Soul Purpose, the liturgical drama troupe of Valparaiso University, developed original plays based on lectionary texts and suitable to serve as the proclamation of the day. Founded and directed by John Steven Paul (1951-2009), Professor of Theatre at Valparaiso University, the troupe performed in scores of congregations, schools, conferences, and other settings between 1987 and 2009. Soul Purpose plays and workshops were frequent and popular offerings at the Institute for Liturgical Studies. This collection contains over 30 liturgical dramas, each freely available to read, use, and perform.
Also included are selected essays from John Steven Paul on liturgical drama, including an introductory essay on Soul Purpose, entitled "Drama for the Church: The Soul Purpose Plays".
Each work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Some rights reserved.
Liturgical Drama Introductory Essays
Drama for the Church: the Soul Purpose Plays, John Steven Paul
Making the Unseen Seen: Some Comments on the Use of Drama for the Church, John Steven Paul
Soul Purpose: Theatre Outreach Program, John Steven Paul
Liturgical Dramas
1 5 3, John Steven Paul
A Fish Story, John Steven Paul
And They Danced, John Steven Paul
And They Pranced, John Steven Paul
Annie's Party, John Steven Paul
Dear Matthew, John Steven Paul
Fools, John Steven Paul
Forty Days, John Steven Paul
Go and See, John Steven Paul
Inauguration, John Steven Paul
Keep Awake!, John Steven Paul
Leap of Faith, John Steven Paul
Locusts and Wild Honey, John Steven Paul
Matthews, Manifold Grace, John Steven Paul
New Wine, Old Skins, John Steven Paul
Paul and Silas in Prison, John Steven Paul
POOOOOFFFF, John Steven Paul
Ready?, John Steven Paul
Remembering Philip and James, Apostles, John Steven Paul
Take Off Your Shoes, John Steven Paul
That Cross, John Steven Paul
The Brother, John Steven Paul
The First Witness, John Steven Paul and Kari-Anne Blocher Innes
The Hard Part, John Steven Paul
The Man Born Blind, John Steven Paul
The Man Who Was Not Far from the Kingdom of God, John Steven Paul
The Passion of Our Lord (According to St. Mark), John Steven Paul
The Passion of Our Lord (According to St. Matthew), John Steven Paul
The Things That Are God’s, John Steven Paul
The Wedding, John Steven Paul
Tilling and Telling, John Steven Paul
What Do You Think?, John Steven Paul
Written on Your Heart, John Steven Paul
Zacchaeus: For the Lord He Wanted to See, John Steven Paul
