Download About Student Matinees

The CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE
At the University of Tennessee
PRESENTS
Adapted By Barbara Field
TEACHERS’ GUIDE
E01-1035-001-01
Teacher’s Guide Researched and Written by Kelsey Broyles, Kim Midkiff and
David Brian Alley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
For the Teachers
Live theatre offers your students an opportunity to experience new ideas, challenge
assumptions, and discover stories and people unknown to them.
It is our hope that this study guide will help you help your students to get the most
out of their experience with CBT’s Season For Youth.
Among the things you will find in this teacher’s guide are:
About CBT Student Matinees…………………………………………………..……3
CBT Production: Preview………………………………………………………..….4
CBT Production: Director Notes.……………………………………………..…….6
Preface of Dickens’ book (original publication)………………………………..……7
Characters in the Play…………………………………………………………..……8
A Perspective on Dickens’ Life/Context for A Christmas Carol…………...…….....9
Summary………… …………………………………………………….………….10
Stave One: Marley’s Ghost Commentary…..……………………………………….11
Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits Commentary…………………………… 12
Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits Commentary………………….….... 13
Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits Commentary.………………………………...... 15
Stave Five: The End of It Commentary……………………………………...……. 15
Iconic Images and Quotes…………………………………………………………...17
Study Questions……………………………………………………………………..21
For Students to Think and Write About…………………………………………..... 22
Suggested Theatre Vocabulary……………………………………………………....23
Discussion Questions about the Theatre……………………………………….…….24
About the Clarence Brown Theatre………………………………………………….25
We look forward to seeing you and
your students at the theatre.
2
About Student Matinees
The Matinees will begin at 9:30 am on December 3, 4, 13, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in the
Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
We ask that you arrive at the theatre by 9:00 a.m. so that students may be seated in an
orderly and timely manner.
Student audiences are often the most rewarding audiences that an acting ensemble can
face. We want every performance to be a positive experience for both audience and cast,
and we ask you to familiarize your students with the theatre etiquette that follows:
The performers need the audience’s full attention and focus. Remember that the
performers are there in the auditorium with you, trying to perform. Performances require
an audience to think inwardly, not to share your thoughts aloud. Conversation (even in
whispers) carries easily to others in the audience and to the actors on the stage. It can be
disruptive and distracting.
There is no food allowed in the theatre: soda, candy, gum, and all other snacks. Wrappers
make noise and are distracting. Please keep these items on the bus or throw them away
before you enter the auditorium. There are no backpacks allowed in the theatre.
Pagers, watch alarms and other electronic devices should be turned off before the
performance begins. When watch alarms, cell phones and pagers go off it is very
distracting for the actors and the audience.
Attending a live performance is a time for you to reflect and allow yourself to get
wrapped up in the experience. As theatre artists we approach our audiences with respect
and expect the same in return.
What to bring to the
Theatre —
Curiosity
Imagination
Respect for others
An open mind
What to leave behind —
Food and conversation
Cell phones, pagers, noise-makers, etc.
Backpacks
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PREVIEW
Clarence Brown Theatre's A CHRISTMAS CAROL
to Open 11/27
by BWW (Broadway World) News Desk
November 5, 2013
The Clarence Brown Theatre holiday tradition of the timeless Dickens
classic "A Christmas Carol" returns November 27 through December 22 on the
Clarence Brown Theatre mainstage.
This year's production features an enhanced set, more
music and will include an intermission. Also new this year will be a special photo
opportunity and sweet treat concessions for young and old alike.
The production is sponsored by mainstage series sponsor, Schaad
Companies and also Pilot Flying J, Rotary Club of Knoxville, the Arts & Culture
Alliance, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Arts and Heritage Fund. Hotel
support is provided by the Hilton Garden Inn. Media sponsors are WBIR,
Comcast, WUOT, WUTK, Knoxville News Sentinel, East TN PBS, and B97.5.
"A Christmas Carol" is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, whose ghostly
journey and transformation through Christmas past, present and future is among
the most beloved stories in western literature. Described by Dickens as his "little
Christmas Book," "A Christmas Carol" was first published in December 1843. The
story was instantly successful, selling over 6,000 copies in one week. It has since
been republished countless times and adapted for stage and screen. It remains one
of literatures' most enduring and often-quoted stories of hope, triumph, and
communal spirit.
