A Steampunk Christmas Carol was exhibited on Sunday December 6th, by Pendulum Space. It was a professional show that added a new twist on the classic “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. The play incorporated the storyline of the classic “Christmas Carol” with a steampunk twist that referenced Nikola Tesla and portrayed Scrooge as a counting house mogul who also deals in mechanical bits and pieces. The story also incorporates elements of the classic “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley in one of the acts, adding to the darker elements of the play.
Interestingly enough, the original script for this play was written to be performed by the companies special needs children 's group, and the staging of the characters represented that idea well, without seeming adapted or overly obvious. For example, one of two narrators for the show is X2, an android, who is initially wheeled into the first scene using an industrial dolly, playing on the steampunk theme of the show while also seamlessly weaving in the child’s disability, this is just one instance of several that was only notable if you knew to look. In addition to that, the play was adapted very easily for the adult actors, and did a fantastic job of portraying Dickens original characters with one twist or another. To demonstrate, Bob Cratchet in this play was renamed Barb Ratchet. This name change not only represented the altered gender of the individual, from male to female, but also played upon the victorian futurism present throughout the play. Another example, is the changing of Tiny Tim to Tinker Tim. This change also served to further the theme of the play, as a tinker is usually a nickname for someone who enjoys working with mechanical pieces. Furthermore, as the story evolves, you see Mr. Scrooge slowly change from a stubborn miser, who has little warmth for the rest of society, to a light hearted people lover, albeit it was not an easy journey for him to complete. Over the course of the play, the actors swiftly switched from one character to the next, playing out the story with a cast smaller than 15 individuals. Specifically, Sabreena Candreva who played Martha, Past, and Wealthy. While performing, each character that she portrayed, had a different body language and voice that worked perfectly towards differentiating who she was, and left no confusion as to what character she was playing at each point in the story. Contrastly, Jonathan Crabtree, who exclusively portrayed Scrooge, was excellent at responding to scenes from the past and future; often expressing a very believable amount of expression that made the entire scene feel more real and relatable. This is exemplified most especially, in the scene featuring Kevin Johnson as young Scrooge and a young Martha, played by Sabreena Candreva, parting ways. In this scene Jonathan Crabtree took advantage of the small stage to rush over to Martha and release an anguished shout filled with such dread that Mr. Scrooge’s miserly ways were forgiven by the audience and instead replaced with sadness at his obvious regret. During the show, the director implemented the small space to immerse the audience into the show using visual effects such as 180 degree staging, dramatic lighting, and nondescriptive props that served to build whatever was necessary for the scene. …show more content…
The entire studio was painted black, in traditional black box style, and the audience was onstage, so all the reactions of the actors were heard with extreme clarity, which served to heighten/maintain interest. Similarly, because the audience was onstage, they were given the chance to see the emotions flit across the actors faces as each scene played out. By limiting the amount of sound effects to those made by the actors, with slight music near the beginning, the director successfully made the fantastical world of Dickens and Steampunk seem everyday and relatable. Furthermore, without the usual distance between the audience and the actors, it was easier to relate to what was happening onstage because it felt more like a participation than observation. Another example would be the lack of props; props were limited to black boxes that served to form barrels, chairs, tables, or anything necessary to the scene. Leaving just those basic
Interestingly enough, the original script for this play was written to be performed by the companies special needs children 's group, and the staging of the characters represented that idea well, without seeming adapted or overly obvious. For example, one of two narrators for the show is X2, an android, who is initially wheeled into the first scene using an industrial dolly, playing on the steampunk theme of the show while also seamlessly weaving in the child’s disability, this is just one instance of several that was only notable if you knew to look. In addition to that, the play was adapted very easily for the adult actors, and did a fantastic job of portraying Dickens original characters with one twist or another. To demonstrate, Bob Cratchet in this play was renamed Barb Ratchet. This name change not only represented the altered gender of the individual, from male to female, but also played upon the victorian futurism present throughout the play. Another example, is the changing of Tiny Tim to Tinker Tim. This change also served to further the theme of the play, as a tinker is usually a nickname for someone who enjoys working with mechanical pieces. Furthermore, as the story evolves, you see Mr. Scrooge slowly change from a stubborn miser, who has little warmth for the rest of society, to a light hearted people lover, albeit it was not an easy journey for him to complete. Over the course of the play, the actors swiftly switched from one character to the next, playing out the story with a cast smaller than 15 individuals. Specifically, Sabreena Candreva who played Martha, Past, and Wealthy. While performing, each character that she portrayed, had a different body language and voice that worked perfectly towards differentiating who she was, and left no confusion as to what character she was playing at each point in the story. Contrastly, Jonathan Crabtree, who exclusively portrayed Scrooge, was excellent at responding to scenes from the past and future; often expressing a very believable amount of expression that made the entire scene feel more real and relatable. This is exemplified most especially, in the scene featuring Kevin Johnson as young Scrooge and a young Martha, played by Sabreena Candreva, parting ways. In this scene Jonathan Crabtree took advantage of the small stage to rush over to Martha and release an anguished shout filled with such dread that Mr. Scrooge’s miserly ways were forgiven by the audience and instead replaced with sadness at his obvious regret. During the show, the director implemented the small space to immerse the audience into the show using visual effects such as 180 degree staging, dramatic lighting, and nondescriptive props that served to build whatever was necessary for the scene. …show more content…
The entire studio was painted black, in traditional black box style, and the audience was onstage, so all the reactions of the actors were heard with extreme clarity, which served to heighten/maintain interest. Similarly, because the audience was onstage, they were given the chance to see the emotions flit across the actors faces as each scene played out. By limiting the amount of sound effects to those made by the actors, with slight music near the beginning, the director successfully made the fantastical world of Dickens and Steampunk seem everyday and relatable. Furthermore, without the usual distance between the audience and the actors, it was easier to relate to what was happening onstage because it felt more like a participation than observation. Another example would be the lack of props; props were limited to black boxes that served to form barrels, chairs, tables, or anything necessary to the scene. Leaving just those basic