Past Productions:

If anyone was unable to attend and would like to view a video of the Thursday night performance please contact the church office.

Theatre for the World, a ministry of Waterville United Methodist Church, is on the stage again! They will be presenting a Lenten drama titled "Given For You" on March 27-28. 2024 in the church sanctuary at 7115 Waterville-Monclova Road, Waterville, OH. This will be a different perspective on the traditional story of the events of Maundy Thursday. You will get a peek at the women who prepared the meal and their thoughts about Jesus. Then, you will be taken to the Upper Room as depicted in The Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Each of the disciples comes alive, giving an insight into their character and pondering which of them will be the one to betray Jesus.

The performances will start at 7:00 pm both nights. communion will be offered. There is no charge for the production, but monetary donations will be welcomed to benefit both the AW Food Pantry and the AW Community Food Ministry.

A Little Piece of Heaven

a comedy by Matthew Carlin

was performed in 2023 on

May 5 and 6 at 7:30 pm, and May 7 at 1:30 pm

at the new Waterville United Methodist Church

After a hiatus of three years, Theatre For The World is back at Waterville United Methodist Church with a funny and poignant production of, A Little Piece of Heaven.

Have you ever lost anything that means a great deal to you? Something that if you could ever find it again would make a huge difference in your life? If you have, the curiosity shop named A Little Piece of Heaven is the shop for you. It is the kind of shop where people find important things they have lost, and they just might have what you are looking for!

All proceeds will benefit the A.W. food pantries. There is no admission charge. Donations of canned goods or non-perishable items are welcome at the door. A free-will offering will also be accepted.

This will be our 13th production and we are so thankful for all of the prayers, support and encouragement we have received over the years. Your contributions have helped support our local food pantries, as well as fully funding two water projects in Africa and the purchase of farm animals for needy families in Central America. Since we began Theatre For The World in 2006, we have raised $32,348 and collected over 1,224 bags of groceries. God has blessed our efforts and we hope to continue adding to our totals.

Words From the Showrunners:

Thanks to the Cast, Crew, Support Team and many others as our recent production of A Little Piece of Heaven was a success. We were very blessed with God’s provision as hearts were touched and generous donations were received. From our 340 attendees we received $1505 and 126 Bags of Food !

No Ordinary Christmas Miracle

December 2, 3 & 4, 2016

Thanks for coming out to the Show !!!!!

and thanks for your generous donations:

Total Attendance : 366 (Fri 150, Sat 88, Sun 128)

Total Donations: $3,150

THE STORY UNFOLDS WHEN THE CHURCH CHOIR IS CONFRONTED WITH THE NEWS THAT DUE TO A DWINDLING CONGREGATION AND THE ENSUING BUDGET CUTS, THE WUMC CHURCH COUNCIL HAS NO OPTION BUT TO MAKE THE HEART-WRENCHING DECISION TO CLOSE THE ANGEL SHELTER AT THE END OF THE YEAR. SEEING THAT MANY OF THE SHELTER VOLUNTEERS, INCLUDING THE FOUNDING MEMBERS, ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE CHOIR, THE IDEA OF PUTTING ON A SHOW, REMINISCENT OF MICKEY ROONEY AND JUDY GARLAND MOVIES, IN ORDER TO RAISE ENOUGH FUNDS TO KEEP THE SHELTER DOORS OPEN, BECOMES REALITY.

THIS FAMILY-FRIENDLY SHOW HAS MANY FUN CHARACTERS, LOTS OF PHYSICAL AND SITUATIONAL COMEDY, SOME FAMILIAR CHRISTMAS CAROLS AND HYMNS AND EVEN A FEW ORIGINAL MUSICAL NUMBERS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS THE UNDERLYING MESSAGE THAT WHEN WE GIVE OUR TIME AND TALENTS TO GOD, THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON WHAT HE CAN DO WITH WHAT WE OFFER. IT WILL TAKE A MIRACLE TO SAVE THE ANGEL SHELTER, BUT GOD IS IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING MIRACLES HAPPEN!

MARK YOUR CALENDERS FOR DECEMBER 2, 3 AND 4TH. THIS IS A "MUST SEE" TO START YOUR CHRISTMAS SEASON WITH CHRIST AS THE CENTER.

Older posts

Next stage presentation December 2-3-4, 2016 but a video of the last comedy will be shown on April 24th. See the Encore details below.

a note to all:

Thank you so much for supporting our recent show, "Harmony Romances". We are extremely grateful for all the volunteers that helped us pull things together. Another successful show, with record numbers of patrons on Sunday and a record number of grocery donations. God is good! At the time of this printing, we do not have a final number concerning our monetary donations. TFTW is currently the mission focus for the month of March; however, we are certain many families will benefit from your support. We will update everyone in the near future with the final results as well as provide some information concerning our Christmas musical. We are very excited about the show, but more importantly, we are anxious to see what God can do with our efforts to help people around the world. Please keep TFTW in your prayers. Thank you and God bless!

