by: William Penne
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the second show in the Actors’ Studio Series at Parkland College, opens on Dec.13 at the Second Stage Theatre. Tickets for the show are $25 and the proceeds will go to producing more student-led shows at Parkland through the Actors’ Studio Series.
The show will run all weekend, December 13-15, with evening performances on Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m., and two matinees on Saturday, Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3 p.m. There will also be a question and answer session with the cast and crew following the Dec. 13 show. There will be refreshments and sweet treats before the show for those who purchase tickets.
The show will not only be performed live in the Black Box Theatre but will also be performed live as a radio drama broadcast. The show will include elements of a classic radio drama such as live foley and radio commercials performed between scenes, which will make for a fun and unique event of the holiday season. The show will be broadcast live as well as recorded for future playback on Parkland’s radio station, 88.7 WPCD.
The ten–person cast, directed by Mike O’Brien, will be performing over a dozen parts. Many of the actors will be doubling (or tripling) on characters for the show. With the visual element, this does not prove to be as much of a challenge as the audio element does since it is a radio show. The actors talked about how it is fun but also a good challenge to come up with different character voices for the show since many listeners of the show will not be there to see the actors changing parts.
“There is a big difference between looking the part and sounding the part with this type of show, especially since many of us are doing multiple roles,” said Maya Hammond, one of the student actors in the show. Hammond also mentioned how it has been a fun challenge for the students in the show to try to come up with very different character voices while still retaining some of their own personality.
Mike O’Brien, director of the show and part-time faculty member at Parkland College, stressed what he considers to be the most important part of the direction of this show.
“One of the things that I am trying to do with the show is trying to find the humanity in it. You hear all the same lines over and over, like ‘Bah humbug’, but we are trying to break it down to how he says it and the word usage, to really find the human part of that line,” O’Brien said of the direction of the show.
“Everybody knows the story, everybody knows how it ends, right? So, what we have to do is keep people engaged. The radio aspect is one thing as it gives a different experience for the audience members,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien also mentioned how he is excited for the radio commercial spots in the show, as they will be fun and kitschy and will add to the experience of the live radio drama feel of the show.
“Although we are doing a kind of modern take on the show, it still has a very classic feel since it will be a radio show, which is a traditional way of doing this type of thing,” said Maggie O’Brien, one of the actresses in the show.
Tickets for the show are available for pre-purchase now by calling 217–351-2528.
