Dear "JCS" Fans,

I have a few questions about the onstage portrayal of "Judas' Death":

* Is the entire song usually portrayed as a 100% angry, insane rant, or does the actor's intensity usually grow throughout the entire song? Does the actor who portrays Judas usually sound more and more angry, or does he, in fact, seem to become more and more powerless and sad as the song progresses?

* When Judas says "God, I'm sick!", does he usually just look angry, or does he literally indicate that he feels PHYSICALLY ill (Ie: Does he grab his stomach, grab his head, sort of bend over, anything like that?) I personally think that he should sort of grab his stomach; I don't know why, but I think that that'd look cool, 'cause what he's just done is enough to make ANYBODY feel physically sick!

* When Judas keeps saying the word "God", is he blaming God for his fate, or is he merely taking God's name in vain, while blaming Jesus for his fate?

* How is the actual suicide usually portrayed? Does Judas usually seem to secretly WANT to kill himself, or does he kill himself reluctantly, as though Christ is FORCING him to have no other option for his future? Is the suicide usually done against a red backdrop, or is there just a flash of light, highlighting Judas' silohette, and then total darkness?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Honestly everyone's is a little bit different. I love how Tony Vincent gradually realized he was powerless after his angered beginning. He really goes into being sick for being used. I also enjoy Drew Sarich death scene.

Our secondary school performed JCS this year in July. Another secondary school within half an hour of us, with a much less experienced production team and cast, performed it in May.

For our Judas' death, he was surrounded by a group of "dark angels" (dancers) under red lights. They were physically swirling around him, crowding him, clearly filling his mind with negative energy. He appeared both angry and sick as the song intensified, reflecting the lyrics he was singing. He dropped to his knees in regret and remorse during the final quiet soliloquy (I Don't Know How to Love Him) under a lone spotlight before the "dark angels" surrounded him once more. In response to their constant pressure, he then raced to the top of the set, stepped over the guard rail and "plunged to his death" behind the set while a spotlight lit up an empty noose. It was a stark and powerful metaphor.

The other school had a truly brilliant performer as Judas, but he didn't appear on stage for this song. They chose instead to film Judas' death as a black and white video and project it onto the set. In their video, Judas was running away down the street (pursued in a car by his mother, which made the audience laugh loudly) before returning home to book a train ticket to Heaven online. It was like a Buster Keaton comedy sketch.

I was much more impressed with our version (to put it mildly).