Last week we started rehearsals for A Christmas Carol. I have directed this show a few times and have been an actor in it even more times. I love the script, but was concerned about how to make the show fresh and new. Then I met with the cast for the first time. We have 48 in the cast, 21 are in eighth grade or younger. The majority of the cast has never done the show or even seen it. It wasn’t long before their energy and excitement had me more than ready to get started. This morning an acting teacher friend of mine who has a student in A Christmas Carol shared his student’s reaction to the first rehearsal, “It was cool. The guy who plays Scrooge can make a lot of different faces and when he gets mad his face turns all red and the veins in his neck pop out.” I guess I don’t have to worry about finding the excitement and that is why I love my job.
(Scrooge, played by Randy Risher, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come)