With music, movement and heart, youths present life of Christ
By LINDA M. LINONIS
linonis@vindy.com
LAKE MILTON
The spiritual mime ministry “For You, For Me” recounts the life of Christ through movement and music.
Kay and Leonard Suzelis of Lake Milton are directors of ÒFor You, For MeÓ spiritual mime ministry. The traveling troupe recently performed at St. Joseph the Provider Church in Campbell. .
Jacob Seink, 13, of Newton Falls waits patiently as his mother, Amy, applies his makeup for the spiritual mime ministry "For You, For Me." The traveling troupe, which involves from 15 to 20 seventh- and eighth-graders from Lake Milton, Newton Falls and North Jackson, is presenting the Passion of Christ at various sites.
“The students experience the story in a personal and meaningful way,” said Kay Suzelis, who co-directs the ministry with her husband, Leonard.
The participating students hail from Lake Milton, Newton Falls and North Jackson and come from various churches.
After nearly 30 years with the project, Kay Suzelis said she knows the story told by youths has a surprising effect on the audiences.
“People are usually surprised by the seriousness at this age,” Kay Suzelis said of the 15-20 cast members who are in the seventh and eighth grades. “The students really bring the story to life because they take it to heart.”
Kay Suzelis said the mime ministry began in 1981 when the Rev. Hank Lileas, now deceased, introduced it to students at Sts. Mary and Joseph School in Newton Falls. There, the eighth-grade students were involved in the production.
The ministry evolved and in 2009 became an independent, traveling troupe. The music also has changed and improved. At first, music was based on what was popular, including “Godspell” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The script, originally taken from a clown ministry, also was revamped.
Kay Suzelis wrote an original script of the Passion based on the Gospels and wrote lyrics for original music compositions.
Leonard Suzelis is the co-composer and arranger and helped with the lyrics. The couple also lend their voices to the selections, and he also plays piano, guitar and recorder.
Among selections, which were professionally recorded, are “Hosanna,” “Judas’ Song,” “The Way of Suffering” and “For You, For Me.”
Narrators Kay Suzelis, Jeannine Spalvieri and students Sarah Bellentine and Paige Hanson tell the story through a first-person perspective while the students act it out.
“There’s essentially no dialogue,” Len Suzelis said, but students convey emotion through gestures and motions.
Students’ ensembles are in traditional black and white, and faces are framed in white makeup. Cast members design their own makeup, and hints of color appear, for example, in red hearts.
“I’ve had people from the audience tell me they’ve never experienced the crucifixion like this before,” Kay Suzelis said. “It brings the story to life for me.”
Kay Suzelis said it is a challenge to describe exactly "how it moves” her and the audience, but she credits the Holy Spirit with the inspiration and presentation. “It is a gift to us,” she said.
For the Suzelises, this year also mark a milestone in their family.
Their son, Nick, an eighth-grader, is in the show and the last of their five children to be involved. They belong to St. Catherine Church, where the ministry is now based.
Before each performance, the cast gathers in a prayer circle to ask the Holy Spirit to move the cast.
Len Suzelis said the goals of the ministry are to accurately and sensitively tell the story of Christ from his baptism to death and to teach and inspire the audience.
“It still affects me after all this time,” he said.
“For You, For Me” is a spiritual mime ministry that recounts the life of Christ from his baptism through his Passion and death. The performances are presented by seventh- and eighth-grade students from Lake Milton, Newton Falls and North Jackson during Lent.
Performances in the area: 7 p.m. today at St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church, 737 Ridge Road, Newton Falls; 7 p.m. Friday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 618 Ohio Ave., McDonald; 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Sts. Cyril and Methodius, 185 Laird Ave., Warren; 1 p.m. April 2 at St. James Church, 50 Rosemont Road, North Jackson; and 7 p.m. April 2 at Lake Milton Presbyterian, 942 Grandview Road, Lake Milton.
Directors: Kay and Leonard Suzelis of Lake Milton direct the mime ministry. Kay authored an original script of the Passion story, based on the Gospel accounts. She has been an educator for almost 30 years. Leonard is the musical director, co-composer and arranger of all the original music. He is a choir director and vocal-music teacher.
Ministry team: Patrick Harnichar is an assistant director, spiritual adviser and the team’s prayer warrior; Jeannine Spalvieri, a teacher, is a co-director and primary narrator; and Mary Ellen Ozanich, a teacher, is assistant director and student adviser and the only team member who was once a student performer in the mime.
Information: Send e-mail to info@ssmmj4j.com, or visit the Web site at www.ssmmj4j.com.