A tradition of classes and A Christmas Carol

Henry Ficcadenti’s family has had a long history with South Coast Repertory’s acting classes: “My older brothers and sister all took acting classes, so when my 14-year-old brother signed up, I just followed. Seeing them all take classes made me interested in it.”

Now in his fourth year of acting classes, Henry is part of the Junior Players and will be performing in a full-length show in April

“I like these classes because I’m not being set aside from anyone else,” he said. “We work together in a group and function as an ensemble.”

At age 12, Henry is the sixth Ficcadenti sibling to take classes in SCR’s Kids and Teen Conservatory. Will his youngest sister Violetta sign up, too?

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see if it’s something she’s interested in.”

The Ficcadenti family has more than one SCR tradition: “We always go see A Christmas Carol together on Christmas Eve.”

But it’s not just about watching the show—it’s about performing in it. Four of Henry’s siblings have performed in A Christmas Carol, so naturally he auditioned as well.

“It looked like it was a cool thing to be in. And for the same reason I joined SCR as a whole, it just looked like a lot of fun.”

The acting classes must have helped, because after auditioning three times he finally landed the role of Young Ebenezer Scrooge, the same role his brothers Connor and Alex once played. “My dad has seen everyone else do it multiple times, so they’re really happy to see me do it, too.”

Your kids can follow Henry and his siblings’ example by enrolling in classes in January, or catch his début performance as Young Eb in A Christmas Carol, playing now through Dec. 26.

More info about kids and teens acting classes here

More info about A Christmas Carol here