Christmas Carol Circuit Party

Created by William Kyle odum+ River Timms

Written by River Timms

Directed by William Kyle Odum

December 18 & 19, 2023
Play dance Bar

Tip the performers

Cast

The Miss Fits (Nichole Ellington Dupree, Sapphire Mylan, Venus Ann Serena) as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future

Blake Holliday as Charles Dickens (or Ms. Dixie if you're nasty)

Miles Gatrell as EB Scrooge

Gillión Welsh as Jacob Marley

Dee Benn as T.T.

Jack Read as Bob Cratchit

Shabaz Ujima as Dancer

Sunni as Dancer

Joshua Moore as The Poet

Live Scored by Aazera

Crew

Directed by William Kyle Odum

Stage Managed by Sammy Smith

Choreography by Shabaz Ujima

Costume Design by Dee Benn and Iris Daniel

Lighting Design by Taylor Thomas

Production Management by Sam Lowry

Production Assistance by Jo

Mask Design by Jack Read

Marketing/Experience Design by Elizabeth Read

Produced by Sam Lowry, Daniel Jones, William Kyle Odum, River Timms

Photobooth Photos

About the playwright

River Timms is Woven Theatre's Resident Playwright and Head of New Works Development. Born in Alabama and raised in the sticks, they graduated from Belmont University with a B.A in theatre in 2018, and they've wreaked havoc on the Nashville indie theatre scene ever since. Their most recent project, “The Naughty Tree,” was written in collaboration with Kindling Arts Festival and was selected as the Best Local Theatre Performance by “The Nashville Scene” in 2022.

From the director

It all started with a phone call where the idea of 'gay Christmas carol' came up. What if Scrooge was a bitter old queen?

Christmas Carol deals with Redemption, Human compassion, Greed and Materialism, Social Responsibility, Reflection, Family, and human interconnectedness. All of that is present in this, but what draws me in, what excites me and makes me want to dig deeper is the idea of transformation. People making the choice to change. The choice to transform themselves in the face of despair and challenge. Bob Cratchit choses everyday to be a positive force in the face of a harrowing life. It would be easy to give way to the despair. By the end Scrooge, faced with everything, chooses to transform himself to be a force for good. A giver instead of just a taker.

We are also looking at how we transform overtime. Looking back over of our lives and trying to discern how we got to where we are. It's easy to get lost in the minutia our lives. It's harder to examine and remember all the moments that led up to now. We can generally recall the big swings in our lives but it's not just those big swings that make us who we are. It's thousands of moments that keep us on a trail.

This bleeds into identity. Who we choose to be. Who we choose to surround ourselves with and how we choose to express our identity. So much about the Queer experience is about expression. Does what we wear out us? Do we choose to present in ways that make it clear we are queer? From the process of accepting your identity and coming out, how does that transform us and how does that change our identity?"

Christmas Carol Circuit Party is a fun, wild ride, underpinned by and built upon beautiful writing and amazingly complex characters. I firmly believe that there needs to be a why. A reason. There needs to be a reason to make theatre. That why can be as light as 'to bring people some joy' or as deep as 'exploring the trenches of human compassion'. Both are 100% valid, but If there isn't a reason we are doing this that lack of drive and clarity will wiggle its way into the piece. This show does both. It shows joy, Queer joy, intimacy, hardship, struggle, fun, excitement so much more. It truly has been a joy and pleasure to create this piece from the ground up.