A Christmas Carolinian: A Play in Three Acts

© 2012 by Chris Cook. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   11/06/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8466-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8465-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8464-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012920220

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

CAUTION

SPECIAL NOTE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROLOGUE

ACT I

SCENE 1. Caroling Carolinians

SCENE 2. A Miserly Morning

SCENE 3. Confederate Cratchits

SCENE 4. An Unexpected Guest

SCENE 5. Restless Spectres

SCENE 6. A Lovely Invite

SCENE 7. Christmases Passed

SCENE 8. Fan and Eb

SCENE 9. A Token of Depreciation

SCENE 10. A Belle at Christmas

SCENE 11. The Fezziwig Jig

ACT II

SCENE 1. PRESENT’S PRESENCE

SCENE 2. HOME STREET HOME

SCENE 3. BLESSINGS COUNTED

SCENE 4. AGRESSION, INTERRUPTED

SCENE 5. A MIDNIGHT CLEAR

SCENE 6. A Festive Gathering

SCENE 7. Ignorance and Want

ACT III

SCENE 1. Future Imperfect

SCENE 2. Spoils of War

SCENE 3. An Unknown Soldier?

SCENE 4. Death of a Merciless Creditor

SCENE 5. A Conspicuous Vacancy

SCENE 6. Grave Consequences

SCENE 7. Transformation

SCENE 8. Stranger at the Door

SCENE 9. Finale at Fred’s

A GLOSSARY OF SELECT TERMS

CAUTION

Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN, A Play in Three Acts by Chris Cook is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth) and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations.

All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, internet technologies including but not limited to the domain of the World Wide Web, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction such as information storage and retrieval systems, and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is laid upon the question of readings, permission and terms for which must be secured in writing from the playwright.

The stage performance rights for A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN, A Play in Three Acts by Chris Cook are controlled exclusively by the playwright. No professional or non-professional performance of the play may be given without obtaining in advance the express written permission of the dramatist and paying the requisite royalty fees. All aforementioned regulations regarding this publication stated herein are hereby effective now, forever, in perpetuity throughout the universe.

All inquiries concerning rights to the play should be addressed to: Chris Cook of High Voltage Theatre, 1625 Malcolm Drive, Columbia, South Carolina 29204. HighVoltageSC@aol.com.

SPECIAL NOTE

Anyone securing permission to produce A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN, A Play in Three Acts by Chris Cook is required to give due authorship credit to the playwright as the exclusive and sole author of the play in all programs, posters, flyers, and any and all other promotional printing in connection with performances of the play. The same holds true for book signings, author appearances, and promotions regarding this publication alone. In all instances in which the title of the play appears for purposes of advertising, publicizing, or otherwise exploiting the play and/or a production thereof; the name of the author must appear on a separate line, in which no other name appears, immediately beneath the title and in size of type equal to 50% of the largest letter used for the title of the play.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would be remiss in this beautiful yuletide season, were I to deny the proper credit to those whose have inspired me most. Cynthia Gilliam, for directing the premiere staged reading of my first Christmas play, Mistletoe Miracles. Tom Mula, for his remarkably fresh take on Dickens’ classic story, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. Belinda Bremner, for her completely original and authentic holiday play, Mrs. Coney, A Tale at Christmas. Tom Marcus, whose Civil War adaptation of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cresida first taught me that some stories just lend themselves beautifully to the civil war period. I thank Roy, Tricia, Ellie, and Katie Williamson, Alice Perkins, Henry Pettit, and Sean Moore. I thank my incredibly supportive wife, Carolina for encouraging me to finish and produce this project. I thank Valentina, my daughter, whose tenacity never ceases to motivate me. I recognize John and Susan Sellers. I acknowledge Charles and Catherine Cook for once more unearthing Grandfather Trahern’s autobiography. I thank the good people at Authorhouse, Columbia Writer’s Workshop II, and all family, friends, and actors who’ve supported this endeavor from the beginning. Merry Christmas to one and all!

For

Carolina and

Valentina,

Feliz

Navidad!

PROLOGUE

The fact that you are at this moment reading these words means that for one reason or another you have picked up the book. You may be an actor, director, designer, producer, or just someone who has an interest in Christmas and / or the American Civil War. In any case, I thank you, gentle reader, for taking the time out to explore Charles Dickens’ master classic, A Christmas Carol, set in the time of the ‘War Between The States’. I have done all that I could to give the play an authenticity as regards the Civil War, while at the same time preserving the rich language and beautifully realized characters first penned by Charles Dickens. Although I have placed the action across the pond and thirty years forward, at the end of the day, this is still a story about Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation of spirit.

This ‘transformation’ of the old skinflint seems to have a residual effect on those who witness it first-hand in the theatre. For when we see a play, we are changed in dramatic measure. Aristotle posited that through the experience, the audience undergoes a purging of the soul. He referred to this emotional release response as catharsis. Live performance allows us to directly connect to the artists who accurately reflect the human condition in all its foibles and triumphs. And through this relationship, we exorcise personal demons. Oh yes, and it’s always a good thing when we can also get a bit of entertainment in the bargain as well!

