Learning more than lines

Fourteen-year-old Newport Harbor High School freshman Jasmine O’Hea has spent weekends and evenings for the past month in endless rehearsals for South Coast Repertory’s production of “A Christmas Carol.”

“They go by very fast — but I was probably having so much fun I didn’t notice,” Jasmine said.

The Newport Beach teen juggles several small parts in the production.

Each year, South Coast Repertory’s annual staging of “A Christmas Carol” recruits area kids from its children and teen acting classes to become a part of the cast. The annual Christmas production has been an initiation into the theater world for countless numbers of young actors and actresses over the past three decades.

“It’s fun because you get to take on a different character,” said Jasmine, who plays a “girl about town” and a street vendor, among other roles.

“You forget about everything else that’s going on and get to do something different,” she said.

Jasmine’s stage debut was in the fifth-grade when she played a witch in a school play at Newport Elementary School, her mother, Gail O’Hea remembers.

“She had fun doing different kinds of characters, and that’s when she really kind of clicked in,” O’Hea said. “It’s really a thrill for her to be a part of this — I’m so happy for her.”

Ten-year-old Mariners Elementary School fifth-grader Christopher Huntley, also plays numerous roles in “A Christmas Carol,” including young Ebenezer Scrooge in one scene.

Huntley was invited to audition for the production after he took a summer class at South Coast Repertory.

“I was all excited — my mom was telling everyone she knows,” Christopher said.

The production has been hard work for the junior cast members, who rehearse six days a week — including 12 hours on weekends for a month.

“Rehearsal was after school every day, and I’d have to eat dinner and do my homework very late at night,” Christopher said.

But the experience has been all been worth it, he said.

“It’s a good learning experience — it teaches you life skills, how to stay calm and how to focus,” Christopher said. “You meet people along the way and make new friends.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.