Director Casey Sams is an Associate Professor at UT where she works in
both the Graduate and Undergraduate programs teaching Movement and Acting.
Casey's other CBT credits include: "Sweeney Todd," "On the Razzle," and
"Tommy." She also has directed, choreographed or served as movement coach at
such theatres as The Round House Theatre (DC), The Utah Shakespearean
Festival, PlayMakers Rep (Chapel Hill), North Carolina Stage Company
(Asheville), Virginia Stage Company (Norfolk), Knoxville Opera Company, and
Vermont Stage Company (Burlington). "What excites me about "A Christmas
Carol" and one of the areas we will be focusing on is the real sense that Scrooge is
going on an individual journey...that it's his trip from being closed off and isolated
from the world around him to a place where he can see and share in the beauty,
generosity, and joy that is around him," Sams said.
Rachel Schlafer-Parton (Musical Director) from Luttrell, TN is best known
for her performance on the syringe on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home
Companion." She also performed at the National Gallery of Art, Strathmore Music
Center, Bonnaroo, and the Bluebird Café. Locally she has performed with Farr
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Horizons, Knoxville Early Music Project, InterAct Children's Theatre for the Deaf,
Hudson K, and The Band of Humans. Her CBT credits include: "A Christmas
Carol" and "The Story of Opal."
The production features professional actors and resident artists, UT Theatre
faculty, UT graduate and undergraduate student actors, and actors from greater
Knoxville. Again, performing the role of Scrooge is visiting guest actor David
Kortemeier. Some CBT credits include: "Sweeney Todd," "Moonlight &
Magnolias," "The Music Man," "Man of La Mancha," "Amadeus," "Oedipus the
King," "Little Shop of Horrors," and "Love's Labour's Lost." His work also has
been seen at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival
in Cleveland, Drury Lane Theatre and Noble Fool Theatricals in Chicago and
thirteen seasons with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington. He holds
an MFA in Acting from the University of Louisville.
UT Theater faculty member Katy Wolfe Zahn will perform the role of
Christmas Past. Resident artists David Brian Alley will play Jacob Marley and
Neil Friedman will play Christmas Present and Mr. Fezziwig.
UT Theater graduate actors include: Micah-Shane Brewer (Bob
Cratchit/Ensemble); Johanna Dunphy (Belle/Mrs. Fred/Ensemble); Angela
Graham (Mrs. Cratchit/Ensemble); StuArt Matthews (Schoolmaster/Priest/
Topper/Undertaker); Corey O'Brien Pniewski (Fred/Ensemble); Laura Sebastian
(Mrs. Grigsby/Mrs. Fezziwig/Ensemble); and Tramell Tillman
(Soloist/Musician/Ensemble).
Undergraduate students include: Dani Disotelle (Petunia/Ensemble); Kolt
Free (Dick Wilkins/Ensemble); Robert Parker (Boy Scrooge/Peter
Cratchit/Ensemble); Hannah Jones (Martha Cratchit/Ensemble), Eric Sorrels
(Young Ebenezer/Ensemble); Juliet Bethel Stuphin (Fan/Sophia/Ensemble); and
Emerald Wright (Dorthea).
Community actors include: Cian Owen Bell (Boy Caroler, Boy Ebenezer,
Tom Cratchit, Ignorance, Turkey Boy and Ensemble); Kate Cimino (Belinda
Cratchit, Ensemble); Isabella Coyne (Mary Cratchit); Eason Bullard (Tiny Tim,
Ensemble); Ted Kitterman (Fiddler/Ensemble); Amelia Payne (Mary
Cratchit/Ensemble); and Shelton Tison (Tiny Tim/Ensemble).
The creative team for this production includes: Melissa Caldwell-Weddig
(Costume Coordinator); Catherine Marie Girardi (Lighting Designer);
Joe Payne (Sound and Projection/Media Designer); and Christopher Pickart
(Scenic Designer).
© 2013 Copyright Wisdom Digital Media. All Rights reserved.
