Okay, I promise this is the last church-related post for a while, but the annual Epiphany Pageant is the real highlight of the year, and I wanted to give you a taste for why. Epiphany is the holiday (January 6) that celebrates the arrival of the Three Kings, or Magi, in Bethlehem.
Our ridiculous little church has about 140 members, of whom it seems about 190 are children. That makes things very lively, and you have to constantly watch where you're stepping. Each year the kids put on an Epiphany Pageant, and each year it's different. We are lucky to have a vast number (relatively speaking) of very talented people in the congregation: artists, playwrights, mechanics, it's amazing. And the adults chip in to make costumes, take out the "quire" pews to give the kids room for a stage, build sets, assist with direction, feed everybody during rehearsals, and keep the littlest ones from wandering off.
The actual Epiphany Pageant is tonight, but we have an important gathering with friends tonight so we went to the dress rehearsal last night, which might have been even better! Below are some pictures to give you the flavor.
The youngest children are assigned to be "angels," which is not always type-casting. They have a few lines but they say them in unison, so there's usually at least one that's paying enough attention to get the line out on cue. The adult here is Jason. He is a professional actor and has a lot of lines, but the most difficult thing he does is herding these cats.
I took about 10 shots of the angels, and each one is charming and hilarious in its own way.
This is the Annunciation scene. Notice that Jason has a wire going down the back of his neck to a battery pack. His "halo" had little lights in it. You can't say we don't have a sense of humor. Mary is showing an appropriate level of apprehension, I think.
There's no room at the inn.
Shepherds watching their flocks by night (sort of):
Joseph and Mary, with a doll. One year we used a real baby. The baby survived, but I'm not sure the mother did. And yes, Joseph wore glasses and a wristwatch. You don't know your Bible, do you?
The Magi arrive. And yes, Joseph and Mary had a Christmas tree.
The cast, mostly. I think some of the angels have wandered off.
The audience was totally charmed. Suellen looks positively enraptured.
Note to Chip: The white light pictures were shot with two strobe heads through white umbrellas. Notice how quickly the light falls off. That place eats light. The yellow light pictures were shot with available light with a 50 mm. 1.8 lens. We had posing before the rehearsal (strobes), and then I shot what I could with the 1.8. Still got a lot of blurred pictures, sad to say.
5 comments:
Christmas 2007 every kid in the church in Sioux Falls put on costumes and participated in a pageant, including my two Jewish kids. This year Jared (turning 9 today) announced that he was willing to go to church on Christmas Eve again as long he "didn't have to dress as a sheep."
For the benefit of those who don't know Jared, we'll be celebrating his ninth birthday tonight (it hardly seems possible), and he already has a number of roles to his credit in real plays (including musicals). It is an indication of his professionalism (no role is too small) that he agreed to play a sheep. It is an indication that he has some self-respect that he declined to do it a second time.
Your photos and commentary are wonderful! This is the first I've heard of an Epiphany pageant, and it appears like a grand idea to me.
I love the second picture...of the angels, especially the one leaning in with the big smile. Just precious.
I'd say a church of your size is very blessed to have so many children.
Jeannelle,
It certainly perks up the gloomy short days of the year! Thanks for the comments.
Bob
All he says is true, and Bob is one of those incredibly talented people who makes us all look better than we are (or as good as we hope to be!) Thank you Bob (for the photos and the good laughs!)
Kara
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