I’m So Excited to be in the Cast of A Christmas Carol Again

Posted by Caroline Heffernan (Child in Doorway/Emily Cratchit/Want)

I became interested in A Christmas Carol because I watched my brother, Matthew, play the role of the Turkey boy in 2005 and 2007. He loved it and encouraged me to try out in 2008. In 2008 I went to the open call and was called back a couple of days later. I found out that I would be playing the role of Emily Cratchit and my brother would be playing the role of Peter Cratchit. So it turned out that I would be in the Cratchit family with someone in my OWN family!

This year I tried out again and was told a few days later I would be in the show again, but with some new cast members. It sounded like a ton of fun. I was very excited again! This year I am playing Child in the Doorway, Emily Cratchit, Want, School Boy and Fezziwig Guest.

My favorite thing about being in the cast of A Christmas Carol is either the Secret Santa exchange or the Dressing Room Wars. Every year for Secret Santa we draw a name out of hat and exchange notes or little gifts such as chocolate with one other cast member. They give hints but we can’t find out who our Secret Santa is until we have the pot luck at the end of the year. We get three guesses and if we don’t guess right, our Secret Santa stands up and tells us who they are. The one rule in this is that a kid can't get another kid.

The Dressing Room Wars is a contest between all the dressing rooms. Each dressing room puts together a skit to perform on a special day near Christmas. There are judges (usually our director, Bill Brown, and a couple of other people) and they select the winning dressing room. They put the name of the winning skit and year on a plaque that has the previous winners on it and hangs on the billboard backstage. Last year for the first time in MANY years, the kids won!

My favorite costumes are the Want and Child in Doorway costumes. I LOVE my other costumes but these are probably the coolest. I love the Want costume because it is so unique and scary. It is very light weight and easy to put on. I like my Child in the Doorway costume because I get to be a boy and no one really knows it's me!

Happy Holidays!
Caroline

Getting Started!

Posted by Mackenzie Wilkin (Belinda Cratchit/Fan)

Hi, my name is Mackenzie Wilkin and I play Belinda Cratchit and Fan in A Christmas Carol. I am nine years old and in the fourth grade.

Before I was in A Christmas Carol at the Goodman, I did lots of shows at my community theater. I was in Peter Pan, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music and Broadway Bound. I love to sing, play the piano and read.

I was inspired to audition for A Christmas Carol because my mom and dad have taken me to lots of shows in Chicago. I thought that it would be really cool to be on the Goodman’s big stage with so many people watching you, so I asked my mom about it. She found the audition for A Christmas Carol online, so I auditioned!

For my first audition I had to prepare a one-minute monologue and sing a Christmas song. I must have done well because I got a “callback,” which meant they wanted to see me again!

For the second audition I had to prepare two pages of the script. I practiced it over and over again with my eight-year-old brother Jack. I had a lot of fun at the audition because I really got to act out the scene.

I'm really excited about being in the cast, and I can’t wait until the performances start!

See you soon,
Mackenzie

An AWESOME First Rehearsal

Posted by John Babbo (Tiny Tim)

Hi, my name is John Babbo, and I am so excited to play the role of Tiny Tim this year in A Christmas Carol! I just turned nine and I am in third grade. In my free time, I really enjoy playing soccer, piano and violin. I had to miss my last three soccer games of the season, but it was totally worth it because I like acting better. (Just kidding, soccer friends!)

The first rehearsal was AWESOME! I met all the cast members and crew and they are really kind! We did a read-through of the script and I could already tell that I was going to have a lot of fun. I thought, Wow, these actors are so talented! They spoke with great British accents and were really in character. After my first rehearsal, I was thrilled and tired—and couldn’t wait to go back the next day!

The rehearsals are so much fun. My favorite scene to rehearse is the Fezziwig scene. This scene is a Christmas Eve party at Fezziwigs’ house when Scrooge was a young man. Scrooge was apprenticed to Fezziwig. I really enjoy this scene because there is so much energy—we dance and dance. Last time, we danced so hard that another cast member, my “mom” in the play, accidentally (or so she says) whacked me in the eye. I have been a good boy ever since...

See you soon!
John