Wake Up for Another Tradition: The RLT Ministries

Alice Chang

What is so special about Dalat drama? What makes Dalat drama unique? Is it the script? Is it the actors? Or is it a unique tradition of our own? The answer to this question would be all of these.

Dalat has had this unique tradition for the fall/Christmas productions since 2011. Mr. Sasse, former drama director, formed a new group called the Road Less Traveled Players. Dalat students would perform out of Mr. Sasse’s and student-written scripts, which were unique and special to the Dalat community.

                                                                                                                     

On December 6, 2018, it was the night of the fourth annual RLT Christmas show. However, there were several things different about the RLT in comparison to past years. First, we performed the drama inside the Harbor Hall instead of at PenangPAC. Second, the students only had four weeks to prepare for the entire show. The production began after the fall drama, To Kill a Murderer, so students did not have much preparation time. Lastly, the admission fee for this production was completely free.

Before the show began, Mr. Yost went up on stage and announced the changes in RLT. He specifically mentioned that the RLT tonight would not have a curtain call for a specific reason. “The RLT players will now be called the RLT ministries. Oh no! I made a new tradition!” cried Mr. Yost, and the show started.

The production consisted of seven skits and one dance performance by the Dalat Dance Club. The opening skits usually brought up a lot of laughter to bring up the mood. 

“I loved the skit ‘Do You Want Change for that Quarter?’ the most,” said Natasha Palanivel (12). “It was so funny and interesting to see Alex Shing act as a southern reverend. As a part of the crew, I’ve seen it multiple times, but it just got better and better.”

While there were skits that gave laughter, the RLT ministries also performed skits that gave a serious message. The night closed out with the skit “Christmas Presence”,  emphasizing that the real presence of Christmas is not the gifts but the presence of Jesus.

After the last skit, the audience did not clap. Rather, they were drawn into the true meaning of Christmas. This was the change Mr. Yost had wanted to make. This was the start of the new tradition: The RLT Ministries. From now on, we’ll say, “Welcome to the RLT Ministries.”