American history is one thrilling encounter after another when you experience these 12 timeless Adventures in Odyssey episodes! You‘ll join Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride... meet President Abraham Lincoln as the United States is being torn in two... escape with runaway slaves on the secret Underground Railroad... and witness how "The Star-Spangled Banner" was composed on a battlefield by dawn's early light.

EPISODE LISTING<ul><li>The Day Independence Came (Story of George Washington)

The Midnight Ride (Story of Paul Revere)

The American Revelation, Parts 1 & 2 (the Revolutionary War)

By Dawn's Early Light (How the National Anthem was written) <li>Lincoln, Part 1 & 2 (Life of Abraham Lincoln)

The Underground Railroad, Parts 1, 2 &3 (Heroic Slave Families during the Civil War)

Arizona Sunrise (Native American Story from the Old West)

East Winds, Raining (Bombing of Pearl Harbor)

Kalidasa's play about the love of King Dusyanta for Sakuntala, a monastic girl, is the supreme work of Sanskrit drama by its greatest poet and playwright (c.4th century CE). Overwhelmingly erotic in tone and in performance, The Recognition of Sakuntala aimed to produce an experience of aesthetic rapture in the audience, comparable to certain types of mystical experience. The pioneering English translation of Sakuntala in 1789 caused a sensation among European composers and writers (including Goethe), and it continues to be performed around the world. This vibrant new verse translation includes the famous version of the story from the Mahabharata, a poetic and dramatic text in its own right and a likely source for Kalidasa. The introduction discusses the play in the aesthetic and cultural context of ancient India.

Her many fans will welcome the publication of Naomi Ragen's first play, which premiered in July 2002 at Habima National Theater in Tel Aviv. It is based on a true story: a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) woman, wife of a rabbi, mother of 12, leaves her home and stays with a friend. The community's "modesty squad" tries in vain to force her to go back. Her friend is physically attacked, her arm and leg broken. The rabbi's wife is punished: she is cut off from her children, against her will. Novelist Ragen learned of this tragic story several years ago from a newspaper article. "We've been together ever since then," she says. "They simply crushed this wonderful woman who never committed any crime. It's not a melodrama. It's a story of social truth, like Ibsen's "A Doll's House". "I tried to write a play about the status of the Jewish woman in the strictly Orthodox world," continues Ragen "The religious woman does not have any public place in which she can express her opinions in a natural fashion. Conversely, every man can say whatever he wants from the platform of the synagogue, on any subject, including current events; religious women have never had access to it. In synagogue, we pray upstairs in the women's section, while the men get up and say what they want to the entire congregation. Why shouldn't the woman have the same right? Is she less intelligent? Does she have fewer interesting things to say?"

Called to the priesthood by God, Fr. James Martin was startled to get a very different kind of call one evening in 2004: a phone call from actor Sam Rockwell. Rockwell had been cast in the part of Judas Iscariot in an Off-Broadway play where Judas was on trial for his crime of betraying Jesus; would Martin be willing to offer some theological insights? Martin gladly obliged, and within weeks playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and other members of the cast began to dialogue with Martin about a host of spiritual issues that weighed on their minds: Can we believe the Bible? What was Jesus' mission? What is sin? Does hell exist? Is anyone beyond God's forgiveness? A Jesuit Off-Broadway recounts Fr. Martin's thrilling six months with the LAByrinth Theater Company, as it created and performed <i>The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, which had a sold-out five-week run in New York. As the occasionally profane and worldly playwright, director, and actors struggled to understand theological issues and ideas, they strove to convey them in an artistically convincing way to a largely secular audience. Through it all, Martin learned lessons about theater and life, about how the sacred and the secular aren't always that far apart, and how questions often tell us more than answers do.

The Bavarian village of Oberammergau has staged the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ nearly every decade since 1634. Each production of the Passion Play attracts hundreds of thousands, many drawn by the spiritual benefits it promises. Yet Hitler called it a convincing portrayal of the menace of Jewry, and in 1970 a group of international luminaries boycotted the play for its anti-Semitism. As the production for the year 2000 drew near, James Shapiro was there to document the newest wave of obstacles that faced the determined Bavarian villagers. Erudite and judicious, <b>Oberammergau is a fascinating and important look at the unpredictable and sometimes tragic relationship between art and society, belief and tolerance, religion and politics.

Can’t find any good skits for your program? Now you don’t need them. We have over 400 Sketchuations for your students to create great on-the-spot skits.

Christian theatre has rich roots, from ancient Hebrew dramas to medieval plays, but where does it fit in today's media-saturated society? Performing the Sacred is a fascinating dialogue between a theologian and theatre artist, offering the first full-scale exploration of theatre and theology. The authors illuminate the importance of live performance in a virtual world, of preserving the ancient art form of storytelling by becoming the story. Theologically, theatre reflects Christianity's central doctrines--incarnation, community, and presence--enhancing the human creative experience and simultaneously engaging viewers on multiple levels. This Engaging Culture series title will be a key volume for those interested in theatre as well as drama practitioners, worship leaders, and culture makers.

Practical help for church drama directors is only one of the features of this book. The text also includes: directing procedures, advice on building a drama team, actor training tips, script writing, and more, as well as a CD-ROM of staging examples.

Who says you can't have fun in church? Isn't worship supposed to be joyous? Funny4God authors Rick Eichorn and Mike Webb understand this joy and have developed their comedy ministry to share their passion for Christ with others. Funny4God is a collection of comedy and drama that emphasizes the Teachings of Christ through Scripture. Each skit contains a Godly message as it applies to life today. Christians and non-Christians nationwide have enjoyed Mike and Rick's unique blend of Christian Comedy and ministry for years, and now, Mike and Rick want to share it with you. Are you ready to be Funny4God?

A reworking of classical myth, this harrowing play is a brutal exposure of love at its most impure and dangerous.