The Audience Approach
The 2024 season ends off on a high note with the Suffield High School Drama Club production of A Christmas Carol. The winter production featured an impressive cast of performers who brought life to the iconic characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
This past holiday season, The Drama Club captivated audiences with its heartwarming rendition of Charles Dickens’ timeless holiday classic, A Christmas Carol starring sophomore Jack Tautic as Ebenezer Scrooge. With the mixture of live music, caroling, and sound effects, the show added extra layers of emotional depth, particularly in its portrayal of Scrooge’s transition from a cold-hearted businessman to a warm, generous benefactor.
“They [the cast] really brought some great energy. We have a great cast. Scrooge, I knew he was going to be hilarious the moment that he stepped on that stage. He [Jack Tautic] lives this role. He did a really great job with it.” Naomi Urquhart, Assistant Director
The Drama Club’s dedication to storytelling shone through in every scene. Standout performances included the portrayal of Scrooge by Tautic, whose powerful acting took the audience on a journey through Scrooge’s regret and eventual redemption. The supporting cast, including the spirited Ghost of Christmas Past (Az Eckley), the jovial Ghost of Christmas Present (MaryKate Mormino), and the haunting Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Layne Vogus), all contributed to the enchanting atmosphere that made the production so memorable.
The production seemed to wring in a wide variety of emotions from the cast and crew. The energy, excitement, and pride pulled from the cast was enchanting to witness. But something ran deeper than just excitement and pride. A hint of sadness could also be seen from the cast this year. Like every year for The Drama Club, seniors experience their final curtain call, but this past performance seemed to pull on the heartstrings just a bit more as loved seniors make their final stands on the SHS stage. Cast and crew alike expressed their sorrow for their senior counterparts, wishing them the best as they continue on with their acting careers and passions.
“It’s bittersweet. I’m happy it’s almost over, but I’m really sad because this is my last play performance at the high school. I went from being a freshman, not really knowing where I was supposed to be, and now this has been my life for the past 4 years. I really feel like I have a family here and I know this isn’t the last time ever, but it’s still really sad.” Az Eckley, Ghost of Christmas Past
The Suffield High School Drama Club’s A Christmas Carol was a festive celebration of the power of change and the joy of giving, reminding us all of the true spirit of Christmas. The cast and crew pulled together an exceptional performance that left their audience speechless. The success of the production is a testament to the hard work and creativity of the SHS Drama Club members, faculty directors, and contributors, whose passion for theater continues to enrich the school’s arts community.
“Ms. Blais, She is amazing, she gives me tasks to do right. It’s good business cooperation with tech… Tech and cast absolutely love her. And Mrs. U is great, she helped us build our set, helped with choreography, scripts, helped new actors that auditioned get into The Drama Club rotation… Credit to Mr Grimard, our constructionist. He is absolutely great to work with. The tech department absolutely loved him, building stuff, painting with us, etcetera.” Jack Ryan, Running Crew and Constructionist
From Script to Stage
The actor’s point of view going into a show is always completely different from what the audience sees, and this was very true for the actors premiering Suffield High School’s production of A Christmas Carol. Even in our “Circle of Love” pre-show tradition, we all agreed that a couple weeks before the show date no one thought we’d have made it the show it ended up being. Our director (and history teacher) Kelly Blais directed the festive show along with help from our stage manager (and student) Maya Sadaria, and they both did a fabulous job. Additionally, the co-director and costume director (and special education teacher), Naomi Urquhart, made her debut along with her assistants, and made us look amazing. This past winter performance was our first year without our beloved costume director veteran, Lori Foss, which was a huge loss to the department, but Mrs. Foss left us in good hands.
“I think it went amazing, I think they did a really great job. Every first performance has a few hiccups that you work out for the next show. But far fewer than what there could have been. So I think they did a really great job.” – Naomi Urquhart
Our directorial staff did an amazing job, but my actor bias wants to say that the actors are really the ones who make (or break) the show. Despite leaving to perform at the FFA conference in Indianapolis and then being sick for two weeks, our Scrooge, Jack Tautic, was somehow still able to pull it off and do a great job. I personally love acting with Jack and I was honored to have most of my scenes alongside him. We performed together as husband and wife in the last spring musical, Into the Woods, (when he was only a freshman) as Baker and Baker’s Wife, and we are section leaders in choir together so we know each other well. His voice acting in A Christmas Carol is just fabulous, and he had my grandmother convinced that he was a real old man. Our ghosts also did an amazing job, as well as the rest of the ensemble with their many quick changes and different characters.
For more of a behind the scenes look, I’ll clue you in on what the couple of days leading up to the performance were like. The week before, the infamous “Hell Week” was looking a little rocky with some still memorizing lines (can’t say this wasn’t me) or getting their costumes figured out. I was feeling stressed and I could tell that our directors were taking it hard. But just a couple days before performance day something switched. Everyone ‘locked in’ and the energy could be felt throughout the auditorium. I talked with director, Kelly Blais, about it after and she noticed this switch as well. If this switch hadn’t happened, we would not have been nearly as successful as we were. It’s an amazing experience in theater when you can feel everyone get really into what you’re doing and feel confident in what you’re putting on stage.
“I’m so proud of each and every one of them. They all had a lot of energy and they gave it their all tonight.” – Kelly Blais
Show nights always go way faster than you want them to, and the show is over before you can even blink. I felt totally confident and cool, right up until I stepped out on the stage, when it hit me and I looked into the audience. However, you can choose to use your nervous energy to close up and go quiet, or you can use it as motivation to do your very best for everyone watching. For me, I thought this was the best I felt on stage through my 5+ previous shows and I hope that the energy radiated to the rest of the cast and audience.
I was really happy with how A Christmas Carol turned out and everyone I talked with enjoyed it. This happens when everyone is able to listen to each other and change according to notes and blocking. It’s a challenge to be able to do that and I’m proud of my cast mates for being able to accomplish that hard task.
The drama department and I are looking forward to the rest of Wizard of Oz auditions and rehearsals for the spring musical. Stay tuned for more drama club updates and show dates!
