Newnan Artistic Director Tony Daniel Talks Zombie Apocalypse Play 'NEIGHBORHOOD 3'

By Joan Doggrell

"Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom," by Jennifer Haley, opens on July 16 at Newnan Theatre Company. Following the highly successful "bare: a Pop Opera," "Neighborhood 3" is part of NTC's fifth Summer Series for actors aged 14 through 22.

In this horror tale, the teenagers in a suburban neighborhood are addicted to the same online video game, which features a GPS system that lets them fight zombies on their own familiar streets. It's only fantasy, right? The tone is light hearted at the beginning but becomes darker as teens and parents sense a growing menace. They soon discover that the fictional zombie apocalypse has become a live threat.

"The way video games have taken off in recent years, and the zombie universe has taken the world by storm, it's amazing nobody's thought of a plot like this before," said Director Tony Daniel, also NTC's Artistic Director.

Why did you choose this particular play?

"We chose this play because Newnan is right in the middle of the zombie craze, and I thought it would appeal to the teenagers who are playing video games. Who would best know the state of mind of video game players? These kids have taught me more about video games than I ever knew."

"Another reason we chose this play is that it is a dark comedy that satirizes the way society is today. In a lot of scenes, kids are talking to one another while their eyes are locked onto their screens and keyboards. Our cast can conduct complete conversations and never look up. I didn't have to tell these kids to do that - they knew exactly what they were doing."

Who are the major players?

"The play stars some of the actors who had minor roles in 'bare.' That's part of the joy of our summer series. We try to let kids have a little bit of spotlight and a little bit of ensemble time. We want kids such as Sarah Denlow, John Patrick Mansant, Austin Wood, Jason Abraham, and Katy Maclaughlin to have their moment in the sun."

How did you get your cast into the mindset of the show?

"For two rehearsals, we just sat and talked about what could be going through the minds of these teenagers as they play this insidious video game that somehow tracks into their own neighborhood and lets loose a lot of craziness, monsters, undead zombies, and everything else. What would their parents be thinking? I was surprised that some of these kids are just as hip to 'The Walking Dead' and the new generation of zombie movies as my generation was to them in the 1970s. A whole new generation of kids is being introduced to spookiness. And as scary as the world is, maybe it's a way of coping with the real horror."

The show starts off very light heartedly and gets progressively darker. How do you achieve those changing tones?

"We use lighting and other techniques to build that sense of claustrophobia. In the Black Box, people are going to be close in on the stage."

"We're going with a bare setting and letting the actors, the lighting and the theme of the show do their work on the audience. We have some surprises, but the show not going to be flashy. We're going to let the fear creep up on the audience just as it does in the script. By the end we go whole hog into... madness!"

"I hope a few of the audience jump out of their seats and go 'Oh my goodness!' because that's what this show is for. I love Halloween, I love horror. Scaring people is almost as good as making them laugh, because they enjoy both."

Why would someone who is not a fan of horror want to come to this show?

"Maybe some who aren't fans of 'The Walking Dead' just might get a taste for - well, scary stuff. Some people just say, 'Hey! It's scary! I don't want to see it!' They lose sight of the fact that there is a lot of intricate plotting in horror movies."

"This show has some of the elements of popular crime shows and mysteries. You have to figure out what's going on with these kids and their parents. If you like a little nervous laughter, this is the show for you."

"I do hope people come out to see this amazing group of teen actors. They knocked a rock opera out of the park, and now they're nailing it with this show. A lot of actors get nervous working on a stark stage - it doesn't give them the props to work with - because you can always lean on a chair - but this is focusing their talent up front and at the audience head on. A lot of actors get kind of antsy about that, but these kids are jumping into it."

What do you think makes horror so popular?

"I've always been fascinated about what makes people afraid. There's a reason why people go to places like Six Flags and all these amusement parks with thrill rides. After ninety seconds of scare, they go home thinking that's the best thing that's ever happened to them. Some people really enjoy that adrenaline rush, and I happen to be one of them: the scarier the rollercoaster, the better. I know people who won't even go on a ride at the county fair because 'It doesn't look safe.' But as for me - Bring it on, man!"

Does the show have any kind of "message?"

"It's a dark satire on the state some families have gotten into where everybody's into own their little world. You've seen it in a restaurant. A family of four is sitting together and everybody's on their phone or tablet - nobody's really talking anymore. This line comes up in the play more than once: 'We don't talk anymore.' Kids look at their parents and say, 'Well, y'all stopped talking to us. Now we're not talking to you.' It's something to think about."

"It used to be, parents worked 40 hours, were home by 5:30, and could spend some time with their family. Now kids are going in one direction, and their parents have meetings to go to in another. They don't get off work at the same time anymore, and God knows what kind of traffic they get into on the way home. It's kind of debilitating. I would like to think that people grasped that and turned off the TV at least once a week and played board games or went bowling or something as a family instead of everybody just locking themselves in their own rooms and offices.

"If you take something away from this play, I would hope - aside from the comedy and the satire -- that maybe you should spend a little more time with your kids and with your parents and talk about things that happen during the day because you never know what you may be unlocking behind a video game."

The show opens at NTC on Thursday, July 16, and runs through Sunday, July 28 Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through the NTC website, newnantheatre.org, or via phone by calling 770.683.6282. This production does contain mature content.

The ticket price is $10.00 for all ages, all shows. Performance dates and times are as follows: July 16, 8:00 pm, July 17, 8:00 pm, July 18, 8:00 pm, July 19, 3:00 pm, July 23, 8:00 pm, July 24, 8:00 pm, July 25, 8:00 pm and July 26, 3:00 pm.

Writer Joan Doggrell teaches English for West Georgia Technical College.

Pictured: Austin Wood and Sara Demlow face off for Newnan Theatre Company's "Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom."