Sarah Dube
FSC is taking on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” as their third and final show for the fall semester.
As the first musical of this school year, “A Christmas Carol” has presented some unique challenges. Traditionally, the production is not performed as a musical. Director Jim Beck, along with the help of musical director David Foust, adapted classic Christmas carols and implemented them into the show.
Senior Nic Jankowski has been involved in multiple musicals during his time at FSC and will be returning to the stage to portray the role of Bob Cratchit. His large involvement with the production has given him an up-close perspective with the unique process.
“The most unique thing about our production of A Christmas Carol is that the theatre faculty at FSC adapted it into a musical by using a combination of Christmas carols,” Jankowski said “Finding ways to incorporate timeless Christmas carols into the story has been a fun and interesting challenge that the cast and director have worked together on throughout the entire rehearsal process.”
With the added musical element, “A Christmas Carol” has encountered several new challenges. Dance rehearsals with choreographer Scott Cook have been held solely over Zoom.
“With the 6-foot safety mandate we try to uphold, we’ve had to spend lots of time getting creative with the choreography to keep it interesting yet safe,” Jankowski said. “Singing has also been a challenge. It’s difficult enough to project your voice in a mask, but singing adds a whole new level of troubles. Fortunately, we have found ways to work with both issues in ways that won’t hinder the enjoyment of the show.”
Sophomore Zachary Covell has become very familiar with the FSC stage and will be making another appearance in this show as the ghost of Jacob Marley. Having been involved in multiple productions this semester, both Covell and Jankowski have had a front row seat to the adaptations that have come this semester.
“With ‘As You Like It,’ we were a much smaller cast and only had to rely on staging rather than interesting and unique choreography,” Jankowski said. “Because of that, it was much, much simpler to keep good social distancing while telling the story.”
This semester has challenged FSC in so many ways, but the theater department staff and students have found ways to keep their department going.
“Theater right now is so strange, but so is life right now,” Covell said. “Overall, I’m just happy to be involved and to still be able to perform.”
“A Christmas Carol” can be streamed on FSC Theater’s YouTube channel Nov. 21 and 22, or the encore performances on Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 pm.
