Going from a two-dimensional film to a three-dimensional stage is the goal for Outlaws Playwright's Workshop in its production of A Charlie Brown Christmas at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion Theatre.

The show is an annual tradition for the theater troupe and fills the venue each year, Outlaws producer Jake Schwartz said. Each production's cast attempts to recreate the animated movie A Charlie Brown Christmas as faithfully as humans can.

And that includes movement.

"Everyone kind of moves like they're a cartoon drawing, which I think is part of its charm," Emily Reeder, another Outlaws producer, said.

Scott Andrews, the show's director, said he enjoys the challenge.

"Watching characters do these two-dimensional, really choppy acts is really fun," Andrews (senior-theatre) said.

Schwartz (senior-theatre) said the play, like the movie, is "a very beautiful story about a young boy finding himself."

Charlie struggles with finding acceptance from his community, a topic that Schwartz said many freshmen will connect with. For upperclassmen, Schwartz said, "it's more reminding them about the community that has held them up."

Schwartz said that the show also receives a lot of support from the greater State College community.

Although there was a performance of the show at 11:15 p.m. Thursday, Schwartz said he thinks the Saturday performances will draw more of a non-student crowd. The community rarely gets the chance to see an Outlaws performance because they usually happen late at night, he added.

The challenges of adapting the Charlie Brown cartoon to a college stage proved entertaining for the cast and crew.

"The movie itself has a lot of glitches, so watching the characters jump was interesting," Andrews said. "It's certainly interesting watching college kids perform as 6-year-olds."

The popularity of the original film might also draw students to the shows, Andrews added.

"A lot of kids probably saw the original movie when they were little," he said.

Among those involved in Outlaws, the presentation of A Charlie Brown Christmas has become its own tradition.

After having worked as manager and a member of stage crew in past years, Reeder (senior-theatre) said it will be refreshing to view the show in a different light.

"This year, I just want to sit back, relax and watch it," she said. "It's nice that it's such a constant in my life."