It was the second week of December, and Ed Taylor was instructing his Santa School students on the art of improvisation.
For example: When a kid asks you if reindeer really fly, Taylor – who also goes by “Santa Ed” – told the nearly three dozen Santas gathered on Zoom, you don’t just say yes. You say “yes, and they only fly on Christmas Eve” to advance the story. The students, mostly older men with snowy white beards, listened intently.
Taylor, who’s been running a free Santa School since 2015, said he’s seen a burst of interest in recent years. Many of the novice Clauses are recent retirees, added Taylor, who has been performing as Santa for more than two decades…