Xavier and Mercy Perform A Christmas Carol

By Josh Bouchard, Reporter

On December 3rd and 4th, the Xavier and Mercy High School drama club will be putting on a production of A Christmas Carol in the Mercy High School auditorium. The two schools annually come together to do a play. In recent years, there has been productions that had a Christmas theme to them and this is one of them.  A Christmas Carol is the story of a man who goes on a series of adventures to learn the true meaning of Christmas.
Regarding the choice of A Christmas Carol, the play director Matthew Campisi ’07 stated, “It is a great play to do because it has a lot of parts for a variety of different people. Also, it is a timeless story that most everyone has seen multiple times, yet it is still fresh to everyone who watches it.” When asked if he was excited about his involvement of the play, Justin Keib ’16 who plays Ebenezer Scrooge said, “Of course, I remember being inspired by other productions of A Christmas Carol, and now I feel that it is my privilege to continue that legacy to those who will watch. I hope to truly express the true lessons that are a part of this story to the audience.”

This retelling of a true classic tale has brought excitement to all of those who have been involved in it production, and they hope to share that excitement with everyone who comes to see the production.
Everyone that is involved in the production of the show has their own favorite part of the creation process. Mr. Campisi believes that “The rehearsal process, I could do it sixteen hours a day. I love working with people and watching them grow as performers, and I love how they can all come together to make something great.” Justin “like[s] seeing the evolution of a show from the beginning when no one really knows what is going on, to the day of the show when everyone pulls everything that they have learned together so that they can make a great show. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest things about theatre.”
There are two changes that the drama club is facing this year. The first change is that the cast has lost a lot of experienced performers to graduation. Another change that occurred this year is that this is the first play that Mr. Campisi has directed. Mr. Campisi has helped conduct many of the musicals that the drama club has done, but this is the first play he directed. When asked about it, Mr. Campisi said, “Directing, singing, conducting, and acting are all the same in that they have the same goal, which is expression of character. This is the first play I’ve directed, but I feel confident that it will turn out great.”
The drama club has put much of their time and energy into the retelling of a true classic. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or they can be ordered on the Mercy website. The cost of tickets is $8.00. The drama club hopes to have a full house for each performance.