Join Kaatza Lakeside Players on Dec. 3 to 8, at 7 p.m., or the matinee on Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Dec. 4 is the preview performance with a special buy-one-ticket, get-one-ticket free. All performances are held in the Lake Cowichan Centennial Hall, 309 South Shore Road.
“I have endeavoured in this ghostly little book, to raise the ghost of an idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly.” These words, penned by Dickens, 169 years ago, was the preface in his classic book, A Christmas Carol.
While he was referring to his original manuscript, this description aptly portrays the presentation on stage by the KLP this coming December. The creative team at KLP is endeavoring to fill this personal desire of the author about the affect of his work on readers.
“This year, the Kaatza Lakeside Players will be presenting a new and creative interpretation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The adapted script by Anthony E. Palermo was for either radio or stage. We are presenting a staged version and are very excited with how it is developing. Through storytelling and live stagecraft, we present this once novelette as a composed listening play. Actors masterfully bring each character to life and without the use of sets and costumes, we allow the story to be the star. Each character is a teller who invites the public to be absorbed into the world of a hum bug. The magic of this adapted script is the sound effects. We will watch sound effect musicians create the ghostly sounds and the environmental atmosphere of the story right on stage. This additional energy on stage is fun, exciting and different and will make our presentation of A Christmas Carol discovered and remembered,” said creative director Dena McPhee.
While watching the rehearsals, it is evident that the actors are very adept at raising the ghost of an idea and are taking delight in keeping humour amongst themselves, as all of the Dickens’ characters comes to life. But most effective is the storytelling process. It is a creative ritual still very much alive despite the age of PVRs and YouTube. The actors who participate in this storytelling process can feel proud knowing they are spreading a positive message to their community. As Edward Lentz, who portrays Scrooge, said, “I love the sheer fun of doing community theatre and being part of providing entertainment for people in their own hometown.”
For more information, go to the website:kaatzalakesideplayers.ca.
-Submitted by Glenda Burg