RichDrama - Blog #Rich's PlaysRichDrama - Blog #Rich's Playshttps://www.richdrama.com/blog/tag/Rich-s-PlaysThu, 06 Aug 2026 10:55:05 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[SuperCentennial Celebrations]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/SuperCentennialCelebrationsThese pieces about three of our founding fathers are available for our nation's 250th birthday: “Thomas Jefferson Explains the Declaration” : On our 25t ]]>

Monologues for our 250th

These pieces about three of our founding fathers are available for our nation's 250th birthday:


“Thomas Jefferson Explains the Declaration”: On our 25th anniversary as a nation, our third President explains the Declaration of Independence, which he drafted. Children can be invited to the stage, so he can explain it to them… and so adults in our era can understand it better. President Jefferson reads from his original draft of the Declaration, which you can read by clicking here.

“Something’s Brewin’ in Boston”: Rev. John Bacon stirs the crowd to join him at his church, the Old South Meeting House, where people will be gathering to plan the Boston Tea Party. Rev. Bacon reminds a modern audience that “the clergy of this colony understand the solemn charge laid upon us: to shepherd not only souls, but the cause of liberty itself.” 

"A Pastor Signs the Declaration": Rev. John Witherspoon, the sixth president of Princeton University, was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He reflects on the day and the importance of faith in our founding.

"Send for Haym Salomon!": Available in the spring of 2027, this monologue tells how this Jewish financier arranged funding for the Continental Congress and Continental Army.

"Something's Brewing in Boston" was first performed at the Council for National Policy in Boston, where “Rev. Bacon called upon Jenny Beth Martin (co-founder and national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots) to help plan what would become possibly the most famous protest in our nation’s history. Unaware of the setup she leapt to her feet and yelled, “I’ll throw tea into the sea!” When Rev. Bacon asked Chad Connelly (founder and CEO of Faith Wins, “dedicated to education, activating, and mobilizing faith leaders…”) if he knew of any who would encourage pastors, he said, “I’m on it.” And when Rev. Bacon asked David Barton (founder of Wallbuilders) if he would pray that the Lord would raise up skilled historians, he said, “I love it.” 

Those luminaries may not be at your event, but I’d be thrilled to work in whoever is there! 

The pieces can stand alone or be combined. 


Each is about 15 minutes. 


They are also available as emcees, as President Thomas Jefferson served at The Kennedy Center for the world premiere of Star Spangled Adventures the Movie, where he also led Little Patriots in the Pledge of Allegiance (he had to pull out his spectacles, since it was written long after his time). 

Bring Rich to Your Community

At Intercessors for America's Rededicate America (which has been planned for well over a year, long before President Trump announced that we would rededicate America to the Lord on May 17), Dutch Sheets was kind enough to take part in "Something's Brewing in Boston":

Footage by Hannah Lien: www.PhotoCrowd.com/lumenance


For more about Dutch Sheets visit www.DutchSheets.org and www.GiveHim15.com. 

Footage by Hannah Lien: www.PhotoCrowd.com/lumenance

Because we were running behind at Rededicate America at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., I offered to go later in the lineup, which meant I came right after Danny Gokey, who left his water bottles onstage. You can see Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon reacting to them from 1791 in the video to the right...


Quotes

Rich Swingle was a delightful anchor to Friday’s program. How wonderful to be transported back, to ‘experience’ the ‘real human’ behind the stories and sermons we have read. His improvisational ability is so natural and engaging. I think the entire room was close to charging in and joining the Boston ‘Tea Party'! Very informative and entertaining, and I love how he seamlessly pulled in Dutch Sheets, Kris Kubal, and Jeff Coors and commissioned them!  HUZZAH!!

As John Witherspoon he was wonderful!  Scottish to a fault!!  A signer of our Declaration, and a preacher -- reading from his published sermon that he shared portions of at the 1791 4th of July Celebration.  So informative and at the same time fun!  Preparation, eloquence, ease, and improv!

--Judy Spiegel
St. Augustine, FL 
After Rededicate America in the World Stages Theatre, Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.


Rich, your acting is incredible!! I love when you portray the founders!!

--John Adams
After Rededicate America in the World Stages Theatre, Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.


Rich, the anointing and power on your voice carried the very voice of Father God through our nation’s history! I heard strength, conviction, truth, and the grace to turn back to the foundations of righteousness in the historic dramatizations you shared. It was done in the spirit of triumph and exuded faith, which was tangible in the room with 400 eager intercessors drinking in every word! 

