Indian Fields student, Miles Kath, performs "A Christmas Carol" in off-Broadway production.
By: Stephanie Brown
Miles Kath may look like any other 10-year-old boy attending Indian Fields School, but there is a twinkle in his big blue-green eyes that can only come from the reflection of a stage’s spotlight.
For half his life, Miles has been performing for local audiences as a member of The New Jersey Repertory Theater, and is currently the first child actor cast in the Theatreworks/NYC production of "A Christmas Carol."
In this Dickens’ classic-turned-musical, Miles plays the roles of young Scrooge, Tiny Tim, a caroler and the turkey boy.
"Scrooge is a good character to play because it starts out when he’s a boy and really nice and then he gets old and grumpy," said Miles.
After landing the role in November, Miles and his mother, Margaret Kath, have had their hands full managing a busy schedule. To make things easier, Miles is home tutored until the play wraps at the end of December. Even though he misses his friends at school, he gets along quite well with fellow cast and crew at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village.
"He’s spoiled by the adults in the theater because he’s the only kid in it pretty much," said Ms. Kath. "They just got him an understudy."
Miles is used to working with kids in The New Jersey Repertory Theater , a regional theater group based in North Brunswick, in which he got his start.
"My teacher from Monmouth Junction School, she said I should audition for ‘Peter Pan,’" Miles said.
It was after the New Jersey Repertory Theater production of "Peter Pan" that Miles, at the ripe old age of 5, caught the acting bug. "People asked him for his autograph; he said ‘Mom, I want to be on TV,’" said Ms. Kath.
About three years ago, Ms. Kath hired manager William Perlman, president of New Talent Management to help make her son’s dreams come true.
Since then Miles has done many voiceovers and jingles on the radio and worked with MTV2 and PBS.
Although he plans to continue acting in both film and on stage, Miles admits he prefers theater.
"I like doing theater better, because you get to sing and dance in front of everybody and you do it more than once and it’s not like ‘stop do it over again’ like in TV," said Miles.
Next, Miles intends to work with local husband and wife producer team Ron Sharp and Barbara Russell in their upcoming Broadway play, "A Tale of Two Cities."
"Another Dickens. Isn’t that funny," said Ms. Kath laughingly. "Then he’d just have to do ‘Oliver Twist.’"