Facia Lee, one of our Season 45 Resident Actors, takes us backstage of “A Christmas Carol,” our holiday tradition reimagined this year with entirely new sets, costumes, and music, and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in our Family Series! Hear from her below:
You’re a Season 45 Resident Actor with us – we are so grateful to have you here! What have you enjoyed about your work with us so far?
I am grateful to be here! Performing this season has been such a blast, and I have learned so much in teaching our TheatreSchool classes. I’ve also certainly enjoyed how I’ve gotten the chance to meet and work with other incredibly talented Resident Actors, staff, local actors, and students. I cannot forget to mention that Charleston is absolutely gorgeous, too!
Doing two shows at once certainly isn’t easy. How have you been preparing for and handling it?
I agree it’s no easy feat by any means, but luckily our responsibilities as Resident Actors are scheduled perfectly for us to be able to have time to rehearse AND relax at home when needed! As the holidays pick up, we devote the time we were teaching to getting into more shows, rehearsals, and other magic, as our TheatreSchool semester closed before Thanksgiving break.
Tell us more about your characters in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “A Christmas Carol.” What motivates them? How have you been working through these things as an actor?
I am truly blessed to play both Grace Bradley in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” then switch hats (literally!) to play the Lady Visitor/Ghoul/Beggar Woman/Debtor’s Wife track in “A Christmas Carol!” Grace is a loving mother who is devoted to accomplishing something outside of her comfort zone, while the Lady Visitors go from being rejected by Scrooge at first to being gifted by him in the end! Both roles are absolutely hilarious and require so much confidence throughout, which has helped me improve so much as an actor and in my personal life. I have learned immensely from these characters’ stories of perseverance and joy, and have grown tremendously while working with my incredibly talented directors and fellow actors in both casts.
As an actor, what aspects of rehearsing and performing come more naturally to you? What parts are more difficult?
Though not every single song I have ever learned is easy, music is easiest to pick up on for me! Dancing and physical theatre are a tad bit more difficult for me, but of course the directors, choreographers, and other Resident Actors always hook a girl up with the extra help I ever need!
What are your standard pre-show routines as you get ready to perform?
Before every single performance, the ladies’ dressing room listens to “Plastic Off the Sofa” from Beyoncé’s newest album!
Tough question: plays or musicals? Why?
Love them both tons, but I’ll have to say musicals because of the song and dance aspects!
Facia is thrilled to work with Charleston Stage! She has been performing on stage since she was about 6 years old. Her favorite credits include Macduff (The Scottish Play), Cinderella, an in-house written children’s theatre version of the same name, and Sandra/The Witch in Big Fish. She graduated from Florida School of the Arts with both her A.A. and A.S. in Musical Theatre and graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with her B.A. in Theatre with Concentration in Music. Facia would like to thank her loving family, friends, teachers, and Father for all of their support.