Friday, December 5, 2008

A Christmas Carol

We've finished our 2nd week of Christmas Carol performances. Since the kids are split in 2 teams, I do about 25 shows and the other Peter/Scrooge also about 25 shows. I counted up about 50 hours of rehearsal time to prepare for the show. The adults rehearsed even more. The technical aspects of the play are neat with snow falling, the bed coming out remote control, and how the stage manager watches everything and adjusts even though things are cued electronically. They go through lots of batteries at the Alley.

Being in A Christmas Carol has lots of benefits. I get good acting training and experience. I learn endurance of lots of shows and staying up for each one. I make new friends. I work with professionals from the actors to the stage hands to the costume desingers, etc. The parents organize a big Christmas lunch during one of the long Saturday rehearsals and all the actors, technicians, box office, etc come. It's a lot of fun. We also do Secret Santa where we draw names for gifts and you get a sheet of paper telling you what the person's name you drew likes. You sneak in a gift each week of the performances. I've gotten some great gifts. I get a neat t-shirt too because one of the parents has t-shirts designed with all the cast and crew names on the back.

The best thing is just being on stage playing before mostly full houses. The crowds are generally good as there are some funny moments in the play and A Christmas Carol is such a classic with a really good message about giving.

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