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Holy Week drama in 35th year
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The performers of "It is Finished" Saturday afternoon in Niles.
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Jesus played by Dennis Carpenter washes the feet of his apostles Saturday afternoon in Niles.
The drama, marking its 35th year, is a ministry of First Christian Church.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
Vindicator Staff Writer
Faith and fortitude have fine-tuned the play and players in “It Is Finished,” a Holy Week drama staged by members of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Niles.
The free drama is scheduled for 7 tonight, Holy Thursday, with a musical interlude at 6:45 at the church, 33 N. Arlington Ave. In its 35th year, the drama played to a full house of 350 on Palm Sunday, and the same turnout is expected at the second performance.
That’s quite an accomplishment for a drama that involves a cast with little or no stage experience but one with a strong belief system and a vision. Shortly after the Christmas decorations are put away, rehearsals begin in January after Sunday services.
Four cast members and Jeff Crowley, who shies away from the title of director but will agree to “organizer,” recently met to discuss what they described as a ministry of the church. The Rev. Cynthia Klingemier, pastor, also assists.
The cast members’ motto is “Just One,” in hopes that the drama will touch the life of just one person who attends.
Gary Pressell, who plays John, said the Holy Week drama began with the Rev. Bernard Oaks, pastor at the time, and elders Jack Williams and Ben Pressell, his brother.
“The preacher wrote the original script,” said Gary Pressell.
“It was a Last Supper scene that lasted about a half-hour,” said David Pressell, his brother, and added that it was “more like a service.” The brothers have participated since the beginning.
That format worked for years. In 2001, Crowley said church members expressed the desire to tell more of Christ’s story through the drama. A remodeled sanctuary lent itself to this endeavor, and a new light and sound system has contributed to the drama’s effectiveness, Crowley said.
Since then, the play has been expanded and “amended” many times, Crowley said, though the basis remains in scripture.
There are four major stage areas at the front of the sanctuary: the Garden of Gesthseme, the Last Supper in the upper room, the Sanhedrin Council where Jesus’ trial takes place, and an area for Pontius Pilate. They also are modified for other scenes. It’s there that the 100-member cast and crew, including 20 children, tell Christ’s story.
Dennis Carpenter, whose day job is a lawyer, has played Jesus for some 20 years. He and the other men in the cast start letting their hair grow longer and nurture beards to look the parts. “When Rev. Oaks retired he asked me to do it,” Carpenter said, noting he took time to mull it over. “I decided to give it a shot. I’ve gotten more comfortable with it over the years.”
Carpenter said though he watched the drama as a member of the audience, it wasn’t until he was studying the lines that he realized the importance of Jesus’ words.
“The scripture tells what Jesus was all about and what he tried to teach,” he said. “It’s all Bible-based,” Crowley added.
The role of Jesus is probably the most physically challenging of the cast.
Carpenter is flogged; though the blood is fake, the hitting is realistic. Then the man who plays Jesus carries a 200-pound cross made of railroad ties down the aisle and is crucified. The sound of the hammers and comments by the guards add to the realism.
The cross then is hoisted into place, and Carpenter is on it for some 40 minutes as those who wish may take Communion at the foot of the cross. Carpenter has the last lines of the play, “It is finished,” those that Christ says when he dies. The words are punctuated with thunder and lightning. Because the drama is presented before Easter Sunday, the day celebrating the Resurrection, the drama ends at Christ’s death.
Carpenter said he prepares physically by working out daily. With a wry observation, he said, “A fat Jesus won’t do.” He also practices in front of a mirror to control his breathing so it appears that his chest isn’t moving.
Carpenter and Gary and David Pressell along with Dennis Havaich, who has played Peter for 18 years, noted that the experience draws them closer as human beings and as church members. “This is a public ministry of our faith,” Crowley said. “It’s putting yourself out there on a different level.”
For Havaich, who said it was a “great way to get involved in the church,” the experience is an emotional one. Playing Peter means Havaich has to deny Jesus three times. Though he said he gets through that during rehearsals, in the actual presentation he struggles with the lines.
“I believe Jesus died on the cross as the way to forgive our sins. I truly believe it,” Havaich, noting that the words of denial are at odds with his strong belief in Jesus even though they are lines in the drama.
Gary Pressell said participation in the drama has “strengthened [his] faith.” He agreed with Havaich in that though it is a drama, it is challenging.
David Pressell, who plays the householder of the upper room where the Last Supper is held, said, “It’s an emotional experience. You get caught up in the whole thing.”