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DIRECTOR’S NOTES
From Director Casey Sams
In my family we have a Christmas morning tradition where all the family members line
up at the top of the stairs, oldest to youngest, and sing “Jingle Bells” as we descend, the
children peering around the bigger bodies to see if Santa Claus came. As a child I
thought it was incredibly unfair (I was the youngest,) but it has come to be one of my
favorite parts of the holiday. Every year the line-up changes. The person at the front of
the line varies, depending upon which household is hosting the day. The people in the
middle change as nieces and nephews get married. And most fun of all, the person at the
end of the line changes as new babies are born into the family. That’s the nature of
Traditions – they are repeated year after year, but they are never exactly the same.
And so it is with this year’s production of A Christmas Carol. The grumpy old
man at the front of the line is still the same, but there are many fresh-faced family
members lining up at the top of the Christmas Carol stairs as well. I hope you enjoy
watching us march down the stairs as much as we have enjoyed the marching! To
paraphrase Scrooge’s Nephew, Fred, “We have made this play in homage to Christmas.”
We sincerely hope this production of A Christmas Carol feeds and delights your
Christmas spirit.
A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God Bless Us, Every one!
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DICKENS’ ORIGINAL PREFACE OF
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
PREFACE
I have endeavored in this ghostly little book, to raise
the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my
readers out of humour with themselves, with each
other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt
their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.
Their faithful Friend and Servant,
C.D.
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CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
Ebenezer Scrooge
Bob Cratchit
Fred, Scrooge’s Nephew
Mr. Blakely, a charitable man
Mr. Forrest, his partner
Tiny Tim
Jacob Marley
Mrs. Grigsby
Ghost of Christmas Past
Boy Ebenezer
Fan, his sister
Mr. Queeze, a schoolmaster
Mr. Fezziwig, a business owner
Dick Wilkins
Young Ebenezer
Belle Crawford
Mrs. Fezziwig
Susan, the cook
Ghost of Christmas Present
Peter Cratchit
Tom Cratchit
Mary Cratchit
Mrs. Cratchit
Belinda Cratchit
Martha Cratchit
Cecil
Topper
Mrs. Fred
Dorothea
Edward
Sophia
Grasper, a trader at the exchange
Snarkers, a trader at the exchange
Old Joe
Mrs. Dilber
Undertaker
Nellie
Maid
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A Perspective on Charles Dickens’ Life
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, and spent the first nine years of
his life living in the coastal regions of Kent, a county in southeast England. Dickens'
father, John, was a kind and likable man, but he was financially irresponsible, piling up
tremendous debts throughout his life. When Charles was nine, his father moved his
family moved to London. At twelve, his father was arrested and sent to debtors' prison.
Dickens' mother moved seven of their children into prison with their father but arranged
for Charles to live on his own, working with other child laborers at a hellish job pasting
labels on bottles in a warehouse.
The three months Charles spent apart from his family were severely traumatic for
him. He viewed his job as a miserable trap -- he considered himself too good for it,
stirring the contempt of his fellow workers. After his father was released from prison,
Dickens returned to school, eventually becoming a law clerk. He went on to serve as a
court reporter before taking his place as one of the most popular English novelists of his
time. At age 25, Dickens completed his first novel, The Pickwick Papers, which met with
great success. This started his career as an English literary celebrity, during which he
produced such masterpieces as Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and A Tale of
Two Cities.
Dickens' beloved novella A Christmas Carol was written in 1843, with the
intention of drawing readers' attention to the plight of England's poor. In the tale, Dickens
stealthily combines a description of hardships faced by the poor with a heart-rending,
sentimental celebration of the Christmas season. The calloused character of the miserly
Ebenezer Scrooge, who opens his heart after being confronted by three spirits, remains
one of Dickens' most widely recognized and popular creations.
Seldom considered by critics as one of Dickens' important literary contributions,
the novella is nevertheless warmly admired by readers for its emotional depths, brilliant
narration, and endearing characters. And since the early 20th century, its many stage and
film adaptations have made it one of the most treasured stories of the season.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/context.html
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL SUMMARY
A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house on a frigid
Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money
on heating coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual
Christmas party. Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity.
Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in
response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!"
