“How To Stage a Make-Out Scene”
That Won’t Destroy It.
Take 5
by Sherry L. Kirton

1.     Pray before you arrive at rehearsal. Then pray with the team before rehearsal starts. If you don’t ask God to be there for each of you and you don’t ask for His help then you are already asking for trouble.

2.     Keep it “safe”. Make sure the guy and girl are able to “be close” to each other physically without one of them upsetting the other.

A.     Tell everyone in the group to: shower, use “deodorant,” and to gargle with mouthwash prior to rehearsals and performances... use no perfumes or heavily perfumed toiletries: often someone can be allergic to scented things and that can cause problems of its own.
B.     Trust between these actors is key, so:
     1.     Block out all physical contact to be made in advance and keep checking to see if both of the participants are ok with it. [Sometimes, even close friends can get into a bit of a mess and bring it with them into a performance. If that happens, you’ll need to do some counselling and prayer time. It is usually best to get this all done prior to picking out people for these parts. And you may need to do what my director once did: she told us, “you guys are actors (we weren’t professional actors, but we were doing this for God) so start acting like you are happy and if you let God work on you, you will eventually start being happy.”]
     2.     Tell them all in advance (and keep reminding them) that it is their responsibility to make sure that they don’t mess with someone-else’s trust (faith) in them. “If I expect you to trust me, and then I tease you a bit, I, then, cannot expect you to continue to trust me.” Remind them of this each time you start to rehearse so that no one feels that it is ever ok to tease during “make out” rehearsals.
     3.     Also tell all of them in advance that touching each other’s bodies outside of the specified parameters is not ok. It, again, is not funny (even tickling) and it destroys trust/faith (which, since it is also a fruit of the Spirit, needs to be cultivated not just expected to sprout up wildly).

3.     Teach them how to fake it. The two never really have to do any kissing. Example below:

Running on stage holding hands and looking at each other while smiling tends to give the audience all they need to start using their imaginations. He might pick her up (she does a little jump and lifts her knees up so that he can cradle her) and spin around once before placing her back down on the ground. Then she should turn toward him making sure that her back is completely facing the audience. Her hair needs to be down so that their faces are covered somewhat. He can put his hands behind her head like he is pulling her to him without really having to do any pulling. If she bends one knee a little after he puts his hands behind her head it looks like he’s pulled her close to him. Then she can tilt her head from side-to-side a couple of times and if his head is directly behind hers it looks like they are kissing each other very passionately. Then they can turn toward the audience with her on the inside and put their heads close together (cheek to cheek) smiling and looking upwards like they are looking at the stars. He can even point upwards a couple of times like he is showing her a star or two.
[specifically used in the human video script HV-Testify]

4.     Remind them regularly. Moses told the people what God had told him again and again and again. And when Joshua came on he reminded them (about what Moses had told them) again and again and again. It wasn’t until after Joshua had died and the stories (INSTRUCTIONS) stopped being repeated that they ’forgot what God had done for them and required of them’ so they fell into great sin. Do not be afraid of repeating yourself hoarse or feeling like the “bad guy” for enforcing rules. All it takes is one person to let things slide and soon the whole group is in trouble.

5.     As a team, check in with God again. When rehearsal is over, pray with the team again before sending them out into the world.

A.     Ask God to be there with each of them and to return them to the next rehearsal having had some deeper time with Him. I like to ask God to continue gifting them since I ususally see great improvement after each rehearsal.
B.     Give them, also, a chance to thank God and ask for Him to supply their needs. If there has been unwanted contact between teammates, then speak to them separately, then, together, then with the whole group as a prayer leader, giving them chances to seek God’s forgiveness and each other’s.