Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol
An avowed holiday skeptic, Aunt Trudy has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her Chicago home, she reconstructs his annual Christmas Carol puppet show – over a Zoom call while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family’s call transforms into a stunning cinematic adaptation of Dickens’s classic ghost story. Featuring hundreds of handmade puppets, immersive sound design and live music, Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is a holiday show unlike anything you've ever seen.
Rated PG due to themes of loss and death as well as spooky ghosts.
The premiere of Manual Cinema’s virtual Christmas Carol took place on December 3, 2020 and was streamed live from our Chicago studio to folks across the globe.
Manual Cinema's live Christmas Carol premiered at Writers Theatre Nov. 29, 2022.
Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens
Devised by Manual Cinema
Additional Writing by Nate Marshall
Lizi Breit (Puppeteer), LaKecia Harris (Aunt Trudy)
LaKecia Harris (Aunt Trudy)
Lizi Breit (Puppeteer), LaKecia Harris (Aunt Trudy)
Julia Miller (Puppeteer), Lizi Breit (Puppeteer), Jeffrey Paschal (Puppeteer)
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol at Writers Theatre, Photos by Liz Lauren
Honors & Awards
Credits
A Manual Cinema Production
Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens
Devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter
Additional Writing by Nate Marshall
PRODUCTION
Storyboards and Puppet Design Drew Dir*
Original Score and Sound Design Ben Kauffman* and Kyle Vegter *
Lighting Design Trey Brazeal
Associate Lighting Design Hannah Wien
Additional Puppet Design and Fabrication by the Chicago Puppet Studio artists, Caitlin McLeod, Jackie Kelsey, Sion Silvio and Tom Lee
Costume Design Julia Miller*
Properties Design Rae Watson
Puppet Build Assistants Lizi Breit and Julia Miller*
Sound Engineer Mike Usrey
Stage Manager Natalie Cohen
Costume Supervisor Darcy Hofer
Audio/Video Supervisor Amanda Hosking
Lighting Supervisor Raphael Grimes
Original CAST
LaKecia Harris (Aunt Trudy)
Lizi Breit (Puppeteer)
Julia Miller* (Puppeteer)
Jeffrey Paschal (Puppeteer)
Ben Kauffman* (Lead Vocals, Keys, Piano, Voice Over)
Emily Meyer (Violin, Vocals)
Kyle Vegter* (Cello, Keys, Bass, Vocals, Voice Over)
2024 Cast
LaKecia Harris (Aunt Trudy)
Lizi Breit (Puppeteer - December 13)
Felix Mayes (Puppeteer)
Jeffrey Paschal (Puppeteer)
Kevin Michael Wesson (Puppeteer)
Nora Barton (Cello, Keys, Bass)
Lucy Little (Violin, Vocals)
Alicia Walter (Lead Vocals, Keys, Piano)
2023 Additional Cast
Nora Barton (Cello, Keys, Bass)
Teiana Davis (Lead Vocals, Keys, Piano)
Lucy Little (Violin, Vocals)
Felix Mayes (Puppeteer)
Kevin Michael Wesson (Puppeteer)
Understudies
Josh Bernaki (Puppeteer)
Kaylah Crosby (Aunt Trudy)
2022 Additional Cast
Sarah Fornace* (Puppeteer)
Understudies
Leah Casey (Puppeteer)
Jyreika Guest (Aunt Trudy)
*Denotes Co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema