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An Experience in Great Literature and Live Theater
Appropriate
for
The Dickens!
A
One-Man Program of Dramatized Readings
David Houston as Charles DickensActing script by David Houston, based on performance adaptations by Charles DickensCHOOSE FROM FOUR The Dickens! PROGRAMS TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS(1) Three Stories for the Winter Months (75 minutes)"Boots at the Holly Tree Inn" a charmer in which two 7-year-olds run away to be married, as told to Mr. Dickens while he is snow-bound at the Holly Tree Inn. Plus: "Sikes and Nancy" the beautifully written utterly chilling murder of his girlfriend Nancy by Bill Sikes, abetted by sly cowardly Fagin, in Oliver Twist. Plus: "Doctor Marigold" a funny and tear-jerking novelette narrated by a traveling seller of household goods, about his happy itinerant life and his love for his deaf and dumb adopted daughter.
(2) Four Stories for the Winter
Months (two hours, with intermission) "Bob Sawyer's Party" from Pickwick Papers—a comedy chapter in which a disorganized medical student attempts to throw a party for visiting travelers and fails at every turn, almost being evicted before it's all over. (3)
The Timeless Christmas C
(4) The Other Ghost Story (75 minutes) "The Chimes"—a witty, ironic and poignant short novel exposing how the rich think the poor should live; it's a ghostly tale that does for New Year's Eve what Carol does for Christmas (Published a year after Carol). Plus a "short subject": "Bob Sawyer's Party" from Pickwick Papers—a comedy chapter in which a disorganized medical student attempts to throw a party for visiting travelers and fails at every turn, almost being evicted before it's all over.
Contact Information
Scheduled Performances and Previous
Performances
Sunday, November 28, 2:00 p.m. A CHRISTMAS CAROL,
West Islip Public Library
An
article for unrestricted use with "The Dickens!"
in publicity, programs, classroom study, etc. CHARLES DICKENS, ACTOR By
David Houston “Only Shakespeare has outstripped
Dickens in world influence and in the way in which his
characters have become part of everyday life,” said
Dickens biographer E.W.F. Tomlin.
Not only is Dickens among the best-selling authors in
the English language every year, but there have been
hundreds of dramatic adaptations from Dickens’
work—more than fifty of Oliver Twist alone,
including numerous stage plays and movies, a still-popular
musical, several TV dramatizations including a recent gritty
five-hour BBC miniseries.
The first great theatrical translator of
Dickens was Dickens himself.
He was convinced from the beginning of his writing
career that his work should be read aloud, dramatically.
In 1844, he tried out the idea for a roomful of
friends—who heard him read his new holiday story, The
Chimes. He
wrote to his agent two years later that “I was thinking
that a great deal of money might possibly be made by one’s
having readings of one’s own books.”
His agent dismissed the idea as unseemly for an
artist of Dickens’s stature.
In December of 1853, still determined to prove his
point, Dickens gave a charity reading of his new work—A Christmas Carol.
Two thousand people stood up and cheered.
Two evenings later he repeated the feat with a
reading of The Cricket on the Hearth for another
cheering two thousand. Starting in 1858, readings of his work
blossomed into a demanding second career for Dickens. Until shortly before his death in 1870, “he was constantly,
while writing, either on a reading tour or planning one,”
wrote stage and film actor Emlyn Williams.
In 1867 Dickens toured the eastern United
States where “his reception was sensational,” according
to Williams. In the 1950s and 60s, Emlyn Williams presented a
one-man recreation of the Dickens readings on Broadway and
on tour. “In
our day, Dickens would surely have established himself as a
great film-maker as well as a playwright,” Williams
believed. “Charles
Dickens was born with the theater in his blood.
And as over the years he sat toiling at his desk . .
. no amount of sedentary and remunerative hours could
assuage a natural craving – for the footlights.” Dickens once wrote to a friend: “I was
an actor and a speaker as a baby!”
He remembered being taken, at the age of six, to see Richard
III, where his heart “leapt with terror” and he was
left with indelible impressions—and the desire to be an
actor. And in
fact, before he was established and world-famous as a
novelist, he appeared on the London stage in such plays as The
Lighthouse and The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins
(with whom he would later collaborate), and as Falstaff in
Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. But it was when he impersonated the many
characters in his own stories that his acting became
conspicuous art. “There
they all are,” said Emlyn Williams, “in the
readings—all the characters he had been born to bring to
stage life.” In
all, Dickens performed 423 public readings—not counting a
number of unpaid charity events—which brought in great
sums of money, constituting more than half of his estate at
his death. The
Dickens readings were not simply taken from the familiar
printed pages. The
author made them “actable” by adjusting the language,
omitting unnecessary descriptions, and adding context so
that even those unfamiliar with the published work could
understand the stories, characters and actions.
The manuscripts of 21 Dickens
readings exist in the Dickens archives.
Sixteen were collected by Phillip Collins, a scholar
who often performed them; and these were published in 1975.
They’re fascinating. Stage directions are
often scribbled in the margins—notes such as “speak in a
high key” and “tone down for pathos; up for
cheerfulness.” For
emphasis, certain words and phrases are double or
triple-underlined. David Houston has adapted some of these
original readings and, in performing them, follows
the Dickens notations as to acting style and characterizations.
