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At 12 years old, Palo Alto actor Valentina Mottl has already garnered some impressive credits on stage, and now she’s adding a world premiere to her résumé. That show, about a smalltown production of a holiday classic that goes comically wrong, is “A Whynot Christmas Carol,” which began previews at A.C.T. in San Francisco this week.
Peninsula audiences may have seen Valentina in some productions with Palo Alto Children’s Theatre and girls’ choir iSing Silicon Valley. She has been studying singing since age 7, which sparked her interest in being on stage.
“I’ve always been interested in acting at a really, really young age. I’ve always loved just to perform, but I feel like acting really started for me when I got into choir, and I just fell in love with performing and singing, even more than I already was, and then I already knew that that was what I wanted to do with my life,” she said in an interview with this publication.
Valentina has also studied at The Groundlings in Los Angeles, Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and with faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, according to her bio. Her credits include performing at Alvin Ailey Studios with Broadway Artists Alliance and at the Strand Theater with A.C.T.’s Young Conservatory.
For her latest turn on stage with A.C.T., Valentina is appearing in playwright Craig Lucas’ new spin on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Lucas’ show aims to be more inward-looking and less moralizing than many adaptations of Dickens’ tale of how ghostly visitors lead cruel miser Ebenezer Scrooge to reconnect with his humanity, according to the show’s program. The play urges audiences to reflect on the Scroogely tendencies within us all. Lucas frames the story as a play-within-a-play about the Whynot Players, a small theater troupe trying to stage their new version of the Dickens classic with a tiny budget while members struggle to get along — and avoid numerous mishaps along the way.
As Valentina notes, the Whynot Players’ production is the kind of show where the traditional good luck wish for performers to “break a leg” might accidentally come true.
Valentina plays the character of Bethel in the show. “She’s probably the best behaving of all the kids. She’s not the oldest, but she is definitely a force to be reckoned with. She’s just really outgoing and bright, and she’s the choreographer’s sister, so she’s basically in charge of all the kids. … I’m just so grateful to be playing her,” Valentina said of the character.
The fact that the show is a world premiere makes the role even more exciting.
“It’s so amazing, the idea of it, that I’m the first person to perform this character in the entire world. It’s super special,” she said.
“A Whynot Christmas Carol” is directed by A.C.T.’s Tony Award-winning artistic director Pam MacKinnon. “The kids are integral to the story. They are the energy, curiosity and community that Scrooge must return to by play’s end. Our kid company is learning a lot about how to seize a featured moment and also be a part of something bigger than any one person. We are building something new together for an intergenerational audience. The kids are a way in for those younger and young at heart audiences,” MacKinnon said.
We spoke with Valentina as the show entered its final week of rehearsals, with sets, costumes, lighting and sound all coming together on stage during “tech week.”
“Tech started last Friday, and the first time I walked into the theater on Friday, it was just like a dream come true, the theater is gorgeous, but I also love all the actors that I’m working with. They’re just so funny, and they make everything so fun,” she said. “Also, my director, Pam MacKinnon, is absolutely amazing. And I want to give thanks to all the A.C.T. crew and staff. Definitely, I just love working with the other actors, and I’m not the only kid in this production, which is really fun. All the other kids are so fun, they’re just so hilarious.”
Taking part in a professional production is a labor-intensive endeavor, and although the show double-casts the roles of most of the younger characters, the rehearsal schedule has still been demanding.
“Well, it’s obviously a lot of work, a lot of time like that you have to put into this, especially now that we’re in tech. Sometimes I’m in the city until like, 10, and then I get home. It’s a lot of working, but it’s totally worth it. And we have to do a lot of stuff over and over again to perfect it. But again, it’s completely worth it,” she said.
While many tellings of “A Christmas Carol” highlight the perpetually timely theme of trying to bridge the chasm between haves and have-nots, Lucas’ new framing of the tale aims to bring some additional nuance and thoughtfulness to it. So what does Valentina hope audiences take away from seeing the show?
“I think every actor’s focus is that the audience really connects with the show. I want, and I feel like the classic ‘Christmas Carol’ lesson is not to be greedy and self-serving like Scrooge. But I think there’s more to it than that. I also feel like (there’s a) message about effort and compassion and having friends. Christmas is the time to rejoice and be with your family, and, you know, just enjoy.”
“A Whynot Christmas Carol” is in previews through Dec. 7, opens Dec. 8 and runs through Dec. 24 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary St, San Francisco. For tickets and more info, visit act-sf.org.
