"Gratitude" is word that comes to mind when Lisa Schaer thinks of Between Shifts Theatre's latest stage production, A Christmas Carol.
With 58 people involved in the holiday season classic, the play will be the biggest production in the volunteer theatre company's history. And everyone is doing his or her bit to make a magical show, said Schaer, a Between Shifts Theatre member.
"I am amazed by all the people that gave up their free time and put it toward this production," she said. "It really is a great feeling."
From pitching in to make wigs or burning the midnight candle to learn lines, the cast has far from a "bah humbug" feel. Wednesday (Nov. 17) marked the show's last rehearsal. Now it's on to lighting and sound, Schaer said.
"It has all really come together," she said.
The Vancouver theatre producer Fiona Revill Summers' adaptation of Charles Dickens' tale is truer to the Victorian novel, assistant director Paul Fletcher told The Chief at a rehearsal this month. It's a bit more "spooky" than the 1951 film starring Alastair Sim, Fletcher added.
The curtains on rise on Thursday (Nov. 24). The show runs nightly until Nov. 27 and then from Dec. 1 to 4 at the Brackendale Art Gallery.
Tickets are selling fast, Schaer said. If you want to take part in Ebenezer Scrooge's awakening, make sure to get them sooner than later, she warned, noting the theatre company is predicting similar sales to that of its smash hit, The Princess Bride.
Tickets are available at Billie's Bouquet on Cleveland Avenue, the Portico Gallery on Pemberton Avenue and the Adventure Centre.
Tickets cost $15 for youth ages 18 and under, $20 for adults and $15 for seniors (65 years old and up) and students with ID cards. For more information visit www.betweenshiftstheatre.com or see A Christmas Carol 撸奶社区on Facebook.
