University of Hawaii at Hilo performing arts students are set to frighten you with “Scary Scenarios,” a series of four one-act Halloween-themed plays.
“Scary Scenarios” is slated for 6 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Oct 26-27) and Oct. 30-31, and 4 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 28) at the UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center.
This is the second year the program has been presented.
Performing arts assistant professor Justina Mattos said she was approached last fall by Friends of the Children’s Justice Center regarding a charity event to benefit foster children on the Big Island.
“They wanted us to create a series of vignettes or short spooky stories for guests to see and hear as they walked through the gardens for their events,” Mattos said. “I took it further and worked with my students from three classes, along with our Drama Club, to produce a brand-new style of production: serial theatre.”
“Scary Scenarios” 2017 was a series of mini-plays presented first for the charity event, then in “the various nooks and crannies of the performing arts center,” she said.
Audiences walked through the center in the style of a haunted house, but instead of being scared by ghouls and goblins jumping out at them, they saw 10 different Halloween-themed performances. Actors performed “marathon style,” repeating their performances up to 19 times a night.
“Although it was exhausting for them, they were exhilarated,” Mattos said. “No one had done anything like this before, and they loved it. In the debrief that followed, the actors expressed how satisfying it was to have the opportunity to repeat their performances so many times, finding new nuances and new discoveries with the repetition.”
She said the performers also loved the intimate venues and the ability to be so close to the audience.
“Audience members enjoyed the novelty of the experience and the variety of pieces they were able to see,” Mattos said. “Because we were bringing small groups through a little at a time, we were limited with how many audience members we could accommodate, and our event sold out.”
After seeing the success last year, Mattos said they brainstormed ways to accommodate more people this year.
The 2018 installment of “Scary Scenarios” will use four larger spaces within the performing arts center.
“Like last year, audience members will walk through from one venue to the next,” Mattos said. “They will be led from one space to the next by zombie guides. Since we have fewer venues, we were able to make the short plays a little big longer.”
Each play is about 12 minutes long and the full event will take about an hour to get through.
According to Mattos, all of the plays were written by students from her playwriting class and most performers are students as well, although a few alumni and community members also are involved.
“After seeing how much people enjoyed it last year, we decided to try to improve upon it and make it even better this year,” she said. “The focus on Halloween is mainly because that’s a fun theme that people of all ages want to go out and celebrate together, and they are usually looking for something themed around the holiday to do.”
The plays include:
• “Trust Issues,” written by Melia Takakusagi. Survivors of a zombie apocalypse must decide what to do when the youngest of them is bitten.
• “Lattes,” written by Kimm Staats. A young woman has coffee with her sister-in-law, but an unexpected twist makes her question everything.
• “Come Home,” written by Rhealiza Pira. A boy, who died under mysterious circumstances, returns for revenge.
• “Ignorance is Bliss,” written by Asia Helfrich. A knight in search of a love potion gets the wrong elixir from a suicidal wizard.
While people of all ages are welcome, Mattos said the plays are written by college students so they are aimed at college-aged audiences. One or two have “a little bit of swearing” and a little bit of violence, and because of the Halloween theme can be a little scary at times.
“So children are welcome with parental guidance, but parents should take those things into consideration,” she said.
Tickets are $7 general admission, $5 discounted tickets and $3 for students with valid ID and children younger than 17.
Seating is limited. Purchase tickets in advance at from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the UH-Hilo box office, by calling 932-7490 or visiting artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu.
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.