Newly-elected state senator scheduled to join cast 

Community leaders including County Legislator Richard Othmer, Kent Justice Peter Collins and newly-elected State Senator Terry Gipson are scheduled to join the cast of 28 characters in a reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Arts on the Lake, 640 Route 52, Lake Carmel, on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m.

“The story of A Christmas Carol is really the story of how we interact as a community,” said the Arts Center’s Executive Director James Shearwood, “so we have cast the reading from a wide range of the community.”

In addition to local political leaders, actors from the Blue Horse Repertory Company, members of Arts on the Lake, students from Carmel High School and the art classes at the center are scheduled to participate.

Arts on the Lake’s tradition of reading the classic tale of redemption was initiated six years ago by the late actor Leo Burmester, when the local arts organization was being organized.

This version is a combination of the various scripts that have been used over the years.

Brian Keeler, a member of the Blue Horse Repertory Company, who will narrate the story, said he first encountered Terry Gipson at the Actors Theatre of Louisville when Keeler was an actor and Gipson was designing sets there. It was through this connection that Gipson was invited to participate.

Arts on the Lake expects to celebrate the completion of its Fall Fund Drive in which contributions to the local nonprofit have been matched by a gift from the Anne Anastasi Charitable Foundation, immediately following the reading.

“Not only does Scrooge get a second life,” said Shearwood, “but Arts on the Lake does as well.”

Tickets for the evening, entitled “Dickens and Dessert,” are priced at $12 ($10 for AotL members) and may be purchased at [email protected].

More information is available at artsonthelake.org or 845-228-2685.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Articles attributed to "staff" are written by the editor or a senior editor. This is typically because they are brief items based on a single source, such as a press release, or there are multiple contributors, such as a collection of photos.