A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Merchant's House to Stream On Demand

This December, as Summoners Ensemble Theatre's A CHRISTMAS CAROL AT THE MERCHANT'S HOUSE resumes long-anticipated live performances for its 10th holiday season, they will once again offer performances virtually! For $35, join Mr. Dickens and watch online, from anywhere and on your schedule. Your pay-per-view ticket is good for three viewings of their holiday classic anytime between now and December 30, 2022.

"I have always thought of Christmas time -as a good time;
a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time. ... when men and women seem by
one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely. ... God Bless it!"

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the MERCHANT'S HOUSE, Charles Dickens in New York, 1867, is presented online by Summoners Ensemble Theatre in association with the Merchant's House Museum. Performances were filmed in the landmark 1832 Merchant's House Museum, New York City's only 19th century family home preserved intact, inside and out.

Pay-Per-View

Pay-per-view is $35 and allows patrons to unlimited views, anytime between November 23, 2022 and December 30, 2022.
View online at www.summonersensemble.org.

BIOGRAPHIES:

John Kevin Jones

(Actor, Co-Adapter): Kevin is a member of Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, and the Dramatists Guild of America. New York: Nothing But Trash, Theater for the New City; Jeffrey (starring Bryan Batt), Lincoln Center; The Winter's Tale and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Hipgnosis Theatre. Regional: The Pavilion (American Stage), Othello (Arkansas Rep), The Rivals, All My Sons (Kentucky Rep), Angels in America, Gross Indecency (Playhouse on the Square). BA in Theatre Performance from the University of South Florida and MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of Memphis.

RHONDA DODD

(Director, Co-Adapter): An award winning actor, technician and director, Rhonda arrived in New York with over 150 shows under her belt. Once here she made her Off-Broadway acting debut with Terese Hayden and Jacqueline Brookes' Workshop in Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment, finished her Ph.D., and spent 10 years working at Circle in the Square Theatre School. Dr. Dodd is the Artistic Director of Summoners Ensemble Theatre, a member of Actors Equity, and a participant in The Playground Experiment - a forum for theatre artists to explore, test, and showcase new work while finding inspiration and support from the community it creates.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870): Considered the greatest English novelist of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters. When destitution landed his family in debtor's prison, young Charles was forced to give up school and work in a blacking warehouse. This era of his life heavily influenced his writing, which later made him a much sought-after orator. After giving a speech to a group of working-class poor, Dickens found himself contemplating the plight of exploited child workers. Taking only six weeks to complete, in 1843, A Christmas Carol stripped away the mask from some of England's most acute social evils. By speaking up for the poor and oppressed, Dickens directly confronted the apathy and callousness of his countrymen. But more than just a timely political screed, Dickens' spirit-filled holiday story has become a timeless treatise about love, compassion, and the transformation of the human heart. He impelled his contemporaries then -- and now us today -- to care about everyone and to reach out and help if we see someone in need.

MERCHANT'S HOUSE MUSEUM

Built in 1832, the Merchant's House is New York City's only 19th century family home preserved virtually intact, with original family furnishings and personal belongings. A unique survivor of Old New York, the House offers an intimate glimpse of how a prosperous merchant family and their Irish servants lived in mid-19th century New York, as the city grew from a colonial seaport to thriving metropolis.

The Merchant's House is a National Historic Landmark and in New York City is distinguished as one of only 120 buildings that have NYC landmark status for both its exterior and interior.

SUMMONERS ENSEMBLE THEATRE

Founded by a group of actors who studied together at Circle in the Square Theatre School's Professional Acting Training program, Summoners Ensemble joined the ranks of New York nonprofit theatre companies in 1993. Created as a collaborative to allow the members to share in all of the functions needed in running a theatre company, Summoners remains a collective effort as they jointly produce theatrical events with other nonprofits or as they find themselves acting and directing, writing and producing.

Visit www.summonersensemble.org for more information,

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