Four travelers flee to the mountains to escape a terrible plague 鈥� a Red Death. There they meet at an ancient, crumbling abbey and begin to share tales of mystery and imagination to pass the time.
A man plots deadly revenge against a friend he believes has betrayed him; hearing the beating of his victim鈥檚 heart, a murderer cannot bear the guilt of his crime; a prisoner awaits the awful torture of the Spanish Inquisition; a mansion tumbles into ruin from the weight of fear, madness and murder鈥�.
That intriguing mash-up of some of Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 most famous suspenseful stories is at the heart of 麻豆影院 theatre graduate student Hadley Kamminga-Peck鈥檚 new stage adaptation, 鈥淭ick, Tock, Poe,鈥� which has been playing at schools and community centers this spring.
The program includes a 50-minute performance with CU-麻豆影院 students Cole Cribari, Tucker Johnston, James Miller and Stacey Ryan and workshops focusing on Poe鈥檚 life, the creation of music for theatre, stage combat vs. real-life violence and the cycle of vengeance at the center of 鈥淭he Cask of Amontillado.鈥�
鈥淚 adapted the five Poe stories with a lot of help from the cast,鈥� Kamminga-Peck says. 鈥淲e really focused on what middle- and high-school students would understand.鈥�
The production鈥檚 roots go all the way back to 2011, when Kamminga-Peck contacted local teachers via email to get a sense of what students might enjoy. They chose Poe 鈥� grisly and spooky as the stories are 鈥� over H.G. Wells鈥檚 鈥淭he Time Machine鈥� and 鈥淐yrano.鈥�
The play features period costumes, a simple set 鈥� basically a trunk 鈥� and just a few props. But there is plenty of action, including some vigorous onstage fighting choreographed by Kamminga-Peck.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had great responses from teachers,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey tell us what an inventive way it is to teach literature and violence prevention.鈥�
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