passion play

Well, after a quick trip to the optometrist and to Culver's for a burger, Cathie and I scoured Roseville (more or less) for Palm Sunday costuming supplies. I'm just a girl who can't say No -- so I set myself up to costume another drama at church. This time it's "Herod and Pilate: A Palm Sunday Chancel Drama" by Dean Seal (our Drama Minister.)

For the last play at Christmas, I was encouraged to go multi-ethnic and really mix it up. The characters included Martin Luther King Junior and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the timeline was entirely abstracted, so while the shepherds looked pretty shepherd-like (old bathrobes, some good hats and very artistic crooks), the main characters wore everything from saris to kimono to contemporary African prints.

This time it's more traditional -- and given the absence of tailoring in traditional Biblical costume that's no hardship -- but I need a good bit of white for Herod, Pilate and Caiaphas -- alas, I have little to none. So, first we hit the Unique thrift store -- where we found a few robes and some terrific bed sheets for togas. Then we went over to Joanne Fabric and found some purples on sale as well as braided satin rope pulls to use as belts. Between all that, and my on-hand supply of satin scraps and old tablecloths, I should be able to whip it together. Provided my Director doesn't pull many last-minute swaps on me, as is his norm. Just Sunday he told me Jesus would wear work clothes until the crucifixion. That's fine -- saves me a costume, since our young gal playing Jesus has the pants and shirt -- but I realized later that he has added a Prelude to the script and therefore two or three more costumes for disciples. And what about the Narrator?

Nevertheless , with what I scored tonight I'm two-thirds of the way there. Just need a crown of thorns, a headdress for Caiaphas, and an alb for the priest as well. And a blue stole. Hmm.
I noticed in my research for the Magdalene that she is often depicted wrapped only in yards of her own auburn hair. What's up with that? I'll have to look into it when I get a second. It seems very sensual, but in that (and in auburn) I suppose it's intended to stand for nakedness and sin.
Oh well. Our Mary Magdalene is a very young girl, and her hair happens to be sort of bleached-auburn just now, but it isn't long; and of course, we have to clothe her. Or else she'd freeze, skinny thing that she is. I have a book sitting around, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, that I haven't read yet. Will it help in my pursuit of the Great American Novel?

passion play. An interesting juxtaposition of words that is entirely dependent on context.