Ensemble Theatre invites you on ‘The Long Christmas Ride Home’

In keeping with its theme of plays that examine family dynamics, Ensemble Theatre will close out its 2018 season with “The Long Christmas Ride Home.”

“The Long Christmas Ride Home” is a one-act play by Paula Vogel, first performed in 2003. It is a drama about a road trip by two parents and their three young children to visit grandparents for the Christmas holiday and the emotional turmoil that they undergo.

The play is unique in its incorporation of bunraku, an ancient form of Japanese puppetry, to tell the story.

“Some parts very raw and troubling, some parts painfully relatable and the sprinkling in of some

parts purposefully foreign, yet ominously connected, would be a decent attempt at explaining ‘The Long Christmas Ride Home,” Executive Director Garry Lee Posey describes.

“ETC has spent this season really diving into the meaning, understanding and enlightening of the idea of family. This last play of the season is no exception,” he says.

“‘Christmas Ride’ shows us that while tragedies might confront us, as a family we must acknowledge what it teaches us,” says Casey Keelen, one the producing members of ETC.

Constance Hester is making her debut as an ETC director with this drama, having just returned from New York where she worked with director Diane Paulus.

The cast features Casey Keelen, Kyle Dagnan and Eric “Red” Wyatt along with newcomers Courtney Cholovich, Jennifer Bryant and Zachery Green.

Set and light design are by Martine Cartier, with puppets and costumes designed by Kyle Dagnan.

For more information: www.ensembletheatre ofchattanooga.com