A Christmas Carol presented on stage at Wells High School this weekend

Post date: Nov 30, 2016 5:0:3 PM

The drama club at Wells High School will present Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in the school’s new performing arts center, November 30th through December 3rd.

Dates, times and ticket prices for this show are as follows: Wednesday, November 30th at 3:30 pm with students and senior citizens admitted free. Adult ticket prices are $5; Thursday and Friday, December 1st and 2nd at 7:00pm (students and senior citizens $5, adults $8); and a final presentation on Saturday, December 3rd at 1:00 pm (students and senior citizens $5, adults $8).

A Christmas Carol is based on the classic, haunting tale by 19th century English author Charles Dickens. It was adapted for the Wells stage by Director Andrew Lopez and produced by Jay Audet. About 30 students are part of the production of this first play to be presented in the new venue.

“My adaptation of A Christmas Carol is the original novel, adapted for the stage,” commented Lopez. “Other than one scene written by myself, all dialogue is verbatim. I created a five character "Greek Chorus" to deliver narration that I considered essential. It is a dark show, full of music, dance, and special effects.”

Indeed the Olenn Performing Arts Center is now capable of wonderful special effects with state of the art sound and lighting technology. This new venue with a balcony can seat an audience of about 440.

In addition, this play introduces David Littlefield as assistant director for this and future plays at WHS. Littlefield is a 2010 graduate of Wells High School and a 2014 graduate of Burlington College in Vermont where he majored in video production. He is currently a substitute teacher in the Wells-Ogunquit CSD and owner of the video production company, David Littlefield Productions.

“It’s been really exciting for me to come back to the school and see the new stage and see that there is so much more participation in the drama department...,” said Littlefield who, as a student at WHS, played a role in numerous play productions produced in the old Olenn Auditorium. Littlefield added that “it is also great to see that arts and drama are…flourishing. I think the new stage is helping to facilitate that growth.”

Assistant Director David Littlefield next to a poster for A Christmas Carol presented at WHS from November 30th through December 3rd. The play, with a student cast and crew of 30, is produced by Jay Audet and directed by Andrew Lopez.