Our first Madness was a fascinating experience. I've been doing Madness for three years within an academic environment, with a semi-rotating group of fellow students. Taking part in Madness as a professional was a great experience, because I got to build a show with an entirely new group of smart, sharp artists. And Unicorn Madness was delightful, as we examined the existence of magic through tracking one piece of paper (starting as a unicorn horn) in and out of each play. My work revolved around a mother and son ghost-hunting team (sensitively brought to life by fellow OU vets Nicole Tuthill and Mike Reynolds); the son tried to convince his mother that the piece of paper they stumbled on -- in an abandoned, supposedly haunted prison -- provided evidence of the spirit world. It was a fun romp that dovetailed with an examination of how we perceive those whose thought processes are different from our own; it was certainly a quick and dirty piece that needs further development, but I never would have examined that (new-to-me) parallel at all, had I not done Chicago Madness. So, I soldier on! And I think I've brought a nice story to life for tonight's performance.
This week's theme is Horror Madness. We were given a list of horror film titles to choose from by our producer, Reginald Edmund. We then had to spin those titles into short examinations of what we are scared of; I am very pleased with what I've come up with (I chose "The Woman In Black" for my title, half in tribute to my good OU friend Heather, who forced me to watch it with her this year). The script is present and full of discoveries, if nothing else -- and I think it truly says something about what I'm scared of; I owe a thanks to my actors Carolyn Sinon and Lyndee McPeek for their energy and investment, and a thanks to Reggie for the Halloween-y prompt! I'm looking forward to tonight, and you should join the writers and actors in looking at horror! Tickets are free; the performance is at 10:30 pm at Pegasus Players on Beacon Street. Check it out on Facebook, and come fill our seats this evening for a horrific night!