Messiah auditions Saturday
—local headline October 20, 2006
from Messiah Auditions Saturday by Nancy Devine
Willing to cast against type
Petite blonde female, hearty Asian male,
gay, straight, transgendered, etc.
Prior messianic experience unnecessary,
probably not even helpful.
No water-walking, stigmatas, rising-from-the-dead
required. Should be able to bake as well as break bread,
turn wine into water and vise versa; heal the sickening,
the sick and tired. No dress or tech rehearsals. Ever.
Unlimited comp tickets, great dental benefits, 401k possibilities.
Must be willing to work nights, weekends and days.
Leave your SAG card at home.
No fuss-budgets, nay-sayers, molly-coddlers, politicians.
Past work as psychopomp, amateur or professional, a plus not a must.
Stage fighting, mime, dance training, singing… all the same.
For more information, visit a website or, better yet, close your eyes. Call.
Note: This poem originally appeared in Stirring: A Literary Collection Volume 9, Edition 5 (May 2007).
Nancy Devine (blog) teaches high school English in Grand Forks, North Dakota where she lives. She co-directs the Red River Valley Writing Project, a local site of the National Writing Project.
qarrtsiluni 