Alliance's A CHRISTMAS CAROL Starts Rehearsals This Week

Alliance Theatre will present a new version of its holiday production, A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play, staged for the first time as an interactive Drive-In experience.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alliance will produce a new adaptation of the beloved Christmas Carol story that can be enjoyed safely from a car. From December 4 - 23, 2020, the Summerhill parking lot adjacent to Georgia State University's Center Parc Credit Union Stadium will transform into a drive-in theater, with a stage for live actors and big screens providing a concert-style experience. Summerhill's burgeoning dining district along Georgia Avenue will provide a festive atmosphere for attendees before and after the show.

"So much of 2020 has been spent separated from each other," said Co-Adapter and Director Leora Morris. "It feels very sacred to offer audiences a space to come together and to reconnect to a tradition, and perhaps even more importantly, to each other. While we can't do that by getting close to each other physically, a radio play allows us to use our voices in a way that's very intimate - it will feel like the cast is right in the car with you."

"A Christmas Carol is really about someone who's become separated from other people and has the opportunity to be reconnected," said Co-Adapter and Sound Designer Ben Coleman. "So we're trying to really focus on that because we're all experiencing that right now. It's an exciting piece of work to be rediscovering in such a strange time."

The cast will act as the storytellers for the performance, guiding the audience through the story by acting both as narrators and by playing multiple characters.

This year's cast includes Jeremy Aggers, Jeanette Illidge, and Brad Raymond as Storytellers, Voices and Music; and Sound Effects Artist Stuart W. Gerber as Storyteller, Sounds and Music. Understudies include Josh Clark, Jessica De Maria, Christopher Hampton, and Victor Pons.

The creative team for this brand-new production includes Leora Morris, Director & Co-Adapter; Alexis Woodard, Associate Director; Ben Coleman, Sound Designer & Co-Adapter; Vanessa Theme Ament, Sound Effects Consultant; and W. Bruce Harlan, Lighting Designer. An-lin Dauber serves as the Scenic & Costume Designer for the production. Her set design, which utilizes large shipping containers, provides a separate yet visible space for each actor to perform. Cameras inside the containers will project what each actor is doing onto the large screens.

In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge, an old man well-known for his miserly ways, is visited by ghosts offering him a chance at a better future - his old partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future - who teach him it is never too late to change.

Capacity for the production will be limited to allow for distance between cars. Audience members may enjoy the outdoor space beside their car if they wish (passenger side only). Masks will be required for anyone who is outside of their vehicle. Learn more about our safety procedures here.

Performances are already selling out, and a new date has been added to the schedule to accommodate demand. Performances are December 4 - 23, 2020, Tuesday - Sundays at 7:00 p.m. One additional performance has been added on Monday, December 21, at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play are sold per car and start at $50 per car. Cars may include up to 6 people. All tickets must be pre-purchased online at www.alliancetheatre.org/christmas. Tickets will not be available for purchase in-person. Discounted rates for groups bring 5 or more cars are available by calling 404.733.4690.

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