Boo!

Mrs. Cratchit here! So we have 3 days until we get onto the stage. It's very exciting to have so many pieces together. In the last 2 rehearsals we have been doing run thrus with stops and starts. As you might have guessed that means we run the scenes until Troy stops them to fix or change something.

Today we stopped on one of my favorite parts. It's early in the first act just before the ghost of Jacob Marley arrives. Some audience members might just think they are hearing wind or some prerecorded voices, but in every production I've appeared in just before Jacob Marley appears the actors all assemble in the wings and get to make spooky noises! At 16 yrs old in my first "A Christmas Carol" production at Foothills Theatre I remember thinking it was so cool that the whole cast got to be the voice of the ghosts for a brief period of time. Mostly the actors chant "Ebenezer" or "Scrooge" during this scene or try to sound like the wind, but there is some flexibility within that. It is so fun to play with different ways to use your voice or different words you can interject in rehearsals. Today Troy stopped us for a couple of reasons during the "spooky noises" ... not enough consonants, not enough wind. I am sure we will have it perfect by opening, but until then I am happy practicing because it makes me feel a bit like a 7year old with all my friends on Halloween! "SssssscroooooooogGGGGGe" ! I love my job <3

Dale Place in last year's production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Hanover, right before a ghost arrives! Can't you hear our spooky voices in the background???