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Three holiday plays featured at Braumart this weekend

15 days until Christmas

From left, Chad Harrison as Papa and Ben Verley as Santa rehearse a scene from “The Night Before Christmas,” one of three Christmas plays to be performed at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Braumart. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Dickinson County Community Theatre will present “One Act Wonders — Christmas Edition,” three holiday plays all handled by first-time directors.

The performances are planned at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Braumart in Iron Mountain.

The first play, “The Gift List” by Kyle Nesbit, will be directed by Sara Hadden. In the play, siblings ask for 79 presents only to find out they can’t have everything.

Hadden said she was a late addition to the play.

“They were struggling to find a third director, and in the last production I was in they at the last minute needed someone to step in, so they remembered, ‘Sara’s a good last-minute person, let’s ask her,'” she said.

From left are Michelle DeSimone, Teddy Izzo and Sara Hadden, who are directing their first plays this weekend as part of “One Act Wonders — Christmas Edition” at the Braumart this weekend. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News)

Hadden is enjoying the experience but said, “I miss being onstage and I don’t like being the boss of everybody. I prefer people telling me what to do and where to stand. But it’s honestly been really fun. Stepping out of my comfort zone is always something I want to do.”

Hadden, who has lived in town for about a year, had in her first local performance in January. She acted in middle school and high school before that.

She might be interested in directing in the future, but it would depend on the production, she said.

Teddy Izzo, who has been involved in the theater group since high school, is directing “The Christmas Machine” by Don Zolidis, a play with rhyming in the style of Dr. Seuss. He was an assistant director on a previous play.

Izzo found directing equal parts “wonderful and terrifying.”

“I’m learning as I go. I always think there’s going to be some manual somewhere, because lots and lots of people have done this before,” he said.

Marti Nord reached out to him and Izzo wasn’t sure if he could direct because of family commitments.

He told her, “I don’t know if I can, I’m only available one night a week.” His play is the shortest of the three and it worked best with his schedule.

“Everyone’s done a fantastic job — despite me being the director,” he joked. “It’s been wonderful. With all the directors and all three casts, we’ve made magic.”

“The Night Before Christmas” by Tracy Wells is being directed by Michelle DeSimone. The play, which is the longest and features the largest cast, tells the story of the famous poem through the viewpoint of the characters.

“This production has been a wonderful experience, especially because we have some first-time actors on stage,” DeSimone said. “It has been just wonderful to watch them have this experience and be a part of that, especially this cast. They’ve been welcoming and helpful. It’s just a beautiful holiday story.”

DeSimone said she read all three of the plays and wanted to do two of them, but she thought it would be a little too much.

“I miss being on stage, but I’m so proud of them,” she said. She has been involved in the DCCT for a couple of years.

Tickets are $17 and available at the door or online at www.thebraumart.org/events.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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