Tracy Ross speaks with Jason Woods, a Murray native who is bringing his one-man production of A Christmas Carol to the Krider Performing Arts Center in Paris, Tennessee, on December 22.
Woods began writing his production of A Christmas Carol in 2011. He says he had heard Patrick Stewart do a reading of the play and wondered what he could do to delve into each interesting character a bit more. When Woods read the book, he says he was fascinated by the rich language and wanted to expose people to Dickens. Looking for a way to challenge himself as an actor, he decided on turning the ubiquitous play into a one-man, 90 minute show.
Woods plays a couple dozen roles throughout the play with sparse props and no intermission. His original score helps convey the emotional arcs of the story in a cinematic style. He says there is an immense pressure in the performance but that weight fades as the show goes on. He says he feels the story is in his bones and he just wants to share it with people.
More information about the December 22 performance is available at
kridercenter.com.