Friday, December 23, 2016

A Christmas Carol 2016, Epilogue

 
-->


This year will be the eightieth first grade performance
of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.
In 2001
I spray painted pennies gold
and put them in Grandma Maud’s tin box
where they made a wonderful metallic sound when shaken.
A white ostrich plume
picked up in the streets of Nassau
during the Junkanoo celebration
became Bob Cratchit’s quill pen.
The Ghost of Christmas Present
started with a Dollar Store elf hat
but now has a Father Christmas suit
with wreath hat,
fur-collared robe,
and long white beard.
The Ghost of Christmas Past 
now has a velvet medieval gown
and sequined wand.
Jacob Marley now has real chains.
Everybody gets some kind of costume
I have an IKEA bag filled with vests for the boys
and skirts of all sizes for the girls.

Casting is always interesting.
After telling the story and reading through the script
I have kids sign up for LOTS of different parts
so that they almost always get a part they were interested in.
Jacob Marley needs to be uninhibited
and say “Oooooooooooo!” really well.
Tiny Tim often goes to the smallest child
but we have had larger Tiny Tims 
because they were great limpers.
Scrooge needs to be able to remember lines and speak clearly.
One year Scrooge was the shyest girl in the class
but I knew she could handle the part
because one day during silent reading
she surprised the class--
and herself--
by shouting  “LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!!”
She was perfect.


Each year there are moments never-to-be-forgotten:
The Ghost of Christmas Present entering with a handspring.
The Ghost of Christmas Future blindly tripping on his long robe.
Scrooge falling off a large table while enthusiastically dancing—
the superintendent was present for that one--
and skirts falling off during Mr Fezziwig’s Christmas dance.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
ad-libbing, “Ebenezer! Think about what you DONE!”

This year I have my smallest class ever
so some kids have multiple parts;
the charity worker is also Mr. Fezziwig and a villager.
(He read his lines the first day in a British accent
but shyness has kicked in
and he hasn’t done it again.)
Bob Cratchit doesn’t know his lines yet,
but has a huge nice-guy smile.
Amy is Tiny Tim
who limps with the aid of a pebble in her shoe.
Joel may be the best Scrooge ever—
he thinks about EVERY LINE
and says it with such expression,
from “Bah! Humbug!”
to “Will the child live?”
to “Thank you Spirits! I will honor Christmas in my heart!”

As we get ready for our December performances
I think about the Scrooges over the years--
boys and girls,
black and white and multiracial--
and I think about how there are no boundaries
on who is cruel
or who is beyond redemption.

We thank God this Christmas season
for the incarnation,
for the baby
who brought the gifts of grace
and mercy
and the ever-present possibility of change.


Tiny Tim's self portrait




Epilogue:
“How did it go?” you ask.
They sang. Loudly.
Apparently Marley’s speech impediment
is worse than I realized
as few people could understand what he actually said,
but his oooooohs and chain-shaking skills
still carried the redemption story along.
The Ghost of Christmas Past got rave reviews
as she delivered her lines clearly 
with a huge smile
in her lovely velvet dress,
her hair poofing all around her sparkly tinsel headpiece.
Scrooge was wonderful, as predicted,
but during the afternoon performance
he had difficulty getting out of his bed
sending the Ghost of Christmas Present into a nervous giggle fit.
(Remember those?
I think they lessen near the end of adolescence.)
The Ghost of Christmas Future doesn’t talk
and didn’t trip,
so that was an easy one.
I saw no fingers in noses,
another reason to be thankful.
There were a few things I would have changed;
hindsight is like that...
“It was the best of times.
It was the worst of times.”
Another Dickens quote*
that is true for plays,
for teaching,
for many situations in 2016
and probably 2017 as well.
In 2017,
may the best of times
be frequent
and appreciated
and the worst of times be redeemed
as you feel the breath of God
on your life.
God, bless us, every one!


From our chimney to yours, happy Christmas!



*The opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities:
“It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of light,
it was the season of darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair.”