Church Stage Set Design – How Do You Keep The Church Happy?

About 3 years ago, I was asked to provide laser lighting for a youth rally at a church in Quezon City (In Manila) and we were happy to do so. During the event, there was to be a “rave party” towards the end.

Before the party started, one of the priests got on the stage and reminded the guests that this was a place of worship and not a night club and could they respect the reverence of the building. He said that he had no objection to people enjoying themselves, but asked that the audience, did not smoke, drink alcohol, kiss or use bad language or gestures whilst having fun.

The night began, but the DJ who was sub-contracted separately carried on smoking and threw his cigarettes onto the floor.

There many people offended by his actions and they complained until he was asked to stop smoking by the organizer. He refused saying it was his right and was asked to leave and another DJ was given his job!

Whats is perfectly acceptable to one person, may not be acceptable to another and when we have a church stage set design to come up with , we need to respect not only the building, but also the visitors, some who maybe very devout) as well as Higher Power! We certainly do not want to offend our creator with a poorly designed stage!

Simple Church Stage Set Design

Using a simple and plain church stage set design maybe a really good idea. This way there is little to offend anyone.

It is probably better not to use any images, especially crosses, swastikas, or any pagan sign. no short skirts, unclad girls or over the top fashion statements and probably best no to use political images either!

“I remember one time in Brunei, we were editing a waterscreen show at Jerudong Park and it was to be a compilation of cartoon images for the kids to sing along with.

The client told us he loved the show during the rehearsal, but could we take out the images of the 3 little pigs as it may offend the Muslim community.

It was good we had a local adviser with us, before we broadcast to the public as we never even thought about it and we certainly did not mean to offend the audience.

Had this not been noticed, we may have lost our contract there!” – Tim Bennett, Special Events Answers

Local Adviser

There are many different sects and religions these days and you cannot be expected to know all of the customs and acceptability of each service, so when you are planning church stage set designs and also the content, make sure that you get it approved by one of the local church members, preferably one of the committee heads.

Your Technicians And Crew

Before starting any project with a church stage set design, it would be a good idea to talk to your crew and staff. Some may not be comfortable working in a particular church as they may find it goes against their own spiritual views.

These crew should be exempted from working on this project without
discrimination.

The crew that you do appoint to work on the project, should be suitably dressed in the church, wearing shirts all the time and their clothing should also respect the venue. No bad language or logos on their shirts.

The crew should also be advised not to use bad language, shout, run, spit or any other unacceptable action for a religious venue!

Acoustics and Lighting

When you are designing your church stage set design, remember that the shape and design of the building will make it difficult to put sound and lighting in. You cannot simple screw and nail things to the walls as the walls are probably really old and worth more than you!

The sound will reverberate very differently in a church, so make sure you have a very good sound technician who can deal with the echo that comes in such a building.

The most important part to remember is that a church is a place of solemn worship and extremely sensitive and special to lots of people, so do not offend or upset anyone when designing your Church Stage Set Design.

If you are about to present any kind of production in a place of worship or a church and you need quick and accurate help, then you need a copy of an incredible book called Lighting Design for Modern Houses of Worship.

One customer who bought the book states:

“This book is incredible. I got this book in December and I could not put it down. It covered topics that we had be struggling with (creating an even TV lighting wash) and spent countless man hours trying it to get it right. Richard Cadena’s explanation of how to set up your stage lighting (McCandles and 4-Point) is great. We eventually

Church Stage Set Design

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