Cast and Crew
Auditions are required to participate in the pageant, and all cast and crew positions are voluntary. Over 800 people auditioned in 2007 while only 450 (the largest cast to date) were invited back. While the cast is mostly composed of members of the LDS Church, members of several other religious faiths participate in the production each year.
Participation in the pageant is meant to enrich both the viewer and the cast and crew. Before each performance, the cast and crew gather in the chapel adjacent to the Temple grounds for an hour-long devotional. A portion of the cast and crew is also assigned to visit with the crowd before and after the production each night.
Cast and crew alumni include Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui, offensive lineman for NFL's Arizona Cardinals, who played the role of a Roman soldier. The director as of November 2008 is Nanci Wudel.
Read more about this topic: Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant
Famous quotes containing the words cast and/or crew:
“O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hath cast out of the world and despised. Thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two narrow words, Hic jacet!”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)
“Nor aught availed him now
To have built in heav’n high tow’rs; nor did he scape
By all his engines, but was headlong sent
With his industrious crew to build in hell.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)