BAG&BAGGAGE PRESENTS A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Author Charles Dickens, Onstage With His Characters, Invents the Story For You
Hillsboro, OROctober 9, 2011The most popular production in Bag&Baggage history returns to the Venetian stage. Its the night before Christmas and Charles Dickens is struck by a powerful inspiration: To write a story that will remind everyone of the meaning of Christmas. When Dickens was a child, his father was imprisoned in Debtors Prison and 12-year-old Charles was forced to take lodgings nearby, pawn his books, leave school, and work in a blacking factory. The experience shaped Dickens' work as a writer and social activist for the rest of his life. Published in 1843 as a novella, A Christmas Carol was one of Dickens most successful works. In Bag&Baggages dramatic treatment of the novella, the audience is transported to Dickens study on Christmas Eve, where the writer struggles with conflicting ideas and unruly characters in his inspired tale of ghostly visitations and redemption. One at a time, the characters in the writer's mind come to life and argue, plead, persuade and cajole the author into how best to tell his charming and heartwarming holiday tale.
Bag&Baggage Productions Presents

A Christmas Carol
Adapted and directed by Scott Palmer

Dec 723
Previews Wed Dec 7 & Thurs Dec 8 Opening night Fri, Dec 9 Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat 7:30; Sun 2:00

through Fri Dec 23

Tickets: $27 (adults), $20 (seniors & students), $14 (previews)

253 E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR 97123

At the Venetian Theatre Get tickets: www.bagnbaggage.org Box office: 503 345 9590

Bag&Baggage Artistic Director Scott Palmer found the inspiration E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR 97123 in person Monday-Friday between 2:30pm and 4:30pm. for his adaptation of A Christmas Carol in Charles Dickens own diary. Dickens wrote that the idea for the novella struck him so strongly, so profoundly that, upon his return home he retired to his study and wept and laughed and wept again, and excited himself in a most extraordinary manner in the composition. Palmer writes, in his introduction to the script, What I wouldnt give to be a fly on the wall in that study, watching Charles Dickens leap around the room, talking aloud, and grappling with the simple and profound characters and themes in his little Christmas carol. This production of Palmers adaptation will be Bag&Baggages third, and will once again star the delightful Marion Rossi as Ebenezer Scrooge. The rest of the cast includes Ian Armstrong, Megan Carver, Benjamin Farmer, Arianne Jacques, Theresa Park, and Gregory Pulver. Expect the unexpected, and prepare to be delighted and filled with the joy of the season. As Dickens himself wrote, Nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter. Note: The content of this performance makes it appropriate for audiences ages 10 years and older. ### Bag&Baggage Productions Page 1 of 2
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Or visit the Venetian Theatre box office at 253

About Scott Palmer, Director

Scott Palmer, Bag&Baggages founding Artistic Director, has directed and produced critically acclaimed theatrical productions across the globe. As the Artistic Director of Glasgow Repertory Company (Scotlands Shakespeare company), Scott directed world premiere adaptations of King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Richard III, Henry V, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It and The Tempest. His radical reinterpretation of Lear was called a 21st century Lear to cherish by The Scotsman and his anti-war adaptation of Henry V was called a thoughtful effort to relate to the modern world by the Scotland on Sunday. In the United States, Scott has adapted and directed versions of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and The Comedy of Errors. His world premiere adaptations of Twelfth Night (featuring added text by F. Scott Fitzgerald) and The Taming of the Shrew alongside Fletchers rarely performed sequel The Womans Prize have helped to develop an international reputation for Bag&Baggage. In addition to Shakespeare, Scott has directed critically acclaimed productions of Arthur Millers Death of A Salesman, Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest, and his own remarkable adaptation of Dickens A Christmas Carol that puts Dickens himself center-stage. Scott is a passionate advocate for the arts, having served on the Hillsboro Arts and Culture Council, the Westside Cultural Alliance and regularly reviewing grants for the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust. In 2010, Scott was awarded the City of Beavertons Arts Leadership Award. Scotts continuing work on major literary adaptations have brought him to the attention of Shakespearean scholars across the world, and his work is regularly reviewed and featured in textbooks and journals. Scott received his BA at the University of Oregon, his Masters at Oregon State University and studied for a PhD in Contemporary Theatre Practice at the University of Glasgow. Scott is responsible for all artistic decisions for Bag&Baggage, including play selection, casting and hiring directors.

About Bag&Baggage Productions

Bag&Baggage is an adventurous professional theatre company distinguished by our mission to crack open and consider anew the work of major dramatists such as William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Tennessee Williams. We seek to deliver novel, provocative interpretations of familiar plays by concentrating not only on the original texts, but also on the sources that inspired them. Our highly skilled directors and performers transform these stories into new, wholly original creations relevant for contemporary audiences. Led by internationally recognized Hillsboro native Scott Palmer, Bag&Baggage is the only theatre company of its kind in Oregon. Our host venue, The Venetian Theatre, located 18 miles from downtown Portland and easily reachable via Max, is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in Washington County.

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