Personally, I thank God for this gift upon your life in bringing to light the truths of scripture and  faith champions in our nation’s history. These truths we should hold. Thank you for bringing them to light for us once again! The Lord bless and keep you. 
--Lisa Townsend 
After Rededicate America in the World Stages Theatre, Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.

Performances

Of Some or All Monologues

NYC
June 6
near where it was read to General George Washington and his troops on July 9, 1776

Washington, D.C.
June 14
Portrayed Thomas Jefferson at the Kennedy Center Premiere

NYC
June 26, 7:00pm 
Times Square Corps -- Theatre 315

Washington, D.C.
July 3
"Something's Brewing in Boston"

Washington, D.C.
July 4

NYC

July 9, 6:00 p.m. 
Thomas Jefferson told how the Declaration of Independence 
was read to General George Washington and his troops 
on July 9, 1776, at 6:00 p.m., from
for Christ Over the City

Orlando
July 26, 8:00 a.m.
Thomas Jefferson with Representatives and Senators from Kids Congress lead the Pledge of Allegiance

Orlando

July 26, 12:30 p.m.
"Thomas Jefferson Explains the Declaration"

Worldwide
July 23, noon Eastern
Rich interviewed
Pray with America's Leaders
Worldwide

August 2, 6 p.m. Eastern
"Thomas Jefferson Reflects on August 1 and 2, 1776"

2027


St. Augustine, FL

Spring, TBD

"Send for Haym Salomon!" added to the lineup

Book a Performance
]]>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:50:20 -0400<![CDATA[Prayer Fuels Discipleship]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/prayer-fuels-discipleship

in The Forge

My article on The Forge posted today on www.HeadlinePrayer.org: 

 

Lord, use this powerful film to inspire discipleship in this season when we need it more than ever!

The Forge, the latest Kendrick Brothers’ film, is in theaters nationwide, and it paints a picture of the importance of discipleship and how prayer can help make it happen!

[Click to read the whole article...]

 

Here's my interview with Cameron Arnett, who plays Joshua Moore, who disciples the main character: 

120th Anniversary of the Welsh Revival

We're trying to set up a short tour of Wales to perform excerpts from our singing playSongs of Revival: Hungry After God Himself(www.SongsOfRevivalLive.com) about the Welsh and Asbury Revivals. 


We recently sent out this video to the contacts of a couple who have been prayer missionaries to Wales:

The job of Dick and Gladys Funnell (www.WalesAwakening.org) for almost 20 years has been praying for revival in Wales. They sent the video to all the contacts they've made over the past two decades, and there were zero bookings of a brief sample performance or of a meeting just to talk about bringing the whole production out in the spring. So he sent it out again. Nothing. 

 

Today Tim Mercaldo and I were talking about this, and he said the enemy of our souls doesn't want this to happen. When Tim said that, it dawned on me that it was during the fall that key turning points in the Welsh Revival happened… 120 years ago! In fact, we’ll be there 120 years after the month between Evan Roberts praying “Bend me!” at Blaenannerch and his first address to young people in Moriah Chapel, Loughor! If you haven't seen our play or studied the Welsh Revival that probably doesn't mean anything to you, but Evan Roberts was a key catalyst in one of the greatest revivals in history, and we'll be where it happened 120 years after the month that led up to his first public address, which led to 100,000 (at least) new believers within a few months and millions within a few years. 

 

So please join us in prayer for the open doors. 


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Joyce and I have both presented at Christ Over Career events, and Cameron and I share three film credits.

]]>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 23:25:58 -0400<![CDATA[Founder of France1Million.world]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/founder-of-france1million.worldI got a note from Marty Woods, the founder of www.France1Million.world, motivating a million prayers for France. I got to interview him about it. You ]]>

Appreciated Beyond the Chariots

I got a note from Marty Woods, the founder of www.France1Million.world, motivating a million prayers for France. I got to interview him about it. You can watch that here, and we'll be leading people in prayer for the initiative today at 12:15 p.m. Eastern. You can find details of how to join at www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/Prayer.

Earlier I shared how I portrayed Eric Liddell reading from Isaiah 40 behind the pulpit he used 100 years after he preached there. It was Marty who took us to lunch that day and encouraged me to add it. 


He gave me permission to share his note with you...


Begin forwarded message:

Rich,

I keep thinking of you, the play, the fact we have met finally and how you appreciate Eric as much as I do.


And then how much I enjoyed and appreciated Saturday. It was such a special time. 


I was moved by how you used Isaiah 40 in the afternoon. My guess around the very moment that Eric was speaking 100 years ago…and you did his Scottish accent!


