Atwater students to perform ‘A Christmas Carol’

Fifty students at Atwater’s Mitchell Senior Elementary School will be presenting Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on Friday as the school reintroduces drama to the community.

The 50 students who are part of the cast and stage crew will be giving four 40-minute performances during the day for Mitchell Senior students and one for the public at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria, said Austin Worden, an eighth-grade history teacher and student body adviser. Admission is free.

This is the third time Worden has directed the 1843-vintage English play. The first two times were when he was at Winton Middle School. He said he loves that story because it’s so much more than just a Christmas tale – encompassing life lessons that should be told year-round.

Worden said each time he has presented the play, the rhythm and beat are different. He said students have been very dedicated to the play, giving up their free time at lunch or after school to rehearse or work on scenery and costumes.

Eighth-grader Grace Gouveia portrays Mrs. Cratchit. She has performed twice before in a summer acting program at Golden Valley and Buhach Colony high schools.

“(The play) is really spooky and has lots of great twists,” she said.

Isaac Avila, also an eighth-grader, plays Bob Cratchit. When he was a fifth-grader at Atwater’s Elmer Wood School, he played the Grinch. This production will be bigger and more fun, he said.

Worden said he plans on doing a spring production, but details haven’t been determined yet. Auditions for Friday’s play were held in early October and rehearsals started right after that.

Worden, who was activities director for two years at Golden Valley High School, said one of his goals at Mitchell Senior was to revitalize the drama program, which had been dormant for a couple of years.

This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Atwater students to perform ‘A Christmas Carol’."