Director's Notes
Director: Grace DeWolf
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What was holiday cheer like before the Coca Cola image of Santa we know today? What is the nature of the darkness that we fear in the middle of winter? And when must family obligation override our personal desires? These are the questions on the surface of this holiday play. Meanwhile, its deep, earthy roots are embedded in folklore, fairy tale, and ghost story. Playwright Liz Shipe and I share a fondness for these roots, and for the art of storytelling in general. Magic is a very real thing to me, as I have sat in audiences of children who simply chose to suspend their belief into the story on stage. Turning an actor into a mischievous Norse god, a sound effect interacting as an unseen character, and the appearance and disappearance of people and objects at will are all elements of this very real magic. I think stage magic is at its best when it is not trying to be the special effects you see on a movie screen. Theater can do amazing things with the imagination, and it is my hope that the audiences of Jack Frost get to reclaim some of that childlike wonder. There are good spirits and evil spirits; pure white gleaming snow and dark, cold shadows; the warmth of a hearth fire and the chilling winter wind. All of our characters must put these and their own magic power aside to find what makes the holidays truly worth it: the longing of the human heart. Please huddle close, listen to the story, and thoroughly enjoy Upon a Midnight Clear: A Tale of Jack Frost
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