Production Helps Put Christ Back Into Christmas

By Olena Wawryshyn

Too often in our society, amid the hustle and bustle of shopping, gift-giving and parties, the “Christ” in Christmas is forgotten. Kathy Matkowskyj, a finance professional, decided to do her part to remind others of the true meaning of the holiday season. For the third consecutive year, Matkowskyj, along with a group of volunteers, including many who have professional stage and musical experience, is producing a dramatization of the Nativity story in Toronto on December 19.

“In the Ukrainian community the spiritual aspect of the holiday and the reason behind it – the birth of Jesus - is sometimes not focused on enough. My involvement in this project was inspired by an experience I had when I went to see a Nativity play at a United Church.  I was moved by the beauty and spirituality of it and felt that we needed to do something like that in our community,” she says.

Matkowskyj approached the minister at the United Church and asked if they would be willing to share the script. The minister was pleased to do so, saying, “It’s not my story, but Jesus’.’’ The script was then translated into Ukrainian.

The Nativity play produced by Matkowskyj begins with a scene in which Zechariah and Elizabeth, who is to give birth to John the Baptist, learn that they will be parents. Then, Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, after being visited by the Archangel Gabriel, comes to share the news with her that, despite being a virgin, she is pregnant with Jesus.  The production ends with the flight of Jesus and Mary with the Baby Jesus from Jerusalem after King Herod decrees that all male babies are to be killed.

“It’s a story about love and the love Jesus is asking us to give our brothers and sisters,” says Matkowskyj.

There are very few props in the production. “Its simplicity, the lighting and music combined with God’s Word, make it moving,” she says.

The production is directed by Sergiy Kotelenets, who studied at the Kyiv State Theatrical Academy and performed at the Kyiv State Theatre of Musical Comedy before moving to Canada.  He has worked in theatre, film and television as an actor, dancer and soloist. Most recently, he made his feature film debut in the 2009 Canadian film Victoria Day.

The cast is comprised of community members from the Greater Toronto Area, including Zhanna Zinchenko, a professional singer and the conductor of the choir at St. Nicholas Church, who plays Mary; Mykola Maskulka, of the Canadian Bandurist Capella who lends his strong voice to the reading of the Psalms; and Larysa Bajus, a professional actor from Ukraine, who, along with Ihor Myslyvchuk, is one of the Bible readers. Myroslav Kovalevych, who has been volunteering for the past three years, is playing Joseph.

The musical director is the Toronto-based composer Roman Hurko. “He was instrumental in selecting and incorporating Ukrainian Christmas carols and liturgical pieces into the script,” says Matkowskyj. Period costumes were designed and sewn by Natalia Kobeiltska, and Lesia Shipowick designed the logo used in advertisements.

The production is presented under the patronage of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Volodymyr and sponsors include So-Use Credit Union, Buduchnist CU Foundation, Ukrainian Credit Union, SUS Foundation, Cardinal Funeral Homes, and Knights of Columbus Sheptytsky Council 5079.

Producing the play takes a lot of time and effort and Matkowskyj, who works as Manager of Accounting and Finance at So-Use Credit Union Limited, says some of her friends have asked her why she does it.  “I’ve always been involved in Ukrainian community theatre work with groups such as Lisova Pisnia and Zahrava,” she says.  “I joke with my friends that I didn’t get to Hollywood: there is a reason God is keeping me in community halls under the church. We all have a purpose from the beginning of our conception,” she adds.

Matkowskyj hopes that people who come to see the production come with an open mind and view it as an opportunity for spiritual growth. “Hearing the Nativity story,” she says, “is a way to break away from everyday life and its concerns and to appreciate that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’.”

The Nativity Story presentation takes place on Saturday, December 19 at 4 p.m. and at 7 p.m. at Runnymede United Church, 432 Runnymede Rd, Toronto. Tickets cost $20 for adults; free for children. For information, call 416-294-7853.