuals came on the stage and took our place to sit with Jesus.  The message was that anyone can approach Jesus.  It doesn't matter your background, your problems or your concerns.  Christ is willing to receive you.  It was a rewarding and impacting experience.  Here is a brief recap of that experience (we'll have more info on it in the Podcast).

Last night was the last of four FDRs in a row and I could definitely feel it this morning.  The reward of getting to be a part of this phenomenal project is definitely getting tried the physical and mental exhaustion that comes with preparing for it.  Nonetheless, our troupe soldiered on to get the kinks ironed out before performances next week.  We still have a full day of practices on Saturday, which we'll have a special audio recap for, but his will be the last of FDR written recaps.  Starting next week, we'll have Performance recaps for each night Above All is performed.  Now that we've got those announcements out of the way (one last one at the end of this article, btw), let's get to the recap

Last night, I saw somebody reacting in our practices that convicted me. Today, I want to take a step back from the cast and focus on this individual.  This person is not a cast or crew member, but he is the primary reason we are able to perform this production.  With his passion for souls and outreach, he has led POA for nearly 40 years.  It is that passion that urged our church back into Easter performances and the birth of Above All.  Our subject today is Pastor Anthony Mangun.

Above All FDR night two got off to a fast start and rolled relatively smoothly to the finish.  Were there a few hiccups? Yes.  Did we have to stop and restart any scenes?  No.  That's really unheard of for the 2nd night of FDRs in either Messiah or Above All.  It speaks to the preparation and detail given by the directors, stage crew and leaders in the previous month to get us to this point.  It also speaks to the cast's willingness to be a mold-able unit.  Today, we look at some more members of the cast and crew to help highlight what makes Above All so awesome.  WARNING!  Spoilers ahead.

We started Full Dress Rehearsals (FDR) on Saturday, but that day was mostly designed to benefit the tech crew in getting the scenes and pacing of the production lined out.  As a result, it really didn't feel like a true run through of Above All.  Don't get me wrong, it was still beneficial and we  definitely felt like it was an all day practice the next day.  However, the feel of an FDR is far different than anything else you go through.  It's intense with its focus, frustrating with its stop and go nature and rewarding with how it brings us all together as a cast.  Monday revealed a little bit of all of that as we started on this week long road of FDRs.  Click on the read more button to get the full recap of FDR 1.

Our third Recap Podcast is up!  In this Above All Episode, we recap the experience of Pearland and look at the transition from individual practices to Full Dress Rehearsal. We even throw in a baseball analogy! Check out the video below and head on over to our YouTube channel to Subscribe.

Up until now, rehearsals have been scene focused.  Each scene has been scrutinized and picked over by multiple directors.  The actors have worked hard to get each other in the proper position and mindset for those individual moments as well.  Where a person is, how they react, what they are feeling and the tone they use with their speech are just part of what has gone on so we can get to this point: Full Dress Rehearsals.  Today, we preview our coverage of Full Dress and what to expect going forward with our coverage of Above All.