Great Stories Alive!
Performance with Passion & Purpose
Box 11045, Portland, OR 97211
DickensChristmasCarol.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Al LePage, Actor, 503-335-3876 / Al.LePage@SpireTech.com

PDF VERSION AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE

Christmas Carol DVD to be offered for first time to
Boston audiences during upcoming performances

A Christmas Carol DVD performed by actor Al LePage, released just last year, will be offered for the first time in Boston, during all his live performances there.  During the Thanksgiving holidays through the first weekend of December, during intermissions and after his shows at the Omni Parker House Hotel and Converse Hall, they'll be available for sale by personal check or cash only, for only $10 each with sales tax already included.  This year's sales will help to cover LePage's traveling and other expenses related to the performances he's giving to benefit local charities working to prevent hunger close to home.

"A great story 'done like Dickens,' charity and memories," begins LePage, "that's what this particular DVD of A Christmas Carol offers to those buying it.  It's pretty obvious, given how long its been told, and by the likes of people such as actor Sir Laurence Olivier and comedian Jonathan Winters, that it is indeed a great story.  And, I not only use the very same historic public reading version that the famed author used to perform it, but also do it in the acting style of Dickens himself!  Yes, by simply using my voice, facial expressions, and gestures, I bring all 26 characters alive, men and women, boys and girls -- accents and all -- plus sound effects, too!  Next, any profits help to cover expenses involved in making these benefit performances happen. So, buying the DVD helps to support my efforts for charity, and thus could be considered an act of charity in itself.  Finally, since they're being offered during live performances, those buying them can relive the performance again and again for this and future holiday seasons too." (Image: DVD disc graphic, illustration first edition of Christmas Carol, 1843)

Active Communications executive director Dan Hnatio generously agreed to work with LePage to produce the DVD, videotaping it in 2008 in the Martha-Mary Chapel of Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts, editing it all together in 2009.  It was later duplicated by SuperDigital in Portland, Oregon, just before last year's holiday season, and was released for sale for the very first time just last year on the day before Thanksgiving, where it was filmed, at Longfellow's Wayside Inn.

Great Stories Alive! is the performing arts company of actor/producer Al LePage.  His mission is “performance with passion and purpose.”  His improvised portrayals of real people from the past were seen by thousands of people during the eight years he appeared at historic sites, museums, and other venues throughout the Pacific Northwest. He's written and produced his own one-man show historical dramas, and appeared on the nationally televised PBS “History Detectives” series in appearances ranging from a bartender to Robert E. Lee.  He began giving dramatic reading performances of A Christmas Carol to benefit charity in 2006.  This holiday season he'll be performing on location in Boston where Dickens himself did during his 1867 American tour at the historic Omni Parker House Hotel and also both when, on the same exact calendar date, and where the famed author did, too, at 88 Tremont Street, in today's Converse Hall.  Visit DickensChristmasCarol.net to learn more, arrange a media interview or to book a performance worldwide, phone (503) 335-3876 to contact him.

Active Communications is a full service media production company, focusing on corporate, broadcast, web and film projects, and also provides services to individuals in the community.  Services offered range from HD video production and post production to digital photography and event support. Active has developed thousands of creative, cost effective projects for national and international clientele, plus personal projects or events for individuals in the local community. Award-winning Dan Hnatio, founder and executive director, has over 30 years of experience in the communications industry and achieved a reputation for excellence within the field. Visit their website ActiveCommunications.org to learn more, phone (978) 897-2679 to contact them.