A Christmas Carol is deeply embedded in the culture at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco’s premiere Tony Award–winning theater company. A.C.T. has been producing one version or another of Carol since 1976. We have seen a plethora of Scrooges on our stage, of Tiny Tims, of Ghosts teaching Scrooge—and the audience—the true meaning of the holidays. For decades of young theatergoers, A Christmas Carol has been their first experience of live theater.
This year marks the first year of our new version of the Dickens show: A Whynot Christmas Carol, commissioned by A.C.T. and written by Obie Award winner Craig Lucas, in close collaboration with A.C.T.’s artistic director, Tony Award–winning Pam MacKinnon, who is also directing the world premiere.
We sat down for an interview with Pam, scenic and costume design David Zinn, and puppet designer Amanda Villalobos, to talk about the story of Scrooge.
“I love the story,” says Zinn. “I find it really moving, and I love the fact that we’ve been telling it to ourselves for 150 years with mixed results.” Amanda adds, “With what Craig [Lucas] has written and the plan for this piece, it's exciting to me to dream up what the puppets are.”
The use of puppets in A Whynot Christmas Carol serves a few different purposes. An audience’s response to a child is often different from their response to a puppet. A puppet can be more representative and abstract than a child can be, even in elaborate costumes and makeup. And the shared operation of a puppet can contribute to the most truthful storytelling of all: as Pam says, “I foresee moments of one person activating the Ghost of Christmas Future’s arm, and then handing that off to someone else. I love the idea that everyone touches a part of Christmas Future as they all continue Scrooge's nightmare together.”
That sense of community is key to this production. Amanda says, “I was just thinking about all the shows that have happened at A.C.T. You go into the Toni Rembe Theater and you can feel the shows and the people that have been there.” Zinn adds, “We go to the theater not only to commune with the people in the audience with us, but with the story, and with the history of the story, and with the act of storytelling.”
A Whynot Christmas Carol is about Ebenezer Scrooge, yes, but it’s also about the community of Whynot theatermakers, and the way they come together each holiday season to put up this story. As Pam says, “It’s a ritual to make and share, but also an opportunity for change. As they rehearse the Dickens and build their play together, they realize that they, like Scrooge, need to listen better to one another, set aside preconceptions, and truly engage with their community.”
It's a good reminder for all of us.
This holiday season, experience A Whynot Christmas Carol at A.C.T., starting Nov 26. Learn more at act-sf.org.
Contact info:
American Conservatory Theater
act-sf.org
415.749.2228 (box office)
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