IRT Production of A Christmas Carol presented at The Gibson for BMS students

Batesville Middle School seventh-grade students spent approximately two weeks reading,

analyzing, and “performing” an adaptation of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. The version

shared with the students came from our literature series (Savvas Realize). The adaptation was

entitled A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley by playwright Israel Horovitz. While working on

this piece, students learned new vocabulary words, made inferences based on dialogue and stage

directions, and learned various drama terms. For many years, the culminating experience has been

a trip to the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) in Indianapolis to see the piece come to life on stage.

This is followed up by a informative piece of writing (compare/contrast).

This year, for a variety of reasons, they were unable to attend the production in Indianapolis.

For a reduced rate, the IRT provided a link with a videotaped performance of the piece.

Approximately half of the students attended the production in the morning while the other half

attended a viewing in the afternoon. Students followed this up on Tuesday with a discussion of the

similarities and differences in the piece. They also discussed live theater vs. a taped performance.