DRUMHELLER TRADITION
Passion Play returns
Pilgrims and theatre lovers will be descending on Drumheller this month to witness one of the world’s most-loved outdoor presentations of the Passion Play.
The three-hour depiction of the life and death of Jesus Christ will once again be staged in the huge, natural amphitheatre where it has played before hundreds of thousands of people since it was launched in 1994.
However, each year the Badlands Passion Play has evolved and no July season has ever been quite the same as the one that preceded it.
This year is no exception as there is a new script, which will be based on the Gospel according to Luke. The script traces the life of Christ from his birth until crucifixion.
“For the first time, we are going back to the beginning of the story,” says executive director Vance Neudorf.
“We will be tying into the stories of Peter and of Mary, mother of Jesus, and, of course, Jesus himself and his journey towards the cross,” says Neudorf. “We will be getting inside those stories a little more than we have in the past with the use of voice-overs, where we hear the actors’ thoughts. We have never tried that before."
Each performance seats 2,700 people and, in the past, many of
them have come from all parts of the globe to watch this unique Alberta spectacle.
“Some people come every year to see what new thing we have done with it and then others come on a sort of pilgrimage — it really does run the gamut," says Neudorf. “In the audience, you will see nuns, priests, and people from European faith backgrounds. And ... you will see people who have never seen the inside of a church in their life and they know little about the story, but they have heard this is an incredible spectacle."
The original idea for a Badlands Passion Play was first envisaged back in the 1960s by area MLA Gordon Taylor who believed the dramatic and unusual scenery of the Badlands resembled the land in which Christ was born and eventually died. However, it wasn’t until 1990 that supporters finally found the land and the resources needed to move ahead, making 1994 the year picked for the launch.
Since then, the three-hour event — which costs about $100,000 to stage a single performance — has become renowned for both the beauty of its setting and the skill and drive of the scores of volunteer actors who take part.
“We are unique,” says Neudorf. “There is nothing like us, with almost 200 volunteer actors, who give up 30,000 hours of service each year. They come from all over for 12 weekends to rehearse. They are average Joes and Janes and we train them. Some have never been on a stage in their life but that enthusiasm bubbles up from those volunteers because they are so passionate about telling the story.”
However, there are five professional, paid roles for the principal actors. This year the show will feature Giovanni Mocibob in the role of Jesus for the first time.
Neudorf admits he would love to get up on stage himself, but his position as executive director — he is in his 10th year — rules it out. With so many volunteer actors, livestock and an outdoor crowd of 2,700 to take care of, there is more than enough on his plate.
“When the amphitheatre is full, it is so cool to watch, especially when you get into the very striking parts of the play and the whole audience is holding its breath,” he says. “It is fantastic to be there in that setting. The natural acoustics are fantastic. In fact, until 2012 we never had a mic on that set, but then we increased the size and stage so we brought in a sound system.”