Easter productions challenge actors, script writer with message

Southeast Missourian

Joining the cast of an Easter production at church wasn't as simple as showing up for rehearsal and learning some lines for Mickey Wright.

Wright had to get permission from his boss at the Southeast Correctional Center at Charleston, Mo. -- where he teaches GED classes -- to grow his hair long and to wear a beard so he could look more like his character. He's playing John the Baptist in an upcoming drama at Cape First.

Because of that, his commitment to the drama and to his Christian faith is always visible, he said. "It brings my responsibility of being a Christian right to the forefront because just like John the Baptist says you have to get in right relationship with God. As a Christian that's my message."

Wright said he's been humbled to play the role of Christ's cousin who declared his coming.

"In the play, when I say 'Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,' it isn't just a statement but that's a proclamation of my life."

Way to grow

Many of the characters in Easter dramas at Cape First and First Baptist Church in Jackson say the rehearsals and experience has been rewarding.

"It's a way of growing spiritually," said Pam Sparks of Jackson.

First Baptist will perform "Freedom" at 7 p.m. nightly April 9 to 13. There is also a matinee at 3 p.m. April 13. Admission is free.

Cape First will perform "One Voice" at 7 p.m. April 11 to 13. Tickets are $3.

Using concepts like peace and freedom that resonate with audiences during this time of war, both pageants tell the story of Jesus Christ's life.

"Freedom" shares the story of Jesus Christ by looking at his life through the eyes of several biblical characters. The characters tell of the freedom and salvation that Jesus brought to them.

During the pageant's 18-year history, its script has always been written by a church member. This year, it's Kim Anello. Seldom does the church staff solicit scripts, but rather members come to them with ideas.

Anello wrote the script for "Freedom" after seeing a fireworks display on the Fourth of July in 2001. After the holiday she continued to dwell on freedom and patriotism. "It was a concept that was something dear to my heart, and I didn't know how that would change," she said.

But she hopes that people who see the production also experience a change in their lives, and learn about Jesus' love. During the writing process, she was concerned that all the scenes easily convey a Gospel message. She consulted several Bible translations to develop her script.

"In the past, there are some in the audience who have never seen or heard the story of Christ," Anello said. "And I wanted this to be easily understandable for a person who knew nothing but that Jesus was born on Christmas and died on Easter."

Easier at Easter

Many churches tell a dramatized story of Christ's birth in traditional pageants, but First Baptist has always had an Easter drama. The Rev. Russell Rowland, minister of music at the church, grew up attending First Baptist Church in Dexter, where the Christmas drama is well-known.

But Rowland said Easter dramas are easier to produce. "You don't interfere with holidays and parties and people going away."

The church calendar is full during Christmastime, and while there are still sports practices and school events to contend with in the spring, people's live seem less hectic, Rowland said.

The hardest part of telling the Easter story is not telling it the same way every year, Rowland said. While the church wants to tell the traditional, biblical interpretation of Jesus' life, it also has to make the drama contemporary. "You have to draw a balance," Rowland said.

In the "One Voice" production at Cape First, the audience learns about Jesus by seeing his life story unfold in the eyes of two Pharisees, or Jewish religious leaders: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Both men become secret followers of Jesus, but take different routes to get there. The story of "One Voice" shares how Jesus teachings affected their lives.

Pastor Mark Graham, minister of fine arts and Christian education at the church, plays the role of Nicodemus.

"Nicodemus is very earnest and is seeking the fulfillment of God's promise in the coming of the Messiah," he said. "But we are also weaving some fiction with that and giving him some personality."

In the story, Nicodemus is struggling with his faith as he grieves the loss of his wife and child in a recent epidemic. "It was a shaking of his faith," Graham said.

Joseph of Arimathea is also in the midst of a faith crisis. He spent his life trying to gain approval from his father, now deceased.

"There's such a wide range of emotion that almost everybody will identify with one or both of these men on some level," Graham said.

If the audience can see how the love of Christ changed these two men, Graham said, "then maybe they'll think 'It could apply to me.'"

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126