Interview: Spencer S Lawson is Haunting in Hartford Stage's A Christmas Carol

Spencer S Lawson in Hartford Stage's "A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS"
Courtesy of the Hartford Stage

As the year of 1843 came to a close, Charles Dickens published a novella entitled "A Christmas Carol". The work only took Dickens six weeks to create, and the story has been deemed a classic, never being out of print since its original publication. The Hartford Stage, A Tony Award® Winning Theater, is currently in its nineteenth year of their beloved production "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas", originally adapted and directed by Michael Wilson.

Currently spooking audiences as a ghostly apparition and other ensemble roles in the classic production is performer Spencer S Lawson. Being in his senior year at The Hartt School at The University of Hartford, Spencer joins fellow Hartt students as well as veteran ensemble members, many of whom have been performing in the annual production since its conception in 1998. While donning his Hartford Stage "A Christmas Carol" apparel and flashing a charming smile, Lawson expressed his sadness that the run is coming to an end, but is also thankful that he was able to be a part of it.

Christopher Castanho: Tell us a little bit about yourself: where you're from, where you go to school...

Spencer S Lawson: I'm from Utah: a little town called Erda, and it's a little farming community. My parents grew up there and still live there, and I've lived there my whole life. It's right outside of Salt Lake City, so I was able to go into the city and do theatre there, where I went to a performing arts high school. When auditioning for college I wanted to go to some place on the east coast, so I auditioned for Hartt, and luckily it was a really great fit for me. I'm getting ready to graduate now, and things like this- "A Christmas Carol"- through our partnership with the Hartford Stage- have been amazing. This is one of the reasons I decided to go to Hartt. When I was a freshman I worked at Theaterworks [in Hartford], I was a production assistant there, and I was able to do the technical side of professional theatre. After this production a bunch of my classmates and I are going to Goodspeed, we do the two-week new musicals festival. An opportunity like this is what I was looking for in a program, and thankfully Hartt was a great fit for me.

CC: How was the rehearsal process for "A Christmas Carol"? Did the ghost ensemble rehearse separately before putting the show together?

SL: Because it's been going on for so long, the principal cast only rehearses for three or four days [other than technical rehearsals] because they know it all so well, most having been in it from the beginning. The ghosts came in a week early and learned all of the choreography in two days, it was crazy. And then we started working through the show. They didn't really stop for us, they would guide us through, so that was pretty crazy, and then we moved into the theater. A lot of us [Hartt students] are understudies so that was a whole other thing. It was really cool to see these people do these roles that they've done for years, see what they've done with them, and figure out what we're going to do with these characters.

CC: How long did the rehearsal process, for the overall show last?

SL: It was about two and a half weeks, including "tech week". Tech was really smooth, as this production has been done so many times we basically just ran the show. It's interesting that we [Hartt students] are all new to the show, but are all doing the same exact thing the ghosts have always done. And the management told us of all of the things and problems like 'You're gonna have to figure out how to do this---while running backstage' and I was like 'I think I'll be okay', but they just know it so well, like clockwork, I ran into that exact problem. It's so helpful to be surrounded by crew who know the show so well. Our roles have been done the same way since the beginning, they're plugging us into the puzzle, and we get some liberties, but it's also very 'set.' We'll get notes sometimes saying "Let's keep it within this parameter" which is always very helpful to have that kind of structure.

CC: How did you learn the show? Was there an assistant choreographer?

SL: We had an assistant to the choreographer, his name is Derric Harris, and he came in and taught us everything. Then the original choreographer, Hope Clarke, who has been on Broadway in West Side Story and has a Tony Nomination, came in and primarily gave us notes through Derric. When she first got there we were a little scared, but she definitely warmed up to us, and we ended up having a great relationship with her. She comes back every year and re-sets the show, although every year is a little bit different, because we have a lot of really strong dancers this time she added a couple things for us. It was funny to watch Derric put a bunch of notes together from a bunch of years to create our version of the choreography that we do every night.

CC: What was it like working with Rachel Alderman, who directed this year's production? Was she re-staging Michael Wilson's original blocking or creating her own?

SL: This was her first year doing it, and she worked on with Max Williams, who directed it last year. It was really fun to work with her (Alderman) and a lot of the veteran company actors would say this too because she knows the show so well, but brings a lot of new intentions to things that they had never thought about before. Where the blocking was basically the same, but the interpretation of the script was a little different. We did have to stay within the staging that was originally done, the stage manager Martin [Lechner] was amazing, and he always kept us on track. It was a double team: she would say this and then Martin would help her find the happy medium of the original and her new idea. It was interesting to see both sides going, the veteran company was always excited to try new things, which was fun.

CC: How was working with the veteran company, like Bill Raymond who is on his 17th and final year of playing Scrooge, and also working with some of your professors from Hartt?

