COVER STORY
THEATRE IS DEAD
Visual and Performing Arts Academy
ENTERTAINMENT
Written by: JP Arrastia
HOW ST. BRENDAN’S VISUAL AND
PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY IS
RESURRECTING THEATRE BY KILLING ITS
AUDIENCE
For many people, the idea of theatre is not a very good one.
They picture stuffy people on a stage speaking in a language
they neither care for nor understand. They imagine an audience
wearing outdated suits and uncomfortable dresses that will be
discussing the thematic elements of the lighting over a nice
cup of tea. However, I think that the Visual and Performing Arts
Academy is about to dispel this myth with its presentation of
Night of the Living Dead. This fast paced horror-thriller will keep
the audience at the edge of its seat from the play’s killer opening
scene through its shocking finale.
When I first read the script, I thought that I could direct the
show in two different ways. The first way would be to make a
campy parody of old-fashioned zombie flicks. The play, after all,
is based on George Romero’s classic 1968 black and white film.
The second way I could take on this project was to contemporize
the setting and cater to an audience that is more familiar with
The Walking Dead than with Nosferatu. I chose the latter. This
spin allowed me to use elements of makeup, lighting, multimedia,
and sound to fully immerse the audience into the story.
Due to the nature of the production, I had several obstacles
that I needed to overcome in order to provide the audience with
a fun yet absolutely horrifying theatrical experience. The first
wa