By the way, In case you missed it or were laughing too hard to catch all the DIALOGue, see below…………..

Encore! Encore! Encore!

For those of you who were in warmer locations or not able to see "Harmony Romances" by Ron Hill, you have one more chance!

On April 24th we will be having a potluck dinner in Fellowship Hall with the meal starting at 6:15pm, followed by a recorded presentation of this year’s play in the sanctuary at 7:00pm. So mark your calendars! In addition, if you require child care, please contact the Church Office, Terry Myers or Tom Wiggins by Sunday, April 21st so arrangements can be made. Watch for more details in the coming weeks.

Note: Recommended audience is for middle school age and above.

Donation Results so far:

170 Bags of Food

$2,234 Donations

100% of these donations go directly to the participating Food Banks !!

Theatre for the World - 2016

Theatre for the World is back in motion and very excited to be starting our mission projects for 2016. 2015 was a huge year for our group and your support of that show and all ten of our productions has been incredible. Needless to say, God did some great things locally and across the globe with the money raised. Please continue to pray for the people in Kenya and the positive impact the well may have on their lives.

Did you happen to notice in the above paragraph that we said project"s"? You read it correctly, we are planning two shows in 2016. We haven't worked out all the final details yet, but we hope you will share in the excitement as we attempt to be God's hands in this world.

Our first show will be, Harmony Romances, a small-cast comedy by local playwright, Ron Hill. Performances are slated for March, 4,5 and 6. The show is a humorous look at how a church funeral committee reacts as one of their own rekindles a romance with her long lost high school sweetheart over the internet. Gossip is not encouraged, but these folks can't resist sharing their crazy thoughts on this relationship. We would greatly appreciate any assistance with volunteering. WUMC makes our group shine. We will post a sheet outside the office in January. Please consider joining us in our mission work.

Our second show will be a Christmas musical. Yep, you read that correctly as well. We are planning to sing, and perhaps dance a little. Any of the ladies who may have seen some of the Women's Christmas Dinner entertainment from 2008 and 2009 will recognize some of the material, but Brian is attempting to incorporate some of the old skits, add new material, a different plot, a few original songs and a larger cast of characters so we can do a Christmas musical in November or December. This will be our first, and possibly our last venture into the musical realm. They are much harder to pull together than a play. We welcome and strongly encourage everyone to pray.

Lots in store, but we couldn't be more excited to see what God can do with what we offer!

Merry Christmas and may God bless you dearly in 2016 !

The TFTW Gang

BIG NEWS in this latest update:

Well Construction is now completed !!!

April 16, 2015

Thanks and praise to God! We made it! We are going to provide clean drinking water for a community in sub-Saharan Africa. We have so many people to thank for their generosity and support in helping us complete another successful production, with this year’s being Fools by Neil Simon.

Our total attendance for the three shows was 354, and we received 145 bags of groceries. To date, the total funds received from performance donations & the March Mission Offerings is $7,453 ($542 for the Food Pantries and $6,911 for the Well Project). In addition, the youth Group had a successful lasagna dinner to help raise funds for their upcoming mission trip.

The groceries and money were divided equally and distributed to three pantries: AW Community Food Ministry and Anthony Wayne & Otsego Food Pantries.

Our main goal this year was the Well Project as we hoped to raise enough money to actually dig a well. We partnered with The Water Project, a non-profit organization that will handle the project in Africa, which required $12,000 to dig the well and cover maintenance & upkeep costs for 3-5 years. This amount has been received and sent to The Water Project. We already had $4,433 in the Well Project Fund and received a $2,500 donation from The Waterville Rotary. Proceeds from this year made up the difference. In fact, we have over $1,800 left over and have requested information on a new additional agreement covering extended maintenance costs beyond the 3-5 years.

One of the 5 Fruitful Practices that were adopted by the Ad Council for 2015 was Risk Taking Mission and Service, which Pastor Mike talked about in his April Ambassador article and during worship on April 12th. He stated that it is partly measured by the number of people from within and outside of our congregation involved in mission and outreach. Theatre For The World has been so blessed over the years with tremendous support from our congregation as well as the residents and organizations from Waterville and the surrounding area. Besides the 354 folks who attended and watched Fools, we had 90 individuals who were directly involved in providing all the pieces needed to put together a successful production from beginning to end, including: cast, crew, ushers, food handlers, cookie bakers, administrative help, prayer warriors, encouragement givers, clean-up and miscellaneous jobs. A special thanks to Troop 101 for their help! It is just amazing that so many seem to have actually taken ownership of and want to be a part of our annual event each year. Again thanks and praise to God!

Well construction is projected to be sometime in 2016. Please follow the progress at www.facebook.com/tftw06 or right here. Any additional monetary donations for the well project are to be given or sent to WUMC as the on-line giving process will be ending soon.

