Are You Afraid of the Theatre Students?

Although this is a delayed reaction, how could I not post about Freed Fright Night? Run by Theta Alpha Phi, a theatre honors fraternity, Freed Fright Night offered students the opportunity to be frightened on their last day of fall break. Even though I was simply stamping hands, I did have the chance to help set up and walk through the trail. I must say, had I not known every single thing that was going to happen, I would have been extremely terrified.

Like all good theatre students, we took this night as a chance to tell a story throughout the trail. The story started with a girl named Emily who was a double major in chemistry and theatre. That coming fall, the theatre department was planning to present "The Crucible," and Emily was expecting to be cast as Abigail Williams. However, Emily was not cast in the play at all. On opening night, Emily attended the performance with a gas mask and a plan. She sealed all the entrances and exits, then released a nerve gas that would rob victims of sanity for 20 minutes before suffocating them. When the police arrived the next morning, few people had actually suffocated to death. The rest ripped each other to shreds.

Sounds frightening, right? I also highly suggest checking out the awesome promo video made for the Fright Night. Ushers led people to the studio theatre lobby, down the hallway, past the scene shop and dressing rooms, through the dance room and finally into the main stage theatre, all while listening to shrieks of terror from the audience members. I thoroughly enjoyed asking those who walked through their favorite part and the scariest part. For the most part, everyone agreed on one specific point, but I loved hearing reactions.

The turnout for the event was incredible! We had many more 'victims' than we anticipated, which was a very good problem to have! For all those who attended, there was talk of another Fright Night next year, but with more time allotted so groups wouldn't be as large. A movie was also offered after all of the groups were lead through the trail, but not without a finale for the trail depicting what happened to Emily.

A huge thanks to those who attended and made Freed Fright Night a huge success. Also, if anyone out there has any suggestions for next year, I will definitely pass them on to a leader figure! After all, running events are great, but we need to evaluate after the fact. So, whatever evaluation those of you have would be much appreciated to make Freed Fright Night a success next year as well!