SCENIC and LIGHTING DESIGN

A Christmas Carol: A Cultural Heirloom
adapted by p. m. strain

Zona Gale Theatre
Portage Center for the Arts
Portage, WI
December 2007
Costume Design by Barb Church
Directed by Patrick M. Strain
Music Direction by Valerie Walth

The party at Fred's house.

<>
The churchyard and the Ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come, portrayed by numerous (and ever changing) actors.

Production Notes:

OK, so let me get it out on the table - I adapted (see my Playwrighting Page for more on the script), directed (see more on the dircting approach on the Directing Page) and did scenery and lighting for this classic. Having worked on A Christmas Carol at the Commonweal Theatre Company the previous year, I got the bug to do the show in Portage, which had not seen it for years and years. Although I share a lot of aesthetics with the Commonweal crew and liked their homegrown adaptation, I knew I couldn't get it to work for the younger cast I wanted to work with, so I had to go back to the Dickens and start over. After all, I don't think enough people have adapted A Christmas Carol. The premise for this show is that the Cratchit family, generations later and having migrated to the US, unearth the heirlooms of their ancestor's story, and begin the tale as a family story. I was, however, a bit circumspect with the namesake, and in the end, perhaps too coy, as not many audience caught that it was the Cratchit family who told the tale. What the audience really did like was that the frame helped set up that the same actors were playing multiple roles - since they knew from the start that Grandpa was tasking his family to help tell the story, their disbelief was very willingly suspended.

For the scenery, I wanted to keep it simple and set the story within "Grandpa's" attic - a well-worn Victorian affair. I also wanted to make the audience feel like they never left the attic, while feeling like they were being transported effortlessly from location to location. The platforming arrangement established the attic, and apart from some crossovers and narration, the entire story stayed on the platforms. There were elements hung all around the stage that were pulled down and used - a shelf is pulled down to become the top of Scrooge's desk. A wooden high chair is pulled down to be Tiny Tim's chair. There were a couple pieces we pulled from backstage, but with the amount of set dressing on and around the stage, the audience really didn't notice if we slipped in something extra. Another example - the curtains that are open in the top photo and closed in the office and Fred scene (above) also served as bed curtains when pulled perpendicular to the back "wall." This approach also allowed for two small desks to serve as virtually all the furniture in the show. The narration between scenes (spoken as by the adults to the kids of the family) allowed time to quickly adjust the locale.

The same approach was true for costuming - we began in modern dress, added bits and pieces in front of the audience (a jacket, cravat and top hat for Scrooge, for example) and then later on when cast members slipped off backstage to change during a scene and came back in full (or at least fuller) costumes, they went with the flow.

Lighting was used very subtly at first - simply adjusting slightly as "Grandpa" lit the candles to begin the show proper, then once the show was under way, I was able to make more theatrical use without pulling the audience out of the show. The key was the use of narration between scenes that allowed simple, quick adjustments in scenery and then a reestablishment of scene lighting before the audience knew what happened. The only blackout occurred between the end of Present and the beginning of Future, when in the blackout the Ghosts were quickly substituted to a chant of "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

This production was admittedly very "low budget" - miming dinner for the Cratchits, no spectacular revelation of huge amounts of food for the Ghost of Present, even a Marley without chains (an effect of having actors around the stage provide the chain work, which I gleefully stole from the Commonweal production.) The success hinged on a very honest, transparent and unadulterated presentation of this great story.

Portage Daily Register, December 2007
MAILBAG: Portage Center for the Arts events stellar

As part of a visit with a relative last weekend, I attended two events at the Portage Center for the Arts: the Drury Gallery reception for the Local Artists' Show and the production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in the Zona Gale Theater. Both were more than extraordinary...

The unique performance of "A Christmas Carol" will unquestionably hold a fond place in my memory. As stated in the director's note, "may it haunt your houses ... and your hearts ... pleasantly." It most certainly does and will. The professionalism and talent of those involved in all aspects of the play was amazing. Even Dickens could be delighted with this adaptation and its presentation.

As a result of this experience, I have become a member of the Friends of Portage Center for the Arts and look forward to attending future events. The city of Portage and surrounding communities must be very proud of the high caliber of talent and the support of the arts provided by the PCA.

Harriet Carlson, Chicago