A friend wrote to me…”It is crazy to think all this happened from one decision.” The power of our decisions for good can leave such an impact on people’s lives.


It was his willingness for complete surrender and his offensive of love.


Rich, you captured Eric so well. Your love and respect for him shone through. You are such a talented actor - you live the roles you play.

I thought the script was clever, tight and extremely well put together. I appreciated each twist and turn. I stayed on to see it again. I was impressed with how you sang the Paradox song on 2 different occasions- such a clever contrast. 


There were so many clever lines that showed you have lived with this for so long and you really knew him.


And brother your accents are amazing…they never felt awkward. You are very talented.


What also moved me too was how you and the lovely Joyce have come over with your own money to share this gift with Christians and not yet believers across Europe. It was a total privilege meeting you brother.


Cheers,

Marty 


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Today at 12:15 p.m. Eastern we’ll be praying for Marty’s prayer initiative, www.France1Million.world, on Headline Prayer Live. We’ll also be praying through the aftermath of the blasphemous opening ceremonies. We appreciate your prayers!

]]>Tue, 30 Jul 2024 05:37:27 -0400<![CDATA[The Night Before Noisy]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/the-night-before-noisyWe set things up for tomorrow's performance at l'Eglise Evangélique Baptiste Vie Nouvelle, and we were so excited by all they're doing to prepare! You can hear an interview (in French) with the visionary behind tomorrow night's performance...]]>

Anticipating the performance in Noisy-le-Grand, France

We set things up for tomorrow's performance at l'Eglise Evangélique Baptiste Vie Nouvelle, and we were so excited by all they're doing to prepare!

Click to hear an interview (in French) with the visionary behind tomorrow night's performance.


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Three more performances to go!

]]>Tue, 23 Jul 2024 16:48:33 -0400<![CDATA[My Sources]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/my-sources

for Beyond the Chariots

Last night over dinner I was talking about sources I used in writing Beyond the Chariots, which we're about to take to Paris and beyond for the centennial of Eric Liddell's victory there. Then a few hours later I posted more details on social media, so I thought I’d share some more here:

I read all the biographies I knew about at the time and finished the first draft in 2004. I relied most heavily on: Eric Liddell: Pure Gold by David McCasland, who saw the play and helped me get it to the next level. My favorite book covering life in the internment camp was A Boy’s War by David Michell, who also saw the play and inspired some brush strokes. You’ll hear his name in the play if you’re listening closely. The first biography I read — now out of print — was by the man who first asked Eric Liddell to speak publicly, D.P. Thomas. 


I also did interviews with Liddell’s three daughters, one of his students, and others who remember him, including two great grandchildren of Hudson Taylor. After James Hudson Taylor III saw it, he walked up to me, and his first words reflected life in the internment camp with "Uncle Eric": "We played softball. There wasn't enough room for baseball." Then "Jamie" invited us to his home in Hong Kong where he shared for hours. 


The research began in 2000, when Liddell’s niece, Peggy Judge, gave us a tour of the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh. We’ll be performing across the street twice on July 11, the 100th anniversary of Liddell’s world record in the 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Tomorrow we leave for Northern Ireland, where I’ll perform Beyond the Chariots, Joyce will advance Spanish translation slides and on the closing night portray Jeanine Brabon in an excerpt from Song’s of Revival: Hungry After God Himself, and we’ll co-lead a workshop introducing bibliodrama and enacted prayer.

Follow our adventures!

><><><

On Saturday, my character had another big episode on What's a Girl to Do?

]]>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 04:00:42 -0400<![CDATA[Looking to the Future by Digging into the Past]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/looking-to-the-future-by-digging-into-the-pastYesterday Intercessors for America posted an article by Joyce and an article about my portrayal of Rees Howells, and I posted my teaching on  1 Ti ]]>

C.S. Lewis, Rees Howells, and Joyce's Early Days with the Lord

Yesterday Intercessors for America posted an article by Joyce and an article about my portrayal of Rees Howells, and I posted my teaching on 1 Timothy 6:17-19, in which I portrayed C.S. Lewis. Hopefully these reflections on the past will encourage and inspire you as we prepare to enter 2024...


Here's Joyce's article:


Holiness: The Weapon You Need


Lord, we give ourselves to You as living sacrifices. Make us holy by the blood of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, that we may with greater power wage war against the Enemy!


“Holiness will be a shield around you.” 


These were among the first words I heard directly from the Lord in my early days as a believer. They flowed into my mind like a whisper. 


