By Gina Yarbrough
Oceanside, CA–Oceanside resident and playwright Laura Vines is on a mission to change lives, using the theater as her platform.
On Saturday, Oct. 28, she will debut the Community Drama Team’s new play, “Sunday Morning” that will be performed at the El Camino High School Truax Center in Oceanside.
According to Vines, the play is written in a way that the community can relate to its message of hope and forgiveness. She believes it will be something positive for the community.
“It is my prayer that this vital message of hope will impact and transform members of our community for the better just as it does the cast on stage,” she said.
The entire diverse cast is composed of members of the community, the Oceanside School District, and the local churches.
“I love doing this because this is how God uses my gifts of exhortation and teaching,” Vines said. “I would incorporate as many participants as possible from the children’s department to the senior adults when doing the church productions,” Vines said.
Vines has been writing, directing, and producing plays for different occasions at her church since 1997. She has produced Christmas and Resurrection Day presentations as annual events. She also has written skits for smaller auxiliaries, church anniversaries, family reunions, and a surprise birthday party.
Her passion for writing ended when she changed churches. She stopped writing and producing plays for the community for about six years.
However, Vines’s passion for writing returned as a result of hearing, seeing, and serving the families of her community, and having compassion for them, but often feeling helpless to meet their countless needs.
“This is what motivated me to write my most recent play. It is a play of encouragement and about a community having gone through a crisis,” she added.
Vines added that “Sunday Morning” is about transformation in people’s lives, representing a new start, a new beginning, and another chance. In addition, the pastor helps them to feel acknowledged, feel encouraged, feel inspired, and feel important. This motivates them and they realize they are stronger together.
“Sunday Morning” will be presented at the El Camino High School Truax Center, 400 Rancho Del Oro Dr. in Oceanside. The performance begins at 7 p.m. General admission is $10 at the door.
