The UVM theatre troupe is preparing to take the stage this holiday season in the newest rendition of the popular play “Toys Take Over Christmas.”

“Toys Take Over Christmas” is an annual holiday show that has been performed by UVM for the past 23 years. This year the play will run Dec. 5-6 at the Royall Tyler Theatre.

The play, originally written by Patricia Clapp, takes place in a toy shop around Christmas time. The story revolves around a toymaker and the magical toys that she creates.

The toys realize that the toymaker treats them very poorly, so they revolt and take over the shop. In the end, Santa Claus saves the day.

Each year the show is directed by a different senior in the theater department. This year, the director is Jared Hall.

Hall said his prior experience as an actor in the show helped him in directing it.

“I was in it my freshman year as one of the toys in the toy shop,” he said. “If you’re going to direct it, it helps to have worked on it, because then you know the [ins] and outs.”

Since the play has been running for 23 years,“at this point they have a stocked set and all the costumes are the same, everything very routine,” he said.

Hall was given a significant amount of freedom as the show’s director, he said.

While the costumes and set are always the same, the play is still different every year, Hall said.

“Because we’ve done this for so long, we’ve been able to adapt it each year,” Hall said. “So, the first thing I did when I found out I was doing it was rewrite the script.”

While he cannot change the six or seven main characters, he does have liberty with the “background toys,” he said.

“I can add certain toys and change the lines around a little bit,” Hall said. “[I] give everyone bigger parts, distribute the lines how I want.”

The show contains 20 actors in total and runs a little over an hour in length. Tickets are $15.