BROWNSBURG — Last month, 11-year-old Kellin Cremeens went into an audition for the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol” with little hope of getting a role.
He ended up beating out hundreds of other child actors and earning a main role in the production that runs throughout this month.
“We saw they had auditions and thought it might be good to get to know people around here,” Kellin said. “I auditioned and they didn’t know me at all. To them, I was just a complete stranger. It was absolute shock, because we didn’t go into the auditions thinking we had too much hope.”
Kellin and his mother, Amber, said that most of the other children who had been auditioning for parts had been known to the director, having been to a summer camp at the theatre. She said they went in thinking the odds were stacked against them, but believing it would be a good experience all the same.
“We moved here last August,” Amber said, “and I just saw this online and he’s never done anything at the IRT so we thought it’d be good just to go see what the process is. We were very excited when we found out (he got the part), and shocked. This has been a really great experience for him.”
Kellin plays four roles, including that of young Ebeneezer Scrooge and Peter Cratchit, but says he never really intended to get into acting.
“In third grade I went to a fine arts school in Texas,” he said. “You had to take five classes you rotate through. On theater, I didn’t do it voluntarily, but we had to perform a skit with a partner. I performed and I absolutely loved it. Then my teacher told me there was a play they were holding auditions for at the school, so I tried it and loved it.”
Both Amber and Kellin are appreciative of his teachers at Brownsburg East Middle School who work with his strict schedule at the IRT to make sure he still gets his homework in on time and doesn’t fall behind.
Amber says Kellin is regarded as more of a quiet kid at school, and not an outgoing actor.
Yet there he was on opening night Nov. 24, participating for a packed house on one of the biggest theater stages in Indianapolis.
“The first show I was nervous, a tad bit, but now I’m starting to get where I can do it without a single nerve,” he said. “The hardest part is back stage, changing costumes. One of my changes I have to make is in less than a minute.”
Amber says she still hasn’t gotten over the nervous part.
“I’m 10 times more nervous than he is,” she said. “When it’s that big of a production, it’s not the lines, but the changes, the things he does on stage, how he moves, picks things up, the snow is really slick. I worry about all of that, but it’s been so awesome to see him.
“As a parent, we’re not allowed to see anything. We were not allowed into the auditions, not allowed in the dressing room.”
Amber said she believes this is only the beginning for Kellin.
“Ever since he was little and started to read at a young age, he would write scripts,” she said. “He and his friends go to the park and he films them. Every since he was little he said he’s wanted to make movies.”
Kellin agrees that he’s looking for a future in the world of show business.
“I don’t know how long I’ve known, but when I grow up I want to be a movie director,” he said. “I definitely want to try out for more shows at the IRT and I definitely want to try the summer camp and continue on with stage acting.”
For a list of show times for “A Christmas Carol,” visit the website at www.irtlive.com.
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