Hayes 1st Grader This Year's Tiny Tim

Hayes first-grader Macon Taylor will play Tiny Tim in Great Lakes Theater's production of "A Christmas Carol."

Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is a longtime Cleveland holiday tradition and this year, one of our tiniest students will have one of the biggest roles in the Great Lakes Theater production. Hayes first-grader Macon Taylor will appear as Tiny Tim in the holiday classic that has been a family staple for 27 years in Cleveland.

Macon landed the plum role after having only been in one play at the time of the audition. His first performance was as an orphan in the Beck Center’s “Oliver” last spring. He just finished appearing at the Beck in “The Little Princess” that ran November 6-8. Due to child labor laws, he will split the Tiny Tim role with another young actor.

Macon’s mom, Michelle Mehaffey-Taylor, said Macon got the acting bug after attending two plays, “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” and “Mary Poppins.”

“He was standing on his feet throughout both plays and was so entranced," she said. Soon after, Macon’s mom signed him up for acting classes at the Beck. Macon also takes voice and dance classes there.

Macon knows that “A Christmas Carol” will be a new level of commitment for him as a young actor. He said it will be “very, very hard work” and to memorize his lines he will have to “practice, practice, practice.” Macon will appear in half of the 21 performances between Nov. 23 and Dec. 23, but will be required to be at every rehearsal starting Nov. 10. Rehearsals are five hours Tuesday-Friday and eight hours Saturday and Sunday.

For Macon, all the hard work and time commitment is worth it because it leads to his favorite part of being in a play: “A lot of people cheer for you at the end.” Break a leg, Mason!

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Volume 11, Issue 23, Posted 4:01 PM, 11.10.2015