Special thanks to the Broce Family from the Boone Ward for their willingness to share their testimony-building experience serving in the 2017 Palmyra Pageant! Now to begin our behind the scenes tour!
How did you guys get involved in the pageant? When?
Sister Broce: being in the Hill Cumorah Pageant as a family is a dream I had for many, many years. My grandparents served a mission at the Peter Whitmer Farm when I was a young teenager and I loved going to all the historical sites with them and getting the behind the scene tours. We went back to Palmyra a couple different times in my youth before my family moved from the East Coast back to Utah.
Our family went to the pageant for the first time in 2010. Robert was finishing up his PhD in Richmond, VA and we weren’t sure where the future would take us. We didn’t want to leave the East coast without sharing the Palmyra experience together. Little did we know, the East coast would become home. Knowing that the pageant really needs lots of older teenagers in the production, 2017 seemed like the ideal time to apply. I’m not sure my family knew what I was signing up for, but I took everyones picture and filled out the online application just before the October 2016 deadline. About six weeks later, I was on the phone with my sister when I got the email that we’d been accepted as cast members. My sister couldn’t hear for a while I screamed so loud. It definitely felt like Christmas came a little early that year – I was so excited!
What did you do at the pageant?
There are about 725 people in the Hill Cumorah Cast. Participants arrive the Friday before the pageant to start rehearsals. We began with a devotional and then everyone auditioned for parts. The younger kids have standard assignments, but everyone else 14+ auditioned as a large group. It was pouring rain that night but within a very short amount of time, everyone had a part (or two) and had been assigned to a costume room. The whole process is very organized. Our family had various parts throughout the production and our oldest, Benjamin, had two parts that included a costume change.
We applied to return this year but with the announcement that there will only be two more years of what’s been an 80+year production, thousands applied and the Pageant Presidency wanted to give the opportunity to as many new families as possible. Our 17 year old son, Aaron, however, was chosen to be on the Hill Cumorah Work Crew. He is in Palmyra June 28th-July 26th along with 25 other YM ages 17-19 working to build and take-down the stage and run all the behind the scenes technical aspects of the production. We are very excited for him and look forward to visiting. We just can’t stay away!
What was the experience like as a participant?
After the casting process, the next week was spent in rehearsals. There are 7 platforms on the stage so between those various areas and the grass down in front of the stage, there are many different scenes being practiced simultaneously. When you’re not practicing, you are spending time doing activities with your Cast Team. Everyone is divided into age groups and there is a large field with twenty or more canopy tents — one for each group. Robert and I were Cast Team Leaders for the 12 year old girls so we spent the day with our daughter, Kylie. Our older kids were in different tents with their age groups and the younger kids were kept busy in a Primary tent where they have different activities for Junior/Senior Primary participants. The only time we were together as a family during the day was mealtimes and devotionals.
We camped as a family the entire experience adjacent to the Visitor’s Center. We’d get ready for the day and hike over to the study shelter for the morning devotional. The study shelter amazingly fit the entire cast and it was used multiple times a day as well as Sundays for the Cast Team Sacrament Meeting. After Morning Devotional, we’d head to our Cast Team tent and play games or craft while waiting for our rehearsal time.
Everyday had a different rehearsal schedule organized by scene – when it was your turn to practice, you’d head over to the stage and then return to your Cast Team tent afterwards. We’d hike back to our campsite for lunch and dinner but rehearsals typically went fairly late afterwards. They were long but very fun days!
Once the pageant began, Cast Teams took part in many day trips around Palmyra participating in community service projects and activities such as visiting a local lake. Cast Teams met later the second week to compensate for the late pageant nights. Once the pageant was over each night, we would change out of costume and meet at the Study Shelter for the evening devotional. It was always such a powerful experience to be singing hymns with hundreds of others as we waited for the devotional to begin. After the devotional, we’d head back to camp and stop for a Munch ‘N Mingle with all the others staying at Zion’s Camp. These often didn’t start until midnight so it was definitely an adjustment for everyone and we were grateful for the chance to sleep in each morning.
About half the cast (300) camped together at Zion’s Camp while another 300 stayed in some college dorms about 20 minutes away. Others found accommodations independently or lived close enough to return home each night. We loved our camping experience and were very comfortable for the 3 weeks we were there — although when it rained, our site was in a flood zone and we were very grateful for the platforms they’d provided to keep us up off the ground. We brought a microwave, mini fridge & crock pot to make meals easy with the limited time we had to prepare them and were very comfortable at night with cots & a queen size bed we brought from home. It was definitely more of a glamping experience!
Brother Broce: One of my favorite experiences was having the opportunity to interact with other saints—a group of 750 people, all different, all with their own unique strengths and challenges, none of them individually perfect, pushing together toward something they believed in. It truly was a Zion experience, just like I have felt here in our own stake of Zion, beginning here in our families and ward as we come together and support each other; in the Book of Mormon (2nd Nephi) the Lord promises that as we do this, “the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”
Any special memories that you had from your participation?
The most amazing part of the pageant was participating in the scene where Christ visits the Americas. Words cannot express how incredible that was each night. The entire cast walks onto the stage when the person portraying Christ appears. It brought tears to our eyes every night. When he beckoned the children to come unto him — our two youngest daughters were there at his feet. It was an experience we’ll never forget.
Something that was special for all of us was that both sides of our extended family came to see us perform. Family drove from Virginia and flew from California, Texas and Wyoming. It was amazing having everyone there for that experience.
What were your kids’ memories of the experience?
Everyone in the family really enjoyed mingling with the crowd each night before the pageant began. We met some amazing people and heard many touching stories. Being in the pageant was a great experience for our oldest son, Benjamin, getting ready for his Mission. The older teenagers were put into companionships and sent out with a copy of the Book of Mormon to give away. He and his companion would find all the Spanish speakers and have some great conversations. It was a great experience to utilize his foreign language skills and become comfortable approaching others.
How did the experience strengthen your testimony of Joseph Smith, the Sacred Grove, the First Vision?
Sister Broce: We had a few opportunities throughout our time in Palmyra to visit all the Church History sites. There is nothing like walking in the Sacred Grove! If you haven’t been, I highly encourage you to go. Our Hill Cumorah experience definitely changed us as a family. We loved every minute.
Brother Broce: I am so thankful to have had these sacred missionary experiences at the Hill Cumorah, and look forward to carrying these lessons forward here in our area.
