Fitch back at 4th Street with one-man ‘A Christmas Carol’
Actor Grant Fitch says he happily and easily identifies with his holiday hero Charles Dickens for his one-man stage performances.
“Among the 33 characters I bring to life during my performance is I channel Charles Dickens and assume his identity since he serves in the role of narrator,” said Grant, who lives in Dyer.
“In Dickens’ written works, his voice is really speaking as that of the narrator and his narration has a lot of personality to capture attention.”
Fitch embodies every character for his one-man stage adaptation of the Dickens holiday classic tale “A Christmas Carol,” with two performances Nov. 27 and 28 at 4th Street Theater in Chesterton.
Fitch originally performed the solo work in 2018 at 4th Street, an intimate venue with 60 seats, and then again in 2019, and was eager to accept a return invitation for 2020 for what was anticipated to be two performances last year.
“Rather than celebrating two performances in 2020 it turned out to be no performances at the Chesterton stage space or any place. But I did do streaming installments for a full reading of ‘Christmas Carol’ to keep me in fine form,” said Fitch, who traditionally is booked in November and December at not only area theaters, but also schools, libraries and nursing homes.
Fitch said his one-man adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” was born as his own idea more than two decades ago in 1997 when he did a traditional reading of the story for an event.
In 2003, he unveiled his one-man stage treatment at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso with what he now fondly refers to as his “first memorized performance” of Dickens’ iconic Christmas classic.
“My performance is still considered condensed and designed as two 45-minute acts with one intermission,” he said.
Fitch said the performance relies on very few props and costume needs, keeping the emphasis on his vocal variations and his gestures to convey change of character.
“As I’ve fine-tuned how I present this telling of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ I’ve changed some things and even the smallest edit can make a big difference,” Fitch said.
“I recently began adding an empty extra stool to my performance space and that created a different dynamic. For example, I can look at that empty stool, and for the context of a scene such as Tiny Tim missing from the Cratchit table, it relays an added element to the vocal exchanges of what’s being communicated. Add to this the bonus of lighting and sound board to provide music and sound effects, and it’s a full performance experience.”
Despite the masterful library of authored classics from Dickens during his lifetime, he was financially strapped at the time of his death in 1870. He had spent his final years touring, performing a one-man reading and recreation of “A Christmas Carol,” similar to the showman approach used by Fitch.
The adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” Fitch uses for his performances is his own edited creation.
“Besides the text, I’ve developed ways to deliver the story content to the audience using changing accents, my vocal tones and even my stance and body language,” Fitch said.
“What’s most challenging is when it is a scene that requires group conversation since I have to be sure the audience is clear about who is talking with distinct vocal characterizations. So sometimes I’ll add a trait or detail, such as allowing a man to sniff a bit from his snuff box while delivering a line to create added distinction.”