I don't know if it was out of desperation, stupidity,  or shear hubris, but Jennifer & I decided that we could write our own musical... in ten weeks... at the same time that we were rehearsing it, recording tracks, building sets, props, costumes, lighting, promotion, programs... 

(Isn't it encouraging to know that there are people out there who are far more messed up than you are!)

So, with a performance date firmly set, we sat down and began. It had to be cute of course, full of humor and fun. But what we really wanted and found lacking in so many productions were two things. It had to have meaning. We wanted to reach out and touch lives with a message that was strong enough to impact adults, and unsaved people. It seemed to us that a Christmas production that was fun for the kids, heart warming fortheir parents and a low attendance diversion for the rest of the congregation was just not enough. We all know what power kids have when they express their love for the Lord. We wanted to aim that power right at the hearts of the audience with a children's musical that would be surprisingly adult in it's message. Also, the music had to be appealing to both kids and adults. The quality of the music, it's lyric and melody had to really add depth and meaning to the story so that children and adults could relate to it. I think this is one of the things that makes A Mouse Christmas so effective.

When we told the music pastor and our good friend Gene Skinner what we
where going to do, he looked at us with a stark sense of reality and
said, "You can't write a musical." He then spent many hours
notating songs from bad cassettes and scribbled lyrics, making
arrangements and helping record the tracks. Much of A Mouse Christmas's
success is due to Gene's talent and willingness to do the impossible.

We
wrote one song per week, and the script in stages and revisions. We
began rehearsals with just one song written and just a rough draft of
the first 2/3rds of the script. We auditioned new parts and kept our
eyes open for strong kids to offer additional parts to as they were
created. The lamb scene, created  the second time we performed the
musical, provided short speaking parts for very young kids, and turned
out to have the funniest lines of the show.

Sometimes
Dreams Really  Do Come True!

By God's grace and more than a little help from many friends, we ended up
with a production that is truly rare. One that your kids will love to be in, love to sing the songs of and love to perform. And... one that more than just parents would like to see. One that people that don't even normally attend your church might come to see... Wouldn't it be great if you could let your kids perform for their friends at school, many who do not attend a church, and other un-churched families with  a message and music that is strong enough to actually impact their lives?  

A Mouse Christmas is the almost painfully cute "retailing" of the Christmas story from the eye witness account of two mice, who actually accompanied Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. Sure, A Mouse Christmas has fun costumes and cute lines that make audiences laugh out loud. Sure, it has fun up-tempo catchy tunes like, No
Road To Bethlehem
(kids)and
Tell
Me Why? (solo by Joseph) that you'll be
humming long after its over. But, A Mouse Christmas
also uses wonderful
songs like Wonderful
Child (kids) and Wise
Men (kids
w/opt. solos) to set a mood and tone
that creeps into your heart. Songs like Christmas
Lullaby (kids
w/Momma Mouse) are woven seamlessly
through the story to bring depth and emotion that you normally wouldn't
expect in a children's musical.  The script and songs have a
universal appeal. There are messages of trust in hard times for adult
believers and hope and love for the un-saved. There is a tenderness that
seems to capture the heart of Christmas and touch performers and
audience alike.

Easy
To Do with Many  or a Few!

A
Mouse Christmas can be put on with a handful of kids and adults (we've
seen it done with 14 kids and 4 adults!) or scaled to work with over 100
kids! The Aardvark Hill website offers a huge resource for putting the
musical on with pages of  tips & tricks, Q&A, an optional
video of the musical being done at a very large church for set and
lighting ideas and even a "Production Pack CD" that contains
the equivalent of over 100 hours of design and graphic work in Corel
Draw and PhotoShop files, so you can have posters, programs, bulletin
inserts, props Even "Cheesy" name tags for the kids.

Your
Children Are A Powerful Witness!

You wouldn't believe the effect that your kids and the Holy Spirit can have on people! Families will bring other families and friends for an enchanting evening of children dressed up as animals and a re-tailing of the Christmas story.  When they get there, adults can't help but be moved by the songs and  lyrics of A Mouse Christmas. 

We've had people tell us
how they were invited by a friend, came to see the musical thinking it
would be "cute" and were so moved that they gave their lives
to the Lord!  So, the next time we did the musical we shared this
with our Sr. Pastor, and with his support and the vision to reach
out to our community, we told the  kids about how they could share the Gospel

and change lives. We set two
performance dates, one for the church body and one for people outside
our church. We made ticket invitations for the kids to give away to
friends, put up posters in laundry mats and malls, placed some newspaper
ads, press releases, radio PSA's and even got two TV stations to show up
and tape the dress rehearsal for the evening news, which offered an
invitation to viewers for the next night. The 450 people to the second
night were worth the extra effort!  A Mouse Christmas - saving the
world one squeak at a time!

Bruce Searl is the owner
of Aardvark Hill Music. Aside from Aardvark training, Bruce and his
wife, Jennifer compose music, lead worship and lead workshops and
seminars on teaching and leading children in worship. 

Aardvark Hill is fast
becoming the webs favorite source for great new contemporary worship
music for all ages. Visit the Aardvark Hill website right now at www.aardvarkhill.com
or learn more 

about A
Mouse Christmas Here.