A Christmas Carol - PCPA Theaterfest

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HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE The Study Guide is a companion piece designed to explore many ideas depicted in the stage production of A Christmas Carol. Although the guide's intent is to enhance the student's theatrical experience, it can also be used as an introduction to the elements of a play (in this case a play with music), and the production elements involved in the play's presentation. Although many students are familiar with the general storyline, this specific stage adaptation presents a wealth of new questions for this generation to answer. The guide has been organized into three major sections: Elements of the story Elements of production Activities Teachers and group leaders will want to select portions of the guide for their specific usage. Discussion questions are meant to provoke a line of thought about a particular topic. The answers to the discussion questions in many instances will initiate the process of exploration and discovery of varied interpretations by everyone involved. This can be as rewarding as the wonderful experience of sight and sound that A Christmas Carol creates on-stage. It is recommended that the Charles Dickens book A Christmas Carol, available in paperback at local libraries or book stores, be used in conjunction with discussion of the play. A PDF of this 80 page book can be downloaded and printed for free at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46 4
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY PLAY SYNOPSIS ACT I The show opens with the Londoners singing carols as they describe the business partnership between Ebenezer Scrooge and the now deceased Jacob Marley in Prologue: First Refrain. We encounter Scrooge bitter, greedy, and cruel in his counting-house on Christmas Eve. His freezing employee, Bob Cratchit diligently works with only one coal for his fire. Scrooge‘s nephew Fred visits him with an invitation to his annual Christmas party. Scrooge cruelly refuses the offer with ‗humbug‘ and protests that marrying for love is the only thing sillier than a Merry Christmas. Two gentlemen request charity donations for the poor, and Scrooge coolly snubs them. Soon after, the Labourers gather around a fire singing Labourer's Carol. That night, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley who is condemned to walk about the earth, fettered with the chains of his cruelties committed in life. Marley warns Scrooge that he too shall be trapped with such a chain and will be forced to carry it without rest forever. Marley tells him, his only chance to avoid this fate, lies in three spirits who will visit him over the next three nights. As Marley disappears, we hear the sounds of tormented spirits warning Scrooge of their agony, Song of the Spirits: Second Refrain. Jacob departs, and as soon as Scrooge begins to sleep, he is disturbed by the bell tolling each hour until it is one. The Ghost of Christmas Past arrives in glowing white light. She takes him on a journey to Scrooge‘s boyhood, (where he lays whiteness) unseen by the shadows of his past. He watches the boys from his childhood running through his school, Melodrame: Schoolboys. The boys each greet their parents as they are released for the holiday vacation in Merry Christmas Round. Finally he looks upon himself as a boy, dissatisfied with Christmas even as a child. Scrooge‘s sister Fan arrives to take young Ebeneezer home with her, and they sing Home at Christmas Tide. The Ghost of Christmas Past then takes Scrooge to another Christmas at the Fezziwig house. Scrooge watches himself as an apprentice celebrate with the entire Fezziwig family. The festivities begin with dancing, and Mr. Fezziwig singing Fezziwig's Carol. The room is filled with singing and dancing, just as Belle arrives, the beautiful young woman with whom Ebenezer is madly in love. Scrooge watches himself as a young man, propose to Belle. The Ghost of Christmas Past then takes him to a time a few years later, when Ebenezer is a young man. Scrooge watches as Belle releases young Ebenezer from his engagement. The spirit then shows Scrooge the woman Belle grew into in Gifts of the Heart. She is married with children and lives happily among them. Scrooge begs to be released from these visions; the three versions of Ebenezer Scrooge appear and the phantoms sing Nightmare: Third Refrain. ACT II Scrooge, asleep in his bed, is awaked by the striking of the bell. He welcomes in the Ghost of Christmas Present who enters on a sleigh with children and the full company singing the Wassail Song. With a touch of his robe, Scrooge is brought to the streets of London where he views people young and old celebrating Christmas Day. The Ghost brings him to the house of Bob Cratchit and his family, which despite its poverty, is filled with love and cheer. The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to the home of his nephew Fred where he and his wife are entertaining guests for the Christmas Holiday. Scrooge is swept up in the festivities and longs to stay, but the Ghost and he leave to visit the Cratchit family where they sing The Toast. Scrooges voices concern over the welfare of Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit‘s youngest boy, who is crippled. The Ghost warns him, that if the present does not change, it is likely that the child will die. He then reveals two children: Want and Ignorance from beneath his robe. The Ghost of Christmas Present warns Scrooge that these children are mankind‘s and that they 5
Page 1 and 2: PCPA Theaterfest Student Matinee Pr
Page 3: A Christmas Carol Cast and Producti
Page 7 and 8: About the Playwright- Richard Helle
Page 9 and 10: About The Play A Christmas Carol wa
Page 11 and 12: ELEMENTS OF THE PRODUCTION From Art
Page 13 and 14: Christmas Present: At The Fezziwig
Page 15 and 16: Finale 15
Page 22 and 23: Social Background of the Play: Vict
Page 24 and 25: Victorian colloquialisms Mid-ninete
Page 26 and 27: (Focus on Performance): Professiona

A Christmas Carol - PCPA Theaterfest

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