Satan Is My Friend

Here’s proof:

And so is Jesus, but I don’t have a picture of him. The line was too long.

The Pharisees were fans of mine (or was it the other way around?)

John the Baptist (a.k.a. the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz”) took a break from crying out in the wilderness to give me a hug.

The Apostles hung out with me (because my computer was streaming "March Madness")

I got to joke around with the guys who executed Jesus. This is their leader. Beware his vicious Tiger on a Golden Chain...Russell Crowe's got nothing on him!

Of course my favorite characters at the SECC Easter Passion were never seen...if they did their jobs well.

I'm Still Tired But It's A Proud Kind Of Tired at: marcyjoybryan@gmail.com

The Above Family Picture was taken on the first balcony of Southeast Christian church, current residence of the Bryan Family and 997 other people who are putting on a little "skit" called the Easter Passion.


It’s Saturday, one of only 3 “day’s off” if you are part of the Southeast Easter Passion Team. “Team” should be used loosely here since the entire group of volunteers that put on the show each night numbers around 1,000. There are around 260 "cast members" (meaning those who daily cover their bodies with makeup called either “Light Egyptian” or “Dark Egyptian” depending on whether you are playing a Jew or a Roman and flit about in hot, rough costumes that resemble artistic burlap sacks). Those who help put on said makeup run from 50 to 100 volunteers and there is a team of costumers who turn all of those burlap sacks into something nearly enviable.

Among the other batches of people there lies the “tech team." This group numbers “only” 40 crew members but includes all of audio, video, and special effects...a.k.a. the "Geek Zone," except for Julie and I who would be called "groupies." Megh and Kev are part of the Video Crew…they run 2 of the 11 cameras that are used each performance to project close ups of the show onto IMAG screens.



The IMAG screens are approximately 12 foot wide by 9 foot high. The camera crew has a team of people who sit up in a booth and who chooses which shot will be used and then sends it to the three IMAG screens. Kev and Megh are up front right next to the stage, which means there is no end of the “friendly” rivalry of who will get the best shots and who will have more “screen time.” As you might imagine, I stay out of anything that has “friendly” and “rivalry” in the same sentence since I can tell (being the astute linguist that I am) that “friendly rivalry” means that I, personally, will be in deep doo-doo no matter who I pick.


The little IMAG screens projecting the show (they are the ones that say "Jesus" in the family photo) are only impressive and huge if the other screens are not lowered. When we remade the Easter Pageant several years ago, we decided that it would be cool to attempt “mixing media” as part of the Pageant. “Mixing media” is nice to say in a sentence, but in practical application it means that we not only have a ridiculously huge cast (one of the largest in America) to put on this little skit, we also bring in live donkeys, doves, camels and a flying dove that lands (like the Holy Spirit) on Jesus, a good sized orchestra (I’ll have to count how many tomorrow night), and a backstage choir of over 150 people than come and sing into microphones to help fill out the sound but who are NEVER, EVER SEEN. And (here’s the “mixed media” part) we have two completely ridiculously huge retractable screens that are 52 feet wide and 31 feet high. The two screens together make a standard IMAX screen (about 72 feet wide by 52 feet high)…in other words the auditorium at Southeast Christian church is large enough to unfurl an IMAX-sized screen (divided in half) and still have room to see a bunch of other stuff besides!

This year I have added another label besides "groupie" status. I am also a "newbie mic-person." This means that I come in an hour earlier than the "groupies" to put on mics onto bodies. You can read about that in one of my previous posts but I thought you might like an artistic picture of what assails me each evening:



Meghan has also added another title to her belt; she is Check-In Trouble Shooter. All of the folks in The Skit and all those who help put on The Skit or who do makeup or play in the orchestra or sing backstage or work with props or feed those who are in anyway involved in The Skit come in through one door and check in. Megh helps to manage that area. The best thing about doing this present job is, as best as I can tell, is the walkie-talkie. She gets to run around and talk to everyone. Isn't that fabulous? I will get a picture to show you just how fabulous that actually is, but for now you'll have to settle for this:



I So Wish You Could See Our Little Easter Skit at: marcyjoybryan@gmail.com

Chocolate and Roman Soldiers...It's That Time of Year Again!

It’s that time again. Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching L’ville and with it comes chocolate hearts, talk of snow and/or tornados, the traditional Taking Down of Our Christmas Tree, and the Easter Passion at Southeast Christian church.

Feel Free to check it all out here. From there you can see more pictures, cool stats, etc.

There’s a cool time-lapse of the set being built here.

Practice starts (for the Tech Team) March 1st. Actors and the choir have been working on their parts since January. The show runs from March 10th through March 27th every day of the week except Saturdays.

Last year over 80,000 people attended.

This year why don’t you be one of them!

We’d love to have you…although we will be only mediocre hosts; Meghan runs one of the eleven live cameras for the show and Kev’s been asked to run one as well. (Last year, Kev ran the video segments). Someday I’ll tell you how Megh ended up as a cameraperson…you’ll laugh.

I am, increasingly, the perpetual groupie; driving a cameraperson into town each night (Kev doesn’t drive much since his heart surgery… LOL!!) and I help clean, prepare, and secure the “snack room” while protecting the dinner reserved for the “Techies” from marauding bands of teenagers, townspeople, and Roman guards.
The Romans are the most threatening since they’re a hungry lot, plus they like to hang out in our room s to participate in the other seasonal religious experience…of course I mean March Madness.

In Kentucky, there are two reasons for such devotion: here and here.

This is of course, only the first of at least several whine-fests informative, and uplifting blogs about the Easter Passion. Come and experience it yourself.

But bring snacks…in case the Romans are restless.

~m