T'was the Night Before Christmas

Actually, it will be two nights before Christmas. And really more like afternoon.

But semantics aside, I will be participating in a one-night only staged reading of Clement Moore's classic poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which of course is commonly known as "T'was the Night Before Christmas. As usual with me the last few years, I'll be doing this at the Black Box Arts Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

It was all a sort of last minute project. My friend that runs the BBAC was talking with a newer friend of mine who has never directed before, and they concocted this project. It will be my newer friend's directorial debut.

There were no auditions for this, only recruitment, given the time constraint. I was given the choice of being "Pa" or the Narrator, and I chose the latter. With one exception, I'll be the only one speaking during the show; I'll be reading the poem as others act out the scene on the stage next to me. I even have a small cozy nook from which to do my part.

 a small cozy nook from which to do my part.

We'll rehearse this twice before we perform it on Saturday afternoon. Maybe more than that, as we can probably fit in more than one run through a night. The point being, it won't take long to get set.

If you've read this blog before, you know I usually jump at the chance to take part in staged readings. They can never replace regular stage productions, but readings are good for all actors to take part in sometimes, if you ask me. A small helping of the meat of performing, without having as much "green vegetables" of rehearsing, and no memorizing. Less time, less energy, but nearly as much fun as a standard show, if you want it to be.

So hopefully this will be a happy reading for all, and for all a good night. I'll keep you posted this week on how it's going, loyal blog readers.