We are nearing the end of our second full week of rehearsals for A Christmas Carol, and I am shocked by how sore I am. One would think that this fairly traditional, somewhat conservative piece of holiday foolery would be a light-hearted release from the daily grind. Not so. I have spent the last three days doing more sweating, stretching and heavy breathing than I care to share. Let’s just say that I’m going to be in swim-suit shape by the middle of December. We have been practicing lifts, improvising with modern dance moves and literally swinging each other off our feet, both in fantastical dream-like sequences and in our dance numbers. The kids and young teens have been doing a marvelous job, and it is all the adults can do to keep up with them.

I am astounded by the level of professional ethic some of the young ones put into their rehearsals. They always have pencils ready to mark down blocking, hands shoot up into the air if there is the slightest doubt about an entrance, and the endless sense of play and ease of make-believe are causing some jealousy on my part. I never really got involved in theatre until high school, and even then I think I knew less about stage directions and sight-reading music than these young actors. I hope they enjoy hanging out with us as much as we hang out with them.

Check out these videos Megan took at rehearsal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMfo__BjBTM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUxv230pAZs

You can catch Megan on stage in A Christmas Carol as Belle/Katherine/Charwoman beginning November 25.