The appearance of Jacob Marley's ghost wasn't just scary to Ebenezer Scrooge.

It's been frightening for the entire crew of the Smiles and Frowns Playhouse production of "A Christmas Carol." A scene in the play that calls for Marley's head to float is a virtual nightmare for a children's theater group with a limited budget.

Jenni Farrow/The Daily Reflector (ENLARGE)

Smiles and Frowns' Andrea Croskery, center, gives instructions to tech crew members Saturday morning working on the set.

Complex sets, involving numerous props and pieces of furniture, make the whole idea of performing "A Christmas Carol" a bit unnerving. Add multiple, quick-paced scene changes, and it's easy to see why "A Christmas Carol" has never been among Smiles and Frowns productions of Christmas past.

"I really wanted to do 'A Christmas Carol,'" Supervising Director Andrea Croskery said. "I've been wanting to do it for a long time, but (technical aspects), that's a really scary factor."

Just ask Josh Yiznitsky, 13, a tech crew veteran who's responsible for making sure that Scrooge leaves one scene in his nightgown and then almost immediately returns to the stage fully dressed.

"I'd say at least half the stuff we do is problem solving," said Yiznitsky, who has worked with on Smiles and Frowns' technical crew for three shows. Yiznitsky's only onstage role, in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," was enough to convince him that he'd rather work behind the curtain than in front of it, even though backstage work means spending long Saturdays covered in black paint.

"Tech crew bleeds black paint," Yiznitsky said. "I have at least four pairs of shorts with black paint on them."

Since Smiles and Frowns began rehearsals for "A Christmas Carol," Yiznitsky and other members of the technical crew have spent a half dozen Saturdays at the Ayden Arts Center preparing for this weekend's show.

With about 30 members, the technical crew for "A Christmas Carol" is nearly as large as its cast. While parents play a supporting role in aspects like sewing and sawing, much of the technical crew is made up of preteens and teens.

"There have always been kids doing tech," Croskery said. "That's part of our mission statement, that we teach all aspects of theater. Let's face it, not everybody wants to be on stage ... but they like the creative aspect or they like the camaraderie."

Still, marathon Saturday sessions are more work than play. Technical crew members are not only responsible for building sets, they must position props and practice putting scenes together that depict all the places Scrooge and the three spirits visit on Christmas Eve.

"Some of these scene changes are really fast, and they're whole rooms full of furniture," Croskery said. "We have to go to Scrooge's bedroom twice in the first act. There's one switch-over, I think it's like 30 seconds."

So fast are the scene changes that the play, a Charles Dickens classic adapted by John Jakes, includes filler lines to allow the cast and crew more time for costume or scene changes.

Still, the crew spent part of Sunday afternoon choreographing the movement of pieces off and on stage for different scenes.

"It's like a traffic jam backstage with the furniture," Croskery said. "There's just no room to move back there. We've got a bed, we've got tables, we've got fireplaces, we've got chairs."

Even with rehearsed scene changes, Assistant Director Brittany Elks, 17, ended up losing a table planned for one scene and having to pull one from another scene and cover it with a table cloth.

"It is the most set I've ever had to deal with," Elks said, "and it's the fastest scene changes."

Elks, who also serves as the play's stage manager, is also responsible for making sure props like shawls and pocket watches get passed from one cast member to another as they are needed in different scenes, even though such details seldom get noticed by the audience.

"They don't really notice all the hard work that you put into it," Elks said.

In half a dozen productions, Elks has only taken one bow as a member of a cast.

With her role in last fall's production of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," Elks discovered there's no place in theater like backstage.

"You don't get the applause from the audience, but behind-the-scenes work has always been my favorite," she said. "It's an important job. I find it very rewarding."

A Christmas Carol

Smiles and Frowns Playhouse, Pitt County's premier children's theater, will present Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," adapted by John Jakes, at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and Saturday at the Ayden Community/Recreation Center theater, 511 S. Lee St. Tickets are $4 in advance and $5 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Edward's Pharmacy in Ayden and four locations in Greenville: Artisans, Twice Is Nice, My Favorite Place and Uniques Gifts and Accessories. Call 756-4959 or visit www.smilesand frowns.net.

Cast: Breanna Alligood, Josh Ballard, Azelin Buttitta, Bethany Cobb, Alexis Cooper, Megan Davis, Kameron Duncan, Madison Eason, Maxine Ford, Grey Gillette, Annaliese Gillette, Breanna Glosson, Luke Goodson, Noah Goodson, Evan Gray, Katherine Guion, David Guion, Elizabeth Guion, Kathryn Hamill, Rachel Jones, Alex King, Natalie King, Jasmine Libby, Emily McCrea, Rachel McOmber, Micheal Price, Freddie Schultz, Madison Scott, Seth Singleton, Rebekah Smith, Sarah Smith, Jonathan Smith, Rachel Speight, Ashleigh Stem, Christopher Wagner, Casey Wilcox, James Williams and Patricia Williams.

Technical crew: Bethany Cobb, Megan Davis, Brittany Elks, Laura Jane Glascoff , Breanna Glosson, Morgan Glosson, Rick Glosson , John Goodson, Lydia Goodson, Noah Goodson, Dawn King, Natalie King, Charlie LaCavera, Chelsea Lang, Sarah McCrea, Padon Moore, Erica Newman, Aaron Phillips, Courtney Phillips, Vicki Phillips, Keith Phillips, Gloria Poorman, Tabitha Poorman, Matthew White, Cyndal Wiggins, Stephanie Underwood, Adam Urwick, George Yiznitsky and Josh Yiznitsky.

Contact Kim Grizzard at 329-9578 or kgrizzard@coxnc.com.