*How do you put this experience into words?*
I’ve finally stopped to take a moment and think about what just happened.
I got to play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and I’m still processing how I feel about it. Maybe I will be for quite some time.
Someone asked me if this was a dream role or a bucket list goal.
Not only was it not on a bucket list, I didn’t even consider it a possibility. But, my now made all the sense in the world when I said *yes* to the role.
I don’t think I could have done this before now. I don’t think my voice would have lasted, or my health or sanity. I don’t think I would have been able to manage my work and sleep and children without the kind of relationship I have with my husband. And I certainly didn’t have the perspective of Jesus and his relationships with those around him before now - considerations that allowed me to explore this character in the way that I did.
If you’ve known me for longer than a couple of days, then you probably know that my faith is a big part of my life - I’d hope to say it’s the biggest, but that’s a question I’ll leave for my maker to determine. It feels like I was literally born at church. But for about decade or so, I’ve been on an intentional journey to understand Jesus for myself.
I don’t want anyone else’s faith. I want my own.
During this season, I am also a brand strategist for a couple of projects that have positioned me to think about the humanity of Jesus literally every day. It’s been my job to think about Jesus - work that I started just a few months before I accepted the role for this show.
What a gift, right?
What a gift to consider the living, breathing, thinking, feeling, emotional human that was born, just like you and me; an honor to carry that story. The emotions came easily once I allowed myself to be in the story.
But my faaaavorite part of being in this show was asking people what it made them think about and how it made them feel. What is it like to watch a woman peform the role of Jesus? Did the fact that it was a black woman make you think of anything differently? I often ask that question because every role of JCS - except the one with John Legend - has been peformed by a white man. I've recieved a raaaange of responses, and I loved that, because I think that’s what art is supposed to do. No two people have to see art the same way. You get to decide.
Soooo…did you see JCS at WaterTower Theatre? What did it make you feel and think about?
Thanks to Kimberly Richard from NBC-5 for the write up. You can check it out here -> https://bit.ly/wttjcsNBC
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