5th Annual San Diego PoeFest Set For Next Month

WRITE OUT LOUD, an organization founded in 2007 with a commitment to inspire, challenge and entertain by reading literature aloud for audiences of all ages, announces the 5th Annual San Diego PoeFest, in performance from October 14th - 30th at the Villa Montezuma Museum in Sherman Heights. This historic Queen Anne Victorian was named "The Palace of the Arts" by Jessie Shepard, the musician, spiritualist and author who designed it in 1887. Celebrate the strange, the inexplicable, the other-worldly with the Master of the Macabre, Edgar Allan Poe.

This year - there will be two separate programs performed in rotation - you can experience one or both! The $30 ticket for each includes the event and Reserved Parking at Sherman Elementary School. Patrons can reserve tickets at https://writeoutloudsd.com/poefest/ or or by calling 619-297-8953

The two available programs are called PoeFest NEW and PoeFest REPRISE, each with performances at 6pm, 7:30pm and 9pm, featuring 4 distinct encounters. A PoeFest Host will lead each group of 13 guests through these interactive experiences as they explore the mansion.

PoeFest NEW (available Oct 14th, 15th, 22nd, 28th & 29th)

Performances at 6pm, 7:30pm and 9pm.

During the 75 minute experience, visitors will enjoy

• The Weird Sisters - featuring Sandra Ruiz and Liliana Talwatte
• Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - featuring Steven Lone
• The Raven - featuring Travis Rhett Wilson (Paul Maley on October 15)
• An Audience With Mary Shelley - featuring Megan Carmitchel

Guests will be hosted and guided by the mansion's staff, Pamela Brittain, Walter Ritter, and Rachael VanWormer

PoeFest REPRISE (available Oct 16th, 21st, 23rd, 27th & 30th)

Performances at 6pm, 7:30pm and 9pm.

During the 75 minute experience, visitors will enjoy

• Literary Séance with Madame Philomena - featuring Rhianna Basore
• The Trial of Dr Faustus - featuring Monique Gaffney and Eddie Yaroch
• Dr. Frankenstein's Laboratory - featuring Paul Maley and John Garcia
• Encounter with Edgar Allan Poe - featuring Travis Rhett Wilson

Guests will be hosted and guided by the mansion's staff, Walter Ritter, Rachael VanWormer and Pamela Brittain.

Write Out Loud Artistic Director, Veronica Murphy shared "We are excited to expand this event to 10 days this year! So many people wanted to join us last year - and we ran out of space. We've got two full programs in rotation this year - so friends who joined us last year can come back and see something completely new! Both programs feature works by Shelley, Shakespeare and Poe, with other authors' works filling out the evenings. Partnering again with Friends of Villa Montezuma, we are thrilled to bring such a unique literary experience to this beautiful historic Victorian home."