The Script.—We planned and wrote our script from all the information available about the Voice of Prophecy broadcast and the people who built it up from its beginning. In order to make the program appealing to the young people, we tried to bring in as many characters as possible. To do this we divided the program into two sections. The first half covered the historical background, giving the story of the struggles and subsequent rise of the broadcast.
A main reader told all about the principal characters. By the use of an extra microphone we brought in different voices who spoke for the ones the reader mentioned from time to time. This relieved long periods of reading by one person and added interest.
At the end of the first half of the program an interviewer appeared who interrogated a number of people who represented different countries. The questions were written up by the interviewer, and the one being interviewed supplied his own information. Of course the answers were gone over beforehand, that we might make sure the material would be acceptable.
The last half of the program pictured the Voice of Prophecy as it is today, and aimed to give a cross section of those who are benefited by the broadcast. The reader introduced these various persons, who then appeared on the program an spoke for themselves. The script was typed double-space for easy reading, and many copies were made, so that each person on the program could have his own complete script and mark it at the places he appeared.
The Music.—Fortunately one member of our group was an engineer, and he took care of the turntable and adjusted the microphones and recorded music to fit the program. He chose appropriate selections from well-known sacred and classical music to use as background and during pauses between speakers, etc. We had recordings of the original King's Herald's quartet, "Onward, Christian Soldiers," some of Bach's compositions, Handel's "Pastoral Symphony," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and other favorite selections.
The Characters.—In selecting characters, we tried to find those who had good speaking voices, for, of course, this is an essential requisite for broadcasting. Altogether we had fourteen people whose voices were heard. Some spoke for more than one voice during the first half of the program and did not appear on the platform. One person was responsible for seeing that each person came in at the right place.
The Program Itself.—At exactly eight o'clock the voice of our announcer came over the air, statin that this was station WMVS. The engineer began playing "Onward, Christian Soldiers." A_ was faded out, one of Bach's pieces, played softly was used as a background for the reader's introduction and narrative. From time to time the other voices appeared throughout the story. At one of our presentations it was necessary for all the characters to appear on the platform, but it is more effective to have extra microphones, so that those who take part can be hidden and only their voice be heard. We used two microphones at all times for those who appeared on the platform.
During the first half there were a number of points at which sound effects were desirable. For instance, when the reader told about the first stenographer working' in the original office, which was a cold place, a- typewriter's click was heard and the wind howled. Other sound effects could be used.
When the reader told about the original quartet, a different voice answered for each man as he was introduced, and then the engineer played a recording of their singing.
In telling about the prayer circle that was started in response to so many requests for prayer, we brought in a number of characters by having a wife ask for prayer for her husband, a junior ask for prayer for his father, and a man tell how much the Lord had done for his family, and request prayer for them. Any number of requests or variety of people could be used.
As soon as the main historical story was finished, the interviewer was introduced by the reader, who mentioned that the Voice of Prophecy was now going to many foreign lands, and stated that one of the group would interview a number of representatives from those countries.
We were fortunite in having a returned missionary from South America, where the Voice of Prophecy is now being given in Portuguese and Spanish; a young Japanese woman whose husband is studying at the Seminary ; and the treasurer of the Voice of Prophecy at the General Conference.
The missionary spoke in Portuguese just as the Voice of Prophecy sounds when it comes over the air in that country. The interviewer asked him a number of questions, and then asked him to tell a story of an actual conversion from the broadcast.
Of course there is no broadcast in Japan as yet, but we do have Voice of prophecy lessons prepared in Japanese, and these were exhibited and discussed. Our Japanese lady also wrote on a large sheet of paper the name "Voice of Prophecy" in Japanese for all in the studio audience to see, and then spoke it in that language over the air.
The treasurer was asked such questions as these:: "What is the annual budget ?" "What is the cost for one broadcast for all stations in the United States?" "What portion of your budget for the United States is provided by donations from the public?" Of donations received from the public in the United States, what were the receipts of the largest month so far ?" "With the possibility of increasing funds, do you seek more outlets or more powerful stations?" "How many public offerings are taken each year ?" "What was the amount contributed by our churches in 1944?"
Thus ended the first half of our program. At this time the organist played a selection, and a corps of usherettes came forward and took up the offering. The number of usherettes needed depends on the size of the congregation. One presentation of our program required eight ushers and the next, twenty-six.
As soon as the offering was taken, the engineer brought in music again, and faded it out as the reader began to tell about those who were there in person as a result of the Voice of Prophecy. The first was a minister who read from the Scriptures and offered a prayer.
When he finished, the reader again came in, introducing two soldier boys, one of whom was not a Christian but had learned of the Voice of Prophecy and was eager to hear more. (You may be able to get actual experiences from your conference or the Voice of Prophecy news letters and weave in conversation to fit.) The soldier we had who was supposed to be a Christian was asked by the other one to offer a prayer at the close of their conversation. For this prayer we used "Lead, Kindly Light," repeated by the soldier as a prayer and played on the organ as a soft accompaniment.
Next the reader introduced a housewife, and her voice was heard telling what the Voice of Prophecy has done for her and her family, and how much she enjoys listening to it every week. Also it was in her conversation that the time and station on which the Voice of Prophecy actually appears was given.
After this the reader introduced a junior boy was supposed to be representative of the hundre s of Juniors who are now taking the junior Bible correspondence course offered by the Voice of Prophecy. He told of having just started the lessons, and how much he enjoyed the pictures. His speech was a typical small boy's, and brought in something about his home and his dog. He also mentioned that one of the ministers of the church who supplied the lessons took him to Sabbath school and church every week. Be sure to keep the speech down or up to the level of the speaker. This adds variety and makes it seem much more natural.
