Friday, April 26, 2024
For 68-year-old Mansfield resident Trich Zaitoon, forgetting a line while on stage, struggling to keep a cough in check while on stage, or dealing with a two-hour commute in order to appear onstage at the Granbury Opera House aren’t particularly daunting.
A seasoned pro, Zaitoon has calmly handled all of those things and more.
What does strike fear in her heart, though, is the possibility of a performance being delayed because she is stuck in traffic at the Cresson intersection because of a train.
Luckily, that hasn’t happened – at least, not yet – since she began her role as the narrator in “A Christmas Carol,” a commitment that involves 27 shows. Performances began the Friday night after Thanksgiving and will continue every weekend, and a few weeknights, through Dec. 23.
To be on the safe side, Zaitoon leaves home in her costume and stage makeup. She even told a judge and attorneys that if she was chosen for jury duty she absolutely had to be finished by a certain time on Friday and there were simply “no options” about it.
As the narrator, Zaitoon is on stage for much of the show, as is Freddy Martinez Jr., who plays Ebenezer Scrooge.
In the famous tale, the curmudgeonly Scrooge changes his ways after being visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come.
Granbury Theatre Company board president Micky Shearon said that, in GTC’s version of the famed Charles Dickens classic, the narrator and Scrooge have about 95 percent of the dialogue.
“It’s a beast of a show for both of them, and they do a fabulous job,” he said of Zaitoon and Martinez, both of whom also perform for the Plaza Theatre Company in Cleburne.
Some directors put their own spin on the Christmas classic, but Zaitoon said the GTC’s version is a bit dark, much like the Dickens novel from which the play is based.
“It’s a little darker at first so that the happiness at the end, the contrast is great,” she said.
Zaitoon is a married mother of two grown sons, a traveler, a scuba diver and a volunteer at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose.
She didn’t take up acting until age 40, but she loves it, and it has become an important part of her life. She also participates in productions at the Main Street Theatre in Mansfield.
Zaitoon’s drive to Gran-bury to play the narrator in “A Christmas Carol” is a two-hour commute. She does not stay overnight in Granbury but rather drives home after every show.
HER BIGGEST FAN
That’s not because her husband Al has a bah humbug attitude about the hobby that has won her passion. Zaitoon said that he is her biggest fan.
“He loves to support theater,” she stated.
Zaitoon said she is often asked whether she is exhausted by the drives and the performances. The answer is no. She said she has energy left after arriving home to pay bills or perform other chores.
“Your adrenaline gets going,” she said of being on stage in front of a life audience. “It takes me awhile to wind down.”
CHRISTMAS PRESENT
The GTC’s holiday shows tend to be popular and oftentimes sell out. For “A Christmas Carol,” additional performances are planned.
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Extra performances are planned for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 18-20.
Tickets range from $30-$35 and discounts are available for seniors, those in the military and students.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.granburytheatrecompany.org or by calling the box office at 817-579-0952.
Zaitoon said that the show is a bit shorter than most – maybe an hour and 20 minutes – so there is no intermission.
“It’s not a very long play,” she said. “We go straight through.”
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