West Liberty University’s Kelly Theatre will get spooky as WLU students present a new production Poe: Master of the Macabre. The play opens at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20.
“It is not standard storytelling. It is a modern piece that takes modern liberties. Most of the set is suggested and audiences are going to have to use their imaginations to fill in the gaps,” said play director Michael Aulick, who also teaches theater on the hilltop campus.
“It is a great piece for actor training. Each actor plays multiple characters and they have to change those roles on an instant. I have wanted to do it for several years,” he added.
The production will have two casts – the Edgar cast and the Allan cast, giving more students an opportunity to get involved, according to Aulick. The Edgar Cast includes Jedediah Shook, Callie Carroll, Brady Dunn, Carly Balog, Daniel White, Maria Matsakis, Kobe Wade. The Allan Cast includes Zac Morris, Alex Burdick, Alex Franke, Amanda Tamplen, Alex Gordon, Sarah Lemley, Grant VanCamp.
Poe: Master of the Macabre is a theatrical adaptation by John Hardy of three works of Edgar Allan Poe: William Wilson, The Telltale Heart, and The Pit and The Pendulum.
Playwright, actor and director Hardy is an associate artist with the Barter Theatre, Abingdon, Va. and a recipient of the Sara Spencer Award for lifetime achievement from the Southeastern Theatre Conference, Hardy visited WLU recently for another production, Rattlesnake.
Production continues at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 21, 27, 28, 29 and at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30.
To purchase tickets call the WLU Ticket Office at 304.336.8277. For more information on the Theatre Department, please visit the College of Arts and Communication website or call 304-336-8006.