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LIVING STATIONS OF THE CROSS IN TABLEAU VIVANT

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL 8TH-GRADE STUDENTS CREATE OUTDOOR PAGEANT

By Tony Manrique     4/19/2021

Resoluteness, resourcefulness, and creativity were on display at St. John the Baptist Catholic School as the 8th-grade students staged Living Stations of the Cross that were quite different from those of past years, but which still powerfully conveyed the story of our Lord’s journey down the Via Dolorosa. 

Rather than indoor “living stations,” the two classes, under the direction of Vice Principal Jeff Urbaniec, Music Teacher Yvette Itano, and teachers Janice Babcock and Sandie Mendes, staged four presentations of the Stations of the Cross in Tableau Vivant format, with accompanying narration and music.   

They created a “living picture” of each of the 14 Stations – costumed, stationary, silent, and carefully posed.  Each scene was presented individually, then the curtain was closed and, while the tableau changed backstage, a student cantor led a hymn. The curtain then opened to reveal the next “station,” which was described by a narrator. 

The presentations took place outdoors, in tents that were used as classrooms for the junior high students earlier this year.  The tableaus were presented in one tent and the rest of the school’s classes took turns sitting in surrounding tents, thus necessitating the four presentations. 

St. John the Baptist 8th-graders did a great job communicating this beautiful devotion to our student body in a powerful and memorable manner.