Shuddersome tales

"The thumping of a heartbeat. The creek of a door. The howl of a bitter wind. The gong of a clock tower. The clang of alarm bells. The sound of beating wings getting closer and closer...Specters, ghosts and ghouls come alive in this vivid theatrical adaptation of some of Edgar Allen Poe's best-known works. Included are The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death.

Poe's words rise from the page like corpses from the grave. Be careful. Do you hear that tap, tap, tapping?"

This is the printed description of Lindsay Price's adaptation from the original works of Edgar Allen Poe "Shuddersome: Tales of Poe", which Kimball High School's One Act theatre group will be performing on Nov. 22.

"I selected this play for several reasons," stated theatrical coach Jenn Dillinger, "First of all, quite a few of our students studied Poe last year and really enjoyed it. When I read this play, I thought that this was a show that they could connect with and really have fun performing."

The Kimball High science teacher believes that One Act is an educational activity, and says that she is always looking for new aspects of theater that can be used as learning opportunities for her students.

"This show has a chorus that sets the mood, and we've never done a show like this before. It's a great opportunity to learn some new things for the students as well as the directors." said Kimball High music teacher, Jacob Hoffman, who helps with the One Act Students.

"Once upon a midnight dreary,

While I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious

Volume of forgotten lore..."

"The students have been working hard, and have made incredible progress for how busy they all are," commented Dillinger. "Kimball students are fantastic to work with; they're passionate about what they do, and willing to work at it."

She adds that her students typically rehearse early in the morning or late at night due to everyone's busy schedules.

"I've especially been impressed by my senior leadership this year...the seniors have put a lot of time in designing set pieces, makeup, and handling all publicity," shared Dillinger, "They really are wonderful kids."

The group performed Saturday, Nov. 14, at the new Bridgeport High School Auditorium as part of the Camp Clark One-Act Festival. This was a great opportunity for them to get some feedback from excellent judges before they head into their conference competitions, according to the director, Dillinger. She explained that the group was really looking forward to the conference competitions.

The November 22 performance will begin with dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the high school student center, followed by the play at 7:30 in the auditorium.

The theater group has two upcoming conference competitions on Nov. 23 and 24 at Bridgeport and WNCC in Scottsbluff respectively. District competition follows closely on Monday, Nov. 30, also in Bridgeport. A first place finish at the district level would send the group to the state competition on Dec. 11 in Norfolk.

"We certainly have our fingers crossed," states Dillinger.

Tickets are still available through the school office, a participating One Act Student, or Jenn Dillinger.