This past weekend the Carterville High School theater department held their annual Fall play, this year’s production was A Dickens Carol. Performances for the public took place on Friday, November 17 and Sunday, November 19 in the Timothy C. Bleyer Auditorium. A Dickens Carol is a twist on the famous story A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. A Dickens Carol takes the story that was presented within Dicken’s original hit, and changes details to involve people from his real life. Famous characters like Scrooge are represented by Dickens, but other characters like the Spirit of Christmases Past, Present, and Future are still seen.
Gabe Herbst, one of the directors, says that he and his co-director, Josh Hall, chose A Dickens Carol this year because “we knew it had been nearly a decade since the high school had done A Christmas Carol, which was a big hit in 2015. In addition, we were looking for a holiday show and something that we could build upon the successes of last year’s production, Clue. A Dickens Carol had been on our list of shows to look at for a few years now, plus with the 180th anniversary of A Christmas Carol being this year, we thought that it would be a perfect opportunity.”
After last year’s success with CLUE, the fall play gained many new cast members. This year the play had a total of 70 members. All ages and grade levels were a part of this show, ages ranged from 5 years old up to 18 years old. With a diverse cast like this, the directors were confident in the ability to get a complex, yet fun show like this done successfully. Senior Gabe Arnold not only participated in the fall play for the first time this year but also starred in it. Arnold played Charles Dickens and described the role as “a true breakout in my artistic career. All jokes aside, it was truly a great experience, and I was so happy to be a part of it. Charles Dickens was so much fun to learn how to play, and I wish I could have been a part of the productions earlier in my high school career.”
With all the new cast members, there was also a need for some new crew members to keep things running backstage. Props are an essential part of this show and keeping it running, and with a cast of this size there was a need for someone to keep all props organized backstage. Freshman Megan Harrell was put in charge by the directors to ensure that all of the props were ready and in place for the actors. Harrell was seen running backstage and placing props in people’s hands to keep the show going. Harrell said, “It was fun to work backstage with all the cast members, but it was a definite challenge to keep everything organized. I did adapt over time, and now that the shows are over I am so excited for next year!”
While there were more new faces than ever before, there were many returning faces. Senior Karalee Faries was head of lighting for the production. She has been a part of the lighting crew for the past four years and finally got the chance to be in charge of all the lighting for the entire show. Faries recalls what it has meant to her to be a part of the lighting crew, Faies said, “It was a great show to end my high school career. I’ve loved being a part of the lighting crew and am so happy with all of the friendships I’ve made over these past years. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.”
The fall play has taken their last bow for the season, while some may be saying goodbye, others are getting ready to say hello. The fall play will continue to be an anticipated event due to its fun yet meaningful stories.
