‘Do you know who was visited in the night by 3 spirits and completely changed his greedy ways? Ebenezer Scrooge.’ This was one of the frequent announcements heard on the intercoms during the weeks of The Christmas Carol performances directed by Julianna Gibbons. The play is a tradition at South and is performed every other year. There were performances in the Rose auditorium on Dec. 7, 14, 15 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. The cast also performed for South students during several class periods.
“Christmas Carol is something we do every two years and I saw it last time and I had wished I had been involved with it. This time I got involved,” Kellen Kiluwe ‘20 said. Kiluwe applied to be stage manager and was chosen to oversee the technical aspects of the production.
Many people were involved in publicity, set building, lights, costumes, make-up, sound, or prop building. The production was assistant directed by Alexandria Bolsinger ’20. Bolsinger practiced her leadership skills and met a lot of new developing actors.
“I have certainly had fun with this cast. They are a fun group of people. Half of the cast I didn’t know, because half of them are freshman or sophomores who I haven’t seen in a previous show. It’s interesting to meet new people and see what they can do…It is really cool how their character changes over time and how they grow as an actor. It’s impressive! I can’t believe how in less than three months you can see a person grow in acting and tech [Technical Theater] ,” Bolsinger said.
The role of Scrooge was double casted, so both Leo Elkington ’21 and Alex Nikas ’20 took turns portraying the old-man character.
“Alex is much more of a character actor because he’s got that really raspy voice. Absolutely no offence to him but he also looks a little bit like the role. He’s got the gangly, old graspers. It’s funny to watch. He has a much better old man voice than I do, to say the least,” Elkington said.
The differing portrayals were interesting to watch during alternate performances. Nikas was new to theater and appreciated the guidance and assistance from other cast members.
“Leo’s portrayal of Scrooge is a bitter, older man who controls his anger and has his anger boiling just below the surface and lashes out. In my portrayal of Scrooge he does not control his anger. Rather, he inflicts cruelty on others for personal pleasure,” Nikas said.
Many young children were integrated in to the cast and played various roles. Londyn Sellers was chosen to play the iconic role of Tiny Tim.
“My solo is the song What Child is This? It is very hard to sing and I really like that it’s challenging,” Sellers said.
The production brought joy to audience members and both cast and technical theater staff worked strenuous hours to continue the tradition.
