Ashley Lederman ’21
Elizabeth Aldridge ’21:
With winter break approaching, so is the annual Scrooge Chapel based off of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. John Powell, a former teacher at the Episcopal Academy, played the role of Scrooge for many years. When he left, Konopka assumed the role and played Scrooge 2016. “Playing Scrooge is fun and exciting because the chapel is so secretive,” said Konopka in an interview.
The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are played by various teachers but they do not portray the ghosts from the classical story. The teachers play their own characters that are taken from current, popular movies and tv shows. “Domino Board helps me choose the characters because they know the latest trends,” Dan Clay , Theatre Department Chair and teacher, said in an interview. Last year, the ghost of Christmas Past, who was played by Lee Burnett, was Hamilton from the broadway show. The ghost of Christmas Present, played by Kelly Edwards, was Daenerys from the Game of Thrones series. Finally, James Finnegan and Ryan Dankanich played Han Solo and Chewbacca from Star Wars for the ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come.
Every year, the role of Scrooge and ghosts are kept a secret from students, faculty, and staff, until the chapel. According to Clay, “The secret is what makes it fun and exciting. It’s a surprise.” Dan Clay gathers and directs the teachers who act in the chapel. Domino board always plays a small role in the skit and rehearses with the rest of the actors. The students on Domino board play the poor Christmas carolers. They are sworn to secrecy and are not allowed to tell any other students or teachers about the chapel or who will be participating. Domino Board also helps Clay come up with the roles of the ghosts, as they know the current trends. We are excited to see who Clay and the rest of Domino Board chose to play the roles.
After Powell retired, Mr. Clay needed to pick a new Scrooge. He knew Konopka would be the perfect fit. When he asked Konopka, she was excited yet nervous because she said she couldn’t act, which Clay responded to by telling her that’s exactly why he wanted her to play the role. In an interview with Konopka, we tried to get the inside scoop on who is going to play Scrooge this year. We suspect Konopka will take on the role again this year. She told us, “Once you get the role of Scrooge, you play it until you retire or die.” Konopka is excited to continue playing Scrooge because the entire experience is fun and exciting.
The Scrooge Chapel is one of the most fun Episcopal traditions and is a great way to kick start winter break. The entire EA community looks forward to the laughs and energy that this chapel brings, and it is something we all look forward to.