The Gospel According to...Xan Russell

Name: Xan Russell

Hometown: North Jersey

Education: Brandeis University. Majored in psychology, minored in music, theater, and social policy.

Who do you play in The Mysteries?: Opera Duet Angel

Tell us about The Mysteries: It's the Complete Works of the Bible, Abridged!

Describe The Mysteries in 3 words: Seeing is Believing

What's the wildest costume you wear in The Mysteries?: Well there's this one scene where I'm completely naked...just kidding mom, no one is naked in this play.

If you could be any character from The Bible, who would you be?: Queen Esther! Maybe we'll see more of her in the reinstallation.

Which company member most likely to have lived during Biblical times?: Alex Haynes. He is married even though he's still a teenager. That sounds about right.

Which company member is most likely to be the Messiah?: Still waiting #jewish

Most likely to hear voices in their head?: David Dabbon. He doesn't just hear voices, he creates harmony.

Who’s the most spiritual?: Jesse MacBeth. As far as I know she's the only one who actually goes to church.

On the 8th day god said _____?: And now I shall create a planet just for Xan and hereby call it Planet Xan.

Are you going to heaven or hell?: I wouldn't mind spending all of eternity cackling with Asia Kate Dillon! But I'll miss her, because obviously I'll be in Heaven.

Which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you?: Pride: Mostly when I'm scrubbing loincloths during intermission.

What’s the biggest inside joke at The Mysteries?: There's no higher compliment than when Ed likens your performance to some sort of retarded animal. For instance, we angels got out first acknowledgement from Ed, in the form of "Now I know what twenty retarded elephants dancing looks like." Oh, sweet validation!

What’s your favorite moment from The Mysteries?: There's this one scene where everyone in the angel chorus turns into mummies in hell, and one night I tripped over myself (part of our costume includes black ski masks with insufficient eye holes) onto another unsuspecting mummy. Luckily she didn't get hurt, but since I was already conveniently located, on top of her, she started chewing my leg. So naturally, I began to eat her arm. Now every show we are the cannibal duo. It's love.

What is the most rewarding part about being a member of The Mysteries?: Spending the last three months with such an extraordinary group of creative souls, putting together 48 world premiers, has been a religious experience for me like no other!

Why should we come see The Mysteries?: We will feed you Falafel and serenade you with gospel songs until you lose track of time, space, and what year it is! But actually.