Rodd And Marco: The US drama ministry now based in Scotland

Friday 1st December 1995

Susan Lumsden met RODD AND MARCO, a drama ministry making their name with incisive humour and uncompromising truths.

Rodd and Marco
Rodd and Marco

Rodd Christensen and Marco Palmer are feeling their age. It could be that the drama duo are plunging deeper into darkest thirty something. Or they might just be recovering from a long overnight drive. "We're getting older," says Marco, "and we've decided to go for broke." His tired face breaks into a broad grin. "And yes - we're broke!"

What has stretched their financial resources, and their faith, is 'Jurassic Church', a fine collection of music and comedy released early this year. It was, they say, an exercise in "putting an album together on nothing but faith and friends and determination." It cost more than they make in a year.

But it does exude professionalism, from start to finish, beginning with the cover illustration by cult sci-fi artist Rodney Matthews. Marco, his fan as a teenager, decided that commissioning Matthews would be money well spent.

On the strength of this fine album and a 10 square review from Tony Cummings, Rodd And Marco boldly set out to secure a distribution deal a major Christian record label. But seemingly endless lunches with strings of representatives yielded nothing.

"We were in the pits of despair," says Marco. "After all the money we invested, we thought at least we should be able to get something in the Christian bookstores." They were on the point of giving up and going back to Scotland when a breakfast meeting with Les Moir and Sue Hatfield of Kingsway resulted in laughter all round. Still laughing, the contract was secured.

Today, Rodd And Marco talk about sealing the deal more with relief than smugness. It's weather for thermals, but laid-back Rodd's black "California" T-shirt suggests he's just walked off the beach. Marco, while claiming to be "the quiet one", manages to do most of the talking.

The momentous shift from the West coast of the United States to the East Coast of Scotland came four years ago. Until then both were juggling drama ministry with various day jobs in the US. "During the week I drove a truck, carrying yoghurt to health food shops around Southern California," says Rodd. "On vacation, we'd tour America."

Marco had come to California at 17, with dreams of making his name in Hollywood. On a screen-writing course, the vice president of Columbia Pictures/Warner Brothers compared his talent for comedy to Mel Brookes and Woody Allen. His break, when it came, was less illustrious: as an extra in a Martians movie. "I appeared on the cover of Time magazine, posing behind Randy Quaid in a Martian outfit!" Marco remembers.

Both were keen to use their gifts full time in a Christian context, and numerous visits to the UK suggested wider opportunities existed here for the youth work they felt drawn to. The law forbids direct religious instruction in state schools in the US and Christian artists could have input only in "moral" issues like sex or drugs.

Rodd And Marco, ever forthright with their Christian message, found this stifling. In a British classroom, they can perform their most challenging sketches, then open up a discussion where pupils can air their toughest questions about Christianity.

They had reached a point in their ministry where they must "give it up or go for it", and the opportunity for schools work was undoubtedly the main reason for their trans-Atlantic shift. But another contributing factor may have been Marco's blossoming friendship with Scots lass Elaine.

On an earlier visit, he got her address "for our prayer letter, that's got to be the best in Christian chat-up lines," he jokes. They wrote to one another regularly, and the following year they were married. She and Rodd's American wife Oleta contribute widely to the drama ministry, as well as raising young children.

In terms of their sense of humour, Britain could easily be Rodd And Marco's natural home. The British habit of droll irony, and poking fun at all moving targets is in tune with their sharp, satirical approach. Incisive sketches like "An American TV Evangelist In London" might cause offence back home, but in the UK it's a hit.

The Scottish experience has also fundamentally changed Rodd And Marco's material. A professional contact with Ken Smith and Gary Houston of KSM studios in Edinburgh has blossomed into a full-blooded partnership, bringing much more music into their recording. Although Rodd is a fine singer, neither of the duo are natural born musicians, and they now entrust melody writing entirely to Ken and Gary.

But music, like humour, is ultimately a means to an end. Rodd And Marco are in no danger of confusing the media with the message. When it comes to evangelism, morality, heaven and hell, they favour the "Sesame Street approach", straight down the line like A-B-C. Laughter is there, as Rodd says, to "loosen people up so they hear the truth a bit better."

They managed to mix some riotous humour with uncompromising truths. One minute you're in stitches, the next you've been socked with the spiritual equivalent of a strong left hook. They're not the act who warms up the audience for the speaker. They have a message of their own.

Marco, the writing half of the partnership, is bursting with fresh ideas for the future: "Boom, Boom, Shake The Tomb" is a resurrection ditty to look out for. They hope, as they become more widely known, to be able to do larger concert-style gigs as well as schools and youth work. "We just feel that as a ministry, there's nowhere we can go but up," says Marco. "Our only option is to go forward and take the risk."
And they can always find something to laugh about. "We don't want to make fun of things that are sacred and holy. But," Marco smiles again, "humanity provides enough comic material. We don't have to make fun of things that are sacred!" CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Susan Lumsden
Susan Lumsden is a freelance journalist and expatriot Scot now living in London.


 

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