Beneath the Upper Room

Ezekiel, the servant to the owner of the Upper Room, invites us to the place where Jesus and his Disciples are to celebrate their Passover Meal (which will turn out to be his Last Supper). There, in the kitchen, located beneath the Upper Room, we see the women of Jesus' group busily preparing the traditional Passover Seder meal. Course by course, they prepare the meal. Course by course they serve the meal to the Disciples and return to the kitchen to report what they saw happening in the Upper Room -- and how it affects them. Full of interesting insights, drama and touching humor, we see how Jesus touched the lives of so many-- and how the women became such fierce supporters of His ministry.

This play is about Jesus from the perspective of the women who knew him best. Through the well-known events of the Last Supper these women reflect on the life of Jesus and his affect on mankind. We see the Last Supper from a different angle, from a different perspective than usually depicted in stories about this event in Jesus' Passion. This is NOT your typical Last Supper Drama. This play uses the well-known setting of Jesus’ Last Supper as a spring-board for a little different perspective– and a few "What ifs?" "Whys?" and "Why nots?" in for good measure. During Jesus’ time, it was usually women who served meals, did the laundry, fetched the water and all the other "menial" chores. From what we find in the Bible, there were a number of people who constantly traveled with Jesus, many of whom were women. Undoubtedly, those women took up the many caring tasks of the group. We know at least some of the names of the women who were there for the crucifixion. By a sort of "reverse engineering," it's a safe assumption that the characters in this play could very well have been around Jesus during the Last Supper. That's what this play is all about. Using the traditional Jewish Pesach (Passover) Seder that was most likely the same format that Jesus and his Disciples used, we follow the women as they serve each course and listen to what they witnessed as they were in the Upper Room. With humor and tenderness, we understand-- from their perspective-- the significance of Christ's last moments with his Disciples. At the time during the Seder where Jesus very likely passed around the Bread and the Wine, the audience is invited to partake in communion, after which, the play continues. Since 2006, the play has been performed in over 150 churches all over the USA.

Kevin M Reese was born and raised in the Methodist Church. His family helped start (and literally build) Hillcrest UMC in Elkhart, Indiana, back in the 60s. Like many young men, he heard a calling to the ministry when he was in Jr. High School. It wasn't until after his first year of college, when he was performing the duties of a summer pastoral intern at Hillcrest UMC that he realized the voice he heard calling to him was just one of the many he would hear in the coming years: his imagination. It was then that he realized God had a use for him through drama, not pastoral ministry. He went to college and grad school, spent 5 years as a gypsy actor, then went on to directing, managing, and producing-- learning the "nuts and bolts" of theatre and acting. It was during that time that he discovered his love of Children’s Theatre. If someone would have told him fifteen years ago that he'd end up a playwright and composer, Reese would have laughed at them. But after years of scouring play catalogues for scripts that didn't preach, patronize, or insult the intelligence of today's youth, Reese decided it would be easier to just create his own. The result is a collection of lively and fun-loving plays and musicals, each tested before thousands of young people by professional actors. Since 1993, Kevin’s 73 plays and musicals have entertained over 2 million people all over the world. A few of his musicals have even been translated and performed in other countries. Today, Kevin continues to produce new works, writing as much as his "real job," being a stay-at-home Dad, will allow. His complete catalog of plays can be seen at KMR Scripts. Kevin considers himself very fortunate to have come to the realization that he can do the most for God by helping those that are "on the front lines" help others. Kevin has spent his time in the limelight, he now dedicates himself to "helping others help others." To that end, he formed KMR Productions, KMR Studio, and KMR Hosting-- his multimedia production companies which utilize his project studio capable of a full line of professional video, audio, and web services. Kevin is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and ASCAP. He has been a Certified Lay Speaker with the United Methodist Church, a commissioned Stephen Minister, serves on his local church's Worship Committee, and runs the sound board for the Praise Band at his church. Kevin is a stay-at-home Dad in a small Kansas town with his wife, four children (12, 14, 16, and 18 years!), two cats, two dogs, and occasionally, some goldfish.