I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
For the last six years around Easter time, the Bemidji First Assembly of God Church as transformed its members into a band of holy thespians, using theater to preach the word of God to Bemidji's masses. It's the only church in Bemidji to do so any more.
The church has produced the Easter musical -- or passion play -- titled "The Victor," and if Director Garrett Lathe's estimates are correct, almost 7,000 people have seen the show in a church that seats only about 250 at a time.
The passion play is a genre of the miracle play that has survived from the Middle Ages into modern times. Its subject is the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The passion play was first given in Latin, and toward the end of the 15th century these plays had become far more secular in content, having been influenced by carnival plays. Their production was forbidden by ecclesiastical authorities and only a few were revived after the Catholic Reformation.
"The Victor," written by David Clydesdale, tells the story of the last two weeks of Christ's life from the resurrection of Lazarus to his ascension into heaven. The play's narrator, Benjamin, is a fictional member of the Sanhedrin sect of Jews. He is caught in conflict, debating the validity of Jesus' Messianic claims.
The story of First Assembly's theatrical production actually begins six years ago when Lathe's brother was the church's musical director -- a job Lathe now holds. The church wanted to produce an Easter program, and they decided on "The Victor."
At present, including the cast, orchestra and technical crew, the cast has grown to about 60, Lathe said. When adding the behind-the-scenes duties, the number of people involved equals more than half of the church.
Preparations for the play begin in late January, Lathe said, even though he begins to think about scheduling and other details even before Christmas. The choir rehearsals begin about three to four weeks before the production, and the actors start blocking out the movements on stage soon after.
Lathe said it is no small chore for the church to produce the play each year because of the amount of work that needs to be done. Although the elaborate foam set was constructed the first year, there is still a day set aside to reconstruct it each year. It usually takes about three hours. To fit the large cast on the stage, the first few pews on each side of the church are removed.
The regular weekly activities are even affected by the production, he said. Sometimes even Wednesday evening family activities have to be canceled.
However, even with all the work, he said the church finds the production worthwhile since it is the only full production of a passion play in the area since Bethel Lutheran stopped production of its play a couple of years ago.
"Being this is a church production, it's a goal-oriented project. It may even work better than a business because it becomes the church's common goal. When there's slack to be picked up ... there's somebody to pick it up," Lathe said. "But I can see why nobody else in the area does this. It's a lot of work. It's not as busy a time as Christmas, but spring is coming and most people have children in spring school activities."
The play has grown in size -- not only in terms of the audience but the cast as well. They had to plow out a second parking lot this year so there was room for all the cars on show nights.
This year the church was only able to produce four shows due to an early Easter, but usually they have six or seven shows.
"There were a lot of disappointed people when they found out we didn't have room" he said. "There are a lot of people who come every year."
Even with the play's popularity growing every year, Lathe said the church is thinking about producing a different show next year for variety.
"It's harder to get motivated to do the same musical. We might decide to change things up -- keep them fresh," he said. "But you end up weighing whether tradition is as important as keeping it on the cutting edge. Sometimes you can sacrifice quality for tradition. A lot of people in the church would like to see a change -- maybe even in the community."
One of the problems with doing a production this size every year is that people suffer from burn out. This year alone, Lathe said three or four of the leaders needed a break from the limelight. Some of them volunteered to perform behind-the-scenes roles, and others just needed a break.
"Luckily, there is enough talent and willingness among the church to allow members to take a break," he said. "The play ends up beginning a slightly different flavor each time because of the different people that are involved."
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