The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 2)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Beth Bradley

Wikipedia defines the fourth wall as a “performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes, the actors act as if they cannot”. At BYPC we train our actors at an early age about the fourth wall and in our more advanced classes our actors learn methods and techniques to use the fourth wall to enhance their storytelling.

Rule number one - you never break the fourth wall. Unless, of course, you are the narrator. Beth Bradley is a narrator. Over the years I have discovered the power of the role of Beth in my development of BYPC actors. She is definitely one of those break through characters.

The role of Beth Bradley is uniquely challenging because she starts the show by reminiscing with her audience about her experience as a part of the town’s Christmas pageant. From her very first utterance she needs to grab the attention of each audience member to set the tone of the relationship that each of our cast of storytellers will rely upon. She needs to be relaxed, conversational, charming, relatable and at the same time - compelling. Not an easy task.

But it gets even tougher because she moves from narrating about the story to being a character within the story. She definitely needs a score card to know when, what, and just who she is at any given moment. She is simply our story’s glue.

Our past Beth Bradleys have gone onto many storied careers in their adult lives including Kaleigh Cronin who has earned herself a successful Broadway career. A few years back I saw Kaleigh in “Cabaret” on Broadway and had visions of her in a Beth Bradley velvet dress with her red hair pulled back in a bow - a memory that she and I shared backstage after the show. For her it sparked a love of performing casting her on a magnificent journey of performing leaving an enduring legacy at BYPC.

Fulfilling Kaleigh’s legacy are some of our current actors who have taken on the challenge of bringing Beth
Bradley onto the stage. Here’s what they have learned from the endearing character of Beth.

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 1)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Grace Bradley

Grace Bradley is hands down my favorite character - ever.  She is loving, honorable, and determined. She is a woman of her word fulfilling the most challenging commitments with integrity and a touch of kindness.  And her story parallels mine.

When we meet the Bradley family we learn that Grace’s children are campaigning to unburden themselves from the drudgery of performing in the town’s annual Christmas pageant.  What they experience as torture Grace views as a sacred holiday tradition until the phone rings.

It is Edna McCarthy asking Grace to take over the direction of the Christmas Pageant because its director had been hospitalized.  Much to the horror of her children Grace agrees and what ensues is the delightful story of a sleepy town’s mundane Christmas Pageant being magically transformed when it is invaded by a family of rag tag Herdmans.  And what should have been the worst Christmas Pageant ever becomes “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”.  And it was all because Grace said, “Yes.”

In 1996 Bedford’s McKelvie School housed grades 5 - 8 including my oldest daughter Kate.

When she enrolled at the school I dutifully completed the volunteer form listing my directorial experience.  Then one day my phone rang.  It was McKelvie’s Volunteer Coordinator asking me if I would direct the school’s musical.  The teacher who usually directed it was unable to fulfill his obligation that year and “If I did not do it the kids would not have a play.”  And like my friend Grace Bradley I said “Yes.”

We performed “Bye Bye Birdie” with over 70 students to enthusiastic crowds. It was a whole lot of work, a whole lot of stress, and whole lot of kids (none of them Herdmans). I loved it. It rekindled my passion for working with children and for my love of theatre. The week after the curtain closed on “Bye Bye Birdie” I founded The Bedford Youth Performing Company - a place for kids - all kids to belong. 

With one phone call both Grace Bradley and I made a life altering decision to honor a hometown tradition ensuring that it would continue motivated by our love of children - all children. And 23 years later I have dusted off those scripts once again to greet my ole friend Grace Bradley as we breathe life into her story of community and family, love and hope, acceptance and integrity, and tradition. Here’s to you Grace Bradley and to “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”.

Here are few words from one of my favorite actors, Stella Jaques, about portraying my favorite character - Grace Bradley.

The Making of a Holiday Tradition

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - 2019

The holiday season with all of its trimmings and traditions is about to be upon us. In my family we have traditions around family gatherings, trips to Boston to see the lights, tree decorating,home cooked meals, and the reading of the “Polar Express”.

Here at BYPC our holiday season always begins with the performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. The retelling of this magical holiday story began over 23 years ago when the Spencer family moved from Pennsylvania to Bedford, NH. They brought with them a love of theatre and a very talented musical theatre performer in their daughter Stephanie who graced our stage for all of the years that the Spencers lived in Bedford. The Spencers also brought a script from a community youth theatre company from their Pennsylvania home town. That script made me laugh and it touched my heart. I licensed the production for BYPC and we staged our first performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in 1997.

A new tradition was born that has span 23 years and hundreds of performers. Our first performers are now grown and have families and professions of their own. They have gone into such fields as the arts, medicine, business, education, tech, public service, and journalism spanning the world. They carry with them the memory of their time telling the story of the Bradleys and the Herdmans reminding us of the true meaning of the season. And they have left a legacy that we carry forward to this day.

This year we have a record number of performers with multiple casts. Our performers hail from Bedford, Amherst, Merrimack, Goffstown, Manchester, Windham, Londonderry, Candia, Weare, New Boston, Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, and Salem. And they range in ages 5 - 18 years old. Some of our performers are experiencing our holiday story for the first time but many of our performers have also made “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” a tradition in their families as they join us year after year.

Let me introduce our cast. Here are our new performers

(Bottom left to right) AJ, Luke, Rhys, Violet, Catherine, Ivy, Rylee,
Lily, Julia, Kaity, Catherine, Sienna, Maggie, Bella, Sophia, Cage
Grace, Katie, Emma, Hope, Paige, Lauren

These cast members have performed in our show for one - four years

Marin, Graham, Louisa, Nathalie, Brielyn, Brayden, Calla, Daniel
Teddy, Gabriel, Kayla, Scarlett, Oliver
Luke, Ava, Liam, Piper, Gabrielle, Emily, Annabelle, Chloe

These cast members have performed in our show for five - ten years

Ainsley, Izzy, Megan, Shannen, Allison, Annalise, Isabelle

And our Grace Bradley, senior Stella Jaques has performed for a whopping 13 years.

We are thrilled to have all of new and returning actors come together to invite you to join us in the holiday tradition of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. And just like me you will laugh and you will tear as this tale touches your heart and for at least a moment remind you of the magic of the season. Join us on Friday December 6 at 7PM and Saturday December 7 at 1PM at The Derryfield School in Manchester. You may purchase your tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/35009.

The tradition continues.

Ann Davison
Executive Director