Apr 20, 2009
ASC students perform Easter Programme on streets of Sydney
Good Friday show receives national media attention
posted under NEWS STORY
Melanie Vacik
On a Friday afternoon on Pitt Street in downtown Sydney, past the skyrises and the subway stations, the Starbucks and the St. George Bank, 21-year-old Matt Johnson from Massachusetts carried his cross – literally.
Johnson, a junior at Taylor University studying with the Australia Studies Centre (ASC), played the role of Jesus Christ in Wesley Institute’s annual Good Friday Way of the Cross Procession, a re-enactment of Christ’s journey to Calvary held on the streets of Sydney.
The procession began in the outdoor amphitheatre at Martin Place, where Johnson, dressed as Christ in a white robe and sandals, was whipped and mocked by Roman soldiers and had the crown of thorns placed upon his head. A crowd of hundreds of spectators gathered to watch the scene.
“To see [the crowd’s] faces as this was happening to me was incredibly powerful,” Johnson said.
From Martin Place, Johnson shouldered a wooden cross and dragged it across the asphalt of Pitt Street. The crowd followed slowly behind and watched as Johnson, scarred and bloodied, stumbled and fell to the ground. Finally, an alumnus of Wesley Institute playing Simon of Cyrene came out from the crowd to help carry the cross of Christ, who by this point was physically trembling.
“It was possibly the most intense role that I’ve ever played, just based on who it is that I portrayed,” Johnson said.
The performance drew attention from national media, including the Sydney Morning Herald and the front page of the Yahoo! Australia Web site. Johnson said he even unexpectedly saw footage of himself on TV at the airport the next day, where he was waiting to travel to Magnetic Island on vacation.
The Way of the Cross Procession was just part of Wesley Institute’s larger Easter Programme. At the end of the procession, Johnson led the gathering crowd into Wesley Theatre, where drama, dance and music students performed “Eve’s Daughters.” With their Australian classmates, Johnson, Lindy Smalt from Wheaton College and Audrey Henderson from Taylor University created and starred in the show, which centred around the powerful effect of Jesus’ love on several prominent women in history.
A crowd of 500 watched the performance, which was followed by the sharing of communion together.
Then, on Easter Sunday, the Wesley Institute choir sang at a sunrise service at the famed Sydney Opera House. ASC students Jason Collier from Eastern University, and Kelsey Nyberg and Laura Costerisan from Trinity International University sang with the Wesley Institute choir, which backed popular artists on songs such as “Worthy is the Lamb,” “Great Southland,” and “The Prayer.”
In all, over 70 students from different disciplines participated in some way in creating and performing this year’s Easter Programme, including the six students from the ASC.
“It was amazing to be offered this opportunity, and to take it and enjoy it for all it’s worth,” Johnson said.
by Matt Woods
