TESTAMENT OF A NAKED MAN: GOOD NEWS ACCORDING TO MARK

The following photographs by Roger Twigg of the Sound II sculpture by Antony Gormley from Winchester Cathedral in England may be downloaded and used in publicity for Testament of a Naked Man provided that the following acknowledgement is given:

“Sound II, a sculpture by Antony Gormley: Winchester Cathedral. Photograph by Roger Twigg used with kind permission.”

The images may be used as they are, cropped and/or as faded background.

The following line drawing is also available for use:

The following text may be used or adapted for a FLYER or a POSTER to publicize an event presenting Testament of a Naked Man – Good News According to Mark:

[Name of your organization/venue]

presents

TESTAMENT OF A NAKED MAN

Good News According to Mark

  A dramatic interpretation by Angus Stuart

[x.xx] pm [Name]day, Month xx, 2013

[Your Venue + Address]

­­­­­­­­­­­­­The power of the Gospel according to Mark is brought to life in a dramatic one-man performance set in the poetic stillness of this sacred space.

Through this live encounter, the audience is transported back in time to be with Jesus on the dusty roads of Palestine and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Listeners will come away with a sense of not having ever heard these familiar stories before.  Hearing the Gospel as a whole will enable us to be intellectually challenged and make connections in a new light.

Angus Stuart, Rector of St. Francis-in-the-Wood, began by telling the story of Christ’s arrest, trial and crucifixion from memory on Palm Sunday in 2007.    Then he was inspired to memorize the whole of Mark’s Gospel.  The effect is dramatic!

Tickets: $xx/$xx (seniors & students)

Call: [Your Telephone Number]  e-mail: [your email address]

[Details of Parking etc.]

Proceeds from this event will support [to be determined].

The following text may be useful if you wish to put together a PROGRAM for the evening – you may also wish to use an image for the program such as one of the ones offered above:

Some information about Angus Stuart:

ANGUS STUART

Angus Stuart has been reciting the Passion Gospel from Matthew, Mark or Luke on Palm Sunday each year since 2007. He was originally inspired to do this by Canon Neville Boundy, a former colleague in Bristol, England. He remembered Neville saying that he used to read the Passion from John’s Gospel on Good Friday each year but realized it wasn’t getting through because there was “a text in the way”; so he began reciting it, and the effect was dramatic!

In 2009, after reciting the Passion from Mark on Palm Sunday, Angus wanted to take it a stage further by learning the whole of Mark’s Gospel. His father had once sent him a notice from someone in England who offered it for public performance. So he decided to give it a try.

Previous performances have found the audience transported back in time to be with Jesus on the dusty roads of Judaea and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  There is a timeless, dreamlike quality about the experience that has left listeners with a sense of not having ever heard these familiar stories before.

Thank you for being here tonight in the poetic stillness of this holy place. Come now, travel back in time, and listen with new ears to the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…

Then you may wish to acknowledge people who have helped make the event possible – any volunteers who have helped with set-up, technical support, hospitality etc. Here are some words of “Thanks”:

THANKS

Thanks for help and support in putting on tonight’s presentation go to: [fill in the blanks] and everyone who has made this evening possible.

Special thanks go to Carol Coulson for raising the bar and sharing her extensive knowledge and expertise in theatre and acting.

On the facing page you could give details of the running order of the program as follows:

TESTAMENT OF A NAKED MAN

THE PROGRAM

The performance lasts approximately two hours.

There is no intermission but there will be two short musical interludes.

 Please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices.

 Welcome

 ACT I – Beginning of the Good News (Mark 1:1 – 6:29)

 ACT II – Visions of Jesus (Mark 6:30 – 10:31)

 ACT III – On the Road (Mark 10:32 – 16:8)

Proceeds from tonight will go to support the work …[add details here] (see over).

[You may wish to add details about the cause or project that you are raising funds for through this performance either by ticket sales or donation or both] 

“A certain young man was following him wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.”  Mark 14:51-52

Photo credit: Sound II – a sculpture by Antony Gormley; Winchester Cathedral.Photograph by Roger Twigg used with kind permission.

WORD OF LIGHT: GOSPEL OF JOHN IN THE FLESH

Here are some basic materials to help publicize and promote a performance of the Gospel of John and for use in a program…

This image has been used to promote past performances:

Here are some pictures of Angus Stuart from the first performance of Word of Light in June 2016:

This introduction by Angus Stuart from the program for the first performance can be adapted:

THANK YOU! For coming to “Word of Light: Gospel of John in the Flesh.”  I am glad that you are here, and I pray that you may be blessed through this performance of the Gospel of John.  I am comfortable with the word “performance” as I conceive what I am doing as giving shape or form to the Gospel story, as opposed to any association the word might have with “entertainment.”  Indeed, what I am trying to do is the opposite of entertainment if we think of entertainment as a diversion, or divertissement, en français, something that takes us out of ourselves and our situation.  My hope is that, whilst the story does indeed take us to another time and place, it will help us to be much more present in the here and now.  Present, first of all perhaps, to ourselves and to our own life, but also present to one another and the lives of others, and ultimately to the Word that is God, the Word that is the Life and Light of all people.

My work on the Gospel of John, as has been the case with the Gospel of Mark, is a journey of exploration.  In the process of becoming familiar with the words of the story and the Jesus they portray, paradoxically I have become very conscious of how unfamiliar they are – to me, to us, to the world as we conceive and experience it.  Often I find myself asking, what is really going on here?  What is this all about?  Sometimes it seems very unreal and incomprehensible, much like “dream reality.”  At such times I remind myself that it’s a different type of reality, but no less real or valid.  Much as with a dream, the important thing to me seems to be not to be preoccupied or distracted by the inconsistencies or perplexities in the story but rather to pay attention to the way the words impact and move upon my own soul, to notice what is being stirred up within me – to note the promptings of the Spirit of Truth in the hope that we may indeed be led into all truth.

I would like to give special thanks to Carol Coulson who has spent many hours working with me to develop the raw words that I memorized from the Gospel into the performance you are experiencing this evening.  Whatever merit it has is due at least as much to what she has done as it is down to me.  Most of all, of course, it is due to the One who lives and moves in both of us and in each of you.

Here is some wording that can be used and adapted as an outline of the program:

WORD OF LIGHT

Program

Prologue

Testimony of John

Water into Wine

Cleansing the Temple

Nicodemus

The Woman at the Well

Healing on the Sabbath

Feeding the Multitude

Disputes in Jerusalem

A Man Born Blind

The Good Shepherd

Lazarus

Children of Light

 Intermission

(15 minute comfort break, refreshments will not

be served until the end of the performance)

Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet

Jesus Speaks to his Disciples

Jesus Prays for his Disciples

The Passion

Resurrection Appearances

You may wish to add details of a reception if applicable, as well as information about any cause or project that proceeds from this performance are supporting.