The Homeschool Dramatic Society
Our Most Recent Production
Gladys Aylward worked as a housemaid in London in the early 1900s, but she had a burning desire to go to China. It took a long time for her to save up enough money for a train ticket, but she finally did. It took many long weeks of grueling travel for her to reach her destination, but she made it. The people she encountered were far from welcoming of this lao-yang-gui--a foreign devil. However, as Gladys gave of herself to the people of Yangcheng, they saw in her something worthy of respect. She earned the Chinese name Ai-weh-de, The Virtuous One. As the Japanese began to invade China at the start of World War II, Gladys found herself responsible for nearly one hundred orphans. 
Gladys knew that the children needed to be taken to a safer place. The journey over the mountains through enemy territory might have seemed impossible, but Gladys knew that nothing is impossible with God. Gladys was confident that the One who is unseen would see her through and guide her on this Journey of Faith.
In 1999, when Mary Evelyn McCurdy (Mev for short) was fifteen years old, she decided that she wanted to write and direct a play for the homeschooled children at her church in Cookeville, Tennessee. She called the group the Homeschool Dramatic Society. The following year, Mary Evelyn decided to write and direct another play. She opened this production to more homeschooled children, besides those at her church. By the next year, the Homeschool Dramatic Society was open to all homeschooled children in the Upper Cumberland area of Middle Tennessee.
Since 1999, Mev has written and directed a new play each year, except in 2007 when she reproduced the Society's 2001 production. The first two musicals were performed on a simple stage in a church gym. The next five productions were done in a small theatre owned and operated by the Wesley Foundation. Since 2006, the Society has used the facilities of the Cookeville Performing Arts Center.
Over the years, 145 homeschooled students have participated in one or more Homeschool Dramatic Society productions. The Society now draws from several Middle Tennessee communities, and some participants have come from out of state to take part in the annual productions.
You can purchase DVDs of recent Homeschool Dramatic Society productions to show to your family, church, or homeschool group. Mev also offers drama tips to help in your work with children. If you are looking for scripts to use with your group, please contact us.