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling
visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his
unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to
wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same
fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the
wraith disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep.
He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom
with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases
from the curmudgeon's earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school
days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who
leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved,
sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge through
London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family
prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a
courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then zips Scrooge to his
nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the
spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably
older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under
his coat. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes
relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches,
some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of
their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name
of the dead man. After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to
a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the
spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with
all his heart. Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed.
Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to
Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. He sends
a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other
guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats
Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings
with kindness, generosity, and warmth.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/summary.html
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The book is divided into five sections which Dickens labels “Staves” in reference to
the musical notation staff – a Christmas carol, after all, is a song.
Stave One: Marley’s Ghost
Commentary
The opening Stave of A Christmas Carol sets the mood, describes the setting, and
introduces many of the principal characters. It also establishes the novel's allegorical structure.
(Allegory, a type of narrative in which characters and events represent particular
ideas or themes, relies heavily on symbolism. In this case, Scrooge represents greed,
apathy, and all that stands in opposition to the Christmas spirit. Bob personifies those
who suffer under the "Scrooges" of the world--the English poor. Fred serves to
remind readers of the joy and good cheer of the Christmas holiday.)
The opening section also highlights the novel's narrative style--a peculiar and highly Dickensian
blend of wild comedy (note the description of Hamlet a passage that foreshadows the entrance of
the ghosts) and atmospheric horror (the throng of spirits eerily drifting through the fog just
outside Scrooge's window).
Marley’s Ghost
The first Stave centers on the visitation from Marley's ghost, the middle three present the
tales of the three Christmas spirits, and the last concludes the story, showing how Scrooge has
changed from an inflexible curmudgeon to a warm and joyful benefactor. Underlying the
narrative and paralleling the more ostensible theme of moral redemption, lies an incisive political
diatribe. Dickens takes aim at the Poor Laws then governing the underclass of Victorian England.
He exposes the flaws of the unfair system of government that essentially restricts the underclass
to life in prison or in a workhouse. (Dickens' own father served time in debtor's prison.) Dickens'
sympathetic portrayal of Bob Cratchit and his family puts a human face on the lower classes.
Through Scrooge's implicit defense of the Poor Laws (his argument that prisons are the only
"charity" he cares to support), Dickens dismisses the excuses of the indifferent upper class as an
irresponsible, selfish, and cruel defense.
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Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits
Commentary
In the allegory of A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Past represents memory.
The aged appearance of the childlike figure touches on the role of memory as a force that
connects the different stages of a person's life. His glowing head suggests the illuminating power
of the mind. The ghost initiates Scrooge's conversion from anti-Christmas grinch to a poster boy
for the holiday season. Each episode in the montage of scenes shows a younger Scrooge who still
possesses the ability to love, a person who is still in touch with his fellow human beings. As the
visions pass before him, Scrooge watches himself become ever more cold and greedy until the
ultimate scenes. His all-consuming lust for money destroys his love for Belle and completes his
reversion to a venomous recluse. The tour through his memories forces Scrooge to recall the
emotional episodes of his past. This dreamlike series of remembrances brings the otherwise
hardened man to tears. His breakdown and then reconnection with his feelings initiates the
process of melting away Scrooge's cold exterior.
Fezziwig’s Party
An important aspect of A Christmas Carol is its view of Christmas as a joyous,
benevolent holiday. The story promotes values of social responsibility, communal good spirit,
and the joy of giving. Celebrating joy and happiness, A Christmas Carol becomes a fitting
celebration of the spirit of the holiday in that giving is seen as blessed to the giver as well as the
receiver. Dickens first sketches out this joyful perspective at the Fezziwig’s Christmas party,
which includes a feast with much singing and dancing. The religious underpinning of Christmas
is always present in the story's backdrop -- like the church bell that keeps time throughout the tale
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– but Dickens larger purpose is to define a more social conception of the holiday and how its
spirit has meaning to the plight of the poor.
Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits
Commentary
The Ghost of Christmas Present serves as the central symbol of the Christmas ideal—
generosity, goodwill, and celebration. Appearing on a throne made of food, the spirit evokes
thoughts of prosperity, satiety, and merriment. Christmas, in Dickens’ mind, should not bring
about self-denial, renunciation, or emotional withdrawal, rather, Christmas is a time of sharing
one’s riches -- emotional, spiritual, material -- with the community. A feast is a wonderful thing
but only if one has loved ones with whom to share it. In this sense, the Ghost of Christmas
Present also represents empathy. As Scrooge sees the want of his employee Bob Cratchit’s
family, he is also brought to feel their sorrow and material hardships. Still each Cratchit shares
what they have, as little as that may be, and in essence, the celebratory aspects of Christmas that
Dickens promotes are grounded in this generosity.
Ghost of Christmas Present
The scene at Bob Cratchit’s unassuming little abode is pivotal to the development of the
novella. Dickens uses the opportunity to draw a poignant criticism of the unfeeling members of a
disconnected upper class and to present a highly sentimentalized portrait of the lower classes.
This picture is designed to address and undermine Victorian class prejudice and awaken Dickens’
readers to the harsh realities of poverty. In 1843, when A Christmas Carol was written, England
had particularly stringent laws in governing the payment of debts and the condition of penury.
These draconian rules forced many poor people into prisons and provisional workhouses. At the
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same time, many prominent politicians and theorists were attempting to justify these conditions
with arguments designed to de-legitimize the rights of the underclass, a move that further
hindered the ability of the poor to affect the governing of their own society.
Ignorance and Want
Dickens was particularly disgusted with the writings of an economist named Thomas
Robert Malthus, a wealthy man, who argued in his Essay on the Principle of Population (1798)
that population growth would always outpace food supply resulting in unavoidable and
catastrophic poverty and starvation. (His equations, long since debunked, postulate that
population growth will occur according to a geometric sequence, while food supply will grow
according to an arithmetic sequence.) In his pamphlet “The Crisis,” Malthus supported the Poor
Laws and the workhouses, arguing that any man unable to sustain himself had no right to live,
much less participate in the development of society. Dickens alludes to Malthus in Stave One,
when Scrooge echoes the economist’s views on overpopulation in his rebuke of the portly
gentlemen. The Cratchits are Dickens’ defense against this large-scale, purely economic, almost
inhuman mode of thought -- a reminder that England’s poor are all individuals, living beings with
families and lives who could not and should not be swept behind a math equation like some
numerical discrepancy.
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Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits
Commentary
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Within the allegory, the silent, reaper-like figure of the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come
represents the fear of death, which refracts Scrooge's lessons about memory, empathy, and
generosity, insuring his reversion to an open, loving human being. In A Christmas Carol, the fear
of death connotes the anticipation of moral reckoning and the inevitable dispensation of
punishment and reward -- literally the split between heaven and hell. In this way, the Ghost of
Christmas Yet-to-Come briefly interjects a more somber, Christian perspective into the
secularized tale. This serves to remind Scrooge of Jacob Marley's fate, the horrific consequences
of greed and selfishness -- a fate that will doom Scrooge, as well, unless he can change his ways.
Stave Five: The End of It
Commentary
This short closing Stave provides an optimistic and upbeat conclusion to the story,
showing the new Ebenezer Scrooge starting off his new life with a comic display of happiness
and Christmas cheer. It also rounds out the symmetrical structure of the novella, as Scrooge
encounters, in sequence, the same people he treated with cruelty in Stave One. Only this time, the
newly reborn Scrooge sheds his bah-humbugs in favor of warm holiday greetings. He sends a
turkey to the Cratchits and gives Bob a raise, atoning for his previous bitterness toward his clerk
in Stave One. Scrooge also asks Bob to order more heating coals where previously, in Stave One,
15
he forced Bob to suffer in the cold. He apologizes to the portly gentleman he meets on the street
and pledges lavish contributions for his charity, where in Stave One he threw him out of his
counting-house. Scrooge also happily attends Fred's party, where, before the ghostly visits, he had
told Fred that he would see him in hell before coming to the party.
