Tales of the Weird and Unusual Program Notes

Director’s Notes

I have had the pleasure of working with 8 actors for the last 2 months, rehearsing and recording 5 radio plays which will be presented around Halloween. Our Stage Managers and Sound Designer helped make up our intimate production team. Along with Choke, which was directed by Hunter Parker, our shows will be collectively called Tales of the Weird and Unusual. The alumni playwrights for my shows have been very creative, writing about telling scary stories while sitting around a campfire in the wilderness; loss of loved ones and the attempts to reconnect with them; cults and non-humans meeting in abandoned churches; deadly meetings in graveyards; and kill-or-be-killed issues in the mating rituals of insects. As some of my actors played parts in more than one show, it was an important acting challenge to distinguish their multiple characters through the voicework required for recording a podcast performance. While the need for isolation during the pandemic has shifted K-State Theatre’s standard season, students are learning new perspectives and techniques of performance. It has been a joy taking on this challenge with them, and I extend my gratitude to the alumni playwrights who contributed to our season.

-Chuck Leonard

About Choke: When first reading the play I thought about urban legends, or town folklores. This really helped when driving the play. Coming from a small town in South East Kansas, you hear a lot of different legends and stories about the town and why some things are the way they are. I think Choke is the perfect show to listen to around this time, because it gives thrills, but also has that folk lore that feels like it came from your hometown.

-Hunter Parker

Cast Bios

Cast

Choke	By Dan V. Shay ('97)
MARY	Katie Flynn
MOTHER	Elizabeth Kritikos
MAN	Landon Reinhart
PREACHER	Josh Conour
OLD COP	Joseph Patterson
YOUNG COP	Drew Schrivner
Leave No Trace	By Mitchell J. Ward ('16)
EMILY	Lindsey Edwards
GARETT	Brett Boline
XAVIER	Michael Pierce
Pr(a/e)ying Mantis	By Andrea Brown ('20)
CHLOE	Sydney VanDyke
WILL	Logan Peralez
JOSH	Jackson Wilks
Her Velcro Voice	By Cody O'Hare
EMILY	Ceslie Parker-Waller
DAVE	Brett Boline
LUKE	Jackson Wilks
Return To Abandoned	By Jonah Kirkhart
DARLENE	Jenna Bickelhaupt
WOMAN IN BLACK	Lindsey Edwards
RICHARD	Michael Pierce
Kill Grim	By Blake Cordell ('18)
YOU	Logan Peralez

Additional Credits

Choke