Cygnet's Storytelling on the Green Presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL

In collaboration with the San Diego City School's 4th-grade-in-the-Park Program and the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Cygnet's Storytelling on the Green has been delighting students and park visitors alike weekly - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 10:30am and 12:30pm. The program which consists of abridged Shakespearean theatre performed by two actors in mid-19th century attire has included Macbeth and, most recently, Midsummer's Pyramis and Thisbe. Now through December 31st, Old Town State Park Visitors are being treated to something a bit more festive - the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol!

In keeping with the mid-19th century tradition of the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Cygnet Theatre's Storytelling actors, who currently include Brian Mackay (Cygnet's The History Boys) and Jacob Caltrider (Cygnet's The History Boys) perform in the Delsarte style - purposefully bare bones, carrying all needed props, scenery and costumes. Each of the Storytelling shows is targeted to a young audience, providing fun-filled participatory activities. A Christmas Carol offers a slew of uniquely entertaining and ghostly characters for young (and not so young!) audience interaction. Mackay and Caltrider play a total of ten characters in a fast and funny interpretation that has been drawing large crowds to Old Town's public green.

A Christmas Carol - and the entire Storytelling on the Green Program - is coordinated by Cygnet's Associate Artistic Director Francis Gercke, who wears many hats as script supervisor, director and liaison to the park. "It took the ghosts three nights to teach Scrooge his lesson," jokes Gercke. "Our cast can do it in fifteen minutes."

Cygnet Theatre's Storytelling on the Green is free to the students and the public and is currently funded by the City of San Diego - Commission for Arts and Culture, The San Diego Foundation, Qualcomm. The Samuel I. & John Henry Fox Foundation, The Heller Foundation of San Diego, Sempra Energy, Cushman Family Foundation and Adrian Jaffer & Ann Laddon.

In January, Cygnet's Storytelling on the Green will return to its previous crowd-pleasers Macbeth and Midsummer's Pyramis and Thisbe. Additionally, the Storytelling actors will begin rehearsals for a February unveiling of Romeo and Juliet, just in time for Valentine's Day! In the meantime, don't miss the limited run of Storytelling's A Christmas Carol - now through December 31st!

Storytelling on the Green performances are free to the public and play on The Common green in the heart of the Old Town State Historic Park. Performances are approximately 15 minutes long and run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 10:30am and 12:30pm. For more information call the Cygnet box office at 619-337-1525 or visit us at 4040 Twiggs St. in the Old Town Historic Park.