After many hours of creative effort and diligence, Rachelle Ferguson has written many plays that inspire Christlikeness not only in the audience but also in the theatrical team rehearsing and performing it. I was able to review Really Remarkable Romance as well as Narrow Escape.

Really Remarkable Romance is a short play with five characters, three female and one male, plus a narrator. This play is about 7 minutes long and meets A.C.E. convention guidelines for One-Act Plays. Jackie has always guarded her heart, patiently waiting for that perfect Christian guy to come sweep her off her feet. She occasionally loans out her heart to movies, books, and crushes; but she will never actually give it away until she meets Mr. Right. When two sales representatives from Soulmate Source, Inc show up at her door, Jackie thinks she is getting a sweet deal; but three years later, she’s watching her chick flick as her husband comes home, and his words reach her heart “Stop wanting that from me. It’s not real! I don’t have it!” This play teaches Proverbs 23:17, 19 “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.”

Narrow Escape can be used with a flexible cast of nineteen. This play is about 45 minutes long and is great fit for a co-op class. The prisoners of Unit 9 face a life-changing choice when a stranger appears among them, claiming that he can guide them to freedom. Yet after one prisoner tried to follow the map to freedom and ended up loosing a leg, fellow prisoners follow him in devising their own plan to escape. The characters various motivations gradually reveal themselves as each person must decide whether to trust the guide and follow him across the minefield that surrounds the prison. Although humorous at times, Narrow Escape seriously considers human and divine nature through images and characters. Speaking both to non-Christians and to believers, this play represents the chains from which Christ longs to free us. It teaches John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

My family used Really Remarkable Romance in a family drama night. The script has five characters and it was perfect for our family of five. After reading through the script with our three daughters, we were able to apply Biblical truths and use this play to teach the importance of guarding our hearts.

Our co-op class read through the Narrow Escape script during a co-op class. Our co-op class did not use this play for a public performance because they were already working on a musical theater presentation. This helped our students learn to portray different characters. As teacher/director of this class, I would say many students enjoyed the humor, and it was great to see a couple of them come out of their comfort zone to act out roles they would not normally perform. Our co-op class usually performs a musical theater performance, but we may offer a drama class in the future to perform one of these plays especially since each play provides script, casting suggestions, costume guidelines, and props needed to perform the plays. Rachelle Ferguson makes it very easy for any family, co-op, or other group to use these plays.

Please note, each play is licensed for one performance. Licensing for additional performances is available for a small fee. Simply email kittywham@gmail.com to request a grant of performance license. This grant of performance license is very specific. No substantial changes may be made in the script without the express written consent of the publisher. The full title of the play, the full name of the playwright, and notice “Produced by special arrangement with Kittywham Productions LLC, Salem, Illinois” must appear on all programs, printing, and advertising.

-Product review by Susan Reed, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2018.