Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Judy Maddren was out for a walk one morning when it hit her.
The retired CBC radio announcer, who moved to Stratford in 2015, was looking for a way to contribute to the community she now calls home.
“I thought, ah, hospice, that can be a good end to a story, that provides a good last chapter,” she recalled.
During her jaunt, Maddren came up with the idea of producing a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with funds raised supporting the Stratford Perth Rotary Hospice project. Chairperson Andy Werner and the board of directors supported the idea, but they had a suggestion.
“Do it at the Festival, they’ve got lots more seats there,” Maddren said. “Kind of naively I said, ‘Oh, OK.’ And it’s just grown from there.”
With the Stratford Festival on board – the organization donated the space and technical crew and is selling tickets through its box office – the reading is set for Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
“That’s been one of the things that’s really just blown me away,” Maddren said of the Festival’s support. “In trying to get this going, everybody you asked to do something says, ‘Sure.’”
The list of readers includes Geraint Wyn Davies, Michael Enright, Martha Henry, Seana McKenna, Cedric Smith and Alison Wearing. Each person will take on a chapter – one is divided into two due to length – with a logical choice for anchor.
“Martha Henry will bring it home, as you can imagine,” Maddren said.
Maddren began producing dramatic readings in 1990, supporting various charities over the years such as women’s shelters and food banks. Early on she discovered the important role music plays.
“If you have an incredible piece of music that gets you in the mood, it leads you right into absorbing the story more,” she said.
Local musician Paul Shilton is the musical director for the upcoming event with singing performances by Dayna Manning of Trent Severn, Mark Gardner, and Cynthia Dale. A choir of students from Avon Public School, led by teacher Mark McIntosh, will open the evening.
Reading A Christmas Carol out loud takes about three-and-a-half hours, Maddren said. But Dickens penned a shortened version for public readings at hospital and school fundraisers, which takes about 75 minutes.
“So if you add music in you’ve got a nice two-hour program,” Maddren said. “But this is his version, this is word-for-word.”
Avid fans of the book, originally published in 1843, won’t feel slighted by the truncated version, she said.
“Dickens did a fantastic job of including all the important stuff and all the big jokes,” she said.
Maddren, who records audio memoires through the company Soundportraits, said listening to someone else reading the book offers a new perspective.
“Dickens is one of those writers, the more you read him out loud the more jokes you get and the more layers of the story,” she said. “When you hear it read out loud, somebody brings out something you’d never have figured out if you were reading it silently to yourself.”
Tickets, $30, $40 or $50 each depending on location, are only being sold for the theatre’s floor. A Festival spokesperson said the orchestra level has 1073 seats. In addition to the Festival’s box office, tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca/christmas-carol.
Maddren said the balcony may be opened if sales go well.
As for the hospice, organizers hope to have shovels in the ground next spring and accept their first residents near the end of 2018. Six beds will be initially available with an eye on expanding to 10. A total of $7.5 million must be raised to build and operate the facility – the capital campaign has already raised $4 million, Maddren said.
If you go:
WHAT: Dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Festival Theatre
COST: $30, $40 or $50
By Terry Bridge for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Illustration: Poster for A Christmas Carol. ©2017 Scott McKowen.
2017-10-20
Stratford: All-star reading of "A Christmas Carol" December 1 to raise funds for Stratford hospice