Scrooge and Bob Cratchit
The last comment holds a great deal of significance in Stave Five, as Scrooge has quite
literally escaped hell by going to the party -- or rather, by experiencing the moral conversion that
compels him to look fondly on the holiday gathering. He is quite literally a saved man and the
story of his redemptions ends with a note of extraordinary optimism. The famous last words of
the novel, "God bless us, every one," conveys perfectly the fellow feeling and good cheer to
which Scrooge awakens as his story unfolds and that A Christmas Carol so vehemently
celebrates.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol.html
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ICONIC IMAGES AND QUOTES
When did you first see Ebenezer Scrooge? Was Alistair Sims your first? Or Michael
Cain? Patrick Stewart? Mr. Magoo? You probably know the characters of Dickens’ A
Christmas Carol from the wide range of movies and plays that have been made over the
years – but you may not know how Dicken’s himself described these characters .
Ebenezer Scrooge
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,
Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping,
clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint,
from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret
and self-contained, and solitary as
an oyster. The cold within him
froze his old features, nipped his
pointed nose, shriveled his cheek,
stiffened his gait; made his eyes
read, his thin lips blue’ and spoke out shrewdly in his grating
voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and
his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about
with him; he iced his office in the dog-days’ and didn’t thaw it
one degree at Christmas.”
The Cratchitt family
“Then up rose Mrs Cratchit, Cratchit's wife, dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned
gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence; and
she laid the cloth, assisted by Belinda Cratchit, second of her daughters, also brave in
ribbons; while Master Peter Cratchit plunged a
fork into the saucepan of potatoes, and getting the
corners of his monstrous shirt collar (Bob's private
property, conferred upon his son and heir in
honour of the day) into his mouth, rejoiced to find
himself so gallantly attired, and yearned to show
his linen in the fashionable Parks. And now two
smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in,
screaming that outside the baker's they had smelt
the goose, and known it for their own; and basking
in luxurious thoughts of sage and onion, these
young Cratchits danced about the table, and
exalted Master Peter Cratchit to the skies, while he (not proud, although his collars nearly
choked him) blew the fire, until the slow potatoes bubbling up, knocked loudly at the
saucepan-lid to be let out and peeled.”
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Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim
“So Martha hid herself, and in came little Bob, the father, with at least
three feet of comforter exclusive of the fringe, hanging down before him;
and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed, to look seasonable; and
Tiny Tim upon his shoulder. Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch, and
had his limbs supported by an iron frame.”
The Ghost of Jacob Marley
“The same face: the very same. Marley in his
pigtail, usual waistcoat, tights and boots; the
tassels on the latter bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat-skirts,
and the hair upon his head. The chain he drew was clasped
about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail;
and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cashboxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses
wrought in steel. His body was transparent, so that Scrooge,
observing him, and looking through his waistcoat, could see the
two buttons on his coat behind.
Scrooge had often heard it said that
Marley had no bowels, but he had never
believed it until now.
No, nor did he believe it even now.
Though he looked the phantom through
and through, and saw it standing before
him; though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes; and
marked the very texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head
and chin, which wrapper he had not observed before: he was still
incredulous, and fought against his senses.”
The Ghost of Christmas Past
“It was a strange figure -- like a child: yet not so like a child as like an
old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him
the appearance of having receded from the view, and being
diminished to a child's proportions. Its hair, which hung about its neck
and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a
wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was
on the skin. The arms were very long and
muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold
were of uncommon strength. Its legs and
feet, most delicately formed, were, like
those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic
of the purest white, and round its waist was
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bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green
holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem, had its dress
trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown
of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which
was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a
cap, which it now held under its arm.”
The Ghost of Christmas Present
“Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese,
game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat,
sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages,
mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of
oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked
apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears,
immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls
of punch, that made the chamber dim with
their delicious steam. In easy state upon
this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious
to see:, who bore a glowing torch, in shape
not unlike Plenty's horn, and held it up,
high up, to shed its light on Scrooge, as he came peeping round the door.
"Come in!" exclaimed the Ghost. "Come in, and know me better, man."
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
“The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came,
Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this
Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom
and mystery.
It was shrouded in a deep black garment,
which concealed its head, its face, its
form, and left nothing of it visible save
one outstretched hand. But for this it
would have been difficult to detach its
figure from the night, and separate it
from the darkness by which it was
surrounded.
