On Saturday, December 6, at 2:00PM, the Worcester Talking Book Library will host actors Stephen Collins and Poornima Kirby from New Muse Productions for a funny, heartfelt journey through the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol”. This 1-hour adaptation shows Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a grumpy, selfish misanthrope to a generous, wise and kindly man full of the spirit of Christmas. With Stephen playing Scrooge and Poornima swiftly changing between the other characters, this fast-paced, playful adaptation keeps the beauty and humor of Dickens’ original text, interspersed with melodious Christmas carols, and even a lively English folk dance.

Come warm your heart and ring in the holiday season with this refreshing take on a familiar tale!

New Muse Productions is a two-person theatre troupe bringing artistic, accessible, joyful live performances to senior centers, libraries and schools across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut. They adapt classic works of theatre and literature into high-quality, memorized productions complete with simple costumes and set-pieces. Their aim is to delight and engage our audiences through the power of literature and live performance!

Stephen Collins is an accomplished actor and literature professor, with over 20 years experience performing solo theatre pieces and literature lectures across New England.

Originally from Cambridge, MA, Stephen studied English at UMass Boston and pursued a career in sales, before returning to what he truly loves; performing and teaching. His solo shows include presentations on the life and writings of Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, the theater of the 40s and 50s, Irish Poets and more. His work with actress Poornima Kirby through New Muse Productions has reconnected him to the joy of collaborative theater. http://unlaunchedvoices.com/ Poornima Kirby is a classically trained actress, writer and director, based in Boston, Ma, specializing in classical and poetic texts, as well as co-created theater. She studied drama at Vassar College, and trained in acting and Shakespeare performance at Shakespeare & Co. and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. She has performed regionally at the A.R.T., Actors Shakespeare Project, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, and Bay Colony Shakespeare. She has also appeared in several independent films, commercials, industrials and voice-overs, and has worked as a teaching artist in the Boston Public Schools, Tufts Medical Center and Berklee College of Music. She is Artistic Director for Theatre of Eternal Values – America (a branch of an Italy-based international company) where she has written, directed and performed in several original productions. With New Muse, she has scripted or adapted three productions in which she also performs—sometimes playing 18 characters in a single one-hour performance. She is passionate about New Muse’s mission to bring original live theatre directly to audiences where they live, work and play!

www.PoornimaKirby.com.

This program will take place in the Saxe Meeting Room at Worcester Public Library, located at 3 Salem Square, Worcester, Massachusetts. Free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.