RichDrama - Blog #The Diary of PerpetuaRichDrama - Blog #The Diary of Perpetuahttps://www.richdrama.com/blog/tag/The-Diary-of-PerpetuaThu, 09 Apr 2026 01:49:43 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Springing to Action]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/springing-to-action
 On today's Headline Prayer Live we covered a great number of topics facing America and the world today, including two articles Joyce and I wrote. 

Here's Joyce's:
Prayer for the Lost
Lord, point those who need salvation toward the mercies of the Savior. Let them mourn their sin and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and restoration. In His Name. 

As we move from the blessed Holy Week, I am more acutely aware that millions do not yet know the love of God and the grace of Jesus. Millions passed through this past week unaware of the precipice upon which their souls teeter. For me, the joy of Resurrection Sunday is tinged with sadness for these many whose eyes are blinded to the horror of sin and its effects.
And here's mine:
Film Inspires Prayers for Persecuted Christians
Lord, use this film about some who were killed in A.D. 203 for being Christians, to target our prayers for those persecuted today.
 A film about Perpetua — who was martyred for her faith about 1,820 years ago — is now available to watch online and with your church. Not only does it bring to life the first book we know was written by a woman, but it also shines a spotlight on the 360 million people being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ today.
My article is mostly an introduction to two videos of interviews. The first is with some of the creatives behind The Diary of Perpetua:


Nooshig Luz Salvador, whose grandparents survived the Armenian Genocide, is glad the film is giving her a platform to talk about today’s Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan. She and Father Andreas Garabedian did an interview to talk about the siege of an Armenian village that has lasted more than 120 days:


Nooshig sent a link to an organization that empowers you to send letters to our leaders urging them to stop the genocide. 

Here's the program: 


And here's the entire film followed by a discussion with the cast and crew: 


You can also order a DVD with extras from Still Small Theatre's Store, and also set up a screening in your area with a representative of Open Doors International, to help connect the dots to modern persecution.

I Dreamed I Was Freetells the story of Quaker abolitionist John Woolman, who spoke against slavery a century before our Civil War. 


]]>Tue, 11 Apr 2023 18:19:00 -0400<![CDATA[Armenian Genocide Today]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/ArmenianGenocideTodayI did an interview with Dr. Nooshig Salvador -- who plays a key role in The Diary of Perpetua   -- and her priest Father Andreas Garabedian abo ]]>
I did an interview with Dr. Nooshig Salvador -- who plays a key role inThe Diary of Perpetua -- and her priest Father Andreas Garabedian about today’s Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan.

Here's an update Dr. Nooshig sent in January 2025: 

Both Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to verbalize threats against Armenia.

They announced their plans to get rid of Armenia altogether to bring the countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan together.
They have already destroyed churches in Artsakh after the mass exodus of Armenians in Artsakh who walked miles to get to Armenia.
They were forced to a mass exodus after Azerbaijan bombed the cities killing civilians after many months of starvation and isolation.
Erdogan and Aliyev are being hailed as being genocidal dictators who work very hard to get what they want, and they want Armenia annihilated.
It is very encouraging to know we have thousands of intercessors!!!!!!!!

We pray for Armenia and Artsakh in our weekly Liturgical Church services.

I asked her where we can find the latest information, and she pointed me to www.ArmenianWeekly.com.

Here's the interview from April 2023:
Here's the article I wrote in which the interview was embedded:

"Film Inspires Prayers for Persecuted Christians"

Lord, use this film about some who were killed in A.D. 203 for being Christians, to target our prayers for those persecuted today.


A film about Perpetua — who was martyred for her faith about 1,820 years ago — is now available to watch online and with your church. Not only does it bring to life the first book we know was written by a woman, but it also shines a spotlight on the 360 million people being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ today.


I’ve been connected to this project since 1992, when I prayed for Christian performing artists of excellence to be raised up in New England, where I was attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. That very year, Jasmine Myers was given a VHS cassette for a musical about the Book of Acts that she watched over and over from the time she was 2. In the summer of 2021, I was blessed when she cast me in her film, The Diary of Perpetua.