There are several different 70-minute programs available,
and a full theatrical program lasts about two hours, including an
intermission. The
shorter pieces are the charming short story “Boots at
the Holly-Tree Inn”; the humorous “Bob Sawyer’s
Party” from The Pickwick Papers; and “Sikes and
Nancy”– the frightening murder from Oliver Twist. The
longer segments, A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and
Doctor Marigold were among the most celebrated and
requested in the Dickens tours.
DAVID HOUSTON David Houston is an actor well known to New York regional theater patrons. His British portrayals include Sir, the aging Shakespearean actor in The Dresser, Friar Lawrence in Romeo And Juliet, Tony (the murderer) in Dial M For Murder, Craddock (the detective) in A Murder Is Announced, benevolent Sir John in Me And My Girl, and naive Sir Evelyn in Anything Goes. Very American roles include Horace Giddens in The Little Foxes, Uncle Ben in Death Of A Salesman, the bad guy in Murder Among Friends, and the good guy in Postmortem. David first appeared on stage in his early twenties in a Dayton, Ohio, summer stock production of Father Of The Bride, with Pat O’Brien. His diverse training in art, theater and literature started in Texas and continued in New York City, where he has studied acting with Rose Schulman of the Hedgerow School, Set Design at Lester Polikov Studios, and voice-over technique with Charles Michel of The Voice Bank. A published author, David Houston's books include Jazz Baby—a biography of Joan Crawford (St. Martin’s Press), science-fiction novels Alien Perspective, Gods In A Vortex and Wingmaster (Belmont-Tower), and a mystery, Shadows On The Moon (Leisure Books). He wrote the screenplays for the documentary Voyage To Darkness and for the sci-fi feature film Attack From Mars. His original stage plays, including Fred and Adele Astaire: The Last Dance, Great Scott and Zelda, Murder and Madness and Poe, Let's Do It!, and Jazz Baby Joan have been performed at a number of Long Island libraries.
REFERENCES AND REVIEWS
Planting Fields Arboretum, Coe Hall, Tracy Potavin,
Education Assistant: "We heard only wonderful
things from our guests. It was a great performance [A
Christmas Carol] and seemed to really get everyone into the
Christmas Spirit!" Glen Cove Senior Center, Lucy Van Horn, Activities
Coordinator: "For us it was an unusual educational
and entertaining experience, our first one-man play [Three
Pieces]. My group had nothing but good things to say about
it." Planting Fields Arboretum, Coe Hall, Oyster Bay, Gina Tulin,
Education Director: "What a great program
[Christmas Carol]. People left the performance excited and ready
for the holiday season. We can't wait to do it again next year!
Working with David and his staff is always a pleasure, as was
this performance." Port Washington Public Library, Jessica Ley, Program
Coordinator: "Excellent! [The Chimes] The perfect
antidote to the usual saccharin holiday fare!" Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton, Penelope Wright,
Director of Adult Programs: "A completely
mesmerizing Dickens reading [Three Stories], and a delightful
respite from the usual holiday hustle and bustle." Floral Park Public Library, Patricia Eren, Librarian:
"Everyone who attended was delighted with David's portrayal
of Dickens. David has performed several times at our library
now, and it can truly be said he is the consummate
performer." Seaford Public Library, Marylu Phelan, Adult Services:
[The Chimes] "Excellent audience response; the performance
was a great success." Sachem Public Library, Patrice Ann Prawicka, Community
Services: "Your excellent Dickens presentation [The
Chimes] was so well received that our audience thought you were
an actor from England; your accents of the various characters
brought us back in time to Victorian England. You have a
following! Come back soon." South Country Public Library, Bellport, Kathleen L.
Scheibel, Books Programming: "Your show [A
Christmas Carol] made the
library walls disappear, and I felt instantly transported to
Dickensian London. Many of my fellow audience members
indicated that they felt the same. I have long been a fan
of Dickens and have seen quite a few productions, all staged
with large casts and elaborate scenery. I find it amazing to see
what you can do alone on stage with just a few props. The
South Country Library considers itself lucky to have you on its
list of regular performers." Port Jefferson Free Library, Barbara Sussman, Program
Coordinator: “I'm already looking
forward to having Dickens back next year. The performance
always makes the library look good for the annual Port
Jefferson Dickens Festival. David Houston's programs are
always of the highest quality and very popular with our
library's patrons [A Christmas Carol]." Garden City Public Library, Susan Nolan, Reference Librarian:
"A wonderful play for this time of year. Excellent
performance and script."
The Queens Chronicle, Mark Lord, Reviewer: "Though alone,
Houston managed to fill the playing area with a wide variety
of characters, male and female, young and old, criminal and
aristocratic. With great precision, he used a variety of
voices and subtle changes in body language to depict the
various characters [Four Stories].”
Guild Hall, East Hampton, Marlene Feehan, Head of Reference,
East Hampton Library:
"Excellent; it was actually better than I had expected. I
received many compliments on the program."
Port Washington Public Library, Jessica Ley, Program
Coordinator:
“Certainly your presentation [Three Stories] was one of the more entertaining and
informative programs at the Port Washington Library. This is
the perfect kind of literary entertainment for a library.
If you add new characterizations to your repertoire, I hope
you will allow us the opportunity to present them to our
patrons.”
Oceanside Public Library, Judy Feldman, PR and Program
Coordinator: “‘The Dickens!’ offered
examples of Dickens's writing, views of society, and
sentiments. Mr. Houston made character transitions so
smoothly that the words and meanings flowed, giving the
audience an opportunity to savor these works. The diverse
selection, comedic and dramatic, provided insights into the
period and society as well as relationships and individual
characters.”
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