A Field Guide

To the Educators, Students, Actors, Directors, Designers, and any Art Advocate

that may find themselves exploring this Field Guide:

Welcome to A Christmas Carol Field Guide presented by The Playhouse San Antonio!

Here at The Playhouse San Antonio our mission is to produce high quality live theatre that inspires,

educates, and entertains audiences of all ages. Our passion is to connect our community to the

world at large by telling stories that reveal the truth of the human experience.

In the spirit of this mission, we offer our audiences the opportunity to continue their experience at

the theater by providing events and interactive resources like this Field Guide. Its purpose can

function in many ways—in the classroom, as a series of activities, a resource to artists, and a

behind the scenes glance into this amazing, venturesome production.

We suggest exploring the guide both before and after attending The Playhouse’s production of A

Christmas Carol running Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. from

December 3– December 21, 2015.

The Playhouse is proud to be hosting an Education Night for students on December 4! Thanks to

the support of Bexar County General Funds, the evening’s tickets are fully underwritten. If you

have any questions or would like to participate in an education night with your school, contact

Trevor Chauvin at tchauvin@theplayhousesa.org.

Thank you and enjoy!

Both of us have deep ties to A Christmas Carol. We've seen just about every film version. We've acted in, directed, and seen many on stages across the country. The task of bringing some-thing original to the table was daunting, but exciting. It didn't take us very long to realize that the fresh approach was to go back to the source material and honor it. A Christmas Carol; A Ghost Story of Christmas, is about one man's reclamation through the examination of his past, present, and future. Scrooge's deeply psychological journey is one we all experience. When we look back at the ghosts of our past, we are Scrooge. When we look at the present moment and see what we should be grateful for, we are Scrooge. When we peer into our future, and wonder what will become of us if we continue down our chosen path, we are Scrooge.

The story is like many of the Christmas carols we sing each year. It is familiar. It takes us back to simpler times in our own lives, and it moves us to share it with our children and grandchildren. This powerful redemption story teaches us that it is never too late to make a difference in someone's life. Our world is, in many corners, as dark a place as Victorian Lon-don. It was true in Dickens' time, and it is true today, that the only way to conquer darkness is with light. We hope that this production will serve as a light for you and your families this Christmas season, that it will inspire you to help those in need, and that you will feel as much joy as we have felt in creating it. God bless us everyone! Tim and Tony

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

1812: Born on February 7 to John

and Elizabeth Dickens.

1830: Dickens meets Maria Beadnell,

his first love interest.

1833: The relationship with Maria

Beadnell ends. A Dinner at Poplar

Walk is published.

1834: Begins using the pseudonym

“Boz“. Meets his future wife,

Catherine Hogarth.

1836: Marries Catherine Hogarth.

1837: The publication of Oliver Twist begins.

1838: Publication of Nicholas Nickleby begins.

1842—1843: A Christmas Carol is published.

1848: Dickens’ sister, Fanny, dies. The Haunted Man, his last Christmas book, is

published.

1849: The publication of David Copperfield begins.

1851: Catherine Dickens suffers a nervous collapse.

1858: Dickens separates from Catherine, his wife.

1859: A Tale of Two Cities is published.

1869: Dickens begins writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

1870: Dickens gives his final public reading. Publication of The Mystery of Edwin

Drood begins. Charles Dickens dies at Gad’s Hill Place on June 9.

Charles Dickens Dreams by Robert William Buss

CHARLES DICKENS TIMELINE

SYNOPSIS Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol opens with the protagonist, miserly businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, working late on Christmas Eve in his London office

when his nephew Fred drops by to invite him to Christmas dinner. Fred’s Christmas greetings—repeated annually, and annually declined—send Scrooge into

a rant against the holiday and those who celebrate it. When Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, quietly applauds Fred’s inspirational defense of Christmas, Scrooge

threatens to fire him. At closing time, Scrooge grudgingly gives Cratchit the next day (Christmas Day) off before heading home to a gloomy structure that

once belonged to his business partner Jacob Marley, who died on Christmas Eve seven years before. As Scrooge enters, he sees Marley’s face on the door

knocker. He rushes inside and goes upstairs to his bedroom, seeing a hearse traveling up the stairs in front of him. In the bedroom, he locks the doors and

sits down to eat. Suddenly, bells begin to ring, the bedroom door flies open, and in walks Marley’s

ghost, bound in a chain made of cash boxes, padlocks, and ledgers. His chain, he informs Scrooge,

was forged link by link over a lifetime of ignoring his responsibilities to others, and he warns that

Scrooge has forged a chain much more substantial than the one he himself is carrying. At one o’clock in

the morning, a childlike spirit with a white tunic appears and introduces itself as the Ghost of

Christmas Past. The spirit takes Scrooge to an institution where he grew up, where they witness

Scrooge’s boyhood friends going home to celebrate Christmas, leaving the young Scrooge behind

with only imaginary friends from books he has read. The spirit then takes Scrooge to a happier Christmas, when his sister Fan, Fred’s mother, came to the

institution to bring Scrooge home. The spirit then transports Scrooge to the Christmas when his fiancé, Belle, left him because of his preoccupation with

wealth and business. Scrooge begs the spirit to take him home, but the spirit shows him one final Christmas seven years before, when Belle’s husband tells

her he saw Scrooge that day, all alone and still working, even with Marley at the point of death. At that, Scrooge returns to his sleep. When the clock strikes

again, Scrooge awakens to find his room decorated in holly and ivy with a roaring fire in the fireplace. A gigantic spirit wearing a green robe trimmed in

white fur, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge on a tour of dingy, soot-covered neighborhoods where, in spite of their poverty, residents are

celebrating Christmas. Scrooge and the spirit soon arrive at the Cratchit house, where the family delights in a Christmas meal far nicer than their usual fare

but still quite meager for the large family. Scrooge is especially moved by the youngest child, Tiny Tim, who is crippled and will soon die, the spirit tells

Scrooge, if nothing changes. Scrooge hears Bob Cratchit offer a toast in Scrooge’s name and discovers the disdain in which the family holds him. The spirit

then takes Scrooge on brief visits to a miner’s home, a lighthouse, and a ship; in each of these lonely settings people are celebrating Christmas. Finally, they

arrive at Fred’s home, where the party guests are discussing Scrooge’s absence. Fred explains that Scrooge’s demeanor brings its own consequences and

expresses his hope that his Christmas invitations may one day soften Scrooge’s bitterness. As they leave, the spirit shows Scrooge a boy and a

girl—Ignorance and Want—sheltered beneath his robe and warns Scrooge of the doom they foretell for humanity. The clock strikes twelve and Scrooge finds

himself in the presence of a phantom shrouded in black, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Eventual-

ly, they go to the Cratchit home and see the family grieving the death of Tiny Tim. Scrooge inquires

about the identity of the dead man, so the spirit takes Scrooge to a cemetery. Scrooge awakens a

changed man and begins making amends for his past. He has a huge turkey sent to the Cratchit house,

makes a large donation to the men who visited him the day before, and calls on Fred to accept his invi-

tation to dinner. The next day, he raises Bob Cratchit’s salary. Eventually, he becomes like a second

father to Tiny Tim, and he is remembered ever after as one who knew how to celebrate Christmas.

(Photos by Siggi Ragnar)

Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost (1901), a short British film that is the earliest surviving screen

adaptation

Scrooge (1913), starring Sir Seymour Hicks and retitled Old Scrooge for its U.S. release in

1926

1940s adaptation starring Basil Rathbone as Scrooge was subsequently issued as a 3-record set by Columbia Records

A 1948 live television adaptation which aired on The Philco Television Playhouse starred Dennis King as Scrooge

A Christmas Carol, broadcast December 25, 1949 as a 30-minute television adaptation, starring Taylor Holmes as Scrooge with Vincent Price as the on-screen narrator

A British television version, with Bransby Williams as Scrooge televised in 1950

It's Never Too Late (1953), Italian adaptation of Dickens's novel, featuring Paolo

Stoppa and Marcello Mastroianni

On December 24, 1953, Theatre Royal, also from the BBC, starred Laurence Olivier in his only recorded performance as Scrooge.

This one was issued on CD in 1992.

Scrooge (1970), a musical film adaptation starring Albert Finney as Scrooge and Alec Guinness as Marley's Ghost

A Christmas Carol (1978–1979), an opera by Thea Musgrave

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), an animated short film featuring the various Walt Disney characters with Scrooge

McDuck playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, and Goofy as Jacob Marley

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), featuring the various Muppet characters,

with Michael Caine as Scrooge, Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, and Miss Piggy as Mrs.

Cratchit

A Christmas Carol (1997), an animated production featuring the voice of Tim Curry as

Scrooge as well as the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, and Ed Asner

A Christmas Carol (2005), a musical film, featuring Kelsey Grammer as Ebenezer Scrooge, Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley, and Jane Krakowski as the Ghost of Christmas Past

A Christmas Carol (2006), a computer animated adaptation featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets in the lead roles

A Christmas Carol (2009), a performance capture film written for the screen, directed

by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts

Epic Rap Battles of History (2010) episode "Donald Trump vs. Ebenezer Scrooge" featuring

Ebenezer Scrooge rap battling The Ghost of Christmas Past (represented by J.P. Morgan), The Ghost of Christmas Present

(represented by Kanye West) and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

PRODUCTION TIMELINE

FOR YOUR CONDERATION

Develop “What If” Stories:

1. What if Scrooge did not meet Marley’s

Ghost? What might have happened to

him?

2. What if Scrooge had been very poor?

3. What if Scrooge did not see his grave?

Try this exercise based on the idea of visiting the Past, Present, and Future. Have students split into Scrooge and Ghost pairs. One student leads the other, who is blindfolded, around the classroom, through the school building, outdoors, etcetera, leading and taking them through various barriers in their way. At the end of this “trust” exercise, have the two students change places and return. Following this exercise, discuss trust and ask students to share their feelings about the experience.

We can use art to express what Scrooge is like and how he feels on the inside. Examine the colors, tex-tures, and shapes of Scrooge. (This may also be done using any of the characters in the play as well as the students themselves.) Create a three-dimensional piece of artwork that expresses Scrooge at the begin-ning of the play and a piece that expresses Scrooge at the end of the play.

Photo By: Siggi Ragnar

Photo By: Siggi Ragnar

Theatre Etiquette 101

Please be on time! Plan to arrive 15 to 20

minutes before the start of the show.

Please remember to turn off your cell

phone or any other devices that might make

any noise or light up during the show.

Please take your seat when you see the lights dim before the show—that is a

signal that the show is about to start!

Please remember that the seats in the theater are for sitting; try to refrain from

kicking, bouncing, standing, or putting your feet on the seats.

Please do not stand or sit in the aisles—many times actors will make

entrances through the audience.

Please remember that live performances may not be recorded; cameras and

video equipment are not permitted in the theater.

Please do not talk during the show—even in a whisper—it is distracting to the

actors and other audience members.

Please dress nicely to attend

theatrical events.

Remember: Enjoy the show!

Special Thanks to

H-E-B Tournament of

Champions!