Many of you may be wondering if there’s going to be another Passion Play this Easter, as initiated by Season IV’s Emily. Well, I hate to break it to you, friends, but there will not be a Passion Play at Clonard this year… Instead, we will be putting on a Resurrection Play, to be organized by yours truly! We decided that a drama about the stories of Jesus’ resurrection appearances would be a nice way to complement last year’s production without there being too much repeat or overlap. Since Emily and I both studied music and theatre in various capacities at Saint Mary’s, the logical choice was to have me take over the project this year. In fact, I’ve been brainstorming and living with this script since my first visit to Teach Bhríde last June!
The play, tentatively titled To See You, will begin on Golgatha at Jesus’ crucifixion. From there, we will explore the stories from scripture about the two days following, and then the long stretch after where he made his various appearances throughout the Holy Land. Many beloved, but often underutilized, stories will be used, such as the Road to Emmaus, Thomas’ doubting, and the Restoration of Peter.
I’m happy to report that I have all but two songs selected for the production! There will be roughly twenty different pieces, which include several solo songs, three children’s pieces, and a slew of choral works. Most of the music comes from the liturgical tradition, but I’m on the hunt for an Irish tune or two to include! One of my favorite finds so far is actually the inspiration for the play’s title, “To See You,” by WLP composer Ed Bolduc from his album “Forever Changed.” Actually, the piece is unpublished. However, owing to the wonderful relationship Teach Bhríde has with WLP, (coupled with the fact that I love sending emails to people requesting unpublished materials,) Ed himself emailed me the PDF of the score this week and gave us full permission to use it! Peter’s character will sing the song when he is the only disciple to return to Jesus’ tomb after Mary Magdalene delivers the news of his resurrection. (Now, if only we could convince a certain Folk Group director to play Peter, things would be grand!) I’ve even attached the MP3 of the song to this post so that you, too, can have a sneak peek of what’s to come!
Any and all prayers as I finish up the script and begin to look ahead to February auditions would be most appreciated! The play is slated for May 16th-17th at Clonard. It’s sure to be a wonderful and spiritual evening for all!
Peace,
–Joy.
