‘A Christmas Carol’ opens tonight at South Carroll High

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Bill Ryan⁄The Gazette Richard Senior, a senior at South Carroll High School, performs his scene as Jacob Marley, with Fuad Zaru, a junior, as Scrooge. The play opens at 7 p.m. today.

Scrooge, played by junior Fuad Zaru, learns kindness and compassion on Christmas Eve, after he is visited by three ghosts.

Zaru, who last year played Sonny in the Stagelighters’ performance of ‘‘Grease”, loves his role. ‘‘I like the diversity of the character,” he said.

The character starts out by insulting and humiliating Bob Cratchit, an employee, but after discovering where his inconsiderate path will lead him, has a change of heart.

‘‘There’s a lot of emotions [in Scrooge],” Zaru said. ‘‘I like the dynamics.”

The holiday classic by Charles Dickens is Tara Prozialeck’s directing debut at South Carroll High School.

‘‘Because this is my first play here, I wanted to do a play with a big cast,” said Tara Prozialeck, Stagelighters advisor and drama teacher. ‘‘I wanted to involve as many students as possible.”

With the holiday season around the corner, ‘‘A Christmas Carol” seemed like the perfect fit, she said.

Richard Senior, a senior, said that while students did not specifically audition for certain roles, he’s happy he landed the role of Jacob Marley, whose ghost visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve.

‘‘There’s not too many lines,” Senior admitted with a smile. ‘‘It’s a cool part. I get to be dead, then alive, then dead again.”

He’s also glad South Carroll High is performing the play. ‘‘It gets you in the Christmas mood when you watch it.”

Steven Cohen, a senior, plays Young Scrooge, during the Ghost of the Christmas Past sequence of the classic tale. Like Senior, this isn’t his first production, and he also enjoys playing the part.

‘‘He’s not a character who’s real fake,” Cohen said. ‘‘I can get into it easily.” He added that he enjoys the ‘‘whole journey” Young Scrooge takes to develop into the Scrooge who has the attitude change.

‘‘It tells a good story,” Cohen said of ‘‘A Christmas Carol.” ‘‘It’s a good lesson for everybody to learn.”

Kelly ‘‘Kay” Brister, a sophomore, plays an orphan and an extra, but also loans her makeup talents to the performers as the show’s makeup artist. Brister is responsible for adding stage makeup to the cast — including herself — as well as the special effects, such as making sure Zaru looks like an old man.

‘‘I love the acting,” Brister said. ‘‘The students are so amazing. ... They have great emotion.”

Elizabeth Chong, a junior, plays Scrooge’s sister, Fran. This isn’t her first time performing with Stagelighters. ‘‘I’ve been involved since last year,” Chong said. After the show was announced, Chong knew she wanted to get involved again this year. ‘‘It’s very serious,” Chong said of why she likes the play.

Katelyn Horn, a junior, plays Scrooge’s niece Winifred, and credits her character in bringing playfulness to the play. ‘‘I get to tease around with everybody,” she said.

‘‘It’s the story of somebody finally finding himself after a long time,” Horn said.

‘‘It’s going to be a great program,” Chong said. ‘‘I hope everyone enjoys it.”

Her drama teacher, Prozialeck, agreed. ‘‘I hope people come and see it. We’re really proud of our work.”

If you go

South Carroll High School’s Stagelighters drama group will perform the classic Charles Dickens’ tale ‘‘A Christmas Carol,” opening today in the school’s auditorium at 7 p.m.

Additional performances will be held at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. A matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are available for $5 in advance (at the school) or $7 at the door.

For information, call Tara Prozialeck, drama teacher and Stagelighers advisor, at 410-751-3575.