He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its
mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit
neither spoke nor moved.”
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Charles Dickens’ preface
“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the
Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of
humour with themselves, with each other, with the season,
or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no
one wish to lay it.
Their faithful Friend and Servant,
C. D.
December, 1843.”
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STUDY QUESTIONS
1. In what way is A Christmas Carol an allegory? What are the symbolic meanings of the
main characters?
Answer: A Christmas Carol is an allegory in that it features events and characters with a
clear, fixed symbolic meaning. In the novella, Scrooge represents all the values that are
opposed to the idea of Christmas -- greed, selfishness, and a lack of goodwill toward
one's fellow man. The Ghost of Christmas Past, with his glowing head symbolizing the
mind, represents memory; the Ghost of Christmas Present represents generosity,
empathy, and the Christmas spirit; and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come represents
the fear of death and moral reckoning. The Cratchits represent the poor, whom Dickens
portrays with warmth and sympathy while seeking to draw attention to their plight.
2. How does the time scheme of A Christmas Carol function? Why might Dickens have
chosen to structure his book in this way?
Answer: Time is very important in A Christmas Carol, which is structurally centered on
distinct elements of Past, Present, and Future. But, the time scheme of the story itself
seems to make little sense. On Christmas Eve, Jacob Marley's ghost tells Scrooge that he
will be visited by three ghosts on three successive nights. On Christmas morning,
Scrooge awakes, having already been visited by all three ghosts. The three nights seem to
be compressed into a single night. The presence of the spirits apparently bends the
normal flow of time. Dickens uses the temporal inconsistencies to emphasize the
supernatural powers of the spirits -- when they are around, normal earthly standards,
including the flow of time, have no effect.
3. What role does social criticism play in A Christmas Carol? To what extent is the story
a social commentary?
Answer: Social Commentary -- particularly those statements directed at the Poor Laws
governing the lower classes during Dickens' time -- plays an important but not a central
role in A Christmas Carol. Dickens often uses Scrooge as a mouthpiece to express the
more callous justifications and excuses used to defend the harsh treatment of the poor.
Malthus' theory that anyone who could not support himself did not have a right to live is
a good example of these outrageous claims. Asked whether he wishes to support a
charity, Scrooge replies that he does support charities -- prisons and workhouses, which
are all the charity the poor need. Dickens harshly criticizes these attitudes and presents a
highly sympathetic view of the poor through his depiction of the Cratchits. On the whole,
however, the numerous messages of A Christmas Carol expand far beyond this narrow
political critique of Victorian society.
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For Students to Think and Write About:
1. How is the holiday of Christmas portrayed in the story? (Think of the moral,
social, aesthetic, and religious aspects of the holiday.) In what way does A
Christmas Carol help to define the modern idea of Christmas?
2. Compare and contrast the three spirits who visit Scrooge. What are their main
similarities? What are their main differences? Do their differences have any
thematic significance? (Why, for instance, do they look and dress so differently?)
3. Think about the story's narrator and about the way Dickens chooses to tell his tale.
What role does humor play in the narration? How do the comic aspects of A
Christmas Carol interact with and support the moral and ghost-story aspects?
How does Dickens blend comedy and horror?
4. How is wealth treated in the story? Is it a sign of moral corruption and greed, or
does Dickens offer a more complex assessment?
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/study.html
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Suggested Theatre Vocabulary
Director: The person in the theatre who is ultimately responsible for every element of the
finished production. The director, usually working from the script, supplies the finished
production. The director, usually working from the script, supplies the central ideas that
define the world of the play, that help to describe its “look” as depicted by its set, costume,
and the lighting design, and helps the actors’ interpret their roles.
Production Dramaturg: The person in the theatre who is responsible for preparing the text
of the play for performance. He or she may also compile research on the production and
different aspects of the play in order to help those involved in the production and/or the
audience better understand the piece. He or she has direct and intimate knowledge of the
script – its composition, organization and progression of action. During rehearsals, a
dramaturg helps the production remain in line with the vision for the production. A
dramaturg often engages in “audience dramaturgy” which may involve producing the
program and/or audience education (such as this Teachers’ Guide) and other community
outreach.