I caught up with Myers and two cast members — Nooshig Salvador (who plays a deaconess who serves Perpetua and the other Christians before they’re fed to wild beasts), and Leah Fisher (who plays one of those Christians) — at the Content2022 Film Festival and Media Summit, after the New York City premiere and at the Christian Worldview Film Festival, to talk about their participation in the film. Also, Tim Shields, director of Content2022, expresses his appreciation for the film and prays that it will inspire many.

Here’s the film in its entirety followed by a discussion with the cast and crew:

You can also order a DVD with extras from www.StillSmallTheatre.com/store.html and set up a screening in your area with a representative of Open Doors International, to help connect the dots to modern persecution, at www.StillSmallTheatre.com/contact.html.


Salvador is glad the film is giving her a platform to talk about today’s Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan. She and Father Andreas Garabedian did an interview (embedded above) to talk about the siege of an Armenian village that has lasted for about 120 days.


[Click here to see the article as it was posted, though there are broken links.]


Screenshot from an interview filmed by Laura Mae.


On April 11 Joyce and I led Intercessors for America in praying for this and other articles, including one Joyce wrote. You can watch it now:
]]>Mon, 10 Apr 2023 21:41:00 -0400<![CDATA[The Diary of Perpetua Is Now Streaming]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/TheDiaryOfPerpetua
Last night -- on the 1,820th anniversary of Perpetua's execution --  The Diary of Perpetua was streamed, and we got to answer questions from the audience as cast and crew: 


Find out more about this wonderful project and how it's an answer to my prayer from 1991 by clicking here.

See the rest of Olympic champion Eric Liddell's Chariots of Fire story in Beyond the Chariots. Watch it online and book a live performance. 

]]>Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:16:00 -0500<![CDATA[The Diary of Perpetua]]>https://www.richdrama.com/blog/post/the-diary-of-perpetua
We've been nominated for Best Justice - Persecution at the Content2022 Film Festival and Media Summit!

The festival will take place in September 2022 at Capernaum Studios, where Season One of The Chosen and Volume One of Washington's Armor were filmed.



Here's my original post:
I'm thrilled to be cast as Pudens in the upcoming musical film, The Diary of Perpetua. My character was the warden of the prison, where Perpetua finished her diary circa 203 AD, before being thrown to the wild beasts because of her faith in Jesus. 

The production team is raising funds for this profound project, which brings the oldest manuscript by a Christian woman to life. 

This film is an answer to a prayer I prayed in 1991, while I was a student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I auditioned for the North Shore Music Theatre and prepared a song from Les Misérables, playing Jean Valjean, Thenardier, Madame Thenardier and Cosette in the "Dance of Treachery." They only wanted 14 bars, and after I'd sung as Thenardier they wanted to hear more, but I told them I didn't have another song prepared... not thinking about the fact that I was ready to sing the entire song! So they had me sing scales with a pianist whose fingers were much faster than my vocal chords! LOL! My prayer that the audition piece open the door to a performance at the North Shore Music Theatre was not answered that day, but for The Diary of Perpetua I auditioned with that same piece. This time I sang the entire song for them. Not only did they cast me as , but now there's talk of a three-person Les Misérables! 

This project answers a deeper prayer I was praying in those days, too. It was while I was in seminary that the Lord got my attention when I was sick for about a week, possibly the longest illness I've ever endured. Flat on my back, I sensed that my ministry was not to be from behind a pulpit but from the stage, and later on from screens large and small. I remember praying earnestly that the Lord would raise up artists, particularly in New England, who would articulate the Truth of Scripture with excellence. I feel like this production company is flowing in the answer to that prayer. We'll be filming about nine miles south of where I prayed and six miles south of where I auditioned 30 years ago.

Click the arrow below to watch a video of the writer/producer's vision, or if you're receiving this in an email, visit www.RichDrama.com/TheDiaryOfPerpetua.


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I released “Pentecost: Beyond the Imagination,” a scene from my one-man play, The Acts, at www.RichDrama.com/Pentecost.

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