Hill Country Community Theatre looking for best ‘bah-humbugger’

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

COTTONWOOD SHORES — “Bah-humbug,” says the old man dressed in black and with a face scrunched so much his wrinkles create wrinkles. Without even a clue, other than those words, there’s a good — well great —chance you know exactly who mutters them.

And if you’re hankering for a chance to say them yourself in front of a live audience or take the stage as Tiny Tim, you’re in luck because the Hill Country Community Theatre is hosting auditions Sept. 22-23 for the upcoming production of “A Christmas Carol.”

“Though the story and production most people are familiar with has quite a few cast members and characters, we’re really only looking for three women and two men and then either a boy or a girl,” said Mike Rademaekers, the theater’s executive director. The cast feels a bit small when you think of the number of characters in Charles Dickens’ novel, but for this production of “A Christmas Carol,” written by Christopher Schario, it’s just the right fit.

“This is set up a little different than the other ‘A Christmas Carol’ productions most people have seen,” Rademaekers said. “It’s about a child who is unfamiliar with the story of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ but as the child is reading it, the story starts unrolling behind him. Then, eventually, the child becomes a character in the play.

“The playwright really had this vision for telling ‘A Christmas Carol’ in a different way,” he added.

The roles are: Scrooge; actor 1 (a boy or girl) who plays a schoolboy, Dick Wilkins, Tiny Tim and Turkey Boy; actor 2 (male), who plays Bob Cratchit, Marley’s Ghost, Fezziwig and Old Joe; actor 3 (male), who plays Fred, Christmas Present and Peter Cratchit; actor 4 (female), who plays Gentlewoman No. 1, Fan, Mrs. Fezziwig, Belle, Martha and Laundress; and actor 5 (female), who plays Gentlewoman No. 2, Christmas Past, Mrs. Cratchit and Chairwoman.

“Even though this is not a musical, one of the things that ties it all together is the music,” Rademaekers said. “So, we also need a fiddle player.”

Auditions are open to everyone and are 7 p.m. Sept. 22-23 at the Hill Country Community Theatre, 4003 West FM 2147 in Cottonwood Shores. Go to www.thehcct.org or call (830) 693-2474 for more information.

daniel@thepicayune.com