Glen Stubbe Photography<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
There isn\u2019t a recent holiday season in Reed Sigmund\u2019s memory when the Grinch<\/strong> hasn\u2019t followed him home from Children\u2019s Theatre Co. (CTC). Long after the actor scrubs off his show makeup at the end of the day, his skin is left with a constant greenish-yellow hue, and remnants of the Grinch\u2019s signature cadence linger in his voice after hours. \u201cMy kids just know that I\u2019m gonna look the way I do for the holiday season, and that when I\u2019m home, my voice is gonna sound a little different,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n For many Minnesotans, the spirit of the holiday season is encapsulated in the Twin Cities\u2019 dazzling performing arts scene. Perhaps there\u2019s an annual show that brings multiple generations of your family to the theater, or a production you\u2019ve attended with your children since before they could talk. These traditions make the few weeks surrounding the winter holidays feel magical\u2014but that sense of wonder doesn\u2019t come without sacrifice. Behind the scenes, performers like Sigmund trade cozy nights and family visits for countless hours of physically demanding rehearsals and performances to keep the spirit alive for everyone else.<\/p>\n Sigmund has been involved in CTC\u2019s production of \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d since 2002 and will be playing the titular character for the eighth time this year. The show typically has a two-month run, opening in November and closing in January, but the cast starts rehearsing at the end of September. Sigmund\u2019s daily nine-hour rehearsals often consist of learning new choreography and building relationships with his castmates.<\/p>\n Once the production opens, performances run Wednesday through Sunday, often with two shows in a day, and Sigmund is at the theater around the clock. In short: It\u2019s a lot of work. \u201cYou get to the end of those days, and physically, emotionally, and vocally, you\u2019re beyond exhausted,\u201d he says. \u201cI will say, I\u2019m not complaining. So many people\u2019s careers involve all sorts of physical exhaustion, and I\u2019m aware of how lucky I am to do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s an emotional toll that comes with show business, as well. To keep up with the demands of being the Grinch, his own personal traditions often fall to the wayside, Sigmund explains. Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Sigmund would often drive to see his family for Thanksgiving upon moving to the Twin Cities\u2014but with shows on the calendar the day before and the day after the holiday, making this trek is no longer feasible. \u201cI don\u2019t really ever spend the holidays with my parents or siblings, or anybody back in Fargo,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This is also the case for Keara Nichols, a dancer with Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota (TCB) who will be a part of \u201cA Minnesota Nutcracker\u201d for the second time this year. Nichols is from California and moved to the Twin Cities metro two years ago, after signing a contract with TCB. Like Sigmund, her schedule doesn\u2019t allow enough time to go home and visit family for Thanksgiving, and the physical demands of the ballet make it difficult to keep up with other holiday festivities. \u201cI\u2019m the biggest Christmas fan there is, so I really try to incorporate as much of the Christmas season as I can, but you\u2019re so exhausted mentally and physically, it is hard,\u201d Nichols says. \u201cWe do have to make changes to things I\u2019ve grown up doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Brianne Bland Photography<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n While holiday shows are often more rigorous than other productions, the season isn\u2019t lost entirely for these artists\u2014it\u2019s simply reshaped. \u201cMy family and I have had to create our own new traditions, and \u2018The Nutcracker,\u2019 has taken part in those,\u201d says Nichols. \u201cMy family comes out and they watch the performances, and we do things together out here. It just looks different\u2026 but it becomes normal.\u201d<\/p>\n For Sigmund, keeping the holidays alive at home means taking advantage of having Mondays and Tuesdays off to spend time with his wife (who is also involved in the production) and kids, often watching Christmas movies, baking cookies, or going for drives to look at holiday lights\u2014all of which he balances with prioritizing rest and healing on his days off.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most challenging things is just staying healthy,\u201d Sigmund says. \u201c[\u2018The Grinch\u2019] is a really hard show to do when you\u2019re at full health, so trying to do it if you have a cold or the flu is near impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n With their time, energy, and physical well-being on the line, it\u2019s easy to wonder why anyone would trade their holiday season (and then some) to make these shows happen every year. But for these artists, being a part of creating joy and precious memories is worth every long rehearsal and rescheduled family event.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to the last couple of shows and you\u2019re so exhausted, but you know out in the audience there\u2019s maybe a kid who\u2019s seeing it for the very first time,\u201d says Nichols. \u201cYou know you\u2019re bringing that Christmas magic to so many people\u2019s lives that it gives you the adrenaline rush you need to push through the tiring times.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a first-hand reminder of why performers do what they do: to inspire, to entertain, and to make magic on stage. Even for a veteran actor like Sigmund, it\u2019s the direct impact on the audience that keeps him coming back to the production year after year.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go out there in your first appearance with the Grinch, and you hear the little voices reacting\u2026 and you see them out there in their Grinch costumes and holding their Grinch plushies,\u201d Sigmund says. \u201cWhat a gift and what an honor it is to get to be a part of their childhood and a part of their lives. At the end of the day, even if the voice is tired and the body is tired, you feel like you did something, and you feel like you mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas\u201d runs Nov. 4-Jan. 4 at CTC, and \u201cA Minnesota Nutcracker\u201d runs Dec. 12-14 at the Ames Center and Dec. 16-17 at Northrop. Visit childrenstheatre.org<\/em> and twincitiesballet.org<\/em> for more information and to purchase tickets.<\/p>\n Glen Stubbe Photography<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.minnesotamonthly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2025\/11\/BBP_TCBNutcracker2024_0290-square-Brianne-Bland-Photography-courtesy-Twin-Cities-Ballet-scaled.jpg\")
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