MOUNT VERNON — The story of an elderly miser who grows to become more generous was mirrored by the real-world generosity behind the latest production to grace The Woodward Theater’s stage.
The proceeds from Community Family Players’ “A Christmas Carol,” which ran Dec. 2 through 5, raised funds for The Winter Sanctuary, a seasonal emergency shelter in Mount Vernon. The Winter Sanctuary, a local 501(c)3 nonprofit, provides shelter from Nov. 1 to April 1 each year and can accommodate up to 18 men and 12 women in separate sleeping quarters.
The partnership between Community Family Players and The Winter Sanctuary is the second of its kind, with the first being a previous production of “A Christmas Carol” in 2019. Although the official count of funds raised has not yet been confirmed, board president of the Winter Sanctuary Dave Perry said the production exceeded fundraising goals based on audience attendance and sponsorships.
The funds this year will go toward the shelter’s continued operations, as well as a potential building campaign to expand the shelter and to fund an executive director position, Perry said. The shelter is currently run by volunteers.
Perry hopes a “A Christmas Carol” becomes The Winter Sanctuary’s signature annual fundraiser.
“Almost every nonprofit in town has their one central fundraiser,” Perry said. “The Chamber of Commerce has their annual dinner, the YMCA has their golf outing… So we would love for (the community) to start thinking that ‘A Christmas Carol’ is going to be put on by the Winter Sanctuary as a fundraiser every year.”
“A Christmas Carol” director Scott Elliott, who also serves on The Winter Sanctuary’s board, said he hopes the fundraiser continues for years to come as well. Elliott had suggested using his directing abilities as a fundraising mechanism during a board meeting some years ago.
“I’ve done a lot of these plays, but I’ve never done it as a fundraiser for a separate entity,” Elliott said. “Usually I just make enough money to do the show again the next time, but I thought, you know, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the story is so beautiful and it’s about helping those on the margins that are in most need.”
Elliott, a pastor at Mount Vernon First Congregational Church, had three goals for his latest production: connect youth to the performing arts, provide a large dose of Christmas spirit and fundraise for the Winter Sanctuary.
“It’s really cool to feel this sense of we’re not just doing this to put on a play,” Elliott said. “We’re doing it to put on a play plus help the community. It’s beautiful.”
Elliott said 16 youth performed and the adult actors served as mentors throughout the six weeks of rehearsal, three days a week for three hours each day.
Rather than rehashing the well-known play, the recent “A Christmas Carol” in Mount Vernon included notable changes to the script made by Elliott.
Elliott added the character of Charles Dickens, the playwright, into the play itself, specifically after he found out the play would be performed at The Woodward.
“I thought ‘Oh man, Dickens, because it was built in his era,'” Elliott said. “It just seemed like the right thing to do, so I ended up up making Dickens come back to life.”
Another notable change involved gender.
“I’ve been in theater for like 50 years and I thought ‘It’s kind of unfair that women can’t play some of the really cool, big parts,’” Elliott said.
Elliott decided to make some of the largest roles female characters, including Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Cate Blair-Wilhelm) and Scrooge’s deceased business partner Jacob Marley (played by Courtney DeCosky).
Blair-Wilhelm came to the recent “A Christmas Carol” production with approximately 40 years of theater experience, including performances at Mansfield Playhouse and in Columbus. While she always enjoys having a rapport with other actors on stage — specifically mentioning her work with DeCosky — some of her favorite moments from “A Christmas Carol” were when she was able to take on a more observational role.
“I just love all of my scenes with the ghosts, and I get the biggest kick out of that,” Blair-Wilhelm said. “Because, basically, when I’m with the ghosts and they are showing me the stages of my life, I basically just get to watch the show with everybody else.”
The production was the first time lifelong Mount Vernon resident Blair-Wilhelm performed on The Woodward stage, however it was far from her first time in the Woodward. She volunteered at the Woodward for about a decade giving tours and sharing its rich history before the completion of the theater’s restoration in 2019.
“A Christmas Carol” was also one of the first productions there since the restoration completion and subsequent shutdowns related to COVID-19. In 2019, the play ran at Knox Memorial Theatre, and the production was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Before the past weekend, Blair-Wilhelm had not performed since the onset of the pandemic.
“I thought it might seem a little strange after such a long absence,” she said, “but I just fell right back into it.”
Her main challenge involved adapting to wearing a mask during rehearsals, she said.
“That was challenging, to prepare for a show while wearing a mask,” she said. “It’s very difficult to act with half of your face covered.”
Elliott echoed these challenges, particularly noting that masks made it difficult for actors to project their voices and to feed off facial expressions. Community Family Players worked closely with Knox Public Health to establish protocols, Elliott said, which included wearing masks during rehearsals up until the final days.
“I also staged so that most of the folks were facing outwards, so that they were speaking — what they were saying — was more likely not into somebody’s face,” Elliott said.
Masks also posed challenges when it came to makeup, particularly the makeup for Marley’s character, said the costume designer for the production Amber Keener.
Marley, played by DeCosky, wears full-face makeup to mimic a ghostly appearance.
Keener also said Marly’s costume design was the most challenging.
“Obviously it’s such a poignant moment in the show,” Keener said of Marley’s scene, “and getting to do (DeCosky’s) hair and makeup, and having the whole thing come together.
“It was a complicated piece because I had to invent certain portions of it, and a lot of these pieces were made for that specific actor — the cut, the design, everything.”
Keener, who is also a member of city council, began taking measurements and designing for “A Christmas Carol” over the summer, sometimes having to squeeze in measurements for people at First Fridays, she said.
“When I do a show I really first look at color and the story that the color is going to tell through the show,” Keener said. “One of the main pieces (for A Christmas Carol) was charity is purple, and you see that tying through the show in a really subtle way.”
“A Christmas Carol” was Keener’s first time costuming for Community Family Players, and she said the philanthropic purpose behind the latest production made the experience particularly special.
“You can feel in this cast, they’re interested in supporting the cause,” Keener said.
Guests of The Winter Sanctuary were also provided tickets to the production. A forthcoming strategic plan will more specifically detail how the funds raised by the production will be used, Winter Sanctuary board president Perry said.
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