A Christmas Carol - meet cast member Erik Rieloff

Tell us about your role in A Christmas Carol.
My First and primary Character is Fred the nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge and only surviving family member. I am the son of his beloved sister Fan, whom for the most part represented the only light in his life. Fred is is very resolute in his ways and is happy no matter how his uncle treats him or feels about his presence. She died giving birth to me and he resents me for that but also subconsciously yearns for my company. I love my uncle no matter what and I am intent on spreading Christmas cheer to him no matter what. Fred is the life of the party and everywhere he goes people love him for his humility and giving nature.

On the other side of the spectrum I play the most feared and dark character being that of the ghost of Christmas Future. He does not speak at all but has a very menacing presence and is symbolic of the most dreadful of outcomes in Scrooge's life should he not take heed of the lessons learned from the previous encounters with other spirits. No one ever wants to come across this particular apparition but Scrooge has no choice but to suffer his company.

What were some of the challenges you faced in working on this show?

As far as some of the challenges of working on this piece I would have to say that perhaps my biggest obstacle is the fact that I am not used to playing someone who is so cheerful and constantly happy no matter what the circumstances may be. It is a challenge each time our wonderful director tells me to be more cheery (LOL) but I guess you can just accredit that to my NYC roots. Having just moved here only 2 weeks before my audition, I also found it a little difficult to juggle the intense schedule with all the other obstacles that can sometimes come about when moving to an entirely new place. However, everyone has made me feel so welcome and I could not ask to be part of a better cast.

What do you hope the audiences take away from A Christmas Carol?

I hope the audiences are able to feel all the love that we put into this production starting with the beautiful vision of our lovely director, Rachael Hubbard and all the way down to the very last note of music played by the wonderfully talented Linda Wells. All of the actors are a vessel for each audience members vision and imagination as it pertains to this Charles Dickens masterpiece. We poured all of our hearts and soul into this and without the help of all the staff and crew it would not be possible to make the process so fantastic to be a part of. I can't wait to see all of the smiling faces.  I just want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.