I had one idea about what this blog would be, but decided it was a bad idea. I do still think I’m due for another entry, so here we go ….

My church (well, the church my church is attached to, actually, but that is a whole other topic) is doing a big passion play for Easter. This is the 14th year we will do it. It’s my 3rd. I have sung in the production, and have acted. This year I have the enviable task of playing Judas Iscariot.

First of all, for as big a part he played in the life and death of Jesus, he’s not all that big a part in the play. I have 10 lines, all of which are pretty short. Two or three of them make no sense at all, but I’m an actor in this production, not the writer. You do what you can with what you are given sometimes! I studied my lines almost none. I studied my character like I was preparing a Master’s thesis. Research is so much more fun than memorization! So thinking of it this way, maybe 10 lines and very historically significant is just about perfect for me.

The hard part of playing Judas is the whole “get into your part” thing they keep telling us to do. I asked to play a bad guy when I auditioned. I got what I asked for, didn’t I? I’ve mentioned before that I am unapologetically Christian. Betraying Christ night after night has become a bit … tiresome, I guess. I had to think about what word I wanted to put there. Time after time, I take 30 pieces of silver (okay, a bag full of washers, actually), and agree to sell the Son of God to his enemies. It would good to just once look Caiaphas in the eye and say “You have got to be nuts!”. But I don’t.

I won’t say much more about this. I can’t imagine it’s very fascinating reading. If you read this in time, maybe you’ll remember to take in a church service sometime during this Easter season - even if it’s just a drama or a music program. This is, after all one of the times people go to church when they only go twice a year. Or maybe go see the Mel Gibson movie - he has a slightly larger budget than we are working with at my church, and is a bit more likely to be within a drivable distance for you.