SL: Bill is awesome, it's been kind of a crazy process because he knows the show so well, and he's so giving and friendly to everyone backstage. He comes and chats with the ghosts before the show everyday, that's his little ritual, and tells us to break a leg. I have seen the show every year I've been at Hartt, so getting to meet him and work with him on stage is just amazing. The same with my teachers, they teach us in class everyday, but now we're on stage with them. So it's a different dynamic: they treat us like colleagues instead of students, which is really refreshing, and they are also so supportive. For instance, a bunch of us have gone on for our understudy tracks, and it's fun to watch them watch their students on stage. The other day, a couple of us went on, and the teachers were all standing around the monitor backstage beaming, so that was fun, them being able to see all of the things they're teaching in class is actually working [laughs]. So it's putting it into practice because we can only learn so much in the classroom. I'm such a big believer of performance in school and this partnership specifically.

CC: You mentioned you all being understudies, and I saw that you actually went on for your understudy role--

SL: I sure did! I actually understudy three characters and I've gone on for all of them, because there's the "Christmas Carol plague" everybody's been sick the past couple weeks. It's crazy because once one person is out of the show it puts a domino effect on thirty people who have to go on and do different tracks. The first time I had to go on was for a morning show, a student matinee, and I went on as 'Second Solicitor' and that was really fun. I was like 'Alright, here we go!' And I kind of had a little bit of notice, so we had an understudy rehearsal, and a couple people knew they were going on, so that was great. The second time I went on was for my other roles 'Mr. Fezziwig' and the 'First Solicitor' and I only had an hour and a half notice, but luckily I got to go on for two shows because the first show I was mainly like 'What's happening?' [Laughs] Before we started the show, at half hour, the stage manager walked me through all of the tricky parts: my quick change, the lift with Mrs. Fezziwig, etc. I also was doing a split-track, because someone else was also out, so I had to do another thing that I'd never done or even seen before because I was always offstage for that part. But it was great, and luckily we have amazing crew who are on top of it, they helped me so much. It was a lot of fun, because no one had ever seen me in the costume, so as soon as I got on stage everyone was laughing at me, luckily it was a funny scene. They prepare us really well to go on in this company. During rehearsal they told us we were going to go on and make sure we knew our roles really well, and they were right.

CC: I love the communal aspect that happens within an ensemble and crew when someone has to go on in a part they normally don't do.

SL: It was so "shove with love!" We also have swings too, who cover all the ensemble roles, and they're very prepared. The first show I went on in my understudy track I was very much like 'Where do I go again?' but the second show I was able to settle in and take a deep breath. Some of the child actors' parents saw me after the show and were like "I saw you as Fezzi--you were so good!" And I could only respond with "Thank god!" [Laughs] It was an interesting day, and I'm glad I got to do it.

CC: What is your favorite part about doing the show?

SL: Being a ghost is really fun because they're kind of mischievous and they get to interact with the audience a little bit more. But we also have beautiful costumes and the special effects are amazing, luckily the ghosts are always a part of the spectacle moments in the show. It's also nice because all of our ghosts each have a specific personality and the choreography lends to that, so that was really fun to create the character based on those facts on them. And the choreographer really knew a lot about who each character was and that was fun to work with her on that. It's not a show where I think 'Alright, let's go do this again', we've done it fifty times so I thought I would get bored, but I love it, it's so fun. The story is so great and this adaptation is really nice because it's kind of darker and has a lot depth, but Scrooge is really funny, with a nice balance between the two.

CC: What's the story behind your hashtag you always use in your social media: #SpencersQuestForTheBway?

SL: After high school when I was trying to decide what my path might look like, I looked to a very influential teacher for some advice. I wasn't sure if I was ready for the life of professional theatre training or if I had what it takes. She said to me, 'You know, you have the talent to be a star, but more importantly you have the passion to make it through the journey. You are on a quest.' That word: quest, became something of a motto to me. I now have a social media mantra, #spencersquestforthebway, which is a tool for inspiration, some silliness, a portable vision board and lots of hard work all rolled up into one. We all have a "Quest" that we are on, and I found mine.

CC: Speaking of quest, Charles Dickens' story of Scrooge's quest through the past, present, and future has touched the lives of millions, what does the story of "A Christmas Carol" mean to you?

SL: When I was younger I used to go see "A Christmas Carol" at my local theater with school, and I've seen every adaptation. "A Christmas Carol" is a story of redemption, taking a step back and looking at your life. It's a story we all go back to every year for a reason, it teaches us so much about ourselves. In this time of our lives, we should all be looking at this story. The Artistic Director, Darko [Tresnjak] came to our first cast meeting and said 'This is a really important story. There's so much hardship in the world and we feel like we're turning into Scrooges, but if we really look at the people around us, if we try to find the love within all that, in our past, present, or future then that could really change what our outlook is going to be.'

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You have one week left to catch Spencer and all of the other enchanting characters in "A CHRISTMAS CAROL-A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS" through Dec. 30 at the Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford, CT. Tickets are $25-$90. You can call the box office: 860-527-5151 or go to hartfordstage.org for more information.

Be sure to follow Spencer S Lawson and his quest for Broadway by following him on his Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or by searching the hashtag #SpencersQuestForTheBway

Production photos by T. Charles Erickson
Spencer S Lawson Headshot: Murphy Made Photography by Evan Zimmerman