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| This past Christmas God blessed us one and all, with Damian Gillen's presence on stage in "Bah Humbug!" at the Dougherty Arts Center. Damian gave a superb performance during his one-man show. Gillen's acting was stupendous as he portrayed all the characters in the ever popular "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" by Charles Dickens. "Scrooge" has always been the one video I have to rent every Christmas, or the holiday wouldn't be complete. The play opened with some beautiful Celtic music. The actor appeared on stage dressed in black with a matching top hat and book in hand. The play began with the reading of the Christmas Carol. Gillen does a terrific job of changing costumes and personalities at the blink of an eye! I was amazed how the actor could transform into different characters in a split second. One minute the actor was Scrooge and the next he became the ghost of Christmas Past by holding a green light under his face. I am an adult, and I was on the edge of my seat. It was as if Gillen was actually possesed by these characters. Not only is he a great actor but also a phenominal storyteller. I imagined he must have watched Scrooge a million times growing up, to that good. Throughout the play we are given a glimpse into Scrooge's childhood. The audience roared with laughter when he transformed into Scrooge's sister (Fan;) In this part of the performance he held a dress up to himself like a human paper doll. In the wink of an eye he changed costumes like Santa appearing and disappearing in The Night Before Christmas. During the intermission, I overheard people talking about how very talented he is and I must agree. He was dramatic, funny and scary. He was absulotely hilarious as Mrs Crachit. AllI can say is that this actor has an extraordinary imagination. He transformed himself into other characters by using hats, shawls, aprons and a coatrack. BAH HUMBUG! is sure to delight audiences the world over. |
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| BAH HUMBUG REVIEWS: |
| Bah Humbug Review - Rave Reviews Magazine --Rose Digrazia Publication Date: December 2004 |
| ONE MAN STAND Article from the San Antonio Express News, Dec. 2005 Amanda Reimharr EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER San Antonio Express News (TX) Neighbors - North Central Page Publication Date: December, 2005 Damian Gillen said when his parents took him to see "Scrooge" at Radio City Music Hall, the performance changed his life I was in awe of what I saw on stage. I loved every second of it and I have never forgotten it, the actor said. That story is my favoriteplay, my favorite book, script musical, movies, my favorite everything." Through his San Antonio theatrical production called The Company, which he found 13 years ago, Gillen tours Texas at this time each year with his one-man version of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" - the story on which "Scrooge" is Based. Gillen's version is called "BAH HUMBUG!" The original tale tells the story of a grumpy, selfish Londoner named Scrooge who is taken by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future on a tour of his life and that of teh poor Crachit family. The family's frail child Tiny Tim shows Scrooge how generosity could save a life and therefore softens Scrooge's heart. Originally from New York, teh Southwest Texas State University graduate was performing Dickens' famous tale with Zachary Scott Theatre troupe when he got the idea for "BAH HUMBUG!" "I was driving in my car listening to Patrick Stewert's reading of "A Christmas Carol" and realized that I knew every word to it. I got home, got out a few hats and stood in front of a mirror and recited the entire story," Gillen said. "I only had to look at teh script three times, but otherwise I knew it all by heart and thought I should do a one man show." That show is now in its third year and has been performed in front of more than 6,000 people. Gillen's show stays very close to the original Dickens tale, but he adds sall slapstick bits abd jokes for humor. "The show really makes people laugh and sometimes it makes them cry. The best compliment was from a man in Bracken who cried as he said my show was powerful stuff. He had just lost his son, and the death of Tiny Tim touched him," the actor said. A woman at at recent performance in Boerne said her whole family was moved. "we just so happened upon this performance here and we could not take our eyes off him. He is absolutely amazing," Mary Turner said. "This is such a beloved story, and he does it wonderful justice. My children and my husband and I were all transfixed until the last moment. I can't believe he can change characters like that." Gillen uses simple props and contumes to change into 15 different characters right in front of teh audience. In an instant, he can transfor himself into a new personality by using voice and demeanor. "I really like that I change characters on stage right in front of everybody. There is no downtime to go offstage, and by just adding a hat I can be someone else." he said. Gillen gets most of his simple props from flea markets or thrift stores but said teh after-Haloween sales are good places to find new sytage items. Although Gillen loved watching plays on stage, the acting but didn't bite him until age 13, when his mother forced him to attend acting classes. He said he knew within the first few minutes of classthat he wanted to be an actor. His first professional job came at 16, and he had to get permission to come to school late because of the performance. Since then, the classically trained Shakespearean actor has worked nonstop on dozens of productions. But he says the story of Scrooge and the Crachit family always will be near and dear to my heart. He even has a 1984 Volkswagen Van named the BAH HUMBUS! The show is about charity , and I love doing it so much that I only charge peformance fees on a pay-what-you-wish basis. If a group really wants to see the show but can't afford anything, I will perform it for them anyway," he said of the almost one-hour show. The Company will also be performing a two-person production of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe in the spring. Visit the website at www.thecompanytheatre.org for dontact information and upcoming show dates. |
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