They sounded so nice that I didn’t realize at first that I didn’t understand them. It’s taken me years of delving into holiness to understand how it is both a defensive and an offensive weapon in the spiritual battles we wage.


[Click here to read the whole article...]


Here's the article by our colleague and friend, Angela Rodriguez: 


Now, More Than Ever, We Need Intercessors Like Rees Howells


Lord Jesus, You have taught us that prayer is the most powerful weapon we possess. Help us take hold of this mighty truth to change the course of the future. 


Great events in history are often defined by spectacular moments that defy logic in the natural realm. Whether it’s an eleventh-hour rescue or a battle won with meager numbers, historians relish recounting the miraculous victories that occur amid overwhelming odds. These stories, while heavy with dates and facts, rarely mention the prayer warriors who were toiling behind the scenes to change the direction of history itself. Though you will not likely find the names of such devoted spiritual soldiers in the pages of some textbook, you will most certainly encounter their influence in every major event in which the world’s most tyrannical regimes have been overthrown.


When intercessors from all over the United States gathered in Washington, D.C., for IFA’s 50th anniversary celebration in November 2023, history was being made in both the natural and spiritual realms. But it was the spiritual side of history that was truly coming to life as the hearts and minds of so many converged on one particular name: Rees Howells — a man whose life of intercession literally changed world events. Intercessors: Now, more than ever, we need to embrace the prayer strategies of this mighty but humble-hearted man of God!


...


Certainly, the miracle of Dunkirk firmly illustrated the imperative need for prayer and showed how heartfelt, focused intercession could stop a dictator in his tracks. But there was even more confirmation of this amazing truth at the IFA 50th, as contributing writer and award-winning actor Rich Swingle came up to perform a powerful monologue as Rees Howells. Addressing the audience in a Welsh accent, Swingle-Howells described what it was like during the dark days of Hitler, and recounted how the intercessors of The Bible College of Wales prayed the malevolent dictator would be “bent.” God’s war on “the Beast” would be fought through the intercession of fervent prayer warriors.


[Click to read the whole article and see my monologue...]

Click the image to watch my teaching on 1 Timothy 6:17-19 for Westchester Chapel. I portray C.S. Lewis reading to his friends and colleagues known as the Inklings at their "hangout," The Eagle and Child. He shares a passage from Mere Christianity before it goes to press. 



Photos of the statue of Jeremiah Lanphier courtesy of John Beckett and Manor Church.
Exterior of Eagle and Child pub photo by Melanie Jeschke. Used by permission.
Interior of Eagle and Child pub photo by Tom Murphy VII. License.

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Help us use another story from the past to inspire people from all over the world in Paris and Edinburgh next summer...
www.GiveSendGo.com/ChariotsParisEdinburgh
]]>Fri, 29 Dec 2023 05:26:01 -0500<![CDATA["Hudson Taylor Invests in China"]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/HudsonTaylorThis is my one-person sketch on Hudson Taylor, and I'm so blessed with how it turned out! We filmed it at the Christ Over Career National Kickoff in New York City.]]>

And Speaks to Christ Over Career

This is my one-man sketch on Hudson Taylor as performed at the Salvation Army's Territorial Arts Ministry Conservatory: 

]]>Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:59:20 -0400<![CDATA[Songs of Revival]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/songs-of-revival
We have an exciting announcement...


Sign up for updates to find out when Songs of Revival is ready and when it's heading your way!



]]>Sun, 16 Apr 2023 01:29:00 -0400<![CDATA[Mkulunqanda: The Great Beginner]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/GreatBeginner
This piece is about Harmon Schmelzenbach, the first Nazarene missionary in Swaziland. The video is put together from my performances at the Metro New York District Assembly and at Westchester Chapel Church of the Nazarene. 
Here's the rest of the service at Westchester Chapel: Dependence on the Lord Alone.

With Joyce playing Harmon's wife, Lula Schmelzenbach, we performed this at Africa Nazarene University's 25th anniversary chapel.

In 2007 I portrayed CB Jernigan, who founded our District: From the Prairie Schooner in Texas to a City Flat in New York.

Swazi (siSwati) translations for "Mkulunqanda: The Great Beginner" by Mfundisi Sir Nkhosi, Swaziland (now The Kingdom of eSwatini).

Based on The Missionary Prospector by Lula Schmelzenbach (no copyright), and other research.

Copyright © 2015 by Rich Swingle. All Rights Reserved.
To play for a group of 15 or more, please make arrangements or schedule a live performance.
]]>Mon, 11 May 2015 18:58:00 -0400