Two
dramatic reading
performances of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" will be presented
in the style of the Victorian era on Friday, December 12th in Natick
and
Saturday, December 13th in Sudbury. Al LePage will perform as
"Englishman Thomas Hutchinson, Amateur Thespian" complete with English
accent, clothing of the Victorian period and other accoutrements.
A full
2-hour performance happens on Saturday, December 13th at 7PM using
Dickens
original historic public reading version at the Martha-Mary Chapel,
located on the grounds of the historic Wayside Inn along Route 20 in
Sudbury. An abbreviated performance of less than 1 hour, will
take place as an afternoon matinee on December 12th at 2 PM at the
Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central Street in Natick.
Doors open thirty minutes before each performance and both shows are
best
appreciated by adults and mature children 10 years of age and up.
Admission is free for the abbreviated matinee at the Morse Institute
Library, but any and all donations of funds or food will be gladly
accepted to benefit A Place to Turn, a non-profit food pantry program
in
Natick. Admission for the full evening performance in Sudbury are
$10 per
person with funds to benefit both non-profit organizations,
Longfellows Wayside Inn and A Place to Turn. Tickets for the
evening
performance at Martha-Mary Chapel may be
purchased at the door, but seating is limited so it's recommended you
reserve ahead by calling the Wayside Inn at 978/443-1776.
"History
and Christmas,"
begins Al LePage, performing artist of Great Stories Alive, "now,
there's two great stories! First a story in fact that could have
been told when Longfellow himself was around. A simple
but great story, too, from the very pen of Charles Dickens.
But, there's also the story written by those who
have celebrated Christmas since New England separated from Olde England
in 1776. So,
get ready for a double feature when I not only bring 'A Christmas
Carol' to life, but invite you back home to the year 1866."
LePage's
mission of both
"playing to -- and with -- audience members to bring history alive"
will quickly become evident when you first encounter him before the
performance. His love of improvisation combined with a highly
interactive approach means that he may not only engage you in
conversation, but also actually encourage you to join him on stage at
some point! In fact, watch out! Since he's playful, likes
to experiment and believes in seizing the moment, even he doesn't
always know what's going to happen. This not only helps makes
each performance unique, but also keeps it fresh and exciting. As
Shakespeare wrote, ". . . one man in his time plays many parts . . ."
and LePage's creative use of voice should shine through as he creates
all 26 characters, both male and female, all within the span of about
two hours. Yes, all the world's a stage, and all the men and
women merely players. So come, and play along with Al
LePage. He'll begin by taking you back to New England in the year
1866, introduce "himself" in character as "Englishmen Thomas
Hutchinson, Amateur Thespian", and then bring you both to laughter, and
hopefully some tears, during his dramatic reading of Charles Dickens 'A
Christmas Carol'.'"
"Bringing history to life by portraying a person from past," begins
LePage, "is a very powerful way to engage people, and connect them with
the history of where they live or visit. Great stories can make
people more aware of the reality that surrounds them, and connect them
with others and within themselves for greater understanding and
compassion. Live drama can bring these great stories to life in a way
that provides both entertainment and insight. And sure, I'm
performing but it's really more than that for me. I'm really
preaching, it's like being able to give one of the best sermons I've
ever heard in my life, over and over again! I'm on fire! It
feels so meaningful. Hence it truly is a performance with passion and
purpose. And other very important purposes include increasing
awareness of hunger and benefit A Place to Turn, an emergency food
pantry in Natick serving area residents, plus benefit the Wayside Inn
in its efforts as a non-profit to preserve history itself."
"A Place To Turn has never been busier," notes its director, Joanne
Barry, "and the number of families served in 2008 is up by ten
percent. Hunger persists as a problem in MetroWest, and with the
rise of housing costs; food, medicine prices, etc., more people than
ever are relying on emergency food pantries. The high cost of
living in this area places a tremendous burden on them. We offer
critical hunger relief in an area where one child in five faces
hunger. Yes, with the help of a caring community, we are
positively affecting the lives of the people we serve."
A Place To Turn is committed to providing emergency food and clothing
to our neighbors as an important resource for needy families in the
Metrowest area serving over 7,000 people in 2007. A full 23% of
those assisted this year had never been to the food pantry in the
past. Open Monday through Thursday, and Wednesday evenings, the
organization provides emergency food assistance and ongoing support as
needed. It works in partnership with the community, where
families and individuals unable to meet their basic needs are referred
by a network of social service agencies, health care providers, schools
and clergy. Also, to establish need, the referral source assesses
the presenting concerns and may also offer additional assistance to
address the underlying reasons for a food pantry referral. At the
pantry, the staff works with individuals and families to clarify needs
and collect necessary data, with overall operations involving part-time
staff being assisted by close to forty volunteers. In addition to
sorting and the distribution of food to clients at the pantry,
volunteers purchase items at local markets at sale prices and at
volumes significant to the pantry. Staff also realize an
important measurement outcome and goal -- being able to focus on
implementing their mission in an atmosphere of caring and mutual
respect -- based on client and volunteer surveys and other feedback
from clients. A Place to turn serves 25 cities and towns in
Metrowest, but the majority of clients come from Framingham, Marlboro,
Natick, and Ashland.
"Given the themes of personal transformation and
charity in Dickens 'A Christmas Carol,'" notes LePage, "it makes a lot
of sense to donate my time and talents to benefit local area
non-profits and
the work they do through dramatic
readings of this particular story. On a very personal note I
became especially sensitive to the plight of those who are hungry, when
as a young man through no fault of my own, myself and other teachers
all lost their jobs mid-year when the private school we taught at
suddenly closed.. And, given my sparse resources at the time,
when faced with the choice of either paying my bills or eating, well,
let's just say I got pretty hungry at times. Also, since I grew
up in Framingham, I had many occassions both from my childhood and as a
young man, to visit and enjoy the Wayside Inn over the years, and
supporting its preservation in this way is a great way to give
back. Finally, all involved, from
volunteers
to my hosts, both the Wayside Inn and the Morse Institute Library,
from my performances to those who buy the tickets to see them, we all
become the story
of A
Christmas
Carol. In essence, everyone's donation, whether of time, money or
food, will bring the message of generosity and hope alive and, to
update
an old phrase, with good will towards men, women and children, too."
Great Stories Alive !