I was a Journalism major in college, and to me and my classmates the New York Times was the Holy Grail. So, when “NEW YORK TIMES” showed up on the caller ID at my desk on November 21^st (at 2:05pm, if you want to be exact), I can’t tell you how shocked I was.

My first instinct was that this must have been a joke, or a wrong number. The NEW YORK TIMES doesn’t just call anyone! But, my friends, this was not a wrong number or a joke(which I should have realized, because Gulfshore Playhouse isn’t just anyone, we’re going somewhere special in our future). The New York Times, the most popular newspaper in the United States, wanted to talk to ME! Or rather “the person who deals with press calls,” but that IS one of my duties so I’m gonna go ahead and say me!

And what they needed was a picture of our Scrooge. So, in this thrilling moment, I needed to explain to the man on the phone that we didn’t have an actor just playing Scrooge, he was playing 17 other characters too! And our production was a wee bit different from the traditional Dickens version (albeit much more mainstream than many other productions, I’m learning). But they still wanted photos, and I was bound and determined to get them some! So, as I anxiously awaited for the next break in the rehearsal day (so I could tell Kristen and Cody this amazing news), I was wracking my brain to figure out how we could get a great photo so far in advance of opening.

Cody Nickell in Gulfshore Playhouse’s production of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol

But never fear, Kristen had a vision of what these photos needed to be (as she always does), and we were able to take some great photos of Cody in front of a simple black backdrop. So, we sent those off to the New York Times (I still get excited every time I think I about this!!). Considering they were looking for photos of the many actors playing Scrooge across the US this Holiday season, I knew it was a bit of a long shot to actually make it in to the actual paper. But I can tell you I had all my fingers crossed that they would see our photo and know immediately that we needed to be included.

And we did it!! When the article was posted online a few days before it hit the actual print copy, the photo of Cody making his “scrooge face” was front and center in the article! And in a few days, that article will be mounted on a plaque in our office! Being mentioned in the national media was a goal I had in mind for Gulfshore Playhouse, but getting that mention without having to chase after it?! It feels pretty sweet! Oh, and did I mention it was the NEW YORK TIMES?!