Echoes

“Scrooge was not a man to be frightened by echoes.”

--Charles Dickens

Who doesn’t love some Dickens at this time of year? It’s cold, we have snow on the ground, and Christmas is just around the corner. As it happens, you can see a local production of A Christmas Carol right here in town this weekend (if it’s not sold out!) For me, it’s an echo of last year, because I was lucky enough to be asked to take part in it again. Same roles, which is good, because that way it’s not going to be as hard to memorize where to stand, when to come in and when to exit etc. It’s a theatrical reading, which means the actors all have scripts, but it’s produced in the front room of the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, so you have to watch where you step or you could ruin some priceless artifact. Or fall on your face in front of people, neither of which would be entertaining.

I was scared to death last year, since I’d never done anything like this. Never mind that there is an audience, that wasn’t the scariest part for me. It was everything else. There were long skirts, candles and a huge staircase. Ask anyone who knows me, that is the perfect storm to send me and my bonnet right to the ER. Last year it was all about being new at this whole business of theater and history. This year, it’s a little less daunting.

On the first night of rehearsals it was great to see other cast members showing back up too, and meeting new actors. Working together was easier and I knew more about taking the right kinds of notes on where to stand and what to do. In bold letters highlighted with neon colors, I have my entrances and exits down. There may have been a near miss last year of going on when I wasn’t on, but a fellow actor was kind enough to yank me back at the last minute. At the time, I thought “I’ll never work in this town again!” Oh, the drama! While it’s still been hectic, the stress of last year is now replaced with joy at getting to do something that I had no idea would be so much fun.

I wouldn’t be a proper English major if I didn’t draw some symbolism from Scrooge getting a second chance and this past year being a re-boot for me as well. The echoes of this past year don’t scare me. It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure, but isn’t that better than the same old, same old? Maybe that’s why Scrooge was so bitter for all those years? He couldn’t deviate from his one goal, making money, so as to never be poor again. He need three ghosts and bad trip to see that shaking things up is good. We all need to pop the bubble and get out our comfort zone.

This time last year I didn’t have a job, I was delivering food part time to earn some cash, and I had no idea where my career was going. Certainly not into acting, and that’s OK, because it did eventually take off again. And so it goes, right? Change is the only constant, really. We’ve all had to reboot and go in a different direction a few times. It would be kind of boring if we just plodded along and never veered off the same path. Here’s to new ideas, new jobs, new experiences. It’s gonna be awesome. Oh, and come see A Christmas Carol, I promise, it’s really good! Performances are Friday 12/13 at 8pm and Saturday 12/14 at 3pm and 8pm. Bless us, everyone!