Photo Flash: First Look at PCA's GHOST TALK

Arizona legends will come alive Oct. 24-25 at the Prescott Center for the Arts (PCA) during Ghost Talk 2014, an official City of Prescott Sesquicentennial Celebration event and a featured activity during Prescott's Annual Week of the Dead. Famous and infamous spirits will enact historic ghostly folklore through the magic of live theatre at 6 pm and 7:30 pm each evening, plus a 9 pm encore performance that Saturday, at the PCA Theatre at 208 N. Marina Street in downtown Prescott.

The annual event is co-sponsored by the PCA and West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation (WYGC) and will celebrate its seventh year at the PCA. Each year a different version of the show is presented so even Ghost Talk regulars are treated to new thrills and chills. Brand new tales are added each year such as Arizona's infamous Legend of the Red Ghost that will be enacted for the first time on the PCA stage, along with two other never-seen-before tales The Spirit of Arizona's Wilderness Capital, that pays tribute to Prescott's 150th birthday, and The Courthouse Square Creepers' Killer, a musical tribute to Prescott's infamous Black Widow guaranteed to bring the haunted house down.

The rest of the 13 spooky tales on tap for Ghost Talk 2014 are The Revenge of the Iron King Mine Monster, The Hotel Vendome Apparition, The Brick and Bones Lady of the Night, The Crazed Prospector of Granite Creek, The Skinwalkers of the Prescott Forest, The Arizona Pioneers' Home Poltergeist, The Deep Freeze Phantom of Iron Springs Road, The Murderous Madam of Prescott, The Gothic Ghosts of Marina Street, and The Mystery of the Deadly Brew Deaths.

Ticket holders will be greeted with spectral entertainment such as music, dancing, raffles, costume contests, and photos with the ghostly photo bomber at the Chase Photo Booth in the PCA courtyard prior to the doors opening. The Annual Day of the Dead Art Exhibit will be open for extended hours both nights so patrons can view the 2-D and 3-D artwork created by artists putting their spin on the Dia de Los Muertos theme.

According to Ghost Talk 2014 Playwright and Director Karen Murphy, "Ghost Talk is not only a nod to Arizona's past but an ode to drama's history. The ghostly folklore is presented through a blend of modern performance art, traditional storytelling, and theatrical genres from throughout the ages such as Greek tragedies, Victorian melodramas, Shakespearean prose, cowboy poetry, vaudeville, monologues, and the American musical. We use all the tricks of the trade during the one-hour show such as special effects, fog machines, eerie lighting and sound effects, stylized make-up and masks, and period props and costumes that all help to turn the PCA Theatre into a haunted crypt."

Featured Week of the Dead activities that are part of the Ghost Talk 2014 weekend include the Day of the Dead Art Exhibit down in the PCA Gallery both evenings and Sunday, the Ghost Talk Costume Contest held both evenings, the Day of the Dead Blue Jean Jacket Raffle held both evenings and Sunday, and the Sugar Skull Decorating Workshop held down in the PCA Gallery on that Sunday from 12 noon to 4 pm.

Warning! Ghost Talk is not for the weak or faint of heart, and could be too intense for children under seven. No cry babies, whiners, or yellow-bellied scaredy-cats are allowed. Tickets are $12 per seat with all proceeds going to youth programs at the two nonprofit sponsors. For tickets and information, go online at www.pca-az.net or call 928-445-3286.

Photo credit: Karen Murphy