Since we began TFTW ten years ago, this mission / outreach ministry has raised over $28,000, collected 1,054 bags of groceries and several thousand have participated in and watched our shows. Their continued support helps to provide for those who are in need.

Wow! How awesome! All we can say is THANK YOU and GOD BLESS!

Truely this proves - You're Everywhere:

This is a little song I wrote about a few of the places I experience God. I am certainly not Bono or some famous star, but I guaranty my heart is in the right place as well. I'm just an AVG. Joe doing his best to try and make a difference.

FOOLS - It Was Fantastic !!!!! The play is over but checkout the note from TFTW:

Dear Pastor Mike and W.U.M.C. Congregation:

On behalf of Tom & Karen Wiggins and TFTW, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude for ten years of volunteer efforts, donations and prayer support. As I am writing this, I do not know the final figures of our monetary collection, but we did garner 143 bags of groceries for the local pantries. I am also fairly certain that your financial support will allow us to dig a new well in Africa over the next year. Thanks for helping us publicize the show. We had 354 people in attendance. I am amazed and humbled by the unwavering support. We will keep the church updated with the progress of the well and share news on our facebook page. www.facebook.com/TFTW06.

God planted the seed for this group in my heart, many years ago, but to witness what it has become is truly awesome. The energy I see within our cast & crew and throughout our many volunteers is inspiring. Please thank Tom and Karen Wiggins for keeping Theatre-for-the-World together in Waterville. Without their efforts, I simply could not manage it from Westerville. It wouldn't hurt to give Cathy Landis a hug either. I nearly caused her a heart attack with my power point slides. We thank her for all her last minute efforts trying to keep the show on track.

Christ lives within each one of us. When we use our gifts for His glory, He blesses our hearts in ways unfathomable. I wish I could say I live every day with as much passion as I do when we're pulling shows together, but that's not true. To be honest, it can be exhausting; however, when I'm using my gifts for a Godly purpose, regardless of the amount of time and effort it takes, I feel truly alive! This year, brought all kinds of interesting challenges that stretched me in ways, I often didn't like, but I relied upon God. He has always been faithful.

So, what is your purpose and how can you use it for His glory? I urge you to take the same journey of faith, because you are here for a reason. That purpose could begin or change at any age, but God's faithfulness and love for you will remain constant. Use your gifts, your imperfections, your story to tell others about Jesus. Allow everyone to see Him living inside of you. I am far from an evangelist, but I have never found it easier to share God's message and love than when we began this theater group. Thank you for ten wonderful years! Thank you for supporting our mission work and for encouraging me and this entire group in our journey. Together, with God's grace, we are making a difference both locally and across the globe. 'Til next time...Praise be to God!

In His Service,

Brian, Tom, Karen and the Cast & Crew of TFTW

We also left up the Ad story for the show. Brian's new hit music video is Waiting for you:

Family Friendly Comedy? - Right Here !

FOOLS - March 13-15

Theatre-for-the-World is once again teaming up with the Waterville United Methodist Church to put on a benefit show. This is our tenth production and we will be celebrating in a big way. Our group was created to make a difference both locally and globally. For the past 9 shows we have focused mostly upon feeding people in the local area. Thanks to the community and the congregation we have collected over $20,000 and over 900 bags of groceries for charity. 85% of our monetary donations have traditionally been divided among the pantries with 15% reserved for our dig-a-well in Africa fund.

This year’s family-friendly comedy is Fools, by Neil Simon. The production will take place on March 13,14 at 7:30 and March 15th at 1:30 at the Waterville United Methodist Church, 102 N. Fifth St. There are no advance ticket sales, but canned goods or non-perishable items are welcome at the door. There will also be a free-will offering as people leave the sanctuary. This allows even the folks who may use the pantries services to come for a night of free entertainment. Fools, is a re-creation of our very first show. It was originally performed at the old Waterville Primary school, but in 2009 we began doing the shows in our sanctuary and have never looked back. It is a great way to bring the community into our church, rally around a cause and allow them to witness first-hand, Christian people having fun and using their God-given talents to make a difference in this world.

As we celebrate the history of our group, we will also take a step in faith as we try to complete the fund raising required to dig a well in Africa. This is a lofty goal. This year only, we will be flipping the percentages on our monetary donations so 85% will go towards our well and 15% will be divided along with the food donations to the pantries. Our church is fully committed, but we are praying the community will rally around our mission project as well.

Our group of actors and our audience has grown outside of our congregation virtually every year, but this year we are hoping to reach even further. For the first time in our history, friends, family, strangers from around the world will be able to support us via social media at Thewaterproject.org., by searching for the “Theatre for the World” fund raising page and donating. We’re hoping this well help us reach our financial goal, while simultaneously providing individuals, families, groups the opportunity to pause and reflect on God and his blessings in their lives and maybe even inspire someone to use their gifts in a similar way.