Strude

This past month, I had the wonderful opportunity to play the Ghost of Christmas Present in Hale Centre Theatre’s 24th annual production of A Christmas Carol.  HTC has produced a few different versions of this classic over the past 24 years, but certain aspects have remained in each version.  For instance, towards the end of the play a young boy brings the poulterer back to Scrooge with the prize turkey.  Scrooge tells the poulterer to take the turkey to the Cratchits and, in Hale’s version, the poulterer gives a laugh reminiscent of the Ghost of Christmas Present hinting at the fact that poulterer really is Present.

Many years ago when I was very young, my parents took me to see A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre.  I don’t remember much about that night.  But I very much remember the above mentioned moment.  This year, I got to play that moment out night after night.  I couldn’t help but smile every time I thought about how cool it was to experience this moment of theatre from both an actor’s and audience member’s point of view.  It felt like coming full circle in some small way.

I hope I will have the opportunity to play Present again next year.  And maybe the year after that.  And after that.  After all, the other cast’s Present, Tom, has played Present for the past 24 years.  I would love to be part of a tradition in that way.  And who knows, maybe the person who will play Present in another 20 years was in the audience and will remember me the way I remember Tom from all those years ago.  Insert Lion King’s Circle of Life song here.

One of the characters I play in A Christmas Carol wears an eye patch.  During tonight’s performance in the middle of my scene the elastic strap snapped and sent the eye patch flying.  I stopped for a second, then said, “I can see! Hallelujah.”  Got a good laugh.

And now for some shameless self promotion. My son and I will be in A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre this year. We will in the Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday cast, so come on out and see us.

The Secret Garden closed today. I usually don’t care when a production I am in closes. That is part of theatre after all. No show runs forever, except Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap in London.

I have been blessed to do this show three separate times with some of the best talent I have ever shared a stage with. Like I said, I’m usually fine when a show closes. But not today. The closing of this production was very sad for me. Somehow this close feels… permanent.

I will miss it.

Last week Buddha, 7-years-old, asked if he could audition for A Christmas Carol at the theatre where I am currently performing Secret Garden. He has done a few small roles in children’s theatre. Very small roles where the auditions were pretty much show up and get a part type deals.

This would be different. A “real” audition with call backs and competition. But he wanted to do it, so we of course said yes. He has enjoyed what theatre he has done, and we want to help our kids discover what they enjoy doing and help them do it. But this was also going to provide his first chance at rejection and we wanted to make sure he knew the difference between these auditions and the others he has gone to.

He said he was prepared if he didn’t get called back or didn’t get a part. Well, he was called back. As was I. He wanted me to audition, too. I would really rather have a break, but it would be awesome if we could do a show together.

Again, after callbacks, he said he would be okay if they didn’t call. However, the next day after coming home from school the first words out of his mouth were, “Did they call?” I was and am more nervous for him than I have ever been on any audition for myself.

We still have a day or two before they will call, if they call at all. Did I put my parents through the same thing every time I auditioned for something growing up?