SIREN SONGS: GHOSTS OF THE CHESAPEAKE to Open at Woods Outdoor Amphitheatre

Just before Halloween, Siren Theatre Collective will invite audiences into the darkened woods for an evening inspired by the ghosts, legends and folklore of the Chesapeake region. Siren Songs: Ghosts of the Chesapeake will be presented Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, at 7 p.m. at Woods Outdoor Amphitheatre. Tickets are $20 for general admission.

Compiled and staged by Robin Schwartz and produced by Jennifer Cooper, Siren Songs brings a collection of Maryland ghost stories and local legends to life through an ensemble of actors, theatrical storytelling and a little imagination.

The approximately one-hour performance is presented as a staged reading, an intimate theatrical format in which actors perform with scripts in hand rather than presenting a fully memorized production. With minimal production elements, the words, stories and performers take center stage.

And for these particular stories, the setting is part of the experience. Performed outdoors at Woods Outdoor Amphitheatre, Siren Songs places audiences beneath the night sky as the ensemble explores some of the region's stranger and more enduring tales.

Before the performance, audiences can get into the spirit of the evening with preshow tarot card readings by Lory Starling.

The stories featured in Siren Songs have been compiled from retellings found in books, local lore and regional ghost-story traditions. The material has been adapted and dramatized for theatrical performance and may include fictionalized or embellished elements. As is often the case with stories passed from one generation to another, the boundary between documented history, folklore and legend isn't always clear. Perhaps that's part of what keeps these stories alive.

The cast features Jennifer Cooper, Summer Jeanne Dillon-Williams, Taylor Hinds, Laura Schwartz, Lory Starling, Jason Vaughan, and Gillian Van Ditta.

What Audiences Should Know

Because this is an outdoor performance, audiences are encouraged to dress for the weather and bring a lap blanket, flashlight and anything else that will make the evening comfortable.

The performance runs approximately one hour with no intermission.