Antrim Players return with ‘A Christmas Carol’
Published: 11-28-2023 11:18 AM
Modified: 11-29-2023 4:00 PM |
After seven years, the house lights will be back on in Antrim.
The Antrim Players, in conjunction with the Antrim Community Board, will present “A Christmas Carol” on Friday night, Dec. 1, and Saturday night, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. in the Antrim Town Hall at 66 Main St. Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling 978-728-9849.
More than 80 local actors and volunteers are taking part in the production, which marks the return of the 104 -year-old Antrim Players. Many Antrim families, including the Proctor, Hurlin and Nichols families, have participated in the Players for generations.
“We are really kickstarting the return of the Players,” said director Bill Nichols.
Nichols, who grew up in Antrim, has been involved in the Players since 1969. His grandparents were in Antrim when the Players were founded in 1912, and his mother, Isabel “Izi” Nichols, was deeply involved when he was a child. The last time the Players performed scenes from “A Christmas Carol” was in 1984. Nichols, along with several other people performing or helping with in this week’s production, was in the cast of that performance
Antrim resident Kim Proctor, a costume volunteer, said her husband Dean has been involved in the Players his whole life.
“His parents were involved, maybe even his grandparents.It’s a very deep tradition in Antrim with these families going way back,” Proctor said.
The Antrim Players ran continually in Antrim from 1912 to 2016. In summer 2023, longtime Antrim resident Gordon Allen formed the Antrim Community Board, which began to look into ways to support the Antrim community. Allen approached Nichols about possibly relaunching the Players, and Nichols was interested immediately.
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“I told Gordon, ‘I have plenty of actors who would love to be a part of it,’” Nichols said. “Finding actors were not a problem. What we needed was to find backstage help. We needed volunteers to for lighting, sets, costumes, selling tickets, everything behind the scenes.”
Gordon and Nichols organized two workshops over the summer, one for lighting and one for set design, to find backstage help. Over 70 people came to volunteer, most of them new to the Players or new to Antrim.
“We were just thrilled by the turnout and by how many people showed up, especially new people. People were so enthusiastic about the workshops, we thought, ‘We need to keep this energy going. We need to do a show,’” Nichols said at rehearsal on Saturday.
Once they knew there was enough community interest to move forward, Nichols and and Gordon hosted a script-reading on Sept. 13. Tryouts for “A Christmas Carol” took place at the end of September, and rehearsals began Oct. 10. Throughout the fall, the Players publicized the need for ushers, stagehands and people to manage computer sound effects, gradually filling the slots with more volunteers of all ages.
“I think the whole community is happy we’re back,” Nichols said.
The Antrim Players can be found on Facebook. For information, send email to antrimplayers@gmail.com.