44 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 But, our interviews slowed my hope. The “not-in-my-backyard” stories of neighbors blocking new mixed income development. Congregants fearing changing and holding onto a past church identity. It’s expensive to renovate and repurpose a100-year old building. And, this love and vision coupled with the messiness of humans felt like great fodder for a new comedy. Here comes The Pasture! This will be our second play in our 10-year trilogy focused on housing and community development. We have a lot of writing to do, but right now the play is set in the sanctuary of an old church, with decades of deferred maintenance. Throughout the course of the play, the lights flicker, the pews fall apart, and the buckets come out when a sudden rainstorm reveals some holes in the roof. The church has a dwindling congregation, like 12 people. But those 12 are hardcore. The congregation is trying all sorts of things to get people to come on Sundays. They are running pancake fundraisers, karaoke, bingo, Christian yoga, bingo + Christian yoga at the same time. Since it’s a fundraiser, you have to bring your own dauber and yoga mat. Surprisingly, this wasn’t as popular as they hoped. Here is a description of the characters. After each character, I have two questions for you. Could you let me know what other characteristics we should consider? Jane (30’s female) – Young Pastor She’s taken over a church with a shrinking congregation. This was in 2020, just as the COVID shutdown began. Since then, she has struggled
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