This, from our local paper, about today's Passion Play in the park over the
road...
A detail I specially like is that the actor's day job is in the gambling
industry.
Must now get over there, too late for the loaves and fishes and the donkey ride,
but maybe in time for Pilate and even, if the rain holds off, the crucifixion...
best from Max in Melbourne
Chris Masters Mah will take to the cross for the last time on Good Friday after
playing Jesus in the Melbourne Passion Play for two consecutive years.
The 25-year-old joined the cast five years ago after his mother pointed out an
article in the Manningham Leader.
Masters Mah, who lives in Doncaster, said performing in the annual non-
denominational play - which draws thousands each year to Ruffey Lake Park - was
a very intense and spiritual experience.
With the elaborate props and costumes, it was like travelling back to ancient
times at each rehearsal and performance.
“The goal of all the actors is to give that feeling to everyone who comes to
watch as well,” Masters Mah said.
“I think we’ve done our job if people feel they have been transported back to
Jerusalem.”
Masters Mah worked his way up through a variety of roles, including a crucified
thief and John the Baptist, before scoring the gig as the son of God last year.
His previous experience included performing in high school productions of West
Side Story and The Red Shoes.
“Me being a Christian, I’ve grown up trying to be like Jesus so it’s the role of
a lifetime,” he said.
The hardest thing about the role - along with learning about 35 pages of lines -
was the expectations.
“I always feel it’s a little bit daunting, it’s some big shoes to fill, even
just playing the part of Jesus,” he said.
“But it is also very emotionally exhausting, particularly the scourging and the
crucifixion.
“After each performance I have to sleep for 10 hours. I’m completely drained.”
Masters Mah, who makes a living running Australian Poker League tournaments,
said it would be his last Melbourne Passion Play but he planned to continue
acting.
The free play is on Good Friday at 10am at Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster.
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