One sure sign spring will arrive one day came in today's mail. It's the letter announcing the rehearsal schedule for the annual Easter Pageant on the Hillside. Of all the odd ball topics I spool out here, I think this is Foxfyre's favorite. I don't fully understand why. Maybe it is the amature nature of stagecraft, maybe it's the group effort. But Foxy ol' friend, here's the first installment of Easter Pageant stories.
For the uninitiated here's the layout. Every Palm Sunday and Saturday preceding Easter Sunday the members of the now defunct Trinity Presbyterian church along with friends from other local churches perform an outdoor portrayal of the last week of Jesus Christ. Performers are costumed and pantomime their performances. The voices are provided by other "actors" in a booth fitted out with microphones and other sound equipment.
I am one of the voice "actors". I provide the voice of the apostle John and the apostle Andrew. Many of the voice "actors" provide more than one voice in the performance with the notable exception of the voice of Jesus and the narrator.
Our stage I see a steep hillside rising from the church parking lot all the way up to East Liverpool High School (go Potters!). On this slope are sets built of local sandstone. One set is the upper room where the Last Supper and the revelation of the risen Christ takes place. There is a small gable roofed stone building that serves as Pontus Pilate's house and seat of judgment. From the upper room set extending east is a low stone wall ending with a tomb. To the west of Pilate's house is out own Calvary where the crucifixion of the two thieves and Christ takes place. Looking behind Golgotha one can clearly see the left field foul pole of the high school baseball diamond.
We place speakers, not unlike those seen on stage in a rock concert, on the hillside and cover them with camouflage in the form of chicken wire and canvass painted to look like rocks. The costumed performers make up the Palm Sunday crowds welcoming Jesus and the disciples to Jerusalem. Roman soldiers and High Priests and Sadducees and Pharisees, all twelve disciples and crowds at Jesus' trial and crucifixion as well as Mary and Joseph of Arimathea are all dressed up and in the cast.
We start rehearsals on the first of February and our first performance is Palm Sunday March 25th. I have been a cast member since 2004. Every year it looks impossible and one year, 2014, it was! We suffered lousy weather all through rehearsal finding it unhealthy to climb the hill outside. The weather conspired to shut down that year's performances. Here's hoping the climate cooperates and we can once again do our thing.
All these years of preparation for the Easter Pageant has made me feel part of it, Nosmo.
And we will hope for good weather this year. I believe the earliest Easter can fall is March 22? and the latest maybe April 25? Working from memory here. Easter falls on April 1 this year so one of the earlier possible dates but we'll hope for the best. The April 1 date is a bit worrisome though for reasons other than the weather.
In the scene in which Christ is being lead to Calvary, one of the Roman soldiers scolds an onlooker by saying "Keep back woman before I spill your blood on the ground!" Maybe you could be that woman.
I used to play one of the hecklers teasing Jesus on the way to His death. My line was "What's the Matter Jesus? Have you lost your magical powers?" I delivered it like a smarmy sixth grader. It was fun.
When the crucifixions take place, I do the screams of the thieves. The guy who did it before me would moan and groan. Basically the sounds one makes during a difficult bowel movement. I am a tenor and tenors can scream the screams that put a corkscrew up your spine. Baritones can moan and groan, but if you were lost in the woods you wouldn't want a baritone calling for help. Desperate times require a tenor.
I am going to log off and try to get some sleep!
