Mega Senakulo takes Christ's Passion on the road

It was a new day with a new audience but the same purpose.

At around three in the morning of Good Friday, the team that traveled all the way from Angeles, Pampanga arrived at the Riverpark in Marikina and prepared the stage on which they wil perform the Mega Senakulo 2017.

The Alpha Omega Theatrical Productions, in partnership with the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), again showcased Jesus Christ's life and His suffering as he was nailed to the cross.

For the Senakulo's producers, the performance is about devotion and a renewal of faith.

"Let the people see what Jesus Christ had done for us. Para mas maunawaan ng talaga ng mga tao... from kapanganakan Niya, buhay Niya, mga aral at pagkamatay sa krus," Askel Dela Cruz, an officer of the theatrical production, explained in a phone interview.

"We are thankful, madami ang nanonood ngayon," he added.

The Senakulo has been held annually since 1995. The actors are volunteers who came from all walks of life.

"Ang mga cast, children, youth... according 'yan sa role na gagampanan nila. May galing Antipolo, may cast ngayon galing Cabanatuan," Dela Cruz added.

The volunteers have come from all over, especially from places they had visited and performed - Lucena in Quezon, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Baguio.

In Metro Manila. they performed at the Mall of Asia, and, during their early years, in a carpark in Cubao.

Dela Cruz said that they had gone to all these places to share the real meaning of Holy Week to as many people as possible.

When it came to their expenses, the Senakulo was fueled by donations, support from sponsors, and volunteers. Dela Cruz pointed out that the cast were not just actors, but they also assissted with the preparation before the show and the packing-up afterwards.

"Hindi lang sila basta umaarte, tumutulong din sila... 'Yung mga gamit andoon na, iniimprove na lang," Dela Cruz said.

According to Dela Cruz, they usually rehearse for one to two months.

Before the show in Marikina, they performed in Baguio City, Pangasinan and Pampanga.

Alpha Omega Theatrical Productions is a non-profit, non-government organization that aims to speak to the hearts of the people, to that very essence of a human being, through the many-faceted art of theater. — DVM, GMA News