UPB Production to Haunt Seneca Building

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Division of Communication and the Arts will present a unique production of “An Evening of Stories by Edgar Allan Poe” next week.

Shows take place at 7:30 p.m. April 12 and at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 at the Seneca Building in downtown Bradford. There is no Sunday matinee. Tickets are $6 for the public and $2 for all students. Due to the unique nature of the production, advance reservations are necessary and can be made by calling the Bromeley Theater Box Office at (814)362-5113.

Dr. Kevin Ewert, associate professor of theater, is directing the production, which will relate stories by America’s master of the macabre, including “Ligeia,” “Berenice,” “Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.”

“This production is a kind of a haunting,” Ewert said. “We’re taking an old building and inhabiting many of its empty rooms with Poe’s tales of obsession, madness and terror.

“The rehearsal process was very interesting and rewarding. The students in the show chose all the stories and have adapted them through improvisations based on characters, themes and the spaces we move through,” he said.

“Some of the stories are radically altered. ‘Ligeia’ is now told from the perspective of the wife rather than the husband; ‘Berenice’ is reimagined as an installation piece – and some, like ‘Tell-Tale Heart’ are almost word for word, although in a new setting.”

Ewert said that the audience will be on the move throughout the production.

“It’s an immersive, promenade piece with the performers guiding the audience from room to room, floor to floor, story to story.”

Audience members should wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to go up and down stairs over the course of the performance.

Audiences are strictly limited to 25 per show, and late arrivals may not be able to join (or even find) the audience. There will be a special, extra-late show on Friday and Saturday.

“The late show will be getting out around midnight,” Ewert said, “which is perfect for an evening of Poe’s wild imaginings.”

“An Evening of Stories by Edgar Allan Poe” is a Spectrum Series event.

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