Sorority House of the Dead Plays The Living Room 10/21-31

It's the 1980s, and time for sorority initiations! And that means fresh, new blood. New pledges, that is. Who will survive the terrifying all-night lock down in the decaying mansion on Sorority Hill? What horrors await young girls who just want to have fun?

A tribute to horror films of the '80s, the world premiere of Sorority House of the Dead performs Oct. 21-31 at the Living Room, 1818 McGee St. Written by Mitch Brian and directed by Ron MeGee, (Night of the Living Dead, Maul of the Dead), this Coterie at Night production is intended for teens and adults. No one will be admitted under the age of 13. All performances are at night, including late-night performances Halloween weekend.

"We have middle ground vampires - more violent than Twilight vampires, but much campier than Dracula," said Director Ron MeGee. "This goes out to the set that loves suspense gore and knocks on the door of the GenXers who grew up on John Hughes films, Halloween and The Lost Boys."

The one-act play will be very cinematic, he added. "We're doing the whole style in letterbox form - film noir mixed with the '80s."

Coterie at Night is supported with funding provided by the Missouri Arts Council and ArtsKC Fund.

A Note From the Playwright - Mitch Brian
As a writer of film and television I have been thrilled to have this chance to explore how the conventions and characteristics of movies translate, argue and meld with theater in unexpected and fantastic ways. How do we replicate the "realistic" spectacle of cinema (with all its technical tricks) on the live stage? How do we best invite the audience's imagination into something totally unreal and often hard to believe?

Thankfully for us, the tradition of the horror tale encourages these very feats. So to quote the ad for Last House on the Left : "Just keep telling yourself, it's only a movie, it's only a movie, it's only a movie!"

My script for last year's Maul of the Dead was homage to disaster films and 1970s pop culture with lots of zombies. This year's play plunges us into the gaudy, glamorous and grotesque 1980s while resurrecting the perennially popular (and truly undead) vampire tale.

Horror films proved to be big business in the Reagan era and studios seeking blockbusters poured millions into special effects-laden movies that would otherwise have been made on a shoestring. The result was some of the most colorful, energetic and funny films ever made.

ABOUT THE COMPANY
The cast: Molliann McCulley, Rachael Rogers, Jeff Smith, Kimberely Queen and Cody Wyoming. Teen cast: Hannah Ashcraft (Lincoln College Prep Academy), Zoë Brian (Shawnee Mission East), Anna Danciger (Shawnee Mission East), Charlie Meredith (Shawnee Mission East) Anna Stastny (Blue Springs High). Ensemble: Jordan Brazeel (Cameron High), Haley Brown (Liberty Junior High), Emma Daughtery (Olathe East), Elizabeth Ernst (Pembrook Hill), Emmy Hadley (Shawnee Mission East), Jamie Jones (Pleasant Hill), Sydney Moore (Blue Springs Freshman Center ), Rachel Shelby (University of Missouri High), and Jordan Spatz (Lee's Summit High).

The artistic and Production Company includes Ron MeGee (director, set designer/properties), Scott Hobart (set designer, technical director), Megan Turek (costume designer), Moose Werks (lighting designer), David Kiehl (sound designer), Kimberley Queen (make-up designer), Megan Engstrom (stage manager), Jay Akin (fight, special effects), Kerry Miller (deputy costume) and Sara Bossler (house manager).

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Sorority House of the Dead performs October 21-31 at The Living Room, 1818 McGee St. For specific dates and times, visit www.coterietheatre.org.

Tickets for Sorority House of the Dead are $12 for all ages; $9 for Coterie season ticket holders. Group tickets are 10 tix for $10 each for advance orders only. Tickets are available online at www.coterietheatre.org, by calling or purchasing at the Coterie box office (816) 474-6552 from 10 a.m. to 4 p. m. Monday through Friday; or at the Living Room, 1818 Megee St., one hour prior to performance time.

Note: Audience members are invited to stay for Frankenstein, A Staged Reading that will follow the 7 p.m. performance of Sorority House of the Dead Oct. 25. The reading will feature several cast members and designers from Sorority House of the Dead.

Celebrating its 32nd season and named "One of the Five Best Theaters for Young Audiences in the U.S." by TIME magazine, the Coterie Theatre is a not-for-profit professional theater for youth and family audiences. Its mission is to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations.