Cascade Christmas, produced by the Dance Project under the direction of James Santos, has become a part of the holiday tradition for many North State families.
Filmmaker Tom Ramont gives us a 5-part series of short films, an inside look at what it takes to create a production of this magnitude, and reveals that our holiday tradition is a labor of love for James Santos and his Dance Project team.
As the flu bug runs wildly through our cast, we continue to rehearse, but with new rules. All members with a fever: stay home. Mandatory hand-washing during every break and while rehearsing, no one holds hands with their partner.
After five weeks, our first preview performance came to fruition. With the preview came fear of the reality that we have to perform this stuff in front of people, outside our bubble, without the comfort of our studio mirrors. Performing the show early and in such close quarters with the audience is uncomfortable, but helps to promote the show and fulfill our mission of supporting our community and its organizations.
We are also attending to the “business” of the show, finalizing our sponsors for our posters and commercials this week.
– James Santos
Cascade Christmas opens Thanksgiving weekend for an eight-performance run. For tickets, call the Cascade Theatre box office at (530) 243-8877 or visit cascadetheatre.org.
Tom Ramont is a digital filmmaker who concentrates on producing documentaries and technical marketing films. He was inspired early on by the short films presented on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, such as “How Crayons are Made.” Ramont creates simple films layered with humor and realism. He holds a B.A. in Cinema Studies and an M.A. in Creativity and Interdisciplinary Arts Education from San Francisco State University. Reach him at ultramont@gmail.com.
