Pictured from left are four of the cast members of “Tales of Wonder”, Brandon Kohlepp, Summer Jones, Sunnhi Suber, Cinthia Sanchez, and their director and JCC’s Art’s Programming Administrator, Mark Sasse. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Jamestown Community College is looking to bring a new perspective to the Christmas holiday with a new production, written by one of its own.

“Tales of Wonder” brings together multiple short Christmas stories, and was written by Mark Sasse, JCC’s Art’s Programming Administrator, while he was a professor in Malaysia. “Tales of Wonder” is set to be performed six times at JCC’s Scharmann Theater, from Dec. 4 to 8, beginning at 7 p.m. on Dec. 4, 5, 6, and 7, and 2 p.m. on Dec. 7 and 8. The show is 90 minutes long, with no intermission.

The show’s cast is made up of 16 people, 14 of whom are current students, one graduate of the college, and a high school student. Cast members include; Olivia Allen, Melissa Deedy, James Distrola, Nick Feldt, Victor Fernandez, Caden Frost, Emily Hallowell, Alexa Holmes, Summer Jones, Brandon Kohlepp, Keaton Noller, Taryn Palmatier, Cinthia Sanchez, Alix Sandberg, and Sunnhi Suber.

Cast members Brandon Kohlepp, Cinthia Sanchez, Sunnhi Suber and Summer Jones, talked with the Post-Journal about the upcoming production, saying that the collection of Christmas stories that make up the play range from happy to sad and make people appreciate Christmas more, which Sasse said was what he was looking to do when writing it.

“I wanted to take a nostalgic look at Christmas, because Christmas is not always happy for everyone,” Sasse said. “I was living in Malaysia and started a small drama group based on one that I saw. We had success with that for a few years and then decided to try a Christmas-themed one, which went over well there.”

Sasse said that he was told that his group now had to do a Christmas show every year, which they did in Malaysia successfully for three years. When he came to the area, he condensed the stories from the three years of productions into one, which became “Tales of Wonder”.

For some of the cast members, participating in the production came through their multiple interactions with Sasse.

“Mark (Sasse) was going to chase me down either way after I’ve done the last few plays,” Kohlepp said. “I’m decent at what I do and I wanted to continue to do it in college and do something that I haven’t done before in high school. It’s fun and also something to do in an afternoon.”

Suber said she met Sasse during her first club fair at the college and was interested in theater after participating in musicals in high school. She also met Sanchez there, who helped introduce her to Sasse who told her about the theater program.

For Jones, who only had one similar experience in high school because of Covid, meeting Sasse and getting involved in plays at JCC brought her to a second home.

“I did a play last year and it was very comfortable and I kept coming back,” Jones said. “It’s like a second home. We love this place and keep coming back in between classes and breaks.”

Suber agreed with Jones, saying that the group has found an “incredible sense of belonging” together. Sanchez was also a student of Sasse in Malaysia before making her way to the area, and said that every time she works with him it is an amazing experience.

“We always learn new things,” Sanchez said. “We are acting but we are still learning. I can say with certainty that anything Sasse puts his mind to is going to be great.”

As for “Tales of Wonder” itself, the cast members said people should expect both happy and sad Christmas stories, telling about both happy things but also things such as longing, loss, and grief, including one story about three parents trying to tell their children the truth about Santa, where the child eventually turns it around and wins the argument in the end. They added that it is an emotional show but also a family show, with Kohlepp promising that there are “no jumpscares”.

“It changes the way that I view Christmas,” Suber said. “Christmas has not always been the happiest for me, and I did not realize that this was a common thing. This play shows that Christmas doesn’t always have to be glorified, and it’s not always easy.”

Sanchez said that for her the production allows her to view Christmas in a new way, especially as Christmas was not something she has been exposed much to before.

“We’ve found a new family in this play and it’s like that for every show,” Sanchez said. “There’s always a sense of family for every show, and for me I’ve never really done Christmas before so it’s fun to be able to do Christmas because where I lived it was not part of the culture.”

Kohlepp added that the play is nostalgic for him, allowing him exposure to things he may not get to do much anymore, including things like Christmas caroling. All four members of the cast praised the hard work being done by the cast, which comes together from a wide range of people and talent, working on the play itself, which shows them how everyone can come together and how everyone is important — which was noted that not all plays and productions have that — along with their director, Sasse.

“There’s no other place where you can find another director like Mark (Sasse),” Jones said. “He makes an impact and you can tell that when we’re on stage. We’ve created a family and friends that will last a long time. Sasse is one of those people you know you can count on.”