With the holiday season upon us, a joyful spirit is spreading across campus with CSU East Bay’s Theatre & Dance department helping to usher in the season of good will with a modern version of a classic holiday tale.
“Scroogie”, an au courant rendition of the Charles Diken’s classic, A Christmas Carol, will be presented on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 3 and 7 p.m. in the Hayward campus University Theatre.
The production puts a modern spin on the classic tale by adding a dash of hip-hop, rock n’roll and a teaspoon of pop culture.
Together these changes create a recipe for a story that entertains audiences, while also delivering a message about compassion and taking your community into your own hands.
“We should all be proactive about the community that we live in and that we have the right and responsibility to make it a place that is hospitable,” said Assistant Professor Ann Fajilan, who helped develop the show from a script written by theatre department students.
The script for “Scroogie” originated from the minds of students in the Dramatic Activities for Children class, under the supervision of Fajilan, who is in her fifth year as an assistant professor with the university.
According to the Theatre and Arts department website, “Scroogie” is “loosely based” on the Charles Dickens classic, updated with contemporary spirits, ghosts and social problems.
According to Fajilan, although there are new elements, audiences can still expect an old fashion moral to the holiday story.
Fajilan stated that the key to changing our own circumstances lies in the use of “empathy, kindness and compassion,” and “Scroogie” attempts to convey that message to audiences.
Donielle Martin, a junior at CSUEB, hopes to check out the production, for a reminder of what the holiday season should be about.
“Sometimes I think people get more caught up in the commercialism of the holidays, buying presents and all that,” she said, “but they forget about the spirit of what this time of year is all about.”