The theater department put on its last performance of A Christmas Carol Dec. 3.
Ellanor Collins, theater junior, said, “There were 11 performances which is more runs than we usually have.”
It took six weeks to prepare starting Oct. 11, with the first script read through with the cast members.
“Before the actual performances we had been doing full runs of the show when rehearsing because we needed to have stamina,” Collins said.
A Christmas Carol took a different route than the original version. It was an interactive play with audience participation it is also the first time that this particular version of the play was done in the United States.
Collins said, “Dr. Dabney searched hard for an adaptation that involved audiences and would be fun for everyone. The script called for some of it but a lot if it came for working the scenes as we went.”
The audience had a large part in the play. The actors handed out instruments like bells and a child’s piano toy and other noise makers to create the sound effects for the play.
Collins said, “The nights with larger crowds definitely had more participation and we never really knew when those nights would be. We had been preparing for an audience even of just one participating audience member for a while.”
Some of the staff had favorite parts of their own.
Collins said, “My favorite part of the play is the ending when we see Scrooge’s transformation and seeing him decide to help Bob Crachit’s struggling family. Then they sing my favorite song of the show, Jingle Bells.”
Another favorite scene took place during act II.
Staff member Tessa Dschaak, theater sophomore, said, “The ghost of Christmas-Yet-To-Come brings Scrooge to a cemetery to look at a tombstone. This scene is completely in the dark with a small amount of moving purple light and ire fog. The tombstone scene is the most magical part of the experience.”
For audience member Kierian Hunter, math sophomore, it was not easy to pick a favorite part.
Hunter said, “There were to many parts in the play that I enjoyed which makes it hard for me to pick a favorite part.”
She did however have some characters she liked.
Hunter said, “I liked the person who played Belle and the person who played the ghost of Christmas past.”
The audience interaction was fun to her as well.
Hunter said, “The interactive part of the play made it even more comical, warm and enjoyable. It really put me in the Christmas spirit.”