Theatre is an ever-changing, perpetually-moving experience. No two nights of one production are quite the same. This, I think, is much to do with the symbiotic relationship between the actors and the audience. Those who have paid the price of admission in order to willfully suspend their disbelief are just as much an integral part of the live theatrical experience as are the performers.

To this end, I regard the audience not as observers, but rather as participants in a collective art form. This interactive dynamic can elicit a positive and transformative effect upon all concerned. Through the experiential nature of the performing arts, we not only make commentary on our cultural zeitgeists, but we also present for an audience an opportunity to be better souls when they exit, than they were when the first curtain opened. I often refer to these experiences as little moments of gestalt. Perhaps most life-changing, we feel a profound awakening of the human spirit regardless of whether we are sitting amidst our fellow watchers or we are actually playing the boards. And yet theatre is not just an art whereby we are shaken up a bit for the two hours traffic upon the stage.

Theatre has long-term healing properties as well. It is a panacea for the stoic. It has the power to stir our dormant sub-conscience. Through tears we expel long-pent-up angst, through laughter we recognize ourselves in others, and hopefully by play’s end we can celebrate the protagonist’s life-struggle resulting in a satisfying resolution. We then become psychologically and spiritually rejuvenated. Theatre is, in a word, therapeutic.

A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN, like Charles Dickens’ classic novella before it, is a fantasy. Having established this as a premise at the outset, I would advise anyone directing the play to exercise the artistic leeway that such a fantastical production offers. It is important to note that although many of the names in A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN are, in fact, actual surnames found throughout the annals of the American Civil War, I have stretched the term ‘artistic license’ to quite a broad definition. To wit, Beauregard, Brady, and Belvedere, are names of notables from the pages of the bloody campaign. In this play, however, the characters so named, are not bound by a strict adherence to the real men of the past.

As stated before, at the end of the day, A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN is a play about the transformation of an old man named Ebenezer Scrooge. It is not necessarily a historically-accurate depiction of the war among the states, nor was it intended to be. Although I have made every attempt possible to ensure that places, dates, and times are concomitant with historic accuracy. The Civil War presents a viable and reasonable background upon which Charles Dickens’ beloved classic can be played out. Theatre by it nature, is action-based and shouldn’t seek to become a lecture in world or North American history. If it did, theatre would stand as lifeless and stoic as a museum piece.

As a dramatic adaptor, I have taken many liberties with the characters and the settings upon which they are positioned. For example, famed Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady is present. He is the persona of one of the two philanthropists who solicit Scrooge for donations to their cause. The historical Brady, however, was a noted photo-journalist of the Union army, not the Confederacy. It is not likely that he rubbed elbows with the southern rebellion. But I chose to place him in the drama, as his real-life character adds a colorful and unique voice to the action. As the director of this play, do not fret about historical accuracy. I have made every effort to ensure that there be as few anachronisms as possible. The goal was to blend A Christmas Carol with the probable goings-on of 1862 Columbia, South Carolina.

Also, please feel free to make cuts in the script as will help facilitate your production. Just make them as judiciously as possible. I tend to adapt such classics to the stage by over-writing. Most actors and audiences who’ve encountered my plays can attest to this. However, I like to provide a full evening’s worth of entertainment, much like Kenneth Branaugh did with his epic film version of Shakespeare’s HAMLET.

The choice is yours as a director to cut scenes, sentences, characters, etc. I trust, however, that you will do your best to keep the story’s through-line in tact. And please preserve the characters that figure into the plot the most. Remember, few producers are interested in how long a play you can present at their theater, but rather how brief a play you can present. Our modern-day theatre-going audiences have shorter attention spans and are interested in being entertained just enough that they can return to their respective homes and still have time for snacks before bedtime, finishing up homework, answering e-mails, texting friends, and spending quality time with the kids prior to bedtime. The best rule of thumb for any entertainer, I believe, is to leave them wanting more, not less. On the other hand, do the whole gosh-darned thing! Christmas is only once a year, after all.

Chris Cook

December, 2012

Columbia, SC

A CHRISTMAS CAROLINIAN was largely written from 2010—2012. The script was developed in informal workshop sessions led by the playwright with the aid of the acting company of High Voltage Theatre. The sessions lasted several weeks in November of 2011, Those actors who were unable to attend have served as inspiration for several characters and their names are also listed below. The playwright gratefully acknowledges the efforts of the following who helped him bring this script to light, as well as those performers who inspired the following characters:

(And various Townsfolk, Street Carolers, Urchins, Soldiers, and Restless Spectres.)

ACT I

SCENE 1.

Caroling Carolinians

(At rise, we see a unit set representing both interiors and exteriors of the antebellum south. It is 1862, December 24th, Columbia, South Carolina. The time of the American Civil War. Music: Instrumental version of Angels We Have Heard On High fades in. Gradually carolers,