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Photograph courtesy of San Jose Repertory Theatre
School Pals: Noel Witcosky (left), who plays Esther Jane Alberry in 'A Christmas Story,' rehearses a scene with Lindsey Meyer, who plays Helen Weathers.
Veteran actress, 12, takes 'Christmas' stage
By Mary Gottschalk
Noel Witcosky says she's never nervous when she walks out on the San Jose Repertory Theatre stage before a full house.
"Actually, I'm exactly the opposite of nervous," says Noel, who appears in the Rep's production of A Christmas Story through Dec. 30.
"You can't feel nervous. You have a lot of people with you, supporting you. There's no reason to be afraid because they're all supporting you."
At 12, Noel is somewhat of a veteran actress, having started at the age of 5.
The daughter of Michelle Maxey and Robert Witcosky, Noel lives in the St. Leo's neighborhood and has appeared in 10 productions with the Children's Musical Theater of San Jose, including playing Toad in Wind in the Willows.
The Rep's A Christmas Story is an adaptation of the popular 1983 film about a young boy named Ralphie who wants a Red Ryder BB rifle with a compass in the stock for Christmas. He is unhappy to find out that his parents, his teacher and even the local department store Santa Claus all have the same reaction: "You'll shoot your eye out!"
In the play, Noel plays Esther Jane Alberry, a character not in the film.
"She's one of the girls at Ralphie's school, and she has a crush on Ralphie," Noel says.
During auditions, Noel says she did not try out for Esther Jane or any other specific part.
"They're assigned to you," she explains. "You don't try out for a role unless the director says, 'Come in and read these parts for this character.' "
When casting director Bruce Elsperger called Noel to offer her the role, the young actress says, "It was very, very exciting, and I started crying."
John McCluggage, who is directing the production, chose Noel for the role of Esther.
"She's a terrific young actor. She's such a bright, energetic young person, which comes across on stage, which is critical in the role I cast her in," McCluggage says.
"The young women's roles are not in the movie; they were created for the stage and they tell an important part of Ralphie's coming-of-age story. His first girlfriend, his first crush needed someone with a real charming stage presence, and Noel has that."
McCluggage doesn't refer to Noel and other youths in the production as children. He uses the terms young actor and young performer and admits, "They work much harder than the regular adult cast because they have to maintain a school schedule.
"We're at holiday time with assignments and tests coming due now. They have to maintain and be ready to work after school with me in rehearsals and then go home and do homework."
McCluggage says he planned the schedules so no school is missed, but most rehearsals last from 4 to 7 p.m.
Noel says it's "very hard" to juggle her seventh-grade classes at Harker School along with everything else. While in rehearsal and production for A Christmas Story, she says she's had to cancel her regular dance and piano lessons.
As the play is set in 1940 in a small town in northern Indiana, Noel is finding her stage clothes different from what she usually wears.
"I haven't done a show in this time period, and I was quite excited," she says. "They are new styles to me, but they are comfortable clothes."
Noel says she frequently participates in post-show discussions after performances for school-age audiences and hears many of the same questions over and over.
"When I was playing Toad, I was always asked, 'Don't you feel uncomfortable playing Toad as he's a boy?'
"No. It's acting. It's a fun part so you don't think about it," she says.
In this production, Noel says she's been asked if she feels uncomfortable in her role.
"I say, 'No,' because my character has a crush on Ralphie, but I don't. You're playing a character, that's acting. That's just what you do."
Noel says she likes the camaraderie of doing a show and the friendships she forms that frequently continue from one production to another.
In terms of a career in acting, Noel says, "I haven't thought about it. For now I really like acting and I'd like to do more."
"A Christmas Story" by Philip Grecian, based on the film, is at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. Evening and matinee performances continue through Dec. 30. Tickets are $14 to $56. Call 408.367.7255 for additional information or to order tickets.
