The Rondout Repertory Theatre Company’s Young Actor Troupe will present dramatic performances of A Christmas Carol at the Unison Arts and Learning Center in New Paltz on Saturday, December 1 at 3 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 2 at 3 p.m. General admission tickets are available at the door for $15, or $10 for ages 12 and under.
Direction and stage adaptation of the Dickens novel are by Liz Burdick and Stephanie Marrinan. Burdick is a fourth-grade teacher at Lenape Elementary School in New Paltz as well as a working director and actress, and Marrinan is artistic and managing director as well as founder of the Rondout Repertory Theatre Company. “I started the Company earlier this year, back in the spring,” says Marrinan, “to provide a sound theatrical education for young actors in Ulster County.”
Currently working as a substitute teacher in Kingston, with a Bachelor’s degree in Theater and a Master’s in Teaching, Marrinan plans to expand the Company next year, offering a junior company for grades five through seven and a senior company for grades eight and up. Burdick will continue an association with the group, teaching acting workshops in April and serving as director for the summer production of Romeo and Juliet. For more information on the tuition-based program of the Rondout Repertory Theatre Company, visit www.rondoutrep.com.
A Christmas Carol will be the second production for the troupe, whose members range in age from 11 to 15. Their first production was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed as part of the free “Shakespeare in the Park” event in Rosendale this past summer. It’s something that they plan to repeat every year, with Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It slated for 2013.
The company has been in rehearsal for A Christmas Carol at Canaltown Alley Arts Center in Rosendale every Saturday since September, says Marrinan, with each of the actors (except for Scrooge) taking on multiple roles. “And the costumes are fantastic,” she adds, crediting costumer Mille Weinman.
A Christmas Carol by Young Actors Troupe of the Rondout Repertory Theatre Company, Saturday, December 1, 3 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 2, 3 p.m., $15/$10 age 12 & under, Unison Arts Center, 68 Mountain Rest Road, New Paltz; (845) 255-1559, https://unisonarts.org or https://rondoutrep.com.
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