Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brit Johnson 510.517.2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brit Johnson
510.517.2011/ [email protected]
Reviewer's Comp Tickets Contact: Holly Winter
510.524.9012/[email protected]
Contra Costa Civic Theatre presents
Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales
November 22-December 15
Exciting new adaption features live actors, puppets of numerous styles and sizes,
and holiday tunes to delight the entire family
Tickets on sale now; call 510.524.9132 or visit www.ccct.org
El Cerrito, CA—Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) continues its 54th season with the magical
A Child's Christmas in Wales, just in time for the holiday season. Adapted from the classic
prose work by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and adapted for the stage by Jeremy Brooks and
Adrian Mitchell, this magical production will be directed by Chicago-based director Jack
Phillips, with music direction by Scarlett Hepworth, and puppets created by former CCCT
artist Patrick Treadway. The production plays at CCCT from November 22 through
December 15.
Phillips, who trained with the legendary Julie Taymor in her pre-Lion King days, has conceived
a production in which the grown Dylan Thomas’ boyhood memories of Christmas come to
unforgettable life. Human actors interact with numerous styles of puppets playing characters
ranging from a 9-foot-tall policeman to a swooping arctic snow cat, to the village fire department,
as Thomas recalls that special time when “I can never remember whether it snowed for six days
and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I
was six.”
“I especially enjoy works that are poetic in nature,” says director Phillips. “Our goal here is to
give the audiences a visual richness that enhances the verbal richness of Thomas’ great
language. Although not a puppet show by an means, this unique production will use many visual
techniques, including three-quarter human sized puppets, kite puppets, and shadow puppets, to
help illustrate the magic and mysticism of Thomas' childhood memories.”
The cast of A Child’s Christmas in Wales includes Mark Frazier as the poet Dylan Thomas;
others in the cast are Laurel Bishop, Alexaendria Bond, Aidan Cooney, Jordyn Foley, Katie
Francis, Richard Friedlander, Loretta Janca, Alexis Lane Jensen, Miranda Korry, Jay
Krohnengold, Holly Larsen, Max Minton, Julia Norton, Ken Ray, Ben Rotenberg, and Will
Reicher.
The creative team for A Child’s Christmas in Wales includes Peter Hardie (sets), Lisa Danz
(costumes), David Lam (lights), and John Challenor (stage manager).
Jack Phillips (Director) has been a working professional actor and director for over thirty years.
He received his MFA from the Acting/Directing Division of the Yale School of Drama where he
was the John Schubert Memorial Scholar in Directing. Jack has directed nearly 200 productions
in professional and community theatres from Belgrade to Los Angeles. As an instructor, Jack
has taught for Harvard University, Gonzaga University, the Leslie University Graduate School of
Education and the A.R.T. Institute of Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard where he was the
first Chair. He is currently a free-lance director in Chicago.
A Child's Christmas in Wales runs November 22 through December 15; Fridays and
Saturdays at 8pm, Sunday matinées at 2pm. Tickets are $20, $11 for ages 16 and under and
may be purchased online at www.ccct.org or by phone at 510-524-9132. CCCT is located at 951
Pomona Avenue (at Moeser Lane) in El Cerrito, with free parking in the adjoining lot. Group rate
is available for parties of ten or larger.
Photos and interviews with the director and cast are available upon request.
ABOUT CONTRA COSTA CIVIC THEATRE
Contra Costa Civic Theatre, established in 1959 by Louis and Bettianne Flynn and a group of
dedicated volunteers, is a non-profit community theatre with its permanent home in El Cerrito,
CA. Our mission is to provide affordable, high quality entertainment to residents throughout the
East Bay and provide training in performing arts for children and adults. We are proud to be an
independent, self-sufficient organization presenting five Main Stage and thirteen youth
productions annually in our intimate two hundred seat theatre.
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