View source for Charles Dickens Unleashed

{{Infobox Show
|Name	=	Charles Dickens Unleashed	
|Picture=	Charles Dickens Unleashed.jpg
|Theater=	[[The Hideout Theatre]]
|Director = {{Unbulleted list | [[Jessica Arjet]] | [[Kaci Beeler]] }}
|Cast	=	Varied
|Tech  = Varied
|Run	=	Nov/Dec 2009
|Subsequent Runs= Nov/Dec 2011
}}

'''''Charles Dickens Unleashed''''' was a longform narrative show inspired by the works of [[wikipedia:Charles Dickens|Charles Dickens]].

== Summary ==
The show was a narrated longform, in the style of one of the earlier Dickens novels like ''Oliver Twist''.  The narrator was looking back on his early life, and following it through the sort of ups and downs one often saw in Dickens novels.

The production included a Victorian-London set design from [[Kaci Beeler]], Dickensian costumes, and soundtrack cues with appropriate music from the era.

=== Show Structure ===
The show opened with the cast all entering the theater and taking a tableau onstage over music.  The last to arrive would be the narrator, who would welcome the audience to the theater, perhaps warm them up, and then ask for an occupation that someone might have in Victorian times.  After this, the lights would go down, and the narrator would take a seat in the stage-left thrust at a table with an old lamp and a book.  This was the book the narrator ostensibly was writing as he narrated; in actuality, it served as a place for the narrator to take notes on the developing action.

After this, the story would open with a single scene begun ''in medias res'', usually dramatic, and usually vague.  After this, the narrator would narrate the opening of the "novel", almost always recounting the character's earliest childhood.  Performers would begin playing out what was narrated, and the story would progress through a checkered childhood and pass on into early adulthood.

At about the two-thirds mark, the narrator would introduce some significant passage of time in the story.  Then, the narrator would take the stage, and replace the protagonist -- implying that the narrator was now playing the "grown-up" version of him- or herself.  From that point on, the narrator was the protagonist of the show, though the narrator could still step out of a scene to provide narration.

At the end of the story, the onstage characters would again freeze into a tableau, and the narrator would step out to provide the closing lines of the "novel".

== History ==
The show ran in the 2009 November/December holiday season, and was brought back for a second mainstage run in 2011.  That second run was so successful that, in December, the Hideout added 6pm shows every Saturday.  The show also had Christmas performances in its "off" years (2010, 2012), and was part of [[The 43-Hour Improv Marathon]].

On 11/17/11, cast members [[Curtis Luciani]], [[Kaci Beeler]], and [[Peter Rogers]] appeared on KUT's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUT#Local_productions Eklektikos]'' to promote the show.

== Cast and Crew ==
=== 2009 Run ===
==== Cast ====
* [[Curtis Luciani]]
* [[Jon Bolden]]
* [[Kaci Beeler]]
* [[Kareem Badr]]
* [[Kristin Firth]]
* [[Marc Majcher]]
* [[Meghan Wolff]]
* [[Michael Joplin]]
* [[Patrick Daniel]]
* [[Peter Rogers]]
* [[Roy Janik]]
* [[Topping Haggerty]]
* [[Valerie Ward]]

==== Crew ====
* [[Kim Roche]]
* [[Mo Daviau]]
* [[Neal Tibrewala]]
* [[Todd Hart]]
* [[Wyatt Cargile]]

=== 2011 Run ===

==== Cast ====
* [[Andy Crouch]]
* [[Clay Towery]]
* [[Courtney Hopkin]]
* [[Curtis Luciani]]
* [[Halyn Lee Erickson]]
* [[Jessica Arjet]]
* [[Kaci Beeler]]
* [[Kristin Firth]]
* [[Marc Majcher]]
* [[Mitchell Deane]]
* [[Peter Rogers]]
* [[Roy Janik]]
* [[Topping Haggerty]]
* [[Valerie Ward]]
* [[Zac Grantham]]

==== Crew ====
* [[Neal Tibrewala]]
* [[Michael Yew]]
* [[Katherine Greco]]
* [[Cindy Page]]

==Media==
=== Videos ===
* 12/4/10 performance: [http://vimeo.com/17526882 video part 1], [http://vimeo.com/17527273 video part 2].
* 11/5/11 performance: [http://vimeo.com/31791266 video].
* 11/12/11 performance: [http://vimeo.com/32051012 video].
* 11/19/11 performance: [http://vimeo.com/32812770 video].
* 11/26/11 performance: [http://vimeo.com/32810551 video].
* 12/3/11 6pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/33430321 video].
* 12/3/11 8pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/33398135 video].
* 12/10/11 6pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/33780095 video].
* 12/10/11 8pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/33825571 video].
* 12/17/11 6pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/34602446 video].
* 12/17/11 8pm performance: [http://vimeo.com/34029468 video].
* 12/21/12 performance: [http://vimeo.com/56314382 video].

=== Photos ===
* 11/2/09 dress rehearsal: [http://www.facebook.com/hujhax/media_set?set=a.206913962264.157845.588952264&type=3 photoset] by [[Peter Rogers]].
* 11/14/09 performance: [http://www.facebook.com/hujhax/media_set?set=a.215017017264.160855.588952264&type=3 photoset] by [[Peter Rogers]].
* 12/05/09 "orphans" performance: [http://www.facebook.com/hujhax/media_set?set=a.242733297264.168271.588952264&type=3 photoset] by [[Peter Rogers]].
* 12/12/09 "orphans" performance: [http://www.facebook.com/hujhax/media_set?set=a.242759517264.168275.588952264&type=3 photoset] by [[Peter Rogers]].
* 12/19/09 performance: [http://www.facebook.com/roy.moore/photos?collection_token=1589679282%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.1145815257453.2020001.1589679282&type=3 photoset] by [[Roy Moore]]; [http://www.facebook.com/hujhax/media_set?set=a.253986712264.170277.588952264&type=3 photoset] by [[Peter Rogers]].
* 12/3/11 8pm performance: [http://www.facebook.com/michael.yew/photos?collection_token=1315383518%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.2231464548864.102851.1315383518&type=1 photoset] by [[Michael Yew]].
* 12/10/11 8pm performance: [http://www.facebook.com/michael.yew/photos?collection_token=1315383518%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.2275267843919.103545.1315383518&type=3 photoset] by [[Michael Yew]].
* 12/17/11 performance: [http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.462273963836125.112151.221927764537414&type=3 photoset] by [[Steve Rogers]].
* 12/21/12 performance: [http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.462857947111060.112251.221927764537414&type=3 photoset] by [[Steve Rogers]].

== More Information ==
* The show's web page.
* [http://forum.austinimprov.com/viewtopic.php?t=9918 Forum announcement of the premiere.]
* [http://www.hideouttheatre.com/statesman-review-for-charles-dickens-unleashed Review of a 2009 performance by ''The Austin Statesman''.]
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2010-01-01/933531/ Review of a 2009 performance by ''The Austin Chronicle''.]

[[Category:Shows]]
[[Category:The Hideout Theatre]]