Scene Designer: The person in the theatre responsible for creating the look of the places in
which the play occurs. Sometimes the set designer works in a realistic mode, attempting to
capture the actual look of a place. More often, in the twenty-first century, set designers create
a setting more theatrical than realistic, that evokes a certain feeling rather than depicting the
actual look of the place during a particular time period.
Costume Designer: The person in the theatre responsible for designing the costumes for the
characters in the play. Sometimes the costume designer tries to create costumes that capture
the actual look of the time period, but at other times he or she creates costumes that are more
theatrical than realistic, that evoke a certain feeling rather than reflecting an actual style or
period.
Lighting Designer: The person in the theatre responsible for designing the lighting of the
play. By using certain colors of lights and sometimes a spotlight, the lighting designer can
create a certain mood or even let us know whether it is daytime or nighttime during certain
scenes in the play.
Sound Designer: The person in the theatre responsible for designing all the sound effects,
including all incidental music, in the play. The sound designer can create certain moods and
tones at different times in a production, including giving us clues of the era in which the
production is taking place.
Stage Combat Director: The person in the theatre responsible for choreographing and
directing all the fights in the play. A stage combat director is usually nationally certified. He
or she teaches the actors how to stage wrestling/sword/gun/fist or any kind of fights so that
they look real to the audience. The Combat Director also teaches the actors about different
weapons and the safe use of them on and off stage, around other actors and the audience. He
or she works individually with the actors and is present at every rehearsal to make sure all the
fights remain safe and to answer any of the actors’ questions.
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Discussion Questions about the Theatre
1. Had you ever been to a theatre before visiting the Clarence Brown Theatre? If so,
what things were different? What things were similar?
2. What things do you remember seeing during your visit to the Clarence Brown
Theatre? What do you remember about the lobby? The seats? The stage? The
lights? The set?
3. What different things did the set do? Did it change? How do you think the
people backstage made the set work?
4. What do you think it was like for the actors to act in this play? What do you think
it would be like to rehearse a play? How do you think the actors memorize all of
their lines?
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About the Clarence Brown Theatre
The Clarence Brown Theatre Company is a professional theatre company in residence at
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Founded in 1974 by Sir Anthony Quayle and
Dr. Ralph G. Allen, the company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres
(LORT) and is the only professional company within a 150-mile radius of Knoxville.
The University of Tennessee is one of a select number of universities nationwide that are
affiliated with a professional LORT theatre, allowing students regular opportunities to
work alongside professional actors, designers and production artists.
The theatre was named in honor of University of Tennessee graduate, Clarence Brown,
the distinguished director of such beloved movies as The Yearling and National Velvet.
In addition to the 575-seat proscenium theatre, the CBT’s facilities house the costume
shop, electric department, scene shop, property shop, actor’s dressing quarters, and a 100seat Lab Theatre. Generally used for classroom activities and auditions, the Lab Theatre
is also home to many student productions, sponsored by ACT (All Campus Theatre). The
Clarence Brown Theatre also utilizes the Ula Love Doughty Carousel Theatre, an arena
theatre with flexible seating for 350, located next to the CBT on the University of
Tennessee campus.
The Clarence Brown Theatre has a 12-member resident faculty, headed by Calvin
MacLean, department head and producing artistic director, and 25 full-time management
and production staff members. The CBT is also served by a 32-member Advisory Board,
which supports our production efforts. Comprised of leaders from the local corporate,
arts and volunteer community, the Advisory Board members provide guidance in
strategic planning as well as fund-raising for scholarships and artistic endeavors.
The mission of the Clarence Brown Theatre is to: 1) Produce plays, both classical and
contemporary, which will stimulate, educate and entertain audiences, providing them
with memorable theatrical experiences; 2) Provide professional experiences where acting
and technical students may gain practical experience and professional career credits; and
3) Serve our community through involvement in outreach programs which touch young
audiences, special populations and other multi-cultural groups.
The CBT strives to select plays each year that will expose audiences to new and
meaningful theatrical experiences, featuring a mix of classical and contemporary plays,
new plays and North American/English language premiers, musical productions and
international theatre projects. The CBT productions will include both professional
(equity) actors and students of theatre.
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