On the last weekend of November, a play called "A Christmas Carol with a Heart" was performed at Nanzan kodo. The story is basically a Texas version of the famous Charles Dickens' novel. I volunteered to help out and had been in contact with the director who teaches at Nanzan University. We had a final rehearsal on Friday night, which was when I saw the whole play from beggining to end for the first time. I was amazed at how much passion the actors put into their roles, and also enjoyed listening to Texas Christmas songs I had never heard before. The play was performed three times during the weekend, and I mainly handled the tickets and ushered people to their seats. Two things I kept in mind at all times were to keep smiling and use a big, clear, and cheerful voice. It made me proud of myself when one of the volunteers told me I was suited for this kind of job. The play itself was fantastic, too. I had been seeing the hard work of the cast and crew and how things were sometimes going rough, so it almost made me cry when the curtain went down on the last show. The heartwarming Christmas spirit really touched my soul, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with such wonderful people.

by Rina M