New Great Passion Play Actors Share Their Stories

July 11, 2011 - PRLog -- (EUREKA SPRINGS, AR) - On a mountaintop just outside of Eureka Springs, from May through October, a cast of approximately 150 devoted souls take the stage of the New Great Passion Play to re-enact the Passion of Christ.
   
Much has been written about the play, the largest attended outdoor drama in America, which has been performed in Eureka Springs since 1968. Perhaps because of the nature of the play itself, not much has been said about the actors and support personnel who bring this story to life.

Watching Jesus’ last week, so lovingly acted, so authentically costumed, and complete with live horses, goats, sheep, donkeys and camels, it is easy to forget these are modern men and women portraying what is arguably the most famous story in history.

But,these folks are actors, people from all walks of life and all parts of the country, made family through their love of Jesus and their commitment to the Passion Play.

The actors, it turns out, often play different roles from year to year. Ken Hobbs and David Kriegel, for example, have played all the Jewish priests at one time or another during long tenures with the Passion Play.

Hobbs, who hails from San Francisco, has been with the play for two decades.
A thin man with a long white beard and mild blue eyes, Hobbs seems absolutely at home n his priestly vestments as he waits for the play to begin. Like many of the other actors, he came to the area with no intention of staying: He was in Branson, MO, looking for work for his band. Then he and his wife heard about the Passion Play, came to see it, and soon joined the cast.
   
Hobbs says he was devout before, but being in the play “has brought home the message of the love of Jesus Christ, how he loved his own people,” he says. "It has made me a lot more conscious of what Jesus actually went through."
   
David Kriegel, a 14-year veteran of the show who has played priests for nine years, moved to Arkansas from Wisconsin. The men building his new home convinced him to see the play and he decided right then to join.
   
The semi-retired Kriegel, energetic, wiry, and fond of quoting Scripture, says.
"Every night I read the Word, because every night on stage I learn something biblical. Now I understand things."

Kriegel feels it’s important for people to attend the play, to see the Passion through fresh eyes.
   
"Being here has deepened my faith," he says. "I was searching, and I've found the Truth, that God is the Absolute."
   
Would he want to go back to Biblical times, then, to be with Christ?
   
"I'd love to walk in his footsteps, but really, I have no desire to go back. We live in exciting times - the last days," he says.
   
Carol Butler, a pastor's wife who plays the Widow this summer and has also played Mother Mary, has a similar response to that question.

“It would be very exciting to live when He lived,” she says, "but it would be hard not to have modern things.
   
Her soft brown eyes brightening, she adds, “But we get to live in end times, so we have a purpose in our own generation.".

Butler is married to the pastor of the 1st Assembly of God Church in Berryville, AR, where she serves as secretary and minister of music; four years ago their son was part of the play and asked her to share the experience with him.
   
Butler says being in the play helps her understand how much Mary trusted God, “letting it all happen because of God's plan."

"I try to act out Mary’s anguish when I play her part, because she had no way of knowing what would happen,” Butler says. “But I know He is not going to be dead at the end, so I don't share her pain the same way."
   
Butler loves being in the play because, she says, she gets to live out the Scriptures.
“It's surprising how many people don't read the Bible,” she adds, “because I knows how it can change your life.”
   
"But watching the play, you get to see your faith lived. When Jesus tells his followers to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,' he points out it is closely related to 'Love your neighbor as yourself."

She adds,"And, even though this is a cliché --that's where the rubber meets the road, isn't it?"
   
The Butlers are not the only family sharing a life that includes acting in the play; there have been quite a few over the years.

Take the West family - four generations of them – who spend their summers both on the stage and working behind the scenes.
   
DuWayne and Patricia West, originally of Ohio, moved to Arkansas five years ago and soon joined their son, his wife and her parents as part of the Passion Play family. Now their granddaughter, her husband and child have joined in,as well. Before the play they sit in the wardrobe room, costumed and chatting with each other.
   
DuWayne plays the blind man, the deaf mute and sometimes, the potter. Patricia takes, among others, the role of Mary Martha.
   
Patricia West says her faith has been enhanced and she feels closer to Jesus every time He's on the cross, but "it's really  so hard to be in the crowd that's angry with Him."

Christ is portrayed by several actors, including Rick Mann and Joe Smith, who are also the show's directors; Smith also plays Josephus the Biblical Potter in a separate pre-play presentation.

Mann, who has been acting since he was a child in Wisconsin, says he came to live in Arkansas because his wife is a Berryville girl (the town closest to Eureka Springs).
He wasn’t here long before he got involved in a church production, playing Peter. One thing led to another, and he was invited to play Christ in 1997. He began directing in 2007.
   
Mann, a tall, handsome man with a commanding presence, trained as a method actor.

“In method acting, you put yourself in the position of your character in order to fully live the role," he says. "Doing that, I got some perspective of what it might have been like for Jesus Christ to have disciples, rather than being one."
   
Mann says he wrote the current script the Play, and for him the focal point of the story is when Jesus tells Peter, “Your failures cannot separate you from me. Return to me."
   
"That's what it's all about," Mann says firmly. "That's what God wants us to know."
   
The action on stage is made even more realistic when the livestock make their appearances. Their calm participation is thanks to Terry Elder, a dynamic woman who plays Pilate’s charioteer. She grew up around horses and serves as animal handler during the show season.
   
Now in her fifth season, Elder says she came to visit the area and found herself drawn to being in the play, where, she says, she can “express my faith and share it more with others. The Play is a good place to bring people you’re trying to witness to.

“I feel closer to the Lord here,” she adds. "This is a good place to be touched by the Lord and renew your faith."
   
Asked if she would like to go back to biblical times, Elder laughs out loud.
   
"Oh, yeah. I would've been one of those outgoing women," she says. "I would've been in trouble."
   
As the actors begin to assemble backstage, production manager Bennie Clark momentarily rests on a bench. With the play since it began, he and four brothers came with their parents who were among the earliest actors. Clark himself played Judas for 20 years.
   
"I was in church every Wednesday and Sunday," he says, “but this has absolutely enriched my faith. It's a great thing."
   
Clark's face crinkles with humor and his blue eyes sparkle when asked if he has a message to share.

" Don't ever give up.  We get down in life, but always look ahead, not back. We face a lot of challenges in life, but He never puts more on us than we can handle. Keep the faith.”

“And enjoy every day you get."
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