Dungeness Community Church has a new take on redemption.

As a gift to the community, the congregation is presenting "A Christmas Carol," the much-loved tale of redemption by Charles Dickens. This story, which first was written as a serial to sell periodicals, has been turned into a variety of plays, musicals and even cartoons.

Co-director Janice Parks has rewritten it for the church using the original tale and some new twists.

First, for music, she put in 10 Christmas carols that were written about the same time as the story and that fit its traditional tone.

Another twist is the staging. The actors act as narrators, stepping out of their roles to share information, then stepping back into the action.

Actors push props

To accommodate changing scenes, the actors simply move props to shift the action to a new location. This way, the story flows.

No special effects are in this version, either. The ghosts just step into and out of the action.

Parks is well known in the acting community, having worked with Olympic Theatre Arts for many years. She says she started acting in grade school and has been involved in drama ever since, including studying theater in college.

Co-director Branette Richards is new to directing, but Parks says Richards has great artistic vision.

The cast has a variety of experience. Some are beginners, some have had acting experience and one, Alec Duncan, studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California. They range in age from 5 to 80-plus.

A family affair

All the actors bring an enthusiasm to their roles that promises to make the play fast-paced and entertaining. Jim Grice, his wife and four children have turned the play into a family experience as they all have parts – including Jacob, who at

age 6 plays Tiny Tim.

During a recent

rehearsal, Jacob amused himself by playing peek-a-boo from under the stage. Jim Grice plays the part of Bob Cratchit.

The actors will be wearing period costumes they borrowed from OTA, with a few homemade hats and caps.

"A Christmas Carol" will be presented free at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 18-19. with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, all at Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane, Sequim. For more information, call 683-7333.

Reach Dana Casey